I gained a new level of awareness about Issues and Trends in International Early Childhood Education through my own research and the information provided by my colleagues in this course. The three major consequences of this study for me are:
1. learning the importance of understanding different cultural perspectives on early childhood education before trying to relate to immigrant and non-English speaking families being served in my classrooms.
2. increasing my own multicultural understanding both personally and professionally as well as gaining some new ideas of how to incorporate more international studies into my classroom curriculum.
3. identifying and learning to access resources locally, nationally, and internationally that can benefit young children of diverse cultural backgrounds in my classroom.
If I had to identify a major goal coming out of this course, it would be to start a blog or a website dedicated to assisting EC professionals in addressing issues and improving relations with immigrant and non-English speaking families within every community by outlining policies, attitudes, issues and trends related to every country in the world. It is a small world after all...and preschool is the perfect place to foster the peace and understanding that can unite humanity.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Getting to know your international contacts
With immigration on the rise in the U.S., more and more non-English speaking children of foreign descent are entering our classrooms. In order to properly embrace them and their families into the early childhood education field, we must begin to understand a little about the perspective on early education from their home country. But where does a preschool teacher go for such information? The UNESCO's "Early Childhood Care and Education" webpage is a wonderful place to start. (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/),
Resources listed in the tab on the left side of the page include country profiles, country policy reviews and videos that can help us gain insights into EC programs, materials, and other resources used by people from different parts of the world. For example, there are videos showing best practices for the care and education of young children in Kenya, Moscow, and Brazil. I was thrilled to learn of the easy access to such information through this webpage, and, not only see it as an multicultural educational tool for myself and my students, but will also be happy to use it to relate and form talking points with immigrant and non-English speaking parents of children in my classroom. It's a wonderful resource for anyone advocating for equity and excellence in the care and education of all young children.
Resources listed in the tab on the left side of the page include country profiles, country policy reviews and videos that can help us gain insights into EC programs, materials, and other resources used by people from different parts of the world. For example, there are videos showing best practices for the care and education of young children in Kenya, Moscow, and Brazil. I was thrilled to learn of the easy access to such information through this webpage, and, not only see it as an multicultural educational tool for myself and my students, but will also be happy to use it to relate and form talking points with immigrant and non-English speaking parents of children in my classroom. It's a wonderful resource for anyone advocating for equity and excellence in the care and education of all young children.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
NHSA
The National Head Start Association has committed itself to quality and excellence in early childhood education for 50 years. They know that quality in the education of young minds requires quality teaching. One way they continue to uphold their standards is by providing access to professional development, teacher training and professional consultation services.
Every year, NHSA holds an annual conference in a different location throughout the country. However, travel expenses and time needed off of work to attend is simply unfeasible for many Head Start teachers and directors. Therefore, in an effort to make quality professional development and teacher training accessible to everyone, they are now featuring "virtual conferences" on-demand for the low price of $25. Secondly, they provide links to impactful resources through their Professional Development Consultants Directory. Through this tab, Head Start features trusted partners in the early education field such as Devereux Center for Resilient Children that offers professional development services centered around young children's social and emotional health as well as other professional health services, financial consultants, literacy mentors, legal advocates, family advocates, classroom management trainers, and many other partners committed to supporting young children.
The wonderful thing about all of these services it that they are not only available to Head Start teachers, but can also be accessed by anyone interested in furthering their education and improving the quality of their teaching. These efforts are part of what makes the National Head Start Association a leader in the early childhood field.
Resources:
The National Head Start Association
http://www.nhsa.org/professional_development
Every year, NHSA holds an annual conference in a different location throughout the country. However, travel expenses and time needed off of work to attend is simply unfeasible for many Head Start teachers and directors. Therefore, in an effort to make quality professional development and teacher training accessible to everyone, they are now featuring "virtual conferences" on-demand for the low price of $25. Secondly, they provide links to impactful resources through their Professional Development Consultants Directory. Through this tab, Head Start features trusted partners in the early education field such as Devereux Center for Resilient Children that offers professional development services centered around young children's social and emotional health as well as other professional health services, financial consultants, literacy mentors, legal advocates, family advocates, classroom management trainers, and many other partners committed to supporting young children.
The wonderful thing about all of these services it that they are not only available to Head Start teachers, but can also be accessed by anyone interested in furthering their education and improving the quality of their teaching. These efforts are part of what makes the National Head Start Association a leader in the early childhood field.
Resources:
The National Head Start Association
http://www.nhsa.org/professional_development
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