Week 5 Getting to Know Your International Contacts Part 2

I finally reached another international contact. Dr. Volkan Sahin he is Co-Chair ACEI International Outreach Committees as well as, Hacettepe University School of Education, Elementary Education Department,  Early Childhood Education Program.

In corresponding with Dr. Sahin I learned that  Turkey is Its centralized education system. The Turkish Ministry of Education oversees and governs all educational policies, applications and activities throughout the entire country. Public, private or organizational, all schools must follow a centralized curriculum created and administered by the Ministry of National Education.

The following is Dr. Shain’s response to this week’s discussion.

The biggest educational issue Turkey is dealing right know is the new  education system called 4+4+4. It is part of an ongoing education reform and the particular part that causing a lot of debate is the change in elementary school starting age.

You see, in the old system the elementary grade starting age was age 6 (72 months). With this new system any child who is older than 60 months (age 5) can be enrolled to the first grade. This change brings a lot of  issues regarding equity and excellence. (I can’t understand how you can put a five year old in the first grade, just shows how different countries do things differently).

First and foremost, some critics say (and I agree) that enrolling younger children to first grade (particularly alongside with their older peers) will create a lot of problems since the school readiness is a real question with this younger population. To me this is also an equity issue since this academic year two different age groups will compete for their teachers' attention and resources. This reckless implementation will surely increase the classrooms sizes to, even beyond, the limit. This also brings us to the excellence issue. With the increasing numbers of students and changing student population the teachers will have a heck of a time in their classrooms. It will be really hard to keep up with the needs of two different age groups and the quality of education will certainly affected by these changes.
http://www.okuloncesi.hacettepe.edu.tr/index_en.html

My other contact Lynda Matthews has been out of reach this week. I am sure she will respond and when she does I will add to this post.

Sharing Web Resources Week 4

The specific section that chose relevant to my current professional development is the section on poverty. This article states that poverty impairs a child’s emotional, intellectual and physical development, which we have been learning about thought out this course and others. These wind up costing our nation billions of dollars in health care and lost productivity. Below is the hyperlink to this section for anyone that wants to read more.

http://www.childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/state-of-americas-children-2011/intro.html

The resources that made me think about investments differently is that of early childhood programs increasing a child’s chance of avoiding the “prison pipeline”. This is just something I had not thought about in early childhood, something to research and really think about.

http://www.childrensdefense.org/policy-priorities/juvenile-justice/

This website and newsletter show many resources of dealing with the budget and making sure there are funds available. These programs have well-documented economic and societal value. Studies have shown that investments in quality early education can produce a rate of return to society significantly higher than returns to most stock market investments or traditional economic development projects.

http://www.childrensdefense.org/policy-priorities/budget-watch/

I learned that there are many organizations out there working towards helping children and their families. I looked to see if there is a CDF organization in my state, but there isn’t the closest is in Tennessee. I hope to have something like this in my state so that I can be more involved.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts Part 1

One of my contacts is Lynda Matthews she wears many hats. This is her title
Manager Early Learning and Curriculum
Department for Education and Child Development
South Australia

She  manages a large team of diverse – mainly educators – who are responsible for supporting pedagogy, the implementation of the National Quality Standard http://www.deewr.gov.au/Earlychildhood/Policy_Agenda/Quality/Pages/home.aspx  
The Early Years Learning Framework  http://www.deewr.gov.au/EarlyChildhood/Policy_Agenda/Quality/Pages/EarlyYearsLearningFramework.aspx , the AEDIwww.aedi.org.au  and other things which you may get an overview on  http://www.earlyyears.sa.edu.au/pages/HOME/Early_Years_overview/

When I asked her about specific issues of poverty that she encounters in her professional life as well as those she is concerned about throughout the world this was her response:

South Australia is geographically large and significant parts of it are sparsely populated.  Most of the population lives in Adelaide with regional towns being the next most populated locations.
Poverty levels are measured by the Socio Economic Index for Area (SEIFA). Data shows that poverty levels are significantly related to demography.
The Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) - based on the Canadian EDI - measures vulnerability of children as they enter school across five domains including Social competence, physical health and well-being, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills and communication and general knowledge.  The data is collected at a census level.  Vulnerability levels align closely with poverty.
To break the poverty cycle, the focus on improving outcomes for young children -pre-birth to five is critical.  How a system responds in both universal and targeted ways is part of the work we are involved in.
Our focus is education.  Some of our programs are targeted and others are universal.  

Examples include:

Learning Together a program that works with parents and children to improve the quality of relationships through a focus on dispositions.  Another part of the program is provided in homes.  This very successful program is focused in low SES areas.
Children's Centre’s have a preschool component, child care or long day care and health services are part of the wrap around care available.  These are also in low SES areas.
Universal preschool is a major strategy aimed to improve outcomes for all children.  Kindergarten (preschool) began in SA at the beginning of the last century. O All children in SA are entitled to 15 hours of preschool per week-wherever they live.  Children who have special needs, Aboriginal children and children under the guardianship of the Minister are entitled to enter preschool early with guardianship and Aboriginal children entitled to attend from three years of age.
A new National Quality System will assure that early childhood care and education services operate at or above standard.  The standard ensures that services, no matter where they are located operate to standard.
Part of the standard is the Early Years Learning Framework, the national curriculum for all services Birth to age five and transition to school.  The framework is called Belonging Being, Becoming and is based on principles and practices that articulate pedagogy, principles including secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships, partnerships, high expectations and equity, respect for diversity, ongoing learning and reflective practice, holistic practices, responsiveness to children, learning through play, intentional teaching, learning environments, continuity of learning and transitions, assessment for learning and five Learning outcomes - children have a strong sense of identity, children are connected with and contribute to their world, children have a strong sense of well-being, children are confident and involved learners and children are effective communicators.  These are based on research and evidence and aim to build the best possible future for all Australian children.
A particular concern is the gap in outcomes between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children.  Poverty is an issue, particularly in remote locations.  Particular targeted support has been provided but has had no long term sustainable outcomes in education.  The current focus on family literacies and a strength based approach are showing promise.
The broader picture related to poverty is at least equally complex.  Although Aust. had some innovative strategies to minimize the impact of the world economic crisis, the impact has still been felt across all income brackets.
Those living closer to the poverty line have least resilience.  Governments are feeling the squeeze and are forced to make budget cuts.  Visionary leaders have to deal with constraints in order to ensure that those most at risk are supported to rise beyond the barriers of poverty that surround them.

After corresponding with Lynda, it seems that they are having the same or very close to the same issues are we are in my little community in Southwest Virginia.

It’s like Dr. Grace stated in the media segment, “The Effects of Poverty on the Early Childhood Community”, it is so important that we break the poverty cycle at an early age because children that are born into poverty are most damaged by it than children who enter into it at later ages.

I know that this is a huge posted but I felt it all needed to be shared. I am still working on finding another contact and Lynda is trying to help me as well.

Week 2 Sharing Web Resources

I subscribed to The Children’s Defense Fund the web address is http://www.childrensdefense.org/ . I want to learn more about this organization.

The Children's Defense Fund is a nonprofit organization that has been around for about 35 years.  Its focus is to advocate for children and youth of poverty, minorities and children with disabilities.  Their mission is to make sure "no child is left behind," and that each child receives the head start they deserve in life.

The organization has a monthly newsletter that can be emailed.  The main issue that was brought up in the June 2012 issue is that the Affordable Care Act which includes the Medicaid expansion was upheld by the court on June 28, 2012. This is great news for pregnant women, children and families they will be able to seek medical care without this these families would not be able to get medical care and this would be devastating.

They are holding a conference in July, Creating Change—National Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. This one-of-a-kind conference will connect communities of child advocates, young leaders, faith leaders, policymakers, service providers and others to create real change for children at the state, local, and federal levels in 2012 and beyond.