Research Around the World

Throughout the past few months, each course I have taken at Walden University has pushed me to grow my cultural competence. Working with young children requires the act of accepting the differences; no matter where we see them. As a young adult, I have also been spending a great deal of time supporting my own growth as I strengthen my abilities to advocate on behalf of both children and their families as well as for my own self. Since I love to travel, I always wonder what my life would be like in a new place- whether it's a state in the U.S. or a foreign country. When given the option to learn more about the Australian equivalent to NAEYC, Early Childhood Australia definitely caught my attention.

As I began to explore ECA's website at http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/ I was reminded very much of NAEYC's webpage: it is visually inviting, and organized to share resources with families and professionals, as well as easy access to information and newsletters. Yet, it did seem as though ECA publishes more print and collaborative journals and newsletters than I am familiar with seeing in the U.S. Along with having more options of resources for families and professionals to peruse, ECA provides clear access to information being published and shared through a nation wide initiative called Kids Matter.This initiative is designed to advocate for and educate the public on children's mental and emotional health. Kids Matter shares tools such as a "programs guide summary" which allows families to search for available early care and education programs to enroll their children in based on a number of very specific qualities.

After making this discovery, I began to realize that this model of support and accessibility for families and professionals is so similar to the desire to provide those resources to families in the United States. On the ECA's website I was able to locate several resources available on topics such as ethics in the field, separation anxiety, and school transitions. These topics are all familiar to the topics we discuss every day in the United States. What seems to be the case is that Australia is one step ahead as we are in the U.S. As I think about it, it makes me excited to know that there others around the world that share such a common goal. As Australia shows more connectivity between the various dimensions of supporting young children and their families, we in the U.S. can continue to strengthen our relationship with our international colleagues, all while gaining bright new ideas on how we can continue to improve our access to appropriate supports for our children. 

Working with families affected by disabilities has given me countless experiences that allow me to see the positive effects that research has on the early education field.  As the early intervention field continue to evolve, practitioners must be able to seek proven intervention methods for the diverse children they work with. As a toddler teacher, I found myself often working closely with early interventionists. With one particular case, I began working closely with a developmental psychologist. This professional introduced me to several techniques she commonly uses to not only support children's developmental growth, but  also to support the growth of families' interactions with their children. During our time working together, I was able to see the direct impact that the research based intervention DIR-Floortime. This intervention is one that is increasingly used with individuals with ASD. The approach utilizes a development approach that allows for growth in all areas of development. Currently, research on DIR-Floortime has been conducted in several countries, and consistently shows that the approach increases children's emotional skills. With a therapy such as this,  it is essential that research continues in order to share the findings of either the success or challengers of the therapy so that more families will be able to utilize it.

Kindergarten Readiness Standards

With so much attention focusing on national improvements to access to preschool and prekindergarten, I often find myself weary of how school readiness standards are being interpreted. The topic I chose to study for a research simulation is that of the process of creating the kindergarten readiness standards that are being accessed across the nation. I am hoping to learn more about how certain programs and school districts are interpreting standards, and integrating them into their curriculums. I hope to find that most interpretations include a whole-child approach, taking community and family development into account. As I enter the role of pre-k teacher in suburban public district, I am hoping that I will have new resources to share with my families and colleagues. I also hope to gain insight as to how I can further prepare the children in my class for kindergarten, still while providing them with ample opportunity to develop their social and emotional skills.

  

          In the 2009 issue of NAEYC’s Where We Stand, the organization outlines a well-balanced framework for schools and early education programs to follow when developing their kindergarten readiness standards. The publication highlights the need to assure access to readiness supports for all families, as well as taking cultural differences into account when developing these standards and experiences. For more information visit: https://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf

Consequences & Goal

Awareness of the many organizations available to utilize as resources

I can continue to grow as an advocate for many causes, thanks to the many

new outlets of information that I have become aware of, such as: The National Center for Children in Poverty, UNICEF, and the Children's Defense Fund.

Restored faith of the efforts of improving quality of life of children across the globe

I feel as though I have been sheltered from many of the beautiful efforts set forth in foreign countries, as I have still just begun to learn of efforts in my own country. I have now been exposed to stories of success, research based data, and many other concrete pieces of evidence that have shone a light on progress of Early Childhood Education throughout many parts of the world.

My previous assumptions of the general qualities necessary for obtaining a status of “excellence” in early care and education hold true to several standards set forth by certain researchers and policy makers

I have spent the past several years believing in the power of a well rounded basis of education incorporating both physical experiences with knowledge of child development and EC pedagogy. This particular criterion of holding a sound higher education foundation is one that is believes the play a major role in quality of care and education, especially when building relationships and foundations of language.

Goal

Something that I have always thought of as a distant possibility is the idea of traveling abroad and dedicating my work to global early childhood development. Over the course of the past eight weeks, I have begun to realize how many opportunities there are to become involved in global work. Now, although the possibility is not more near in my future, I realize that I have options to begin my journey. Several organizations design short term trips to gain a hands-on-experience working to support growth in early care and development systems in impoverished countries. I am setting a goal for myself to be accomplished within the next 10 years to spend at least two weeks working with a developing EC program, whether education based or family & community based.

Online Resources- Week 7

The first area I chose to explore within UNESCO’s web page was the tab titled “Culture.” After clicking on this tab, I was taken aback by the several different options I had to explore within that one umbrella topic. After reading the titles of my options, I chose to first explore the information on Culture for Sustainable Development. In the introduction to this particular page, I was captivated by one particular statement: “Culture is who we are and what shapes our identity. Culture contributes to poverty reduction and paves the way for a human-centred, inclusive and equitable development. No development can be sustainable without it.” This statement, in my perspective, provides a grande argument for why sustaining individual region’s culture is so important to global development. Simply put- culture defines who we are, and without it, we cannot move forward.

While choosing to remain within the topic of culture, I chose to next explore the Diversity of Cultural Expression. I came to learn that there is a legally binding treating which “ensures that artists, cultural professionals and practitioners, as well as citizens can create, produce, disseminate, and enjoy a broad range of cultural goods, services, and activities, including their own.” To create a legal precedent allowing all people of all cultures to express themselves in a variety of meaningful ways is a tool that be utilized to continue expressing the immeasurable value in cultural diversity. Along with the concept of sustaining the cultures which define us, this concept of diverse expression allows individual cultures to be shared in the many languages in which are naturally utilized- be it in words, paintings, sculptures or song.

As I was drawn to culture initially, I found myself exploring a separate tab specifically for Social and Human Sciences. Within this tab, I was able to discover many different themes ranging from human rights to bioethics. What I was able to discover, is that UNESCO provides recent information regarding controversial topics that may affect people in countries around the globe. With these issues, information is provided in a current news format, but also in a research format as well. If a person were to be seeking information regarding a specific topic, they would have the ability to gain a deeper insight into the topic using alternative resources.