Final Blog Assignment for EDUC-6162

            Overseas early childhood education is referred to as early childhood care and development (ECCD). Three consequences of learning about the international early childhood field are, “Health and nutritional status- Relatively high levels of undernourishment and vitamin deficiencies continue in many parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. For example, two evaluations carried out in Latin America found that there was little or no improvement in the nutritional status of participants in ECCD programs, despite a relatively high cost of feeding children in the programs. Second, psychosocial development and learning- unfortunately, very few countries provide measures of the psychosocial well-being of young children, or of their advances in learning during their early years. Third is Socioeconomic factors- children from families that are better off economically and socially are more likely to be enrolled than are children from families with few resources or that are part of groups discriminated against socially”.

            The one goal I appreciate the world giving more attention to is, "expansion of early childhood care and development activities, including family and community interventions, especially for poor, disadvantaged and disabled children." In order to help children, we must help the entire family dynamics as a whole. “Evaluations suggest that broad approaches, directed to the whole family, need to be promoted if health and nutrition components of ECCD programs are to be effective in improving the well-being of young children–simple supplementary feeding programs are insufficient”. To help a parent in pursuit of a job, furthering their education, stabilizing a secure home dwelling, food to eat or anything that may arise is just as much a priority as quality standards for early childhood education of a child. (Early Childhood Education-International Context, n.d.).                        To secure all entities involving a child establishes a sustainable future for society as a whole. This is the spirit of collegial relations and awareness ECE must know in order to tackle and succeed in the early childhood educational field around the world. 

Reference

“Early Childhood Education - International Context.” StateUniversity.com, n.d., education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1926/Early-Childhood-Education-INTERNATIONAL-CONTEXT.html.

Professional Goals, Hopes and Dreams

           I chose two websites, The Global Fund for Children which I spoke upon previously and now I would like to elaborate on the National Head Start Association (NHSA) at http://www.nhsa.org/. I didn’t know the National Head Start Association is located in Alexandria, VA. This is not too far away if I ever wanted to discuss and rally for social equity. 

           To say, “Without structural support and only a meager paycheck, what will keep a director or teacher motivated to continually self-assess in order to improve their work and its outcomes? What will sustain their commitment to stay in our centers for any length of time? What kind of quality have we achieved if morale is low and relationships are continually disrupted by staff turnover?” The same way nursing had to be established as a profession deserving to be paid its worth, we as ECE must do the same. I would like to see early childhood education become part of the K-12 public school curriculum that is mandatory. To increase the pay of our educators who cultivate future doctors, lawyers, engineers, and every profession you could ever think of. Reviewing their webpage, I came across a tab called Potential Candidates. This is, “The NHSA Health Services Credentials Program designed especially for Head Start health services providers!” (http://www.nhsa.org/). Registration is open all year round for enrollment. They have a fee for NHSA members and non-NHSA members (must pay more) which is an unexpected expense I did not know I had to prepare for.

            Upon completion of this course, some of my professional hopes dreams and challenges are; to open up my own childcare center that services the Early Head Start and Head Start community. The information reviewed from the website is something I must prepare for just to be considered as a service provider. In order to begin this professional development process, I must first reach out to credentials@nhsa.org. Since I am not as knowledgeable as I would like to be regarding the Credentials Program it led me to look into save the dates news and events regarding upcoming conferences tab. I then reviewed how to become a member tab. NHSA has 4 different membership fees and plans. This made me wonder if Walden University held an Associate membership for NHSA, so I called my advisor and she said no. This shocked me because I know so many co-workers and friends who graduated from Undergrad and Grad programs from Walden University with a degree in Early Childhood Education. I do hope she misspoke and Walden Univ. has a place for membership in support of our NHSA community. If all else fails I can still sign up individually as a student which is grand.

            NHSA offers scholarships to all applicants who, “must be current staff or parents of a Head Start program that hold an active membership with the National Head Start Association and are in good standing” (http://www.nhsa.org/). There’re 5 scholarships available so this will prompt me during our next policy council meeting to ask how many names we submitted for any of these scholarships and did anyone win. I believe that any institution you favor and recruit individuals to sign up, participate and support with donations is something you should be well informed of. I appreciate this assignment greatly because it taught me so much about NHSA I knew not of just by taking the time out to explore the website.

Resources

Castle, (2009). What do early childhood professionals do? Dimensions of Early Childhood, 37 (3), 4-9.

(http://www.nhsa.org/)

Sharing Web Resources

            The QRIS Resource Guide at https://ecquality.acf.hhs.gov/ is a website I was highly interested in wondering if my state was familiar with these resources. You can go to the State Profiles tab, click on your state and view what resources and services they have to offer. QRIS State Profile, “is from the QRIS Compendium—a comprehensive resource for information about all of the QRIS operating in the U.S. and its Territories. It was developed by a partnership of the BUILD Initiative, the Early Learning Challenge Collaborative, and Child Trends” (National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance, 2018).

            It will connect you to the Institute for Child Development Professionals. It offers webinars, certificate programs, certification, and training links for teachers and educators advancement. QRIS gives cost Projections and financing, Consumer Education, Standards and Criteria, Provider Incentives and Support, Data Collection and Evaluation. Under the state of North Carolina link, they have a web-based tool that will provide all the counties they provide resources in. Once you click on the specific need you will populate the address and number you can call or go directly to for follow up. It will then lead you to the North Carolina Division of Child development and early education (NCDHHS).  I noticed it also has tabs for agencies, jobs, services, and government. Under the government tab, is where I can find my elected representatives for when I like to voice a concern for ECE.  Theirs several house members totaling 4 districts. I found out who was my US House of representatives by going to house.gov and typing in my zip code. I felt like a kid in a candy store! It had tabs that had links such as, participating in the rulemaking process, and how to register. When reviewing all these tabs you first must be mindful of rules and the operation of things. I always say I would like to do things on a national then worldwide level. This website has shown me that things don’t come easy. You must be familiar with what you're advocating for and how to do it.  They have forms on the files.nc.gov site that can be filled out regarding any rule you would like to propose action, make an amendment and repeal.

            The website I chose during week 1 was globalfundforchildren.org. At the beginning of week 1, they had 124 local Partners and 34 countries served; now they have 127 local partners and 35 countries. The Historic GFC award has a new process. “Each year, GFC offers the Maya Ajmera Sustainability Award to a few of its highest-achieving partners. Since 2005, 144 community-based organizations from 48 countries have received the award and used the funds to support their long-term stability. This year, they’re using a more inclusive, participatory selection process for the first time. Historically, Sustainability Award winners have been selected by GFC program staff. In 2019, a committee of three alumni partners – former Sustainability Award recipients themselves – and two members of our Youth Leadership Council will choose the winners. Why the change? Engaging partners in our decision-making will ultimately make us more effective and accountable as a funder. And who better to evaluate the proposals than fellow community leaders who have firsthand experience with the award?” (globalfundforchildren.org).

            To be enlightened on new procedures in ways I can better our ECE foundation in the state of North Carolina along with changes for the advancement of children all around the world is informative and fulfilling.  

Resources

Historic GFC award gets a new selection process. (2019). Retrieved, from https://globalfundforchildren.org/news/historic-gfc-award-gets-a-new-selection-process/

National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance (2018). QRIS Resource Guide. available at: https://qrisguide.acf.hhs.gov/

Issues and Trends: Excellence and Equity of Care and Education for Children and Families

            The Global Children’s Initiative website states coordinating, “strategies to support child development can multiply the effects of investments in child survival, health, education, and economic development. To protect children from significant adversity, in addition to providing them with enriched learning opportunities. The early childhood years are critical building blocks for lifelong health, not just school readiness”. Establishing the cause of dysfunctional behavior and lack of learning capability in ECE before school age is a big feat because; it gives opportunities to fix the problem before it creates greater complications.

            In reviewing how brains are built video, it reminds me of the reiteration I’ve heard my entire early childhood career and that’s, “Brains are built over time based on our experiences. A brain needs a good base to support all future development. Positive interactions between young children and their caregivers literally build the architecture of the developing brain. Building a sturdy foundation in the earliest years provides a good base for a lifetime of good mental function and better overall health”. Serve and return interactions are a form of communication between a child and its parents/caregivers. There’s also positive and toxic stress for children. The first thing I learned from the website is toxic stress. As adults toxic stress is heavy for us to resolve so imagine the cause it creates on a child. If a positive foundation for solution solving wasn’t established at an early age bigger and greater stresses toxic or not will cause havoc on a child and its future emotionally, mentally, and physically.  The second and third thing learned was executive function and self-regulation which scientists deem necessary for a child to obtain, establish and have so they can stabilize their stress and stressors. It states it will establish a greater brain function that will be able to handle anything that comes a child’s way.

            This website, “through activities in applied research, knowledge translation, professional training, and evaluation. In Canada, through the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative (AFWI) it’s continually seeking to bridge the gap between “what we know” in science and “what we do” in policy and practice. This revelation is supporting the early childhood educators need for the state and federal government to make changes to invest. The studies and research show the necessity of ECE. I would like to see this equated financially to support the cause.  Through this international source regarding equity and excellence, I would hope it can be translated worldwide so that everyone is on the same page and established no later than 2024.  To be able to participate on board and assist in making this all come to fruition is my goal in the future. (http://developingchild.harvard.edu/about/what-we-do/global/work/).

Reference

Partnerships with Global Early Childhood Organizations. (n.d.). Retrieved February 8, 2020, from https://developingchild.harvard.edu/about/what-we-do/global-work/

Sharing Web Resources

·       What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development? Specific sections or information particularly relevant to my current professional development is to keep early childhood relevant in the minds of legislation. “On November 19, 2014, President Obama signed bipartisan legislation that comprehensively updated the ChildCare and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act for the first time in nearly twenty years. The law made many important statutory changes focused on strengthening childcare to better support the success of both parents and children, while also providing a new emphasis on the importance of providing high-quality early education and care for our youngest learners”. (Administration of Children and Families, Office of Child Care (2016). It’s been almost 20yrs since the concerns of early childhood education was revisited. In that time technology has developed significantly, quality and advancements for better health, fitness, and nutrition which promotes longevity. The more active we are with the legislation in reference to early childhood the more our voice will be heard.

·       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? When now have The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan which, “provides an important opportunity to help the United States get back on its feet by creating new jobs and supporting programs which provide essential services to young children and their families while contributing to the economy of the country” (Lombardi, 2009). I would like to see the system expound on early childhood programs and make it better.  

·       What information does the website, or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support positive social change through the early childhood field? “There is an opportunity for what you call, future payback! Part of it is the jargon of economist, they look at things in units or commodities and educationalist don’t have a mindset to look at our children as a unit like an assembly line where you're putting lids on coca colas. The loss of innocence in childhood. We lost innocence a long time ago now we’re just trying to fight for childhood. We don’t let children play like we once did because we don’t have time to play. We have to learn things in ways that people don’t see can be learned through play. Do we have people in our profession that are smart enough to teach the skills that are going to be expected of  children in developmentally appropriate ways through engagement or are we going to use very one dimensional passing standards to help them have a joyful childhood because we have been told we don’t have time to do it that way” (Laureate Education, Inc. 2011).

            In reading this reminds me of how ECE has to be extremely creative with minimal resources and help. This is where educators encourage family members and or Parent's teacher's association to help and assist with bringing ideas to fruition. Today, my daughter's second-grade teachers had a field trip to Duke's campus and the children were to spot different shapes, buildings and it’s materials through a scavenger hunt. How profound this trip was for me because not only did it have children talking about all shapes and types of buildings, they spoke of what type of house they would buy when they grow up and why. They discussed what college they would attend if they’re going to stay on or off-campus etc. This stimulates the minds of youth to look at things from a bigger perspective. As I listened to them speak, they were unknowingly creating a prosperous future for themselves. These are great examples of showing how to play is directly linked to creative expression opportunities in early childhood care and the educational environment.

·       What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter? TEACH FOR AMERICA is a website I learned about which helps teachers apply and acquire teaching jobs of your desire. They, “believe that a great teacher can come from any background to make a lifelong impact on students while growing your own leadership skills” (teachforamerica.org). It’s encouraging to know additional resources are available to help with creative jobs, ideas, and how to implement them.

References

Administration of Children and Families, Office of Child Care (2016). Child Care and Development Fund Reauthorization. Available at: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/occ/ccdf_final_rule_fact_sheet.pdf

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Issues and trends in the early childhood field: Economists, scientists, and politicians supporting the EC field. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Lombardi, 2009. The dawn of a new era. Exchange, (188), 8-9.