Research Around the World

            The Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) has an ASIC moneysmart: principals project which is a program that helps children on every grade level with money management, reduce your debt, grow your wealth, tools and teaching resources. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they have a website you can refer to and click on the tab to find teaching resources. The new insight I found was they introduce money management to children at an early age.  Once you click on the tab a wealth of information opens up! I clicked on the teaching resources tab and it brought me to tabs that had mathematics, economics and business, budgeting, enterprise, and shopping. It also has, “digiactivity that is calls, messaging and browsing, students examine the impact of voice, text and data usage on a pre-paid mobile phone plan” (Early Childhood Australia, n.d). They have activities from year level 1 grade to vocational education and training (VET). It expounds to the point of teaching students how to build a portfolio, buy and sell shares, and steps for first time home buyers just to name a few. This is every inclusive because you get information on every level from early childhood to adult age and beyond.

            This entire international website impressed me greatly because I am a parent currently at home with six different grade levels I must teach simultaneously. I look for new creative activities and ideas to keep all my children highly engaged in learning. Clicking on the be moneysmart (module 4): Debt management, “students compare debt products, learn to manage credit cards and find out what to do if debt becomes a problem” (Early Childhood Australia, n.d) The website will explain the best learning outcomes and solutions to what you need to do to be financially stable.

            In these present times, so many individuals are now unemployed due to COVID-19. The moneysmart.gov.au/covid-19 has a link that will connect you to the Australian Government/Treasury if you need financial support for households, businesses and etc. To have resources listed to help in this time of need is thorough. I’m always excited to review this website because they have a wealth of information for review.

References

Early Childhood Australia, n.d., from:

http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

Research that Benefits Children and Families-Uplifting Stories

            In caring for my great-nephews I’ve seen great improvements in the last 2 1/2years. As early childhood educators we’re taught, “So much depends on a child’s first years. For any child, the conditions present (or absent) in the early years have long-term effects on his or her development. In fact, many issues facing adults in impoverished communities trace back to those early childhood years” (ChildFund, n.d.). I pray I’m not sounding like a broken record to my colleges but, my great-nephews now excel in school, have fewer nightmares because of therapy, stability, health/nutrition, and love. This prompts me to want to conduct a research study locally to see how many more positive foster care parents are needed to deliver security, stability and positive experiences that will last a child a lifetime.

            Therapy is something I always thought was necessary if situations in life are overbearing and individuals are unable to cope with and understand. It can create positive and negative effects down the line. One example is when my nephew explained to both his therapist and I that all he remembers

while living with his parents is eating breakfast cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. When he started to attend school, he knew that other meals existed so why couldn’t he have them at home like he does at school? During this process, it gave me a greater appreciation for WIC services that’s an additional supplement for pregnant mothers and children under 5years old because this was the only thing he had. This particular situation made it hard for my nephew to be open to different foods especially vegetables. He would hoard food and sign up for additional meals he can bring home from school to ensure that he will never go hungry again.

            To date, my nephew at times forgets to pick up his food bags from school and enjoys eating vegetables more. While growing up I heard a lot about the big brother/big sister organization that would help children in need by being a mentor to underprivileged children. My nephew, their father, unfortunately, didn’t have the opportunities his children now have so he is in need of help with freeing himself from drug abuse, homelessness, and maintaining a steady job. He needs to obtain stability so that one day he can be able to take care of his children. By increasing the assistance society can provide to children in need on all levels will allow our economy to be stronger.

Reference

“Early Childhood Development.” ChildFund, 21 Mar. 2020,

www.childfund.org/early-childhood- development/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpY75t4St6AIVjoVaBR2lzww3EAAYASAAEgK-zvD_BwE.

My Personal Research Journey

            To restate, I like for PreK to become a standard educational requirement in the USA like K-12^th grade. First, one must explore the political process which advocates for this to happen. This particular topic fascinates me because it shows how positive early childhood education exposure promotes greater success in education for diverse possibilities in life.         

             In researching these topics this will allow me to establish a baseline. To see what programs and learning curriculums are in place to allow the children in the top 10 states/countries to excel in education. This can be broken down even further to see if some of the educational levels may happen to be Charter, Stem, Magnet or Montessori schools. I will start off with descriptive studies, “primarily to document what is going on or what exists” (Trochim, Donnelly, Arora, 2016).  I will have my research be a longitudinal study to see how long have these top ten educational sectors held their place and how did they keep their position?     

            To look at this from a global perspective not just nationally; Australia believes in, “education for all. Placing at the top of the Education Index in the United Nations’ Human Development Report, the country-continent of 24 million expects students will complete an impressive 20-plus years of schooling (The U.S., for comparison, expects 16). In fact, 100% of preschool, primary- and secondary-school age kids are enrolled — and 94% of citizens over 25 have at least some secondary education. Hand-in-hand with full classrooms (in a teacher-student ratio of 14:1), Australia admirably supports its educators. The nation gives incentives to teachers taking rural hardship postings and, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s 2015 Education for All Global Monitoring Report, is taking notable “steps toward pay parity for teachers at all levels” (Global Citizen, n.d.). This is a perfect example of how PreK is the foundation for greater success. It would not hurt for the US to take note of these accomplishments to obtain the same results.

            Colleagues I welcome any advice or resources you have to offer while I embark on this new endeavor?

References

“10 Best Countries for Education Around The World.” Global Citizen, 14 Mar. 2020,       www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/best-countries-education/.

Trochim, Donnelly, & Arora, (2016). Research methods: The essential knowledge base (2^nd ed.).             Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.             https://www.cengagebrain.com/shop/isbn/9781133954774

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/