SHARING WEB RESOURCES

http://www.nhsa.org/centers_of_excellence_in_early_childhood has an outside link that leads to government early childhood education page. One area of the site discusses The NHSA Academy and how it offers credentials that: • Address specific areas of the Head Start Program Performance Standards. • Help learners achieve knowledge and/or skill base in their specific learning areas. The NHSA Academy has served the Head Start community for more than 10 years and offers four credentialing opportunities to meet the current and emerging needs of Head Start professionals. The web site allows the user to blog about Head Start Programs. Head Start provides comprehensive early child development services to low-income children, their families, and communities. In 1998, Congress determined, as part of Head Start's reauthorization, that the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) should conduct a national study to determine the impact of Head Start on the children it serves. In October 2000, DHHS awarded a contract to Westat in collaboration with the Urban Institute, American Institutes for Research, and Decision Information Resources to conduct this study through spring of the children’s first grade year. The newsletter offers so much information about education, nutrition, and disability services. The issue of the week is “Does Head Start Work.” The findings affirm the Head Start model in design and in practice. Head Start’s success over the decades has been built on evidence-based practices. The model, informed by programs like the local Head Starts are an influential project that tracked children for decades, is constantly adapting using the best available science and teaching techniques to meet the needs of local communities.

INSIGHTS UNITED NATIONS

Mobile Technology I learned that mobile technology has changed education, teachers play an important part in the success of ICTs in teaching and learning. There has been a lot of discussion on how educators can best utilize mobile devices to achieve national and international learning objectives. I also discovered that there is a shortage of trained and motivated teachers is most acute in parts of the world where more and better quality instruction is desperately needed. In-spight of the urgency of the global teacher crisis, UNESCO is working to better understand how mobile technology can help prepare new teachers and provide professional development to working teachers. Health Care I read about how health care is addressed especially AIDS and how there is a gender-sensitive response to HIV and AIDS. It is done by supporting education systems to be gender-responsive by seeking system-wide responses through EFA national action plans; promoting human rights based and culturally appropriate approaches that support women’s empowerment and more balanced gender relations; using training and non-formal education as key entry points to address gender inequality; developing empowering educational strategies and material for adult and lifelong learning; and promoting the better use of information and communication technologies, public entertainment and awareness campaigns such as, radio and TV to deliver socially targeted, gender-sensitive and effective messages about HIV and AIDS and the need for equal gender relations. Teachers Professionally, educators must understand what is expected of them. They must also know the challenges. The main challenge faced by the teaching profession today is both one of numbers and quality. Over a million new teachers are required to reach universal primary education by 2015, the recruiting of new teachers must go hand in hand with improving the quality of teaching and learning, Achieving quality education for all, in line with goals of the Dakar Framework for Action, calls for more and better trained teachers, as pedagogical processes lie at the heart of quality education. Schools must be supported in attracting qualified teachers. The challenge of quantity must be met head-on, while ensuring quality and equity. UNESCO has done a lot to address the challenges and aims to mobilize and assist Member States in the design and implementation of viable national policies for teacher initial and continuous training, recruitment, retention, status and working conditions. A new initiative is replacing the Teacher Training Initiative for Sub-Saharan Africa and focuses on developing institutional capacity for training and developing a high quality teaching force in countries most hampered by the lack of teachers. References United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (2014). United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved from http://en.unesco.org/themes/literacy-all

Alternative Global Issues

The article that was of most interesting to me is the Zambian Early Childhood Development project. The article discusses the full impact of the anti-malaria campaign on Zambia’s human capital development, The project created a new comprehensive instrument for assessing children’s physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development before and throughout their schooling careers. The first assessment tool of its kind in Zambia. Completed in May 2010, the Zambian Child Assessment Test (ZamCAT) combines existing child development measures with newly developed items in order to provide a broad assessment of children of preschool age in the Zambian context. After careful calibration of the new survey tool through two rounds of piloting, a first cohort of 1,686 children born in 2004 was assessed between July and December 2010. In 2011, successful follow-up occurred with 1,250 of those children, and an additional follow-up is planned for June-August 2012. The early stages of the project demonstrate that comprehensive child assessments are feasible within standard population-based household surveys. The ZECDP collaborators hope that the data collected as part of this project, as well as future work in this area, will not only improve understanding of child development in this context but also help identify key interventions towards improved outcomes in a rapidly changing developing world. Having an valid and reliable assessment tool for any study, especially this one can determine what is needed in Early Childhood. Even in other countries, early childhood education is so important. References Zambian Early Childhood, (2012). Zambian early childhood development project. Retrieved http://developingchild.harvard.edu/activities/global_initiative/zambian_project/

Professional Development

When studying and being involved in Early Childhood Education there are a lot of things to be considered. I feel in relation to me professional development is the effects of poverty in early childhood. I gained some insight from the article, Poverty Effects on Early Childhood. The article discussed the realms of development, poverty can impede such as: IQ does not remain stable over time and is in fact influenced by environmental factors. According to research, children in poverty tend to have reduced IQs when compared to those with higher economic status. This disparity may begin in the womb; brain development is affected by prenatal maternal health, which is influenced by the economic status of the mother. Academic Performance Several studies over the past two decades have pointed out the relationship between academic performance and economic status. Children in poverty academically under-perform compared to children from middle-class or wealthy backgrounds. Extreme poverty may interfere with early childhood development of linguistic, spatial and mathematical skills, making it difficult for children to perform well in the classroom. Health and Mortality Extreme poverty compromises the physical safety and health of children. Children in poverty experience relatively high rates of diabetes, lead poisoning and dehydration. There is also increased risk of mortality from treatable conditions such as dehydration or pneumonia. Children in poverty typically lack the resources to combat these conditions rigorously. Compensating Factors The home environment can offer certain compensating factors that diminish the negative impact of poverty. Children can experience proper development mentally and physically in stable homes with strong familial relationships. The compensating factors of a loving home can help ensure strong childhood development despite economic circumstances. Discussing the factors would help me in the early childhood field because it would make more aware and conscious of what occurs in Early Childhood.