Consequences and Goals in Relation to International Contacts

Consequences and Goals with International Contacts

            I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about and communicating with international contacts and websites these eight weeks.  As a result of communicating with my international contact, I am grateful for our social-emotional emphasis for early childhood education.

       The system in Poland that they use to compensate teachers is an interesting one—one I might pursue more information about should pay compensation become a major issue in the United States.  I know it has been an issue in the past, but because no one solution could be agreed upon, it was dropped.  I don’t remember a point system being considered before.

      Both of the websites that I explored had information that will be valuable when making presentations to organizations in Williamsburg. The Pew Research Center continually updates their information so that the most current data is available.

(Pre[K]Now: A Campaign of the Pew Center on the States
http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/initiatives_detail.aspx?initiativeID=31672
(Newsletter: http://www.preknow.org/signupform.cfm )

And

Association for Childhood Education International
http://acei.org/
(Review also these online resources at: http://acei.org/knowledge/ )

      I also enjoyed learning from your contacts in Australia and South America.  It is great to know that there are people in other countries who are as passionate about early childhood as I am.

      My goal is to regularly visit the sites that I have become familiar with.  It is just one more way to stay up-to-date on current issues and trends in early childhood education.   Zero to Three, a website many of you chose to study, is one of my favorites!  I visit it on a regular basis.   I have enjoyed reading your blogs and look forward to future contacts as we move through the Master’s program.

International Contacts, Week 7

     First, there were some questions that you asked of me in earlier blogs that I would like to answer.  One person asked if students did not pass the test after “middle school”, did that finish their education.  They can go back and repeat the last year of the “middle school” and retake the examination.  If they plan on furthering their education, they must pass the test to move on.

     Someone else asked what happens to children that are taken away from their mothers if they are unable to take care of them on their own.  They go to orphanages, but if the mother can prove later on that she can care for the children, then she can get them back. There is a different mentality in Poland.  A woman is expected to find a husband and have children.  She is not to get a divorce because it is not recognized by the Catholic Church.   As I mentioned in an earlier blog, many couples are choosing not to have children because of the economic situation in Poland.

      Teachers are required to have a bachelor’s degree in order to teach children ages 2-6.  They must have a Master’s degree to teach once the children are 7 and ready to enter school.  Public kindergartens ages 4-6, have a teacher but no aide.  Private kindergartens have one or two aides depending on the budgets of their program.  Professional development is required.   How much must be done depends on who is in the office of the government.   A point system is used in order for teachers to get more pay and credibility.  After the first, second, and third years, the director meets with the teachers and talks about the points they have earned for that year.  Points are given for education, experience, and the opinion of the director.  After the first three years, teachers and aides continue to accumulate points and meet with the director at year five, 10, 15 in increments of 5 .

       Monika (personal communication, June 14, 2012) wants you to know that there are good things about the education program even though she likes America’s system better.  She is thankful that she had to take foreign language classes all the way through school.  She is very thankful for the English that she learned.

        My parent’s mother-in-law started as a teacher.  Because she was a very good teacher, and the director liked her, she was able to study while working.  Her education was free.  When she completed her Master’s degree, she became a director herself.  She worked with the Department of Education on committees and was even offered jobs in the government.  She turned them down because she loved being a director and she hoped that my parent and her son would move back to Poland so that she could be the grandmother while they worked.

         My parent has just gotten her AA degree in early childhood.  She applied to Old Dominion University to get her bachelor’s degree in early childhood.  Then she wants to get her Master’s degree in special education.  She wants to help people the way people helped her when she came to the United States.  She said that she feels like she will always be a 2^nd class citizen because she is from Poland, even when she achieves her citizenship in the United States.  I told her that she is just as much a citizen as I am once she gets her citizenship.  That made her cry…tears of joy!!!

      I have truly enjoyed my time with Miss Monika and learning about education in Poland.  All countries have issues that must be addressed.  Learning with and from each other, education in all countries can be great!

Web Resources, Part 3

http://www.acei.org/acei-news  Association for Childhood Education International

This week I chose to focus on a tab within the website.  The tab I chose is News and Publications.  Within that tab are several subtopics- ACEI News, Global News, Blog, ACEI Publications, Bookstore, ACEI Radio, and Enews.  A topic in ACEI news was actually a blog discussing positive childhood through play.  I especially liked a blog by Aileen Puurveen-Abma:  

The guiding principles specific to global educational policies and practices therefore, must equally consider each particular developmental area in the context of the whole. 
“S” social development “I can learn to reach out to others, share and have friends”
“P” physical development “I can learn to move my body that best expresses my abilities”.
“E” emotional development “I can learn to believe in myself and love who I am”.
“C” Cultural development “I can learn and celebrate who I am in the context of others”.
“I” Intellectual/ cognitive development “I can learn to succeed to the greatest of my ability”.
“A” Artistic development. “I can learn to freely express myself through the arts”.
“L” Language and land development. “I can learn to communicate to others and to the earth itself”.

(Puurveen-Abma, 2012)

In the Global News section, there was a great article about the importance of early childhood education and its connection to health.  In a paper within the Global News section many of the same issues and solutions we have studied this week are also said to be relevant for communities around the world.

 ACEI Radio had several webcasts that were interesting including “The Impact of Media on Children” and “Appropriate Goals for Learners in Pre-Education for All Global Monitoring Report: pre-K and Kindergarten”

Pre[K]Now: A Campaign of the Pew Center on the States
http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/initiatives_detail.aspx?initiativeID=31672

On this website this week I chose the Research and Analysis tab.  There was a great report about funding for public pre-k titled “Return on Investment: Monetary Benefits and Cost of Evidence-Based Public Policy”.  It was stated that because state aid and property taxes are going down, school divisions are losing funding.  This causes school divisions to either lay off staff or cut programming and/or benefits.  It also mentioned that the number of male teachers in early childhood is decreasing because of the economy. 

There was also a section on webinars.  One that looked particularly interesting was the home visiting webinars.  Because this is one of the new hot topics in early childhood, I looked at opportunities to participate in those webinars.

I am really enjoying reviewing the websites.  There is so much great information to support the cause of high quality early child care.  This is important as we seek to find new funding sources for our programs.

References

Education for All Global Monitoring Report . (2012, April ). Expanding equitable early childhood care and

education is an urgent need.  Policy Paper 03.  Retrieved from

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002160/216038E.pdf

Puurveen-Abma, Aileen. (2012, June 7). Promoting a Positive Childhood. [Discussion group comment].

                Retrieved from the Association for Childhood Education discussion group:

                http://www.acei.org/blog/entry/attacks-on-education-1.html

               

More about Poverty and Education in Poland

I really enjoyed speaking with Monika again this week.  I gave her a list of questions early in the week so that we would have time to discuss them when I called her.

Over twenty percent of children in Poland live in poverty.  While poverty used to be a rural issue because Poland was an agricultural state, now poverty can also be found in pockets of the city.  The unemployment rate is high-- about 44%. " Women make 14 times less than men in equal jobs" (Monika Kulwikowski, personal communication, June 1, 2012).  Jobs are difficult to find for all adults as I mentioned in my previous post.

Approximately forty percent of children attend "kindergarten", ages three to six.  Parents must pay for it whether it is public or private because it is not mandatory.  Children learn basic skills here, but the numbers are high for classrooms so not as much learning takes place  Regular school begins at age seven.   There are two-teachers in each classroom- lead teacher and a special education teacher for children with special needs. Yearly assessments are done with an external competence test given after six years.  Accommodations are given for children with special needs.  These accommodations include testing in a special room and being given more time to complete the test.  In some cases students with special needs can take the tests at home where they feel more comfortable.  Students move on to three years of "gymnasium" after that.  The primary and gymnasium are mandatory schools.  If students pass the "gymnasium" test, then they have a choice of four years in general secondary school, three years in technical school or four years at basic vocational school.

Because of the large degree of poverty and young adults choosing not to have children in Poland, an initiative was put in place.  It is titled the Family Policy Package.  Mothers receive more time to be with their children and receive minimal funds for doing so.  Fathers can take off a month and receive a small amount of funds also.

People asked in my last blog if there are any agencies that help families in poverty.  UNICEF, Habitat for Humanity, the World Bank, and the Catholic Church are the main contributors of help for families in poverty.  Because many families in poverty live in rural areas, sometimes it is difficult to locate the families to offer help.  Poland is also part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.  This is a group of 30 democratic societies that work to help each other with solutions to policy and social issues.

References

EUROPA- The European Alliance for Families. (2011, Dec.). Poland: Tackling the Challenge of work-life

      reconciliation. European Union. Retrieved from 

      http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/emplweb/families/index.cfm?id=4