International Lessons

      Learning about the international early childhood field has allowed me to widen my concept of the field. Previously I had only thought of the field in terms of my immediate community and country. I also realized that there are opportunities for me and my peers to learn from initiatives abroad and to bring them to to my own community. Finally, the opportunity to communicate with other educators from around the world is not something I considered but would afford me the opportunity to learn of different approaches as well as share my own experiences. A goal I have for the field is to see one culture learning from another and trying out successful approaches. I have heard of many other countries' success stories and wondered why the U.S. doesn't try tout he same approach to combat the same or similar challenges. 

Education Based Initiatives Around the World

       While exploringg UNESCO’s (United Nations Educational,Scientific, and Cultural Organization) “Early Childhood Care and Education” webpage (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/),I came across a few interesting initiatives. The first is a teacher forum occurring in Thailand. The goal of the forum is to raise awareness and interest in the teaching profession and help it become a profession that is desired again.The idea is to connect teachers from around the world to give young adults who are considering the field an opportunity to talk with current teachers, learn about new approaches to teaching and create an open line of communication among educators around the world. The event is titled,The Powerhouse of Education: Teachers for the Future We Want.
         The next initiative the I read about was supporting the education of women and girls.Poverty, geographical isolation,disability, early marriage and pregnancy are some of the obstacles that prevent women around the world from receiving an education equal to their male counterparts. UNESCO has made many efforts to end inequality and support the education of women and children through support of global education policies and laws, help countries develop education systems as well as teacher preparation which includes gender sensitivity training, help countries address gender based violence, and gender discrimination in textbooks.
         The final initiative that I learned about is UNESCO's commitment to teachers." Teachers are the single most influencial and powerful for for equity,access and and quality in education"- Irina Bokova, Director- General of UNESCO. The organization works to protect the rights of teachers and to increase the number of qualified teachers in the field world wide to ensure that all children have access to quality education. According to the organization at least 2 million new teaching positions will need to be filled around the world to ensure that children in the primary grades have access to education by 2015.

Teachers are the single most influential and powerful force for equity, access and quality in education”, says Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO. - See more at: http://en.unesco.org/themes/teachers#sthash.I3fKRVYy.dpuf

Among the obstacles in the way of women’s and girls’ ability to exercise their right to participate in, complete and benefit from education are poverty, geographical isolation, minority status, disability, early marriage and pregnancy, gender-based violence, and traditional attitudes about the status and role of women.  - See more at: http://en.unesco.org/themes/women-and-girls-education#sthash.mV449DZi.dpuf

Among the obstacles in the way of women’s and girls’ ability to exercise their right to participate in, complete and benefit from education are poverty, geographical isolation, minority status, disability, early marriage and pregnancy, gender-based violence, and traditional attitudes about the status and role of women.  - See more at: http://en.unesco.org/themes/women-and-girls-education#sthash.mV449DZi.dpuf

Among the obstacles in the way of women’s and girls’ ability to exercise their right to participate in, complete and benefit from education are poverty, geographical isolation, minority status, disability, early marriage and pregnancy, gender-based violence, and traditional attitudes about the status and role of women.  - See more at: http://en.unesco.org/themes/women-and-girls-education#sthash.mV449DZi.dpuf

Among the obstacles in the way of women’s and girls’ ability to exercise their right to participate in, complete and benefit from education are poverty, geographical isolation, minority status, disability, early marriage and pregnancy, gender-based violence, and traditional attitudes about the status and role of women.  - See more at: http://en.unesco.org/themes/women-and-girls-education#sthash.mV449DZi.dpuf

Among the obstacles in the way of women’s and girls’ ability to exercise their right to participate in, complete and benefit from education are poverty, geographical isolation, minority status, disability, early marriage and pregnancy, gender-based violence, and traditional attitudes about the status and role of women.  - See more at: http://en.unesco.org/themes/women-and-girls-education#sthash.mV449DZi.dpuf

Among the obstacles in the way of women’s and girls’ ability to exercise their right to participate in, complete and benefit from education are poverty, geographical isolation, minority status, disability, early marriage and pregnancy, gender-based violence, and traditional attitudes about the status and role of women.  - See more at: http://en.unesco.org/themes/women-and-girls-education#sthash.mV449DZi.dpuf

A Closer Look at the National Black Child Institute and its Resources

    This week I explored the National Black Child Institute further and discover quite a few things. While looking at the resources and links I found where the organization has provided a rubric designed by the Flamboyan Foundation for family and engagement based on teacher's beliefs and actions. The rubric includes such points as "the teacher values and respects families and sees them as important partners in supporting student learning.", "The teacher sees engaging all families as part of his or her core role and responsibility and works to continuously increase his or her effectiveness." and "the teacher builds relationships with families and students and invites their engagement" (Flamboyan Foundation 2011). It is also worth mentioning that the NBCI's website has its resources organized into categories of issues and trends such as health, policy and advocacy,early care and education, family engagement, literacy and child welfare. Another unique and interesting link is to a parent advocacy training for parents of children with learning disabilities. The resource is focused on educating parents on the importance of advocating for their child and how to do so.
       The NBCI has a few articles and resources that relate to trends that we have studied in recent weeks. I was however particularly drawn to an article regarding inequality due to a federal loophole in that allows governments to allocate less money to children of color. "the law explicitly requires districts to exclude teacher salary differentials tied to experience when determining comparability compliance. This is a major exclusion because experience is a chief driver of teachers’ salaries. This misleading process leads to a misleading result—districts think they are providing equal spending on high-need schools and low-need schools, even though they aren’t. This problem has been frequently called the comparability loophole" (Spatig-Amerikaner, 2012). Essentially what is occurring is that teachers working in areas with a student population of greater need ( generally children of color) make less money than their counterparts. This is often in due to less experience as most who teach in these areas are new to the field and therefore make less money. As these teachers gain more experience they move on to positions with better salaries that are generally outside of the district with the greatest need. Essentially, districts who serve large populations of children of color employ teachers who they can pay less. Without competitive salaries the only teachers these districts can employ are those who are new and in desperate need of a job. The loophole comes in to play because districts are required to report how much money is spent per child,however this report did not require the inclusion of teacher's salaries. This means that the amount of money spent on students looked more comparable across districts. When teacher salary is considered a "purchased resource" and therefore added to the equation the disparities become very apparent.
        I didn't have any new insights while viewing the website however I was reminded of the importance of the health of children and education. Often we get caught up in theory,policy, curriculum and instruction delivery and forget how important health is to education. If a child is ill they are not capable of learning at their full potential if they even make it into school. The NBCI has links to articles on children's health including obesity and insecurities.

Resources

National Black Child Institute Resources page
http://www.nbcdi.org/resources-page/from-our-partners

Unequal Education article by Spatig-Amerikaner
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education/report/2012/08/22/29002/unequal-education/

Global Initiatives in Children's Development

        Harvard University's Global Children's Initiative is working to learn more about the mental health of children in different parts of the world facing various challenges. The organization will look at the  mental health services in Shanghai,China, develop and evaluate strategies to prevent mental illness in children as a result of HIV/AIDS in their family and community in Rwanda, and Explore the maltreatment and mental health outcomes for children in the Caribbean.Another project the Initiavie is working on is in Brazil. Their goal is to use science to help guide political decision in support of large investments in children and families.In Santiago, Chile a collaborative project called Un Buen Comienzo which means "good beginnings" is working to imporve early childhood education. This is beingi done through teacher education programs. What makes this project unique is that is is designed with critical health issues in mind to improve school attendance as well as encourage families to become a part of the education process.