We are in the
last two weeks of the course and I have not had any contact with any of the
three international childhood professionals I attempted to contact. I am saddened
by this because I truly, wanted to gain a firsthand experience with discussing
children and families across the world. I know that it is easy to search these
areas on the internet, but I will not have the same experience if I were to personally
speak with or email someone. This has been a hard journey connecting with
others, but after this course is completed, I will continue to try
communicating with someone internationally. For an alternative to this
assignment, I have searched the UNESCO Early Childhood Care and Education
website to find three things that relates to my goals as an early childhood
professional.
When I first
began my education at Walden, I had several goals in mind as I continued my profession
in the field of early childhood. A few of my aspirations were to become a great
advocate, leader, director, or an owner of a high-quality childcare facility;
many of these goals remain the same. While exploring the UNESCO website, I
found a tab discussing quality in the field of early childhood. I desire most
in life to provide quality care for children and families across the world. I
desire to promote quality education and early learning experiences for all. One
new insight I have gained from exploring this site is, the importance of
quality care in early childhood and how many educators abroad strive to create
great learning experiences for all children they serve. This section also
discussed the importance of educating children from a holistic standpoint;
children need to learn through child directed learning versus teacher directed learning.
According to UNESCO (2013), “High
quality childcare, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds,
promotes motivation, confidence, good cognitive and linguistic development and
school readiness.” This is true because many children from disadvantage
homes are more likely than others to have issues getting into early programs because
of location, social status, and awareness.
Another insight I have gained from searching this website is how coordination
and integration is monitored and carried out from place to place. “Coordination
issues include coherent regulation, funding and staffing schemes and a common
vision of care and education” (UNESCO); this is because many professionals
cannot carry out the cross-sectoral coordination that is needed between
national and local, and private and public educational programs. All of these
programs desire to help children holistically.
The third and final insight I have gained from researching this website
is the importance of access and equity for all children. I found that governments
in that area of the world were advised to expand access to quality early
childhood services to the poor children (UNESCO). This is important because,
children who do not have access to quality education, and those who could not
afford it, would receive quality education because of their circumstances.
Overall, this website provided me with so much information that related
to my personal and professional goals as an early childhood professional. I
enjoyed researching and learning about the strategies and efforts of others who
do not live in my area. I have learned so many things to help me in my future endeavors.
I hope this information will help the reader learn new things about their goals
and aspirations; as a professional, with efforts to help others across the
world.
Lah-Lah
References
UNESCO’s early childhood care and education. (2013). Retrieved
from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/
