International Early Childhood Research Website

I chose to explore the European Early Childhood Education Research Journal (http://www.eecera.org/).

The article, “Introducing Children’s Perspectives and Participation in Research”, contains the work of seven authors from 6 different countries. The authors offer abstracts of their studies in which their attempts to understand some aspect of children’s learning and social interactions also shed light on the importance of obtaining children’s views and input into decisions regarding the best methods for maximizing their learning experiences (Harcourt & Einersdottir, 2011).

 In “The dynamics  of early childhood spaces: opportunities for outdoor play?”, the authors delve into the recent trend of diminished opportunities for outdoor play for children, its causes and results. The authors point to unsafe urban neighborhoods, more advanced and available recreational techonology, social and educational factors as the causes for this new definition of childhood. The article also discusses the ways in which different cultures have varying attitudes regarding outdoor play. For example, in Australia, a common concern among teachers is legal action resulting from a child’s injury incurred during outdoor play. In order to lessen the likelihood of this, outdoor play has been watered down. This results in the compromise of the children’s outdoor play experiences. On the other hand, Scandinavian preschool teachers, who mirror their cultural values of weather-hardiness and risk taking, are more likely to be less apprehensive about children’s outdoor adventures (Waller, et al., 2010).

I found a great deal  of interesting perspectives about early childhood education in European countries on the European Early Childhood Education Research Journal’s website. I found it especially interesting that the articles indicated the researcher’s country of origin. This was helpful in understanding the variation in paradigms across Europe.

References

http://eecra.org/

Harcourt,D.,  Einarsdottir, J. (2011). Introducing Children’s Perspectives and Participation in Research. European Education and Research Journal. 19(3), pp 301-7.

Waller,T., Beate, E., Sandseter,H., Wyver,S., Ärlemalm‐Hagsér, S.,  Maynard, T. (2010): The dynamics of early childhood spaces: opportunities for outdoor play?, European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 18:4, 437-443

A real life example of the benefits of research with regard to children and families

An example of research that is beneficial to children and families that has personal relevance involves my neighbor, Rhonda, her daughter Madi, and Rhonda's father Paul. When I first met Rhonda, my son, Blue, was nearly two years old and her daughter, Madi was about one year old. Madi was a tiny, adorable bundle in her stroller. I had my son by the hand, walking to the corner store. We walked the 100 yards to the convenience store together and engaged in introductory small talk the way that new neighbors do. Rhonda had grown up with my husband and our children were about one year apart in age.Rhonda and her mother owned a dance studio. I remember thinking that Madi, judging by her size at the time, would probably grow to be beautiful and petite dancer like her mother. What I did not know at the time, was that Madi had (and still has) severe congenital scoliosis that caused her spine to grow in a "C" shape, restricting her breathing and the function of her organs.

While she was in elementary school, Madi was chosen to participate in the VEPTR (vertical expansion prosthesis titanium rib project). Madi has had 40 surgeries to date. These surgeries allow Madi to grow while minimizing the curvature of her spine. Madi is now a freshman in high school. She dances, acts, sings, excels in school, is a drummer and participates in athletics. The VEPTR (along with her zest for life) has allowed Madi to grow and thrive. This project is the result of a great deal of research and Madi's participation in the project is part of the resesarch process. Research has positively affected Madi, her mother and her grandfather (Madi and her mother are the lights of his life) as evidenced by the improved quality of life for the entire family.

For a comprehensive account of Rhonda, Madi and Paul's journey, please visit Rhonda's blog at
http://www.madimay.blogspot.com/ .

Topic for Building Research Competencies Research Simulation

I have an enduring interest in the experience of young children in non-Western cultures. The three subtopics that I chose to explore are early education in non-Western cultures, parenting practices in non-Western cultures and attitudes toward young children in non-Western cultures. I have chosen to focus on parenting practices in non-Western cultures. This topic is of interest to me because a young child's experience is shaped by their parents. Parents are a child's first teacher. Most children bond first with their parents or main caregiver who does the parenting. Parenting practices affect a child well into the adult years. On a personal level, I am the mother of two teenage boys and often wonder about a better, different or more effective way to approach my role as a parent.

I am open to ideas, links, or resource suggestions related to this topic.

As a result of learning about international issues and trends in early childhood education:

1-I have a greater understanding of the importance of nurturing relationships and developmentally appropriate stimulation on early brain development. This is due to the material that I read about the effects of institutionalization on young children in Romania. The children were warehoused and tended to like cattle, with little or no nurturing or stimulation. There were lifelong ill effects for the children.

2- I can now comprehend the effect of decisions made by governments on the lives of individual families and children. This is a result of reading the articles about budget cuts in education, the waiting lists for childcare assistance and other social service subsidies, the taxing of people who produced fewer than 5 children during the reign of Ceausescu in Romania (resulting in extreme poverty and the warehousing of children in public institutions).

3- I have a better idea of the effects of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, regional residence, age, appearance or any other factor on the life and outlook of victims. This is from reading material about bias against female children in India and the plight of the Roma in Eastern Europe.

4- I now know that finding quality, affordable child care is a challenge that is present all over the world.


A goal that I have for myself and my colleagues is to effect positive change in our communities and the world via a united effort toward a culture of peaceful activism. May we start with ourselves and extend our message to the families with whom we interact, the children we teach and our offspring. May we network with others to achieve this goal. None of us can do it alone. May we spread our message by example and, in the spirit of Ghandi, "be the change that [we] want to see in the world".

http://www.childhoodpoverty.org/
http://www.quotationspage.com/

Nelson, C., Furtado, E., Fox, N. Zeanah, C. (2009) The Deprived Human Brain. American Scientist.Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/search/?cx=001599101917928556767%3Acfzjkqwnev8&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8&q=The+Deprived+Human+Brain&siteurl=developingchild.harvard.edu%2Findex.php%2Factivities%2Fglobal_initiative%2F#510

http://www.unesco.org/

http://www.unicef.org/ 

The Plight of Roma Children and Another Attempt to Make Contact with International Early Childhood Professionals

Previous efforts to reach out to early childhood professionals from other countries have proved fruitless. While researching the plight of Roma children on the Unicef website, I found email addresses for two early childhood professionals. I emailed both with questions about the historical roots of the discrimination and segregation of the Roma as well as the prognosis, in each of their opinions, for the Roma culture regarding accessibility to social services and education. I've not yet received responses, but I am optimistic.

sophie.kammerer@coe.int

belgrade@unicef.org

On the UNESCO and Unicef websites, I read about efforts to assist Roma children in the area of education. It is estimated that 50% of Roma children do not complete a primary education. Further, Roma children are less likely than non-Roma children to complete a secondary education. UNESCO and the Council of Europe are working together to the end of the assurance of the right to quality, basic education for Roma children. Access is a common obstacle to education for Roma children (http://www.unesco.org/). Roma people experience difficulty accessing healthcare, education and social service programs as a result of prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination. This discrimination results in physical segregation and the cordoning of the Roma population to the periphery of society. These factors fuel the unending cycle of poverty and exclusion that is passed to subsequent generations (http://www.unicef.org/). The terrible triad of exclusion, discrimination and segregation inhibits Roma children's potential to contribute to the social and economic development of their culture and country of residence. Awareness is the key to discontinuing the effects of this triad of factors. A campaign, launched by the Council of Europe and European Commission, called "Dosta! Go beyond prejudice, discover Roma!" seeks to achieve the acknowledgement of the Roma as complete citizens of their country of residence, and the appreciation of the contribution made by Roma culture to Roma heritage (http://www.unicef.org/).

The plight of Roma children relates to my newly formulated professional goal: To work toward the provision of quality early education for young children everywhere through participation in political and social campaigns.

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/media_39677.html

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

Quality Child Care Settings & the High Cost of Quality Care

While perusing the Zero to Three website, I came upon the Child Care tab. This lead me to several topics including an article, "Choosing Quality Childcare", that conveyed the hallmarks of a quality infant-toddler program. Among these qualities were caregivers that "are loving and responsive", respectful of the baby's individual identity, provide a stimulating and developmentally appropriate environment. Additionally, the article mentioned accreditation by the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies as a desirable trait of a child care program (Zerotothree.org). I followed the link to the NACCRRA home page. On that home page, I clicked on a link to an article titled, "Parents and the High Cost of Childcare: 2011 Update".

In the article, "Parents and the High Cost of Childcare: 2011 Update", the author asserts that the price tag for high quality childcare programs that emphasize health, safety and school readiness is out of reach for many parents during this tough economic time. This results in parents removing their children from high quality center based or family childcare programs to informal, unlicensed programs where caregivers are less likely to have had training in health, safety or child development, usually have not been cleared via a background check, and less likely to engage in activities that promote school readiness. It is also noted in the article that higher academic achievement levels among children of all income levels is associated with the attendance of a high quality early childhood program up to ten years after the child has left the childcare setting. Some of the recommendations made by the article include a call for the Department of Health and Human Services to define and make public "minimum quality acceptable childcare for children from low income families". Additionally, the author requests that the National Academy of Sciences study the actual cost of childcare so that recommendations can be made to Congress for ways to make quality care affordable to all. The author also calls for the reauthorization of the Child Care and Development Block Grant with new, more stringent staff training requirements, mandatory background checks and quarterly site inspections built within the program (www.naccrra.org).

I enjoyed searching through the policy briefs and recommendations in the Public Policy tab to see what is being done by Zero to Three representatives to improve the lives of those between birth and three years of age. I learned additional information about the Child Care and Development Block Grant and Title I and how they can help improve the quality and affordability of childcare.

www.naccrra.org
www.zerotothree.org

The Effects of Institutionalization on the Development of Young Children

Since I have received no response from the first 3 people who I emailed in an attempt to initiate contact with early childhood professionals from other countries, I have emailed the following people.

Regina Sabaliauskiene (Lithuania)

Yvonne Dionne (Canada)

Carmin Lica (Romania)

Sarah Klaus (Netherlands)

As of now, I’ve received no responses, but I am hopeful.

I followed a link on the Harvard University Global Children’s Initiative website to the reprint of an article, “The Deprived Human Brain”. The article told of the plight of institutionalized children in Romania during the rule of Ceausescu and the revelations that were made after Ceausescu’s execution and the country’s subsequent revolution (Nelson, et al.,2009).

In 1966, Nicolai Ceausescu, the communist dictator of Romania determined that the best way for Romania to gain power on a global scale was to increase its economic production. This required a greater amount of human capital. In order to increase the population of Romania, Ceausescu, made contraception and abortion illegal and taxed families who had produced fewer than five children.  As a result, families produced more children than they could support. The number of abandoned children increased and the country’s system of state-run institutions grew. The handing over of children to state-run institutions no longer held a negative stigma in Romanian culture, in fact the government endorsed the practice. The babies in the orphanages were confined in their cribs, often with filthy bedding and minimal sensory stimulation. The staff to infant ratios were, at best, 1:15. The staff had little education and no knowledge of child development. As the children grew, they experienced a very strictly scheduled lifestyle with many children in a group toileting together, wearing the same clothing, scheduled meals and identical haircuts regardless of gender. After the revolution, some children were adopted by westerners. They were found to be suffering from the effects of malnutrition and neglect:  subpar physical development, low cognitive and language development, behavioral challenges including hyperactivity, attachment disorders, and difficulty regulating attention and emotion (Nelson, et al., 2009).

The plight of the children in Romanian orphanages spurred studies regarding the effects of institutionalization on young children. It was determined that the length of a child’s stay in an institution is directly proportional to the likelihood of the child incurring developmental delays. The authors make the point that, while genetics are key in postnatal development, a child’s experiences have the greatest effect on development.  Brain synapses are mass produced in the infant brain. Brain synapses must be used or they will be lost via pruning. If an infant receives less than average stimulation, those synapses will be pruned. Development occurs during specific times in a child’s life. If the stimuli are not present during those times, the moment will pass for that specific type of development.  Institutionalized children receive less tactile stimulation because they are less likely to be held and are less likely to develop a lasting relationship with an adult caregiver. Attachment disorders, cognitive and language disorders along with behavioral challenges and delayed physical development are the most typical effects of a child’s institutionalization. These conditions improved steadily after the child was placed in a quality foster or adoptive home (Nelson, et al., 2009).

In 2006, it was estimated that eight million children were living in institutions worldwide. The news of the children in Romanian orphanages and subsequent studies precipitated efforts to buffer the existence of young children in institutions. In Sudan, an organization called Hope and Homes for Children has created a foster care and adoption system that is compatible with Muslim culture and customs. In Bulgaria, Worldwide Orphans Foundation employs retired women who have education and experience in healthcare, childcare or elementary education as professional Grannies. The Grannies work with one or two individual children living in institutions for five hours per day, five days per week. The Grannies also work with psychologists to best plan how to meet needs of the children and seek advice. The Grannies also keep records of the child’s growth, accomplishments and activities. In China, Fuling Kids International’s goal is to have every institutionalized child placed with a trained foster family until he is adopted. The group raises money and sends volunteers to provide individualized care for children in orphanages. First Hugs Infant Nurture Program, also in China, employs trained Aunties to work eight hours per day caring for specifically assigned babies in a room that is tailored to the infants’play and skill development (Nelson, et al., 2009).

Reference

Nelson, C., Furtado, E., Fox, N. Zeanah, C. (2009) The Deprived Human Brain. American Scientist.Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/search/?cx=001599101917928556767%3Acfzjkqwnev8&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8&q=The+Deprived+Human+Brain&siteurl=developingchild.harvard.edu%2Findex.php%2Factivities%2Fglobal_initiative%2F#510