Part 1: World Forum Radio
This week, I listened to Episode 5: Irma Allen on the World Forum Radio. Irma Allen is Chairperson of the Swaziland Environment Authority (the equivalent of the EPA in the United States), and a member of the World Forum Nature Action Collaborative for Children. In her podcast, Ms. Allen describes an early childhood program in Swaziland that focuses on nature and the environment. This initiative also trains teachers and community people to be teachers in these outdoor classrooms. She explains how the curriculum develops based on the environment. For instance children study dew at different times of the day while at other times, the focus is on the weather. This approach promotes a greater respect for the environment and life lessons. Ms Allen also describes the impact of this program on a former student. Despite the fact that the child was an orphan when he attended this program, he remembers feeling welcomed and cared about. He also carried with him an appreciation of his country and environment. I did not get a response from Ms. Allen.
Reference:
World Forum Radio (n.d.). Episode 5: Irma Allen. Retrieved from http://worldforumfoundation.org
Part 2: Exploring the UNESCO website
This week, I explored the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Early Childhood Care and Education website page. As I explored this website, I found information related to several of the issues we have discussed over the past few weeks as well as information related to the definition of quality in relation to early childhood professionals as well as information related to my professional goals.
· One of the insights that I gained from exploring the information on the website dealt with the topic of teacher educational requirements. The quality of the early childhood work force primarily in European countries was discussed in the policy brief The Early Childhood Workforce in ‘Developed’ Countries: Basic Structures and Education. In this brief, Moss (2004) describes the need to respond to the divide between care and education and the impact on educational requirements. Moss (2004) described a possible solution to this divide by using a tiered system for determining the professional requirements for early childhood professionals based on their role and the age of the children with whom they work. I also have included some information that I found on a link about the need for teacher policy.
Student learning is influenced by many factors. Research on student learning shows that
_The largest source of variation in student learning is attributable to differences in what students bring to school – their abilities and attitudes, and family and community background
_Of those variables potentially open to policy influence, factors to do with teachers and teaching are the most important influences on student learning. In particular, the broad consensus is that “teacher quality” is the single most important school variable influencing student achievement
_Many important aspects of teacher quality are not captured by the commonly used indicators such as qualifications, experience and tests of academic ability. Teacher characteristics that are harder to measure, but which can be vital to student learning include the ability to:
_convey ideas in clear and convincing ways
_create effective learning environments for different types of students
_foster productive teacher-student relationships
_be enthusiastic and creative
_work effectively with colleagues and parents
(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2011, p. 1).
· Another topic discussed on the website addressed the issue of inequity. The information referred to the division between care and education in the field of early childhood that has “resulted in split systems’ discontinuities and inequalities between childcare and early education sectors due to differences in access, availability, resourcing and quality” (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, n.d., Study on the integration of ECCE, para 1). This information gave me the chance to learn more about how other countries approach funding for and access to early care and education.
· Information related to the system of early care and education in other countries provided insight into how complex this system can be as well as possible solutions for coordination and integration. The website points out that in most cases, various levels of education, health and social affairs systems are involved in early care and education. The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation website discusses the need for a coordinated system across all levels.
Reference
Moss, P. (2004, October). The early childhood workforce in ‘developed’ countries: Basic structures and education. UNESCO Policy Brief on Early Childhood. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation. Retrieved April 11, 2012 from http://www.unesco.org
United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation. (n.d.). Study on the integration of ECCE. Retrieved April 12, 2012 from http://www.unesco.org
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2011, September). Teachers matter: Attracting developing and retaining effective teachers. Retrieved April 12, 2012 from http://www.oecd.org
It is so interesting to read the different schools of thoughts regarding teacher qualifications. For every piece of research that says a degree is necessary, there is another that states that interactions and communication are a better judge of educator quality.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your findings from both the podcast and your research of the UNESCO website. I found the information you posted about student learning to be very interesting. It is true that children bring many varying backgrounds and skill sets to school, and there are also many variations among teachers in early childhood programs as well. Though it can be challenging to determine qualifications for a high quality teacher, I appreciate that this posting has reminded me that variation among teaching teams at the preschool level may also be beneficial in a preschool classroom if channeled correctly. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGeralyn,
ReplyDeleteA topic from the website you shared, the division between care and education in early childhood, should give us pause. Teachers need to define how they are caring for children while also providing education. We are living in times in which there is tremendous focus on school readiness, assessing children's cognitive and physical abilities, that there is less focus on health and safety measures. We must advocate for both of these aspects of high-quality services so that children receive the best care AND education.
Thanks for sharing Geralyn! It has been really interesting reading about experiences of both teachers and children in other countries around the world. It makes sense that the events of the natural world would control the students' learning.
ReplyDelete