Getting To Know My International Contacts

My Goal - Work To Solve Children's Problems

My first conversation partner is a early childhood professional from Wales, Australia, named Kurt Walker.Kurt has shared with me the national curriculum, and educator's guide they use in his school.He has explained to me how he uses the 'Emergent Curriculum' and the 'Project Approach (Reggio Emilia).

My other conversation partner is Dr. Mihaela Ionescu Program Director for the International Step by Step Association ( ISSA) in Budapest. They are leading a professional membership association of 31 non-governmental organizations from Central Eastern Europe and Central Asia working in the field of early childhood in their own countries. Dr. Ionescu has connected me with Carmen Lica, Director, for Step by Step Centre for Educational and Professional Development in Romania. They both have shared with me the Romania Early Childhood Inclusion Overview Report published in 2011 where there is information about Romania, but also about other countries in the region. They have also invited me to join the Romani Early Years Network (REYN), which is hosted and managed by ISSA will focus on emerging and established Romani early childhood development professionals, as well as other professionals working in the field of Early Childhood Development (ECD) with Roma communities. Its main purpose is to develop skills and good practice, establish effective partnerships and support professional development. The aim is that the network shapes and develops its work within the broad framework of ISSA’s and ECP’s shared objectives, of ensuring access and equity of care for every young child and of promoting high quality and professionalism in early years services. The membership in this network is also free of charge.

  My contacts also shared with me that "extreme poverty, intolerable living conditions, low educational levels and lack of employment undermine Roma family life and the health of infants and young children. The great majority of Roma families suffer from severe poverty, which research identifies as one of the greatest barriers to the holistic development of young children (Marmot Review, 2010). The impact of poverty is reinforced by family stress (due to lack of employment and income), malnutrition (sometimes severe), and intolerable living conditions, for example, severe overcrowding, lack of running water and other community infrastructure" (Bennett, J.,2012).

 Bennett, J. (2010), Early Childhood Care and Education in Europe and North America: An Overview,

Paris, UNESCO.

 Some of the latest information on poverty in Australia comes from a study conducted by the Australian Council of Social Service in 2012. The Report, Poverty In Australia, shows that in 2010, after taking account of housing cost, and estimated 2,265,000 people or 12.8% of all people, including 575,000 children(17.3% of all children), lived in households below the most austere poverty line widely used in international research.

Comments

  1. ms jodiMay 25, 2013 at 8:30 PM

    Wow it sounds like you have made some great connections with professionals from different countries. I look forward to learning more about early childhood development/education in Whales, Australia and in Budapest.
    Jodi

    ReplyDelete
  2. Michelle RollinsMay 26, 2013 at 4:43 AM

    Your contacts have provided some valuable information.I am looking forward to reading about more programs available.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownMay 26, 2013 at 6:56 PM

    Wow! You have made great connections with those professionals. I can sense your passion in the field of early childhood. I like that they have responded to your request. It is important to understand the missions of different countries as they lead their children.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Research Around the World

Some of the current international research topics are “The Development of an Integrated Early Childhood Development Urban Model Training Program for Informal Minders and Community Volunteers in Ghana. This model is “an integrated early childhood development (IECD) urban model training program for informal child minders (IMs) and community volunteers (CVs) working in daycare centers in Ghana is developed based on an integrated approach towards the holistic development of the child. The objectives of the project are to identify and develop appropriate training curricula, methods and materials to be used in the training of IMs and CVs. The integrated approach was used to develop the training modules” (Agorsah, 2005) . In the early childhood Australia link, the research topic of “ Reflection as a toll for quality: Working in the National Quality Standard“ in the Research in Practice Series  is “intended to assist educators to understand the process of critical reflection and its usefulnes
Read more
Image
Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources I looked in the article Early Childhood Trends Around the World by Rodger Neugebauer, and made connections with two of the countries in the article. My first attempt on the internet is with Ms.Liana Ghent, the Director at International Step by Step Association in Budapest, Hungary. It is a nonprofit organization management educator, at the University of Bucharest.The website is http://www.issa.nl/contact.html .I am expecting a reply in the next day or two from her personal e-mail. My second attempt is with Ms. Maggie Koong, the Chief Principal at the Victoria Kindergarten and Nursery in Hong Kong. I went on the internet, and found the website. I contacted her through e-mail. I am expecting a reply also, in the next one to two days. The website is http://www.web.victoria.edu.hk/links/index.html . At first I found the resources to get a direct quick response from the contacts, was expensive, because of the di
Read more

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

The National Association for the Education of Young Children appeals to me, because, their mission is to “serve and act on behalf of the needs, rights and well-being of all young children with primary focus on the provision of educational and developmental services and resources” (A Call for Excellence in Early Childhood Education) . I chose NAEYC, because, I am pursuing my degree in early childhood to serve, and act on the behalf of all children. A job opening for manager of child care operations interest me. The skills and experience included “responsible to the state licensing facility to ensure proper licensing requirements have been met, work to achieve high star ratings, and fulfill CYFD regulations. The manager hires and oversees staff workers including work study students, sets up work schedules and ensures state mandatory training is provided for all employees. The manager interacts with parents and young children and to create a safe and nurturing environment for children
Read more