International Early Childhood

I've gained 3 positive consequences about the field of International Early Childhood. Before this course I was unaware of the grassroots work being done in ECE all over the world. 

Different organizations including: NIEER, Developing Child at Harvard, and UNESCO. All three of these organizations are interested in seeing change all over the world and not just in America. Striving for early education as a human right for all children is something that I stand for 100%.
The same issues and trends in America effect other countries. Poverty, Economics, and Politics are very common.
Research and best practices are being implemented all over the world.
 The efforts to help third world countries and others by resourcing clean water, nutrition, vaccinations, shelter, and improving parenting skills and the socio-emotional domain is being done based on scientific research and best practices. Although implementing research and best practices will take time to implement, children will benefit especially if they do not have ECE programming.
 In the near future my goal is to join an organization that focuses on international awareness of issues and trends. Hopefully Walden University will develop a partnership and create collegiate relations with other countries. 

Getting to know...UNESCO

The UNESCO stands for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. UNESCO is a specialized agency of the United Nations which started in the 1950’s. Today UNESCO leads a drive for international policy and an integrated early childhood care and education system that includes both the well-being and holistic development of the child. UNESCO’s mission is to support early childhood policy development with the aim to build a solid foundation for a child’s lifelong learning.

The effort of early childhood education for all is a step into the future. I love the fact that UNESCO started the World’s First Early Childhood Education Conference in 2010. One of the specific objectives of the conference was to heighten global awareness and policy dialogue on ECCE as a fundamental human right and its relevance to individual and national development early childhood care and education and prosperity. On the website there are Country profiles listed that were commissioned by the Education for All Global Monitoring Report as background information to assist in drafting the 2007 Report: Strong Foundations: Early Childhood Care and Education. The profiles include information on the starting age of ECCE education, types of training received by staff and much more. I also love there are opportunities to work, volunteer, and aid in research for anyone interested in UNESCO.  

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

The Global Children Initiative: Havard University

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/activities/global_initiative/

Havard University's Global Children's Initiative (GCI) was established in 2009 to advance the Center's mission internationally through a collaborative, science-based approach to improving the survival, health, learning, and behavior of children facing significant adversity. Currently GCI works in Brazil to improve the well-being and life outcomes of vulnerable children while supporting the social and economic development in the country. GCI works in Canada, creating interventions that nurture and protect the early brain development of children living in poverty. GCI also provides support to the Center's Harvard-affiliated faculty members who are working closely with researchers and institutions in low- and middle-income countries around the world, including:

•      CHINA: ASSESSING CHILD MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS IN SHANGHAI
•      CHILE: EXPANDING EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS TO IMPROVE PRESCHOOL QUALITY
•   SIERRA LEONE: EXPLORING THE INTERGENERATIONAL IMPACT OF WAR THROUGH WAR-AFFECTED YOUTH
•        ZAMBIA: PILOTING ASSESSMENTS TO MEASURE CHILD DEVELOPMENT OUTCOMES LINKED TO MALARIA CONTROL STRATEGIES

Sharing Web Resources

Out of my selection I found NIEER: National Institute for Early Childhood Education Research at http://nieer.org to be extremely interesting. NIEER’s purpose is to “Conduct and communicate research to support high-quality, effective early childhood education for all young children (National Institute for Early Childhood Education Research, 2014).” NIEER believes this type of education will enhance the overall development of children including their: Physical, cognitive, and social development in school and later life. NIEER Institute serves as an independent, research-based advisor and assistant to policymakers, journalists, researchers, and educators. This resource contains tons of early childhood education content with the majority geared towards preschool programs. The website content is based on NIEER’s aim to provide a vision of early education excellence that is useful to policy makers and understandable to the general public.As a Early Childhood Professional I would use NIEER's website quick facts about Early Childhood Education. 

            Upon arrival to the home page there is a list of NIEER research topics to click for further information. There are a total of 12 research topics to choose from some include: Assessment, economics and finances, quality and curriculum, outcomes, special education, teachers and government and accountability. These research topics are used for a variety of reasons. The most important are to: “Monitor and evaluate national and state progress toward early educational excellence, develop standards, regulations and other policies to improve quality, increase access to good preschool programs, and explain the costs, outcomes and economic benefits of alternative policies (National Institute for Early Childhood Education Research, 2014).” The depth of information in each topic is truly amazing.