Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 3

I never had any luck receiving any contact back from any educational professionals. I read over the UNESCO website. The first fact that caught my eye was that "in the developing world, 10.5 million children under 5 die from preventable diseases every year." That makes me want to take all my money and donate it to help all underdeveloped children, even though I don't have a job. Our poor children!! They are our future and yet some of them don't even have a fighting chance, they barely get to live. 

 The UNESCO website supports my goal of making sure all children receive the proper health, nutrition, security and learning and holistic development, especially the underprivileged children. Access for all has become a new movement the past 5 or so years and is starting to be developed. In Vietnam in 2005, the government put into act a policy to support and develop programs for children in the poorest areas. There are four types of services: state, semi-state, people-founded and private services. The Vietnam government supports all 4 services but generally only supplies funding to the poor and poorest areas. There is funding from the central and local governments and communities.  

I learned more in-depth about the development of centered based child care. It is divided into 2 main origins dating back to the 19th century. The development of nurseries were for low-income, poor families and the middle class families received schools or kindergartens providing part-time education. Overtime these two environments have merged more into one for all families though there is still some inaccessibility. According to the policy, "The Early Childhood Workforce in ‘Developed’ Countries: Basic Structures and Education", I read that 'the dual origins have left a legacy in many countries: divided systems of early childhood services, with differences in administration, access, cost to parents, funding, regulation – and in the structure and education of the workforce.' The integration of dividing systems first took place in the Nordic countries in the 1960s and moved on to other places such as New Zealand and Spain. 'In Europe alone, there are now nine countries where early childhood services are the responsibility of one government department: either welfare or education.'

I read an article 'Curriculum in Early Childhood Education and Care' that discussed how the 'learning patterns of young children, social-emotional and cognitive progress will be at the child’s own pace, and take place through play and active methods, governed in so far as possible by the self direction of the child'. Children's learning should be based on prior knowledge and self-instruction. Their education should not be based upon seat work and such high academic standards. Children learn best from hands-on and child-centered. All programs should be pedagogically based and instructed by high-quality educated, trained specialists.     

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/