Final Blog Assignment

I must stay that I was thrilled to speak with my international contacts during this course in order to find out about issues and trends that they experience in early childhood. Looking back, I couldn’t have picked individuals from two countries that were so opposite of each other-Sweden and Mexico.

Even though these contacts with my international early childhood professionals were very informative, there were some consequences associated with learning more in terms of my professional development. The first consequence was questioning whether we are not on the right track in the United States. For example, it appears that in the country of Sweden, they have early childhood programs that are much stronger and organized than in our country. Maybe we should learn from the Swedes and model some of our early childhood programs after theirs. A second consequence that was experienced was wishing that the United States could somehow get more involved with assisting early childhood professionals in Mexico. It is not like we are worlds away from each other. Mexico is our next door neighbor so to speak. However, it is sad and very frustrating that many Mexican children are deprived of learning opportunities and a healthy growth and development because of a lack of resources and the concern of their government. A final consequence was that I was inspired to learn more about the field of early childhood in other countries around the world. With this knowledge, I can not only appreciate the systems we have in the United States, but also learn how our systems and early childhood professionals can become better at their jobs.

One goal that I have is to conduct more research on the field of early childhood in other countries around the world. It is also a goal of mine to conduct more research in the role that culture and cultural differences play in disabilities.

Thanks everyone for a good class and I look forward to working with all of you in the future.

Mary

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

As mentioned my international contacts that I have established are Jenny Eljas from Sweden and Andrea Paulula in Mexico.  This week, our assignment consisted of asking these international EC professionals a variety of questions. Here are their responses.

Jenny

1. What issues regarding quality and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work?

Jenny responded that one of the biggest quality related issues that are being discussed right now where she lives is gender equality. Until recently, it was believed that male students had access to and were treated differently in early childhood environments, all educational environments, and in the job market. It is a priority of the Swedish government, EC professionals, and Jenny to ensure that female students receive the same quality of education that their male counterparts receive. Another quality issues is funding for EC in Sweden. Although EC programs are available for most young children in Sweden, they still struggle to provide access to all children within the country. At times, EC professionals believe that they are also limited to funds which can impact the quality of education.

2. What opportunities and/or requirements for professional development exist?

There are many opportunities for professional development in Sweden. Almost all early childhood professionals have access to pre-service educational and vocational training when working with children. Additionally, all educators have access to ongoing in-service training in the form of educational and vocational training.

3. What are some of your professional goals?

Some of Jenny’s professional goals include treating all of her children like her own, providing the best quality of service to all of her students, and continuing to learn and grow in an educational and vocational manner.

4. What are some of your professional hopes, dreams, and challenges?

Some of Jenny’s professional goals and dreams include having her students succeed academically throughout their life, to establish solid relationships with children and parents, and to provide her services to all of the young children that live in Sweden. The biggest challenge faced by Jenny is becoming too emotionally attached to the children that does not allow her to be unbiased or objective in her services. Working with limited resources can also be a challenge at time. However, Jenny insists creativity is the key to overcoming this challenge.

Andrea

1. What issues regarding quality and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work?

According to Andrea, there are many issues that she has encountered in Mexico regarding quality in the early childhood. One of the biggest challenges that she faces is a lack of funding by the governments. Because funding is limited, EC professions including Andrea does believe that it compromises the quality of services that they provide. Additionally the amount of poverty in her city in Mexico and access to early childhood services other issues commonly experienced.

2. What opportunities and/or requirements for professional development exist?

Andrea insists that not many opportunities or requirements exist for professional development. Many of those working in early childhood are not even required to have a formal education. For the most part, EC childhood educators in Mexico are responsible for establishing their own standard and developing on a personal and professional level.

3. What are some of your professional goals?

According to Andrea, some of her professional goals consist of obtaining a formal education for EC, developing skills that will help improve the quality of education she is providing to the children, and to remain passionate about her profession.

4. What are some of your professional hopes, dreams, and challenges?

Some of Andrea’s professional hopes and dreams include receiving adequate funding for EC programs in Mexico, becoming more educated and skilled in her work, and having the government realize the importance of EC education.  As mentioned, Andrea constantly experiences challenges caring for student stricken by poverty, funding the financial and non-financial resources to provide her services, and getting the community involved in the EC process.

Sharing Web Resources

As mentioned, the organization that I selected to analyze further is the Learning Disabilities Association of America. This organization can be accessed at http://www.ldanatl.org/. Although I have explored the website completely, I am yet to explore the external links that are provided by this organization. One section of the website that provides external links is the “Free Guides and Booklets” section. Some external links included in this section include A Parent’s Guide to Response to Intervention (RTI), A Guide to the Individualized Education Program, and the guides Helping Your Children Become a Reader and Helping Your Children with Homework. Several other helpful guides and booklets are also contained in this section. Another section that provides external links is the “State Resources Section”. This section provides a link to the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities website. This resource provides users with a complete list of disability related resources that are available to each state in the United States. This resource also provides users with organizations located within their state that pertain to learning disabilities and other disabilities.

Because the “Resources” area is so extensive for this organization, it was selected for further analysis. When searching and analyzing this area further, it was found that the Learning Disabilities Association of America also provides users and early childhood professionals with a comprehensive resource list of professions and organizations that offer parents, educators, and professionals with information pertaining to ADHD and learning disorders. This area also provides users and early childhood professionals with resources that can be utilized at home and in the classroom for teaching and learning, information on disability rights and advocacy, information and resources from government agencies and resource centers, and additional learning disability and ADHD learning resource information (LDA, 2011).

Sadly, this organization does not provide users with a newsletter or e-newsletter. Therefore,   not new information can be retrieved from this source. However, the website does provide me and other users with information that adds to my understanding of equity and excellence. Simply, equity stems far beyond cultural, socio-economic, and demographic differences. It also applies to children with ADHD, learning disabilities, and other disabilities. Like these other factors, children that suffer from disabilities are often discriminated against and do not receive equality or equity in the community or the learning environment. In order to ensure excellence, early childhood educators need to become more educated on the impact that disabilities have on children and the community and ensure that these individuals receive the quality education that they deserve.

Some additional insights that were gained by visiting this website is that efforts are being made by this organization and others to ensure that children that suffer from disabilities obtain the resources that they need in order to receive a quality education and learn and grow in a healthy manner. Another insight that was gained was that learning disabilities and other disabilities need to be subject to further research in order to determine its causes and to generate strategies and laws that protect these children.

References

LDA. (2011). Learning Disabilities Association. Retrieved from http://www.ldanatl.org/

Getting to Know Your International Contacts: Part 2

M Ruple Blog Assignment Week 5

Sadly, I was only able to connect with Jenny this week in regards to the topic of excellence and equity in the classroom. Jenny is my early childhood contact from Sweden. Ironically, this is a topic that is almost perfect from her and her country. Sweden does reality well in terms of academic performance, equity, and excellence. Much of this may be attributed to the strong focus that they place on other factors than academics in the early childhood environment. According to Jenny, one challenge that have always faced in all levels of the Swedish school systems is achieving equality in excellence and academic performance in terms of gender. That is why the school system has placed a strong focus on gender equality inside and outside of the classroom. Some of you may recall reading an article or two about the new gender equality programs that the Swedish schools have implemented. If not, you can read about it here at this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14038419. Jenny believes that this program and new focus will eliminate gender gaps inside and outside of the classroom. She also believes that this program and new focus will improve academic performance, excellence, and equity for all levels and ages of children. By changing the mindset of children of what they should and should not wear, should grow up to be, and what they can accomplish inside and outside of the classroom; this program has great promise. Jenny also believes that parents will put aside their gender stereotypes encouraging a healthy growth and development for their children.

Jenny also provided me with a couple of excellent resources to share in regards to this topic and others that we may encounter in the class.

The first is for the Swedish school system. That can be accessed at http://www.skolverket.se/2.3894/in_english.

The second is for the pre-school program. That can be accessed at http://www.sweden.se/eng/Home/Work/The-Swedish-system/The-Swedish-education-system/.

Sharing Web Resources

The organization that I chose to analyze more completely is the Learning Disabilities Association of America. This organization can be located at http://www.ldanatl.org/. After reviewing this website, I have determined that there were many sections that were extremely relevant to my current professional development. As a children’s book writer and a professional social story writer for children with disabilities I am always interested in learning more about disabilities and treatment or rehabilitation methods for children with disabilities. This is information that is contained within the “Professional” section of the organization’s website.  Not only is there basic information about learning disabilities, but there are also articles included in this section to help to explain correlations between disabilities and other disorders and treatment strategies. Another section of this website, another section that has proven to be very relevant to my current professional development is the “Teacher” section. This section contains information that has allowed me to gain a deeper understanding about the challenges that children with disabilities and instructors face in an educational environment.

There were a few items on the websites that could be perceived as being controversial by some. However, this was not the case for me. I am always open to new research ideas and claims. These items that could be perceived as being controversial include current research attempting to find a correlation between pesticides and childhood disabilities (LDA, 2011). The impact of medications used during pregnancy on the brain of young children could also be perceived as being controversial by some (LDA, 2011). The research section also provided insight into the commitment of neuroscientists, government agencies, and politicians have to the field of early childhood. Many of the research studies that were being conducted by the organization were performed by leading neuroscientists in the industry and funded by government agencies and politicians. Examples of this include  research studies on neurodevelopment testing  of drugs on children and infants, behavioral and chemical toxins and their impact, brain imaging and learning disabilities, food substances and their effect, and more (LDA, 2011).

There were also some insights that were gained from further analyzing this website. One insight was that most learning disabilities occur as a result of AD/HD (LDA, 2011). A second insight is that many of the times, disabilities and learning disabilities can be prevented (LDA, 2011). A final insight is that today’s environment plays a significant role in the increased prevalence of learning disabilities in young children.

References

LDA. (2011). Research. Retrieved from http://www.ldanatl.org/.  

Getting to Know Your International Contacts

I am lucky enough to finally establish contact with two international early childhood professional via some of my friends on Facebook. My first international early childhood contact is name Jenny Eljas who lives in Falun, Sweden. Falun is a small town located in a municipality outside of Stockholm, Sweden.  Jenny is teaches children in what we would consider to be the first and second grades. So far, I have learned from Jenny that there are some similarities and differences in early childhood education in Sweden and the United States. One similarity is that a strong emphasis has been placed on early childhood education in both countries. However, in Sweden, young children are not expected to or forced to learn to read and write at such a young age (pre-school/kindergarten).  However, children in Sweden begin learning English as early as the age of 5 or 6 in addition to their native language within the school system and at home. Like the United States, poverty is also a main concern of educators and early educators.  Because of the country’s government structures, the occurrence of poverty is far less prevalent in the United States. The main causes of poverty in Sweden include low wages, high unemployment rates, and high rates of immigration. According to Jenny, the Swedish government does provide additional financial and resource support to children and families that suffer from poverty. The government also does provide additional financial and resource support to children that are disabled or possess special needs.  The cities and municipalities also do their best to support its residents that have been stricken by poverty and that may be in need.

My second contact’s name is Andrea Palula who lives in Oaxaca Mexico. Andrea speaks limited English and I speak limited Spanish so our conversations have been interesting to say the least. Google Translate has been a blessing to both of us. Oaxoca is a moderate size city located in Southern Mexico. Andrea is a teacher in what we would consider first grade students. Like the United States, enrollment is very high in her area for young children. However, there are some differences between the two teaching environments. In Mexico, and at Andrea’s school, religion and culture play an important part of the educational experience. Literacy is also not a focus of early childhood education. Poverty is a significant issue for Andrea and those in her community. Andrea believes that poverty does impact the growth and development of her children and the educational experience. Mexico has been urged by many world leaders to place a stronger emphasis on education to correct its poverty issue; however, little action has been taken by the government. In order to address issues of poverty, Andrea and those in her community must rely on each other for financial and non-financial support of her students. Sometimes they are successful and other times they are not as successful in their efforts. Poverty is one of the biggest challenges that Andrea faces in the educational process.

Sharing Web Sources

The organization that I have selected for further analysis is the Learning Disabilities Association of America or LDA located at http://www.ldanatl.org/.  This national organization works with volunteers and professionals in order to advocate for children and adults that suffer from learning disabilities. The mission of this organization is “to create opportunities for success for all individuals affected by learning disabilities and to reduce the incidence of learning disabilities in future generations” (LDA, 2011, para. 6).  After reviewing the organization’s website, one issue that caught my attention was impact that ADHA can have on young children inside and outside of the classroom. One of the reasons that this issue caught my attention was that it was very prominent within the website and is believed to be a major contributor to learning disabilities in adults and children. In addition to this issue, I was educated upon learning disability assessment and evaluation processes, an overview of learning disabilities basics, and the main objectives of the LDA (2011) research committee. Simply, the LDA (2011) research committee strives to determine the causes of learning disabilities and as appropriate treatment and interventions of the disorders. It is also their objective to collaborate and work with others in the community in order to reduce the impact of learning disabilities (LDA, 2011).

On a different note…I have made progress finding international contacts in the field of early childhood. I may also have some additional contacts if needed by my classmates. I was finally successful by contacting my international friends via Facebook. They all knew someone that I could talk to for this portion of the assignment. So far I have an individual confirmed for participation in Sweden and potentially have other individuals from Greece, Mexico, and England.

References

LDA. (2011). About. Retrieved from http://www.ldanatl.org/.