Week 8 Blog

One of the consequences of learning about the international early childhood field is the ability to know how the professionals in this field in other countries are doing and the strategies they are using in helping the development of the children.

It’s also an opportunity to be able to liaise with other professionals in order to share their experience with us.

The opportunity to know the services that are available for the children in need and some of the ways the professionals in this field could be of help.

A big thank you to all my colleagues for your contribution to my knowledge in this course for sharing your experience. As you continue your studies the Lord will crown your effort with success in Jesus name.

UNESCO

UNESCO advocates for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programs that attend to health, nutrition, security and learning and which provide for children’s holistic development. I was able to find some information about access and equity in early childhood education on their website which are some of the issues we have been discussing about in this course and related to my professional goals.

The 1990 Jomtien Declaration for Education for All stated that learning begins at birth. A decade later, the 2000 Dakar Framework for Action reaffirmed the importance of early childhood by including the development of early childhood care and education as the first of its six main goals.

Participating countries committed themselves to “expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.” Governments were particularly urged to expand equitable access to quality early childhood services underscoring the importance of instituting policy in favor of the poor.

Countries often promote alternative services for poor children with limited or no access to mainstream early childhood services which can be cost-effective and pedagogically innovative, but often raise concerns about sustainability and quality.  In cases where the government has limited resources, a pro-poor policy can redistribute resources by reducing state support for the more privileged.

Central governments must ensure an equitable distribution of resources among different populations and especially those who live in the most disadvantaged regions. This approach aims to expand access without creating serious regional inequities. However, where there is universal provision for a certain age group while the overall enrollment in other age groups is low, this policy can create inequity.

Privileged children of the target age group benefit from state investment, while poor children of non-target ages receive scant government attention. A policy of universalization with targeting can minimize inequity where governments aim for universal access among the target age group, but simultaneously priorities the poor.

Sharing Wed Resources

On Harlem Children Zone website I opened a section where they have there result and I was able to get some information about some of the issues we've been discussing in this course. This has really opened my eyes to see how one can actually get parents involved in their children's education as early as possible. Early Childhood As researchers confirm that the early-childhood years are key to building a strong foundation for future educational success, HCZ has been bolstering its work with children and families in these critically important first years. Like all of HCZ’s programs, our early childhood programs provide their services free to the public. The Baby College® The Baby College offers a nine-week parenting workshop to expectant parents and those raising a child up to three years old. Among other lessons, the workshops promote reading to children and verbal discipline over corporal punishment. Over the past two years, more than 870 people graduated from The Baby College. The Three Year Old Journey The Three-Year-Old Journey works with parents of children who have won the HCZ Promise Academy charter school lottery. Held on Saturdays over several months, it teaches parents about their child's development, building language skills and parenting skills. GET READY FOR PRE-K The Get Ready for Pre-K program brings in new Gems students before the start of the school year. The six-week summer session runs for extended hours during weekdays like the regular Gems program, helping children acclimate to the new schedule and readying them to start school in the fall. Harlem Gems® Harlem Gems is an all-day pre-kindergarten program that gets children ready to enter kindergarten. Classes have a 4:1 child-to-adult ratio, teach English, Spanish and French, and run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. HCZ runs three pre-kindergarten sites, serving 200 children. Of the 190 four-year-olds that entered the Harlem Gems in the 2009-2010 school years, 16.5% had a school readiness classification of delayed or very delayed. By the end of the year, there were no students classified as "very delayed" and the percentage of "advanced" had gone from 21.3% to 41.6%, with another 6.8% at "very advanced," up from 2.1%. 99.5% of students attained a school readiness classification of average or above.