Research Around the World-Australia

This week’s post is on Early Childhood Australia Early Childhood Australia is the peak early childhood advocacy organization, acting in the interests of young children, their families and those in the early childhood field. This post will provide information on one of the current research topics, insightful information I learned from researching this site and other noteworthy information.

Child health and childhood obesity are two aspects of early childhood care and education that have been researched recently. There are many issues which impact on the health and wellbeing of young children. Early Childhood Australia has a number of quality-assured resources which cover these important areas of growth and development for young children. They also have a number of links to online resources that deal with the issues of childhood obesity and child health. I have posted a few of the links below.

Start them right – a parent’s guide for healthy eating for under fives

There’s more to food than eating: Food foundation for children birth to eight years

Jamie Oliver has launched the ‘Feed Me Better’ campaign

As I researched the Early Childhood Australia, I ran across an article in the “Every Child magazine” Vol. 9 No. 4 Spring 2003. I thought the information in this article was insightful. The article talks about tackling health issues in early childhood, nutrition tips to keep children fit and healthy, and even information about Asthma and relaxation methods for staff and children. There is a Parents page that had information on “driveway dangers”. I found this information insightful because it provided information on areas that affects many different families. I really like this organization. I can tell the care about the overall well-being of a child.

The Early Childhood Australia site has a “The Research in Practice Series”(RIPS) resource offering effective new approaches for those challenging issues which arise in the care and education of young children .Early Childhood Australia’s Research in Practice Series is an essential resource for those involved in the early childhood field. The Research in Practice Series focuses on the practical, ‘hands-on’ aspects of early childhood – making them ideally suited to early childhood workers. The wide range of topics covered throughout the series offers something to anyone interested in children’s early years. I liked that this series offers new ideas to early childhood professionals.
Download the Research in Practice Series media kit (pdf)

Reference

Early Childhood Australia. A voice for young children. Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au

Research that Benefits Children and Families

Children’s National Medical Center is the premier provider of pediatric care in the Washington, DC. Children’s National is a proven leader in the development and application of innovative new treatments for childhood illness and injury.Research at Children’s is conducted through Children’s Research Institute (CRI), the academic arm of Children’s National Medical Center. Children’s Research Institute conducts and promotes translational and clinical medical research and education programs within Children’s that lead to improved understanding, prevention, treatment, and care of childhood diseases.

One of the childhood diseases researched at Children’s National Medical Center saved a newborn back in 2010. Barak,one of triplets born in 2009 was born with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a serious condition that is common in premature infants. NEC is a gastrointestinal disease that affects all or part of the bowel. Ten days after his first operation, he went back in for another operation and part of his intestine was removed. Slowly, Barak began to grow stronger and recover. He needed one final operation and was able to return home the next month. Almost three years later, the family is at home, adapting to a busy household with triplets who just celebrated their third birthday.

Reference

Children’s National Medical Center.(2013). Life-saving treatment for the tiniest patients. Retrieved from http://www.childrensnational.org/Barak%20HarrisNICUSurgery.aspx

Children’s National Medical Center.(2013).Research at Childrens’. Retrieved from http://www.childrensnational.org/Research/about/

My Personal Research Journey

The topic I have chosen for my personal research journey is “Determining if in-home early childcare is better or worse than center based early childcare”. I have a passion for children and families having access to quality care. I think all children and families should have access to a quality care. Quality early childcare will be beneficial to children and their families as they progress in life. I want to review the pros and cons associated with both an determine if there is a difference and which is more beneficial to children and families. As I embark on this research journey, the resources in class have helped me to pay attention to small details the research references that I have overlooked in the past. The “Evaluating Web Pages” website is on of the references that have been helpful. As I continue on my journey, if there are any references or resources that may be useful please feel free to share with me.

Article: Evaluating web pages: Techniques to apply & questions to ask. (2010). UC Berkeley Library. Retrieved from http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html

International Learning & Awareness

Learning about early childhood on an international level has been an eye-opening experience. I have learned how poverty affects them and the strategies they use to work toward overcome poverty. I have learned insightful information on how they work to improve their equity and excellence as well. One of the most important things I have learned from studying international early childhood is ideas and policies that can be put in place her in the U.S that could be effective in decreasing some of the issues and trends we face. My goal is to continue to research international early childhood on various issues and trends. I hope that this research will continue to be insightful and provide me and my colleagues with strategies and ideas that will benefit the children we service. I have learned so much from my classmates. I wish each classmate success in their careers. I am confident that each of us will impact the field of early childhood in a positive way.

UNESCO:Early Childhood Care and Education

The UNESCO believes that early childhood care and education programs should lay a foundation that extends beyond assisting a child transition to formal schooling. As a future educator that is one of my professional goals. I hope to inspire and teach children in a manner that will motivate them throughout the school years. Sweden created a program that is designed to accomplish this goal. In this program, the teacher attempts to become a “co-creator, rather than merely a transmitter, of knowledge and culture”. I think this a good perspective for a teacher to have.

Another one of my professional goals is to help with making sure all children have access to childcare. The same belief stands in Sweden as well. In Sweden, it is believed that pre-school shall be open to every child without distinction of where they live and what their family situation may be. The goal in Sweden is that all Swedish children, aged three and upwards to attend pre-school for 525 hours per year (3 hours per day).

Providing funding children is another goal as well. In Brazil, there is a mandatory education fund for primary education called FUNDEF(Fund for the Development of Primary Education and Teacher Development). This mandate requires 60% of the local governments’the states and municipalities education budgets to be spent on primary education. This mandate helped increase net enrollment in primary education from 92.7% in 1994 to 96.4% in 2000.I think these requirements should be looked into in the U.S

Sharing Web Resources on Zero to Three

This week I read an article on the Zero to Three website that addresses a general equity issue related to early care and education;young children in poverty. One of the recommendations is to increase access to high-quality early care and learning experiences in children in poverty. Zero to Three think that “states should be encouraged to invest in and promote access for at-risk infants and toddlers to model programs that provide high quality, comprehensive services to families, such as early head Start or center or home-based child care providers operating at the highest levels of a state’s rating system.”This article adds to my understanding of equity and excellence in early care and education by providing information on how “increased funding supports wraparound care,which extends the duration of care to match a working family’s needs”. I didn’t know what wraparound care was. I have now learned that Wraparound is “a philosophy of care with defined planning process used to build constructive relationships and support networks among students and youth with emotional or behavioral disabilities (EBD) and their families”. Funding to early care and education expands outside general needs of children and families but also those with special needs.

In this weeks newsletter by Zero to Three was titled “From Baby to Big Kid: Month 30”. The newsletter gives parents a great deal of information about their child as well as ideas that will help them with learning, development and bonding. It was good information to help parents see how well their child is progressing, activities that will further their growth and development and offers advice to parents that have children between the age of 30 to 36 months.

References

Click to access tanf-june-16-2010.pdf

http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FromBabyToBigKid_Month30#LetsPlay

Equity and Excellence in Brazil

On the Global Children’s Initiative website, I watched a podcast about how Brazil plans to improve their equity and excellence. “Núcleo Ciência Pela Infância” is collaboration between the Center, the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University, Fundação Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal, the Faculty of Medicine at the University of São Paulo, and Insper. This project represents a unique opportunity for the Center to work with Brazilian scholars, policymakers, and civil society leaders to adapt the Center’s program model for the local context in order to create more effective policies and programs that will nurture a more prosperous, sustainable, and equitable society.
These organizations have come together to engage in activities building a scientific agenda and community of scholars around early childhood development. They are working to produce and translate scientific knowledge for application to social policy. This will include working with the Center’s longtime partner organization, Frameworks Institute, to effectively communicate the science of child development in the Brazilian cultural context. These organizations plan to strengthen leadership around early childhood development through an executive leadership course for policymakers.

I thought the executive leadership course for policymakers was an excellent way to help policymakers make decisions that are in the best interest of the child. Mary Young, Course Director and Senior Advisor touches on the importance of policy makers knowing how the early years affect the later year, behavior and learning. The educators that speak via the podcast seem to be very excited and pleased with the new program. They are hoping this program will help children develop with inequalities. As Eduardo Queiroz states “we have to invest in our children and the future of their country”.

Reference
http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/applying_the_science_of_early_childhood_in_brazi/

Sharing Web Resources-Zero to Three

As I continue to research information on the Zero to Three website, the information I have found most relevant to me professionally are the tips on childcare. The tips range from socialization, early language and literacy development and information on how care givers partnering with parents promote healthy development.The Zero to Three website also has a link to an article on resilience. The article breaks down resilience into parts so educators can better understand it. ways that Early Childhood professionals can help parents and young children foster resilience include identifying strengths and building on resources. This article really helped me to look at the importance of resilience. The website adds to my understanding of how politicians support the early childhood field with an article “A Community Action Guide”. The article talks about how local politicians in local communities are in support of that support the “whole child” or “whole family”. Other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field on the Zero to Three website are the articles that discuss policies and programs that support strong families. The articles are on basic needs, home visiting parent education and child welfare.

http://www.zerotothree.org/

Getting to Know China

As I researched China via the Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre I was shocked to learn most poor urban residents with local household registration who have been laid off and cannot find work are primarily dependent on government aid for their main source of income. To reduce poverty in China, the following changes should be made:

Increasing parents’ ability to guarantee a better current standard of living through enhanced retraining opportunities, and business development support and increasing the minimum wage.

Providing good quality education for all children. This requires removing cost barriers to education, and would eliminate the need for extra tuition.

Ensuring that the health insurance system involves all elements of the social security system, to meet the health-related needs of all poverty-affected children.

Improving migrant families’ access to government and community assistance by granting them equal access to urban services as long-term urban residents; making it easier to apply for urban registration would contribute to this.

These recommendations will not only decrease childhood poverty but also improve a child’s health and everyday life.

References

Childhood Poverty Research and Policy Centre.China(2013). Retrieved from http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/index.php?action=chipactivities-nat#16

Web Resource-Zero to Three

I recently subscribed to the e-newsletters from Zero to Three organization. This organization provides parents, professionals and policymakers knowledge on how to nurture early development. This week’s newsletter was about the development of 29 month old children. What parents should be looking for and also physical skills they can help them with. There is ideas on how to bond and nurture the children within this age range as well. What I like about this e-newsletter is that there is a link for parents to ask questions too.

This site is very good for new parents and has good ideas to help foster learning and development for children.

http://www.zerotothree.org/