Final Blog Assignment

   There are many consequences of learning that I feel can help me in my professional and personal development.  UNESCO recently published the policy report Caring and Learning Together: a cross-national study of the integration of early childhood care and education in education. Written by John Bennett, Yoshie Kaga, and Peter Moss, it examines an important policy option for the future development of ECCE services, based on the experience of five countries (Brazil, Jamaica, New Zealand, Slovenia, and Sweden) and one city (Ghent in Belgium) that have integrated ECCE within the education system. It looks at the rationale, process, extent, and consequences of integration and draws important conclusions. It also includes perspectives from countries that have chosen to retain split systems.

    The Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC) has therefore chosen the 2012 annual theme: “Early Experiences Matter: Building Foundations for Lifelong Learning” to bring rigorous attention to holistic and inclusive learning and development in early years.  One of its major projects is the advocacy for a new learning goal for the post-2015 MDG through a grant awarded from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.  As enrolment in pre-primary programmes has increased steadily in the Asia-Pacific region -albeit insufficiently and unevenly-, countries are paying more attention to the quality of ECCE programmes and increasingly to the main goal of learning and development during pre-primary and early primary years.  For more information contact: Junko Miyahara - ARNECjunko.miyahara@arnec.net.

    ISSA is pleased to announce the publication of five country profiles on early childhood development and education in emergencies in the CEE/CIS region (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, and Tajikistan). The profiles are part of a partnership project between UNICEF and ISSA focused on mapping early childhood development (ECD) and education resources for emergency preparedness in the region. The profiles provide an overview of the emergency context in the five countries, especially with regard to the needs and rights of young children and their families. Making children an immediate priority in emergency planning and management in the CEE/CIS region is the main lesson from this exercise.

   The focus on young children in emergency preparedness in the CEE/CIS region is in line with recent thinking at a global level on the prevention, mitigation, and response to the negative effects of emergencies on children, especially young children. International analysis and research on poverty alleviation and on disaster reduction shows that in the case of emergencies, (i.e., disasters induced by natural events and human factors1), young children and the elderly are among the first victims and most vulnerable groups. Young children in emergency situations are more likely to experience life-threatening and other physically, emotionally, and socially extreme situations. Young children, when the protective family mechanism weakens or breaks down, become more vulnerable to violence, abuse, and exploitation. It has been demonstrated that prolonged "toxic stress" resulting from intense adverse experiences in early childhood can result in permanent changes in the development of the brain.

   The negative impacts of emergencies on young children are multiple, affecting all dimensions of their development. Physical injury, loss of parents, caregivers, or other family members, friends, and neighbors; neglect because parents or caregivers are also distressed and physically or emotionally unable to provide effective care, food, and support; loss of house and other possessions; disruption of daily routines - these all have a negative impact on child psychology. Lack of basic hygiene makes young children vulnerable to infectious diseases. The breakdown of infrastructures can result in a lack of access to clean/safe water, sanitation, shelter, and food. The collapse of social structures can result in exposure to violence, crime, abuse, and exploitation. The disruption of daily life leads to the lack of opportunity to play and interact with peers and caregivers. These can undermine the young child's physical, emotional, cognitive, and social development.

   The one goal for the early childhood field related to international awareness is ECCE, Early Childhood Care and Education.. Positive learning and developmental outcomes of each and every young child are the ultimate aim of early childhood care and education (ECCE) policy and services, among other wide-ranging and short and long-term goals at family, community, national and society at large. Countries are paying more attention to the quality of ECCE programmes and increasingly to the main goal of learning and development during pre-primary and early primary years. Many countries have developed national policy on ECCE and also increasingly, countries have become more aware of the needs of quality improvement and reducing inequities. Early childhood Care and Education should be a issue for all colleagues in the Early Childhood Field to pursue for the future of our world. The children are truly our future, and should be heard, and not just seen.