Final Blog Assignment: EDUC-6162 Issues and Trends in the Early Childhood Field

This assignment is to post on three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field for your professional and personal development.  The consequences that I am aware of are, inequity exists world-wide in quality, care, professionalism, accessibility, and support.  

The questions still remain: 

How are excellence and equity defined in relation to early childhood professionals? 

Who takes care of their well-being? 

What options do professionals in the field have to increase their knowledge? 

How are EC professionals compensated for their work with young children—work that is generally described as difficult as well as extremely important to the well-being of a nation? 

In what ways are early childhood professionals evaluated and mentored?

All of these are questions concern my professional life, and they are at the center of my awareness and educational journey.

The field of early childhood is demanding recognition and respect as a vital part of children's development for academics and life.  When we don't ask these questions, the children and profession suffer.  We need to all be on the same page for what is best for the children and ultimately for the profession.  That's why I continue to be a supporter, member, and advocate for NAEYC.  We need an organization to lead us all in best practice across the board.  

http://www.naeyc.org/accreditation

http://www.rightchoiceforkids.org/

http://www.youtube.com/user/naeycvideos

http://www.youtube.com/user/naeycvideos#p/a/u/1/rhBBd9Tl4k4 

One goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends is for all professionals to be held to the same standards in the profession regardless of demographics.  In the spirit of collegial relations, more institutions should collaborate and share on progress, trends, and methods that would benefit the students/ professional development of people in the field of early childhood.

Sharing Web Resources

• Follow some of the outside links that you have not yet explored. Where do they lead?
• I followed http://www.researchconnections.org/childcare/states and was able to explore several states information that pertains to equity issues.  I especially enjoyed researching http://www.naccrra.org/publications/naccrra-publications/we-can-do-better-2011.php this site has information on each states ranking on oversight and regulation issues.  It was fascinating to research each state and see how we are all ranked, our state strengths and weaknesses.
• Thoroughly search one area of the site. What do you find? I found:

More than 11 million children younger than age 5 spend an average of 35 hours a week in some type of child care setting. State child care licensing requirements govern the health, safety and learning opportunities for these children. State oversight requirements monitor compliance with state policies.
We Can Do Better: 2011 Update is the third in a series of reports beginning in 2007 that scores and ranks the states, including the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense (DoD) on 10 program requirements and five oversight benchmarks for child care centers. NACCRRA’s update found that states have made progress but more progress is needed.
The average score in 2011 was 87 out of a possible 150 points (compared to 70 in 2007 and 83 in 2009).  Using a standard grading scale, no state earned an A. The Department of Defense earned a B, and four states earned a C. Twenty-one states earned a D. Half of the states (26 states) earned a failing grade. While we should be pleased with the improvement among the states since 2007, an 87 equates to a score of 58 percent, a failing grade in any classroom in America.

Additionally, find out if the site you selected at the beginning of this course offers any information about the issue of this week: 
  Pre[K]Now: A Campaign of the Pew Center on the States http://www.preknow.org/
e-newsletter: http://www.preknow.org/signupform.cfm

• Does the website or the e-newsletter contain any information that adds to your understanding of equity and excellence in early care and education?
• I receive daily information on topics relevant to early childhood education from across the country on issues of policy changes, laws, headlines, and various other topics.  It has connected me to the field across the country.   am able to think in a bigger picture for our field.
• What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain this week from exploring the website and/or the e-newsletter?
• I would recommend this e-newsletter subscription to all professionals.  I have found and utilized many resources from the newsletter information.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 2

Issues related to excellence and equity in the early childhood field make for a rich pool of conversation topics.   Take the opportunity this week to learn from your international contacts which issues related to excellence and equity are at the forefront of professional discussions in their countries:

My international contact from Canada has communicated with me on the inequities in her country regarding early childhood.  They are very similar to those of our own country.  There is always a social economic status divide in programs with young children.  Some insights I have learned are the way the government tries to regulate this divide with teacher education regulations.  This connects directly to the inequity I researched for the Application this week.  By creating standards for teacher education, the children benefit regardless of the demographics.

• Share the new insights and information you have gained from these conversations
• Describe in particular the additional information about issues of equity and excellence you acquired from your international sources

Sharing Web Resources

• http://www.preknow.org 
• What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development? Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways?
• This site has information for educators on:
•   Pre-K Teachers Resource Center
  
  Virtual Classroom Tour
  
  Community-Based Pre-K Providers
  
  Teacher Profiles
• I also found information on program assessments interesting & useful:
Pre-K Assessment

Controversy and conflict have surrounded the assessment debate in education since the 2000 passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), which brought a renewed emphasis on accountability in education. Also since that time, state spending on pre-k has increased by over $3 billion to $5.2 billion (FY09). As of 2008, one million children were enrolled in state pre-k programs nationwide. The incredible momentum for both pre-k and accountability in education has prompted critical questions: Should pre-k programs be held accountable? If so, how should program effectiveness be evaluated, and how should progress be measured for each individual child?
Pre-K Now believes assessments and evaluations of both children and programs are vital for the success of any state pre-k system. Different assessments provide different data: on the needs of individual children, the effectiveness of a program's practices, or the success of state pre-k policies. Above all, assessments must be adequately funded and developmentally appropriate. This paper outlines our recommendations for successful assessment policies, drawing on decades of important research, particularly the excellent work done on early assessment by the National Early Childhood Accountability Task Force (PDF) (largely funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts) and a 2008 National Research Council (NRC) study.

•  
• What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field?
•  There is a section in the website labeled: Pre-K Advocates.
• Pre-K Advocates Pre-K Now recognizes that pre-k advocates share a common cause but often don't have access to common resources. From state to state, pre-k challenges and solutions vary, yet the insight gained from each campaign is valuable to us all.
  Gathered here are facts, research, presentations, and honest dialogues about pre-k. Advocates developed these resources, and every usage of them creates new knowledge and experience that increases the effectiveness of advocates across the nation.
  
  What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter?
• I discovered ways to advocate for children with my local business and community leaders:
• Business & Community Leaders At Pre-K Now, we understand the importance of business and community leaders' involvement in the movement for high-quality pre-kindergarten. In many instances, business and community leaders are the most effective advocates for young children, and in that spirit, we offer examples of and resources for leaders who are helping advance high-quality pre-k for all in their states.
  /

International Contacts

My international contact is an Early Childhood educator from Ontario, Canada. She is a registered early childhood educator that has been working at a theme based / Montessori daycare for the past 5 1/2 years.  She hopes to someday continue her education and get a BA in early childhood studies in Canada- I hope to encourage her in this endeavor as we communicate and exchange ideas/information over the next several weeks, and beyond.

 ________________________________________________________________________________
On Wed, Sep 14, 2011 at 4:25 PM, Amy Smith <amy.smith3@waldenu.edu> wrote:

Assignment: Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 1

As it is never too early to establish professional contacts, the Assignment for this course provides the opportunity to establish contact, to talk with, and to learn from professionals who live and work in different parts of the world. There are no specific rules for these conversations; simply ask your conversation partners each week about their thoughts and insights regarding the issues and trends you are studying in this course...

This week, issues related to poverty are the focal point of your studies. Ask your conversation partners to help you understand the specific issues of poverty they encounter in their professional lives as well as those they are concerned about throughout the world.

• Introduce your conversation partners to your classmates at Walden
• Share what you have learned so far from these exchanges
• Describe your new insights and information about issues of poverty

Thanks so much Kim!  All I need is your thoughts on poverty in Canada, and how it affects (you/children) in the early childhood field. __________________________________________________________________________________
Hi Amy

I am not sure how it works there (United States) but here (Canada) a lot of our lower income families can apply for subsidy and if they qualify they have some or all of their daycare fees covered by the government.  This allows for their parents to go to school or find a job while their children are taken care of.

This helps a lot of our families especially single parents who struggle financially to take care of their families.

However there is only so much government money and spaces to go around and there are some families who are left out of the program which is unfortunate.  In some extreme cases like these some day cares will lower the fees temporarily to allow for the child to still have a spot and their parent still be able to find a job or go to school.

A motto in Ontario is "No Child Left Behind" and this means that in most cases the government will help in any way they can to make sure that a child receives the best early childhood care they can whether they live in poverty or not.

Kim Loxton
____________________________________________________________________________________

I plan on communicating with Kim on NAEYC and compare organizations in Canada to the U.S. for the benefit of young children. 

Blog Assignment: Sharing Web Resources

• Provide the name and link for the organization you selected, and a brief description of the organization’s focus, 
• Identify one current issue/trend from the newsletter and/or from the website that caught your attention
• Share if there was anything else you learned from studying these resources related to the topic of this week

·         Pre[K]Now: A Campaign of the Pew Center on the States

http://www.preknow.org/ 

(Newsletter: http://www.preknow.org/signupform.cfm ) This is an amazing site with endless resources.  I especially like the "Advocacy Toolkit" feature.  In the newsletter, I was also able to look-up my own state and its progress towards milestones for quality pre-k programs. 

"

"North Carolina

North Carolina has been a model state for early education, particularly in expanding the availability, affordability, and quality of early childhood programs and integrating pre-k and comprehensive early education services in an innovative way."

ThThe site also provides information on what quality pre-k should look like. 

High-quality pre-kindergarten is the first step in education reform. A vast body of research demonstrates that early learning programs develop children’s cognitive, social-emotional and physical readiness for success in school. This solid foundation is proven to contribute to higher literacy and math attainment, lower grade retention, reduced remedial and special education needs and increased high school graduation rates.
When students have a high-quality pre-k experience, they are better prepared and motivated to achieve at higher levels, multiplying the impact of other reforms. The alternative – helping children catch up in later grades – is both more costly and less effective. The evidence is clear and compelling: Successful school improvement plans, like a child’s development, benefit most from investments made in the critical early years.

Pre-K: The First Step in Education Reform

In these tough economic times, policy makers need to prioritize investments in proven programs. For elected officials seeking to improve school performance, 50 years of evidence shows that high-quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten is among the best strategies for education reform. High-quality pre-k saves tax payers money; improves children's cognitive, social and emotional skills; decreases the need for grade retention and special education services and helps to close the achievement gap.

Getting Ready—Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

What an exciting assignment!   

Establishing Professional Contacts & Expanding Resources

By Saturday of this week, share in your blog the steps you took this week to locate and contact the two professionals, how far you have come in your attempt to establish communication: 

This has proven to be a very interesting assignment.  I am fortunate to work at a NAEYC accredited program and to  be a NAEYC member.  I have had the opportunity to utilize my contacts with the organization to find a fellow professional internationally.  I am current communicating with an EC professional in Canada and will keep everyone posted.  I also am very fortunate in that our local NAEYC affiliate here in North Carolina (NC-AEYC) is having there annual conference in my city next week. 

On September 17, 2011 I will be participating in:

Regional meeting of the National Dialogue, an unprecedented conversation between NAEYC and it's Affiliate network at the local, state and national levels to explore whether or not we have the optimal "relationship" in place to move a national agenda around young children forward in today's economic, political and educational climate.

Also, describe the process of selecting the early childhood organization, and which website you decided to study:

I chose to organizations to study over the next 8 weeks

 

Pre[K]Now: A Campaign of the Pew Center on the States
http://www.preknow.org/

and

The Canadian Association for Young Children
http://www.cayc.ca/ 

Both of these organizations are new to me as a EC professional and will hopefully provide additional resources throughout this course.  The Canadian organization was recommended to me by my professional/international contact.