International Early Childhood Education

Learning about international early childhood education practices has been very informative and thought provoking this week. I explored the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization website (www.unesco.org), an organization that advocates for early childhood care and educational programs that attend to health, nutrition, security and learning which provide for children's holistic development. To promote quality early care and education, UNESCO supports a system where professionals receive adequate training and work conditions that integrate the content and practice of early care and education. Furthermore, since no universal criteria for measuring early childhood care and education quality exists, UNESCO  additionally recommends that  programs include developmentally appropriate curricula based on holistic development. Parental education and involvement are also important. The 1990 Jomtien Declaration for Education for All and the 2000 Dakar Framework for Action reaffirm the importance of early care and education, emphasizing that learning begins at birth. Participating countries committed themselves to expanding and improving early care and education especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children. Worldwide, the greatest difficulties in achieving this are resources, especially in countries that do not yet offer universal primary education. The 1990 Jomtien Declaration for Education for All stated that countries should view early care and education as part of primary education and recommends approaching private businesses (both for profit and nonprofit) for funding when government funds are limited.

My internet exploration also led me to the World Forum Foundation website (www.worldforumfoundation.org), where I explored efforts to improve the lives of children by fighting for children's rights. One group is currently working on the Rights of Children in Children's Homes, working on behalf of children without families. This group fights for orphaned children's right to grow up in a safe, healthy environment that supports their growth and development. They believe that all children deserve to grow up feeling loved and that they belong. This group was instrumental in improving the lives of children in Romanian orphanages, changing practices and procedures that resembled an assembly line. Children in these institutions were left in cribs unattended for hours and were often never held. This dedicated group was instrumental in providing valuable training for caregivers that allowed them to recognize that they could provide the children with individual care without an assembly line feel, while meeting children's needs of feeling loved and cared for.

This internet exploration helped me realize the circumstances some of our world's children live in. I agree with UNESCO's position that it is essential that all early care and education experiences support whole child development, and that children are not pushed into attending formal primary education at a very young age. I found it interesting that UNESCO recommended considering early childhood education as part of primary education. It is my hope that we can move toward this view worldwide. While exploring these websites I also learned about the many advocacy efforts to support children, especially in the area of children's rights. Until reading about the efforts that changed policy and procedures in Romania, I assumed that these changes were initiated from within the country. I realized that sometimes it just takes one person's convictions and hard work to change the lives of children, now and in the future. This connects to my professional goals of increasing my knowledge of children with atypical needs. It also opens up a field of early childhood that I previously was not interested in: advocacy. I am still considering goals related to advocacy for children, and while I will definitely advocate for children in my community, I realize that advocating for children on the international level is a very important position, which I imagine was very rewarding for those who have been involved in efforts that have earned positive results.