The Comeback Kid Strikes Again

  One interesting topic I enjoy reading about, is how to help people with neurologic conditions because, my wife has a form of Muscular Dystrophy. In my endeavor to look for a positive example of the effects of research on children and families to share with my colleagues, I came across an article in “Neurology Now, The American Academy of Neurology’s Magazine for Patients & Caregivers (April/May 2013 edition). The article is a longitudinal research design, and uses a deductive research methodology. The paradigm is associated with the positivist approach because, of the cause and effect relationship, between exercise and people who have neurologic conditions.    Rukovets, (2013) explained that “more and more research is finding that exercise may be particularly helpful for people who have neurologic conditions, with benefits seen in movement, balance, and even cognition” (p. 11). In fact various types of healthy exercise can be beneficial just not all in the same...

  I chose excellence and equity of care and education for children and families, because, it gives children and families an opportunity to experience child development in a positive and healthy environment. According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), "the demand for early childhood care and education programs continues to increase not only in response to the growing demand for out-of-home child care but also in recognition of the critical importance of educational experiences during the early years. Several decades of research clearly demonstrate that high-quality, developmentally appropriate early childhood programs produce short- and long-term positive effects on children's cognitive and social development" (Children) I, selected this topic because it is a worldwide issue in other countries as well, and to me this gives this particular topic great depth. The Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union stated, “e...

    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 Lifelo...

My professional goals at this moment is to try and establish a supportive document I am truly cultivating a relationship with Kurt, an early childhood teacher from Bateau Bay, near Sydney, Australia who happens to be my international contact. We have shared our thoughts about excellence and quality. We also shared our hopes,dreams, and goals. Even though we have not met in person, it seems as though we are comfortable with sharing information with each other. I did get a chance to ask Kurt some of these questions: 1. What issues regarding quality and ec professionals are being discussed in your area? There is big talk about equity in pay for EC teachers here in Australia. Primary and secondary teachers receive a greater rate of pay and a much more friendly award in regards to holidays, sick pay, etc. This has caused many ECT's, like myself, to transition into a primary teaching job. The Australian government has offered to try and fix the pay divide by funding pay increases...

Sharing Web Resources One of the outside links that I am following from “ International Step by Step Association,” is their major initiatives in 2013-2015. These initiatives will lead to Access and Equity, Quality, Participation, and Network. Here is an example: I found that “they build on the principle that parents are the primary educators of children and strive for active parent participation and community involvement in the education process” (Major Initiatives, 2013) . The link I decided to follow from the ISSA e-newsletter related to the country of Georgia providing free preschool to children whose families qualify for welfare. I found it to directly relate to equity, for all children in Georgia’s rural areas. Though preschool education is free or subsidized for needy families, only about 30 percent of Georgia’s poor children have access, according to a November report from UNICEF. Georgia’s rural areas are particularly lacking. UNICEF and Civitas, a civil society gr...

My international contact is The International Step by Step Association (ISSA). My contact in the organization has been kind enough to invite me to be a member. I have accepted. The insights and information I have gained have helped me to see all countries have the same issues concerning early childhood education, if not far greater, just as we do in the United States. In this case however, there are countries coming people from different countries coming together under this one organization for the sole purpose that children receive adequate support through high quality early years services. I did see a document titled “Competent Educators of the 21 st Century : ISSA’S PRINCIPLES OF     QUALITY PEDAGOGY, “in the newsletter. The ISSA launched updated pedagogical principles. The Principles serve as a basis for professional discussion, building and expanding partnerships, improving practices, and bringing change into the lives of young children in the countri...

One specific section from my  International Step by Step Association  (ISSA) newsletter that I found to be important to my professional development is the New European Commission Recommendation: “Investing in children: breaking the cycle of disadvantage” A new European Commission Recommendation provides helpful guidance to Member States on how to tackle child poverty and promote children’s well-being. It calls for a children’s rights approach and integrated strategies based on three pillars: access to adequate resources; access to affordable quality services; and children’s right to participate.  Importantly it links to the implementation of Europe 2020 and the EU financial mechanisms to ensure progress and monitoring. Member States are encouraged to adopt national targets for reducing child poverty and social exclusion.     New Policy Briefs from EENEE on the Economics of Education  helped me to understand how economist in other countries have ...