Friday, July 27, 2012

Educational Issues in Australia


Education in Australia
Children learning in Australia
            As I looked through the links on the Early Childhood Australia website, I was impressed with all of the resources available to caregivers and citizens alike.  I especially enjoyed reading some of the articles for parents and caregivers in Everyday Learning and Every Child  Magazine. Media releases are also available through Every Child news.   Value is placed on parental views and its relation to early childhood education. The website is very easy to navigate.  I was also captivated by all of the information that is available from the actual webpage.
 The issues that are faced in Australia are similar in many ways to the issues faced in the United States.  They are looking at quality care and what that might look like.  They have developed a movement to help communities in their awareness of early childhood education called Hands Up for Quality.  They are trying to develop a quality rating system, just as many states are trying to develop in the United States now.  Funding is an issue there as well.  Play is an important part of learning in Australia.
Aboriginals in Australia
            Another issue that brings concern is the education of the aboriginals.  They are beginning to realize that different strategies may need to be used in order to best meet their needs.  Educators and administrators must begin to respect and understand the differences in their culture and incorporate their culture into the classrooms.  Many of the aboriginals meet poverty guidelines so additional resources must be obtained to improve their living conditions.
            I was surprised and impressed by the work that is being conducted in Australia.  I was surprised because when I think about Australia, I think of the outback and their pioneer type spirit.  I know that there are culturally aware sections of the country, such as Sydney, but largely I think of Australia as being wide open spaces with most people living in the country on large farms or plantations.  It must be a challenge to try and educate all young children when some of the population is spread over large areas of land.
            I applaud their efforts to improve early childhood education in Australia.  Because we face many of the same issues, perhaps we can learn from each other.
References
Early Childhood Australia.  (2012). Every Child Magazine. Retrieved from
            www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/
Early Childhood Australia. (2012). Every Child news. Retrieved from
            www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/           
Early Childhood Australia. (2012). Everyday Learning Series. Retrieved from
            www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/
               

3 comments:

  1. Carol,
    This is an excellent post about early childhood education and research in Australia. The pictures are beautiful and accents your post. Furthermore, I enjoyed reading about how the country has similar issues as the United States. This opens the opportunity for countries to share resources and information to solve similar problems.

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  2. Carol,
    Indeed Australia has walked much of our own journey with early childhood. The neat thing is that they are about 10 years ahead of us so we can catch a glimpse of where we may find ourselves. Unfortunately, without proper funding, we will have difficulty sustaining a system-wide quality initiative. And with each state creating their own, a comprehensive national effort is difficult.

    In follow-up to our discussion on obesity, I found that the US outranks all other countries in obesity rates/over weight citizens. Check out the graphics on the Nation Master website at http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity

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  3. It would be great to have a rating scale for every childhood programs to follow around the world. It would live open possibilities for our children, parents and community when choosing quality and ensuring our children are getting what they deserve so that they can be successful overall. As Tammra mentioned, it would take funding, because you would have to ensure we have monitors and training in place so this was possible and each classroom and program was equipped with all that the need to succeed.

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