Getting to Know International Contacts - Part 3

One of my main professional goals is to learn about how the issues and the changes in the world have impacted the lives and development of children in the early stages of learning.  Although I have not been successful in establishing a contact with someone internationally, I have been able to do research about other countries from the resources that have been given to us to use.

Podcast Experience:

                This week I decided to listen to Episode 6 in the World Forum Radio with Meridas Eka Yora.  Mr. Yora is the founder and director of the Fajar Hiayah for Islamic Education and the director of Yayasan Fajar Hidayah Foundation.  After the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia there were 500,000 people who were left homeless.  In Aceh which was at the epicenter of the earthquake that devastated this nation over 140 children between the ages of 6yrs -18yrs were left as orphans and 120 children left orphaned who were under the age of 5.  Mr. Yora saw this tragedy and created three boarding schools for these children.  His idea was to take these children in and create a place for them that would be as much like a home to them as the one they had lost.  He said that in this devastation the children had seen their families and their homes destroyed and this had created a deep impact on these children (World Forum Radio, 2011).  He took special care in getting teachers who were specially prepared to become like mothers and fathers to these young children.  These teachers would stay with the children and do things such as eating meals with them and putting them to bed.  They would become like nurses and psychologists for these children.  Mr. Yora said that his concept was one of a holistic approach where the teachers and children would become like a family to the children who had lost theirs in the natural disaster (World Forum Radio, 2011).  In some special circumstances where the children just could not accept what had happened to them, Mr. Yora and his wife even took in some of these children and made them a part of their own family. 

                In learning about high quality and excellence in programs this week I think that the work that Mr. Yora has done truly exemplifies both of these topics.   He saw a need and he worked very diligently to provide for these children who had lost so much.  He was concerned about the children and how he could provide a place for them where they could overcome and succeed regardless of the issues that they have faced.  His first priority was the children and this is the concept that all high quality programs should be based on.  He then made sure that the teachers who were working with these children were highly trained and prepared them for the work that they would be doing with the children.  I loved how he trained these teachers to be like the mothers and fathers that these children had lost.  I think that if teachers looked at children more like their own, sometimes they would treat them differently.  I think that it is important in any classroom that they environment feels like a home to the children because in some cases (like for the children in this devastating event) it may be the only home that they know.  I commend Mr. Yora for his dedication to children and think that we could all learn a great deal from his work in the field of education.

UNESCO WEBPAGE:  - 3 Insights

Insight #1

                After researching this website, the first insight I made was from reading UNESCO’s policy brief on Early Childhood.  This brief was about curriculum in early childhood curriculum and care and it discussed the positives and negatives about creating universal curriculum in early childhood education.  It talked about how a set curriculum would help to guide personnel who may not have high qualifications to know what learning areas are important to cover.  It said that this would help to create the same level of quality across groups and regions.  On the other hand it then discussed that in early childhood it is important to make sure that the curriculum is broad enough that it is reaching the developmental levels of all the children.  Due to the fact that all children develop at different rates and in different ways, a universal curriculum may not be beneficial. 

                Instead the article talked about implementing universal guidelines for early childhood programs.  These guidelines would help to set standards on which the programs could be founded.  One of the ideas that would be in these guidelines was that the centers would follow the principles established by the Convention of the Rights of the Child.  This included the fact that parents would be respected as the first educators of the children (Bennett, 2004). Another idea in the framework would be that there would be set standards in relation to child/staff ratios, qualifications of teachers, and the environments that the learning was taking place in.  Furthermore the framework would outline developmental goals expected for the children at different ages.  A final guideline would be the processes through which the children would be learning (i.e. – play-based, experiential, adult interaction, etc.).  Many different countries have different ideas of the needs of children and their families.  Since these ideas differ, a universal curriculum would not be sufficient but specific guidelines could help all people work towards the goals of creating high quality early childhood programs.

                I think that a set of universal guidelines could be effective in creating a greater number of high quality programs throughout the world.  I do agree that a universal curriculum might not be beneficial in meeting the developmental needs of all children because of the fact that not every developing child learns the same.  Guidelines could provide a good foundation for which to build effective quality programs.

Insight #2  

                I read another policy brief about the early childhood workforce in ‘developed’ countries.  This brief discussed how early childhood education in many countries is divided into different services depending on the age of the children.  It talked about how many countries have nurseries that care for the youngest children and preschools and kindergartens that care for older children.  It then discussed how this division in some countries has also created a difference in administration, access, cost to parents, and funding of the programs.  It discussed how the systems have a difference in the titles of the professionals.  In one case there are childcare or nursery workers and in the other system, teachers.  The people who are considered teachers are paid better, have better working conditions, and have higher education then those people who are considered childcare workers.  The goal is to take these two systems and create a workforce that would be centered on a core profession. 

                The article stated that there are three key challenges to creating a workforce with a core profession.  The first is that all people have to overcome the view that the people who work with young children are just replacement mothers.  Instead these people should be seen as guides towards learning where they are helping children research the world around them.  The second challenge is that because early childhood education is less socially valued, many college students are choosing to teach older children and are passing on becoming trained in early childhood education.  The final challenge is that in order to restructure the workforce around a common profession, this will increase costs for the workplace.  If workplaces want early childhood professionals to be educated at the same level as other teachers, then they have to pay higher salaries and in some cases for more schooling. 

                I believe that in all countries the stigma of early childhood education not being as important as primary schooling needs to be dispelled.  I think that if there was a combination in the workforce of early care providers and teachers, then this could help with a change in this mindset.  Yes, it may cost more financially but young children are already paying the price for not being given the opportunity to be involved in the same high quality programs that older children are involved in.  I have learned that this is a universal problem and not just one in the U.S.  We have to work as a universal society in creating a way for all young children to be given a chance to be part of high quality programs that are run by highly qualified and effective teachers.

Insight #3

                I decided to read about a single country for my third insight and so I chose an article that caught my eye while looking around the UNESCO website.  That article was about Sub-Saharan Africa and the inadequacy of teachers and resource materials available to children.  In Sub-Saharan Africa the early grades in school are the most crowded.  There are so many children that need education that the demand for teachers continues to increase.  Some areas in Sub-Saharan Africa will have to more than double their teaching force by the year 2015 in order to meet the growing number of students.  According to the article more than two million teachers will have to be brought in to meet the demand and also to replace teachers who will leave or retire (Hofer, 2012).  Another topic of interest when thinking about the great demand for teachers is whether or not the teachers are properly trained.  Some of these countries have teachers who have graduated from accredited teacher-training programs while others are minimally trained.  Many of these schools and teachers also are dealing with limited resources.  In many countries in Africa there are a great number of schools who do not have the sufficient resources needed for learning.  In the Central African Republic for example eight students must share one reading and math textbook between them and in Cameroon the number jumps to one book per 11-13 children (Hofer, 2012).  A final issue that is affecting the quality of the programs in Africa is the access these people have to basic necessities such as drinking water and bathrooms.  In many of these areas there are not clean toilet areas for the children to use and drastic shortages in drinking water.  Most schools in this country are also working without the use of electricity.

                This article was really an eye opener for me.  In our schools in America teachers complain if they don’t have 10 extra textbooks for the children.  In Africa they don’t even have on per student.  Also most of our primary (Pre-K-1^st grade) classrooms have bathrooms right in the room.  These children in Africa do not even have clean bathrooms to use in most cases.  In our country teachers are fighting to keep their jobs because of budgetary confinements.  We have surplus of teachers ready to enter the field or to find a new job because they have lost theirs.  In Africa they are begging for teachers because they have classes with an overabundance of children in each class.  We are so spoiled in this country that it is hard to imagine places where so many children might not have access to school because of the elements surrounding them.  It is so amazing to learn that there are places where because there are not schools and teachers to teach the children, the children just do not go to school.  We know how important education is to the development of the human person but how hard would it be to have this knowledge and not be able to do anything about the conditions that are effecting the implementation of it.  One of my main professional goals is to learn about what is going on in the world around me.  This article showed me how fortunate we are here and just how needy another country is.   It also makes me want to find out about what efforts our country is making to help these other countries and if there is anything I could do to help.  I think that we tend to get stuck in our little bubble and forget that early childhood education is not just important for the children in our country, but all around the world.

Resources:

Bennett, J. (2004, September). Curriculum in early childhood education and care. Retrieved from Moss, P. (2004, October). The early childhood workforce in 'developed' countries: Basic structures and education. Retrieved from Hofer, M. (2012). Inadequate school and teaching resources challenge education in sub-saharan africa. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

Hofer, M. (2012). Inadequate school and teaching resources challenge education in sub-saharan africa. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

Moss, P. (2004, October). The early childhood workforce in 'developed' countries: Basic structures and education. Retrieved from Hofer, M. (2012). Inadequate school and teaching resources challenge education in sub-saharan africa. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/

World Forum Radio. (2012). Episode 6: Meridas Eka Yora. Retrieved from http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/current-work/world-forum-radio/