Shared Web Resources

The one section I find particularly relevant to my current professional development is the New Report on Early Childhood Education and Care Includes a Case Study on ISSA. The article has to do with children who are at a greater risk of poverty. During the past twenty years, child poverty has increased significantly in most European countries, with younger children facing a higher risk of relative poverty than any other group. Children particularly exposed to the risk of poverty include those from large, low-income families; households with a migrant background; Roma children; street children and those who are exposed to a series of social risks such as homelessness, violence and trafficking.

The impact of poverty on early development and education can be severe. Children born into severe poverty are disproportionately exposed to factors that impede their psycho-motor development, socio-emotional growth and cognitive processes (Shore, 1997, Fraser Mustard, 2002, McCain et al. 2011). Their socio-emotional development can be undermined when in the first years of life they experience high stress on a daily basis: (Greenspan & Shanker, 2004, Shanker 2011). A recent longitudinal study from Sweden on the 1950 birth cohort (Bäckmann & Nillson, 2010) identifies long-lasting periods of poverty in childhood as being most detrimental for future educational and social achievement. When linked with deprived or neglectful family backgrounds and poorly educated parents, poverty becomes the single greatest barrier to educational achievement.

This really makes me think long and hard about the issues relating to poverty and that it is more severe than we may think. There really needs to be a change and effective public policies to make work pay for low-income parents and to provide high-quality early care and learning experiences for their children can make a difference. Investments in the most vulnerable children are also critical.

Economist, neuroscientist, and politicians support the early childhood field by working to make changes in legislation to ensure that children from disadvantaged backgrounds. There are many initiatives for children at risk are taking place all over Europe. A first concern is that several independent agencies consider that current efforts in Europe to combat child poverty and to improve access for at-risk children to early childhood services remain very inadequate. They are also working to identify weaknesses in country commitment to reducing child poverty and provide many country examples of disregard for social issues and children’s well-being.

The insights I gained is that poverty is a real issue that needs to be addressed and changes put in place. Poverty is the state for the majority of the world’s people and nations. Why is this? Is it enough to blame poor people for their own predicament? Have they been lazy, made poor decisions, and been solely responsible for their plight? What about their governments? Have they pursued policies that actually harm successful development? Such causes of poverty and inequality are no doubt real. But deeper and more global causes of poverty are often less discussed.

Resources:

New Report on Early Childhood Education and Care Includes a Case Study on ISSA, (2013). Retrieved from: http://www.issa.nl/sites/default/files/ecec-report_en.pdf

Shore, R. (1997), What have we learned? In: SHORE, R., Rethinking the brain: New insights into early development, 15-55. New York: Families and Work Institute

Mustard, J. Fraser (2002) “Early Child Development and the Brain – the Base for Health, Learning and Behavior Through Life” in Investing in Our Children’s Future: From Early Child Development to Human Development Mary Eming Young ed. Washington DC: World Bank

McCain, M. et al., 2011 Early years study 3, Toronto, McCain Family Foundation

Greenspan, S. I., and Shanker, S. (2004) G. The First Idea: how symbols, language, and intelligence evolved from our primate ancestors to modern humans, Cambridge, MA, Da Capo Press.

Shanker, S. (2011) Lectures given at RECI Roundtables in Bucharest and Belgrade, London, Open Society Foundation.

Bäckmann O. and Nillson A. (2010), “Pathways to Social Exclusion - A Life-Course Study” in European Sociological Review 

Getting to Know Your International Contacts – Part 1

My conversation partner is Gerda Sula who is the Director of The International Step by Step Association in Albania. What I have learned is that Albania is one of the poorest countries in Europe.

                                                        Poverty in Tirana Albania

                                                          Albania Capital Tirana    
                                                               

Despite recent years of economic growth, poverty persists in Albania as a result of continuing low employment and low income levels, particularly in rural mountain areas. Many small scale farmers lack access to market outlets for their produce, particularly in mountain areas. Without these outlets, farmers cannot increase their income and standard of living. Their problems are compounded by a scarcity of market information, lack of compliance with food hygiene and safety standards and inadequacies in packaging and labeling, which makes their products uncompetitive.

Farm production and productivity are hindered, markets are distant, there is a lack of financial services and the farming population is composed mainly of women because men migrate in search of employment. Unless processing industries are stimulated to act as catalysts in supply networks, opportunities for Albanian farmers will remain underexploited, and commercially oriented farming will remain a sporadic and unorganized activity.

I have found that having the exchange of information is a great resource. It gives me the opportunity to find out exactly what is going on in other countries. Something as simple as having enough food, secure shelter, good health, and access to education are the most basic needs rights every child should enjoy but these are well out of the reach of many children in Albania. In addition, violence against children in Albania is an area of concern.

The majority of adults maintain that physical and psychological violence are needed, both at home and in schools. One out of every two children at home, and one out of nearly three children in school, acknowledges that violence exercised against them is necessary. Poverty is weakening family bonds, causing the increase in the number of children living with one parent and one of those placed temporarily under the care of relatives or social welfare structures. You get to see that poverty not only exist where you live but other countries as well and in some cases more extreme.

The new insights I have gained is that poverty exist more than I thought and in many many countries. It is so extreme that it effects a child's growth and development as well as their education. Many of them have no where to turn to and the governments are not moving fast enough to put a end to poverty.

Resources:
International Step by Step Association, Quality Care and Education for All: Retrieved on March 22, 2014 from: http://www.issa.nl/

Shared Web Resources

The early childhood organization I selected was “The National Black Child Developmental Institute” (NBCDI) which I am currently a member of. The (NBCDI) works on behalf of children of color. NBCDI is the only national organization today that is dedicated exclusively to the success and well-being of Black children. NBCDI along with their Affiliates have been a powerful and effective voice on issues that relate to the education, care, and health of Black children and their families.

With a specific and relentless focus on the strengths and needs of our communities, and a lens of cultural competence, we serve as a national resource agency providing programs, publications, advocacy and trainings related to early childhood care and education; K-12 education; health and wellness; literacy; family engagement; and child welfare.

The publication that caught my attention was “Being Black Is Not a Risk Factor a Strength Based Look at the State of The Black Child”. Being Black Is Not a Risk Factor is designed to further this mission and challenge the prevailing discourse about Black children. While recognizing the challenges our children face, this report does not overemphasize their limitations and deficits; rather, contributors from the worlds of research, practice and policy celebrate the considerable strengths, assets and resilience demonstrated by our children, families and communities. 

This caught my attention because even many years’ later African American children are still faced with many challenges and find it very difficult to succeed in today’s society. The challenge for African American families is to prepare children for current realities without limiting their ability to succeed in the larger community. That is what this book is about. While it inventories the challenges facing African American children and families and the failure of various systems to address their needs, it also tells the story of resiliency in the face of despair. It is about the risks and the successes of Black families who love and protect their children to the best of their ability. It is also about what African Americans and the larger society can do to ensure a better tomorrow. What is provided here is a handbook for families and community helpers such as teachers, librarians, coaches and policemen, giving them the information they need to recognize the strength of the community and to design services that build on those strengths. This publication also talks about the strengths of African American children and families and the ways in which they can be best supported so that they can succeed in life and reach their goals and dreams.

As I learn and study, I am finding out that there is a host of information and resources available not only on this topic but just about anything you want to learn about.

Resources:

National Black Child Development Institute, http://nbcdi.org

Getting Ready – Establishing Professional Contacts and Expanding Resources

“Establishing Professional Contacts”

The two early childhood professionals I chose to establish contact with is Albania and Singapore. The steps I took to communicate was very simple because this is something I have done in the past. My means of communication will be through email because I found out that phone calls would be very expensive.

What I found out this far is that The International Step by Step Association (ISSA) is a membership organization that connects professionals and organizations working in the field of early childhood development and education. ISSA promotes equal access to quality education and care for all children, especially in the early years of their lives. Established in the Netherlands in 1999, ISSA’s network today stretches across the globe from Central and Eastern Europe to Central Asia, Asia, and the Americas. While ISSA offers general membership and information-sharing to all interested individuals and organizations, ISSA’s core members are the 31 nongovernmental organizations, located primarily in Central/Eastern Europe and Central Asia, that implement the Step by Step Program initiated by the Open Society Institute (OSI) in 1994. Within its network, ISSA supports a wide array of programs that collectively provide a comprehensive set of educational services and advocacy tools intended to influence policy reform for families and children, with a special focus on the years from birth through primary school.

OMEP's aim is to promote the optimum conditions for all children, in order to ensure their well-being, development and happiness, both within their family unit and the wider communities in which they live. This involves OMEP's assistance in any undertaking which will improve early childhood education in its wider interpretation.

“Expanding Resources”

The early childhood organization I chose was the The National Black Child Developmental Institute (NBCDI) that I am currently a member of. Since I am a current member of this organization my ability to establish communication was simple. The National Black Child Developmental Institute is a non-profit organization, located in Washington, DC in the United States, whose mission is to improve and protect the lives of African American children. The organization was established in 1970, and its current president is Carol Brunson Day.

Its mission is to improve and protect the lives of African American children, by focusing on the health, child welfare, education, and family support services and parenting. The NBCDI believes that African American children should experience having good health, a safe environment, support from family, to build a positive self- image, and to be proud of the African American culture. The NBCDI achieves this by having trained professionals and parents to be helpful to the African American children, by giving children more resources and tutoring to accomplish success, giving parents and human-service providers more resources to help the children.

The different programs that NBCDI have are Love To Read which helps children with literacy skills of an African American child at an early age. Another program is Parent Empowerment Project which it helps to educate, motivate the parents to be their child’s first teacher. Entering The College Zone is another program that NBCDI offers, it helps students and their parents by providing many skills and resources that will help with the college application process.

Historically, NBCDI has built a strong reputation for its work in early care and education and child welfare.  Over the years, our mission has benefited millions of children and their families.  As a leading organization working on behalf of children of color, NBCDI’s future is about growth and sustainability, forging new boundaries and promoting strengths-based programs and policies that lift up our children in the context of their families, communities and cultures.

Resources:

International Step By Step Association, http://www.issa.nl/network/albania/albania.html

Singapore Committee OMEP, http://www.omep-sgp.org/main.html

National Black Child Development Institute, http://nbcdi.org