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/

               

Research in Virginia

Research Project in Virginia

            I have been fortunate enough to be a part of research concerning a Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS) from its inception.  The whole process has been very exciting because I have also seen the results of participating in the QRIS in our program in Williamsburg, Virginia.  There were several different committees working on each component for the rating system.  I actually helped to develop the milestones for different age groups and activities connected with the milestones.  As one of the piloting programs, I have seen the final product in action. 

            For our program I have seen some major improvements.  When I became Education/Disabilities Coordinator for our Head Start program, it was not a very highly regarded program.  Thanks, in part, to our participation in the program, we have begun to have a huge waiting list.  My first year we were scrambling to have our required 147 children enrolled.  For the past three years, I have been able to set a preliminary class list before leaving for vacation.  Additionally, we have access to some other professional development components.  The most important of these is a mentor for each of our sites.  The mentors are able to work with individual teachers at each site to increase their skills.  Because they work for other programs, they are able to offer other resources for our program.  The mentors also do workshops for our program.  Right now our emphasis revolves around building vocabulary through open ended questions.  It has been eye opening for the teachers.  When I go in to do observations, I can see a difference in the way that they approach topics.  Children are more actively engaged, therefore, there are fewer behavior issues.

            If your state does not yet have this system, I encourage you to do so.  If memory serves me correctly, there are 14 states that do not have a Quality Rating program.  You can see where your state stands in the area of early childhood by visiting this site http://www.pewstates.org/research/analysis/proof-into-policy-pre-k-milestones-infographic-85899376577.

I actually thought that Virginia was doing quite well until looking at this site.  It is exciting to be on the ground floor of this new incentive for improving education for young children in Virginia.  It has also given me the opportunity to meet others in the state interested in high quality education for young children.  I have met and worked with college professors, business executives, pediatricians, government officials, and other educators.  Watching it unfold has been truly remarkable!

References

Pre[K]Now: A Campaign of the Pew Center on the States. (2012, March 16).  Proof into Policy:

Pre-k Milestones [Infographic].  Retrieved from
http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/initiatives_detail.aspx?initiativeID=31672

Smart Beginnings. (2007). Milestones of Child Development. Virginia Department of Social

            Services Child Care and Development Fund.  Retrieved from

            http://www.earlychildhood.virginia.gov/documents/milestones.pdf

Research Simulation, Part 1: Benefits of Play for Parents and Children Together

Parents and children playing together is invaluable

Research Simulation, Part 1

This week I began a research simulation.  The topic that I will be immersing myself in is The Benefits of Play for Parent and Child Together.  I chose this topic for several reasons.  First, there is an emphasis in Head Start on the parent involvement piece of our program.  Secondly, I often overhear parents in the hallway talking with each other wondering “All they do is play.  Aren’t they supposed to be sitting down with paper and pencil learning to write and read?”  From hearing these comments I know as education coordinator that the importance and benefits of play must be shared with parents—through play.  I also felt that there must be numerous benefits for parents as well as they play with their children.   Many of our parents are young, children themselves, and some parents work two or three jobs and feel they don’t have the time or energy to play with their children.  Knowing the benefits of play for parents will support my efforts to get them to play with their children.

What surprised me as I began to do research is that there is not a great deal of research about the benefits of parents and children playing together.  I can think of benefits, but I need to have research to back it up.  There is some material through Aistear Early Childhood Curriculum Framework—curriculum in Ireland.  It is endorsed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.  The Australian Childhood Foundation also had some recommendations.  I found these sources on the internet.  I will have to do further investigation into the research behind the ideas presented.  From the Walden Library I was able to find a few articles about the benefits of play.  One referred to relationship play therapy for children with behavior issues.  It had some good suggestions about letting children lead play which as an educator I know is important.  It also suggested that play allows for relationship bonding.  Another article spoke of the importance of reading, singing and rhyming with young children as an aid to literacy skills.  The third article was about sex-stereotyping when parents choose toys for their children.  Helping parents to be aware of this would be beneficial to the child.

I enjoy a challenge because it helps me to stretch and grow.  I am finding both the text and articles we read each week to be extremely helpful.  The most helpful has been “A Practical Guide to Reading Research Articles”.  Through its recommendations I am able to eliminate articles rather quickly that don’t relate at all.  I was very nervous about doing research when I began the course, but now I am becoming more confident.

I would appreciate any help that anyone can give regarding this topic.  If you can help to guide me in the direction of good research articles or resources, it would be greatly appreciated.  If you have come across articles in your reading or work, please let me know about it.  I know I will be looking at the Office of Head Start’s official site: Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center.  I am also going to look on the Teaching Strategies website to see if Creative Curriculum has any insights for me.

Many of my fellow colleagues expressed their nervousness as well.  I hope that you, too, are feeling a bit more confident.  I will be reading your blogs this weekend.  If I can help you in any way, I will.

References

Information for Parents: Learning and Developing Through Play [Pamphlet]. (2012). Aistear,

            The Early Childhood Curriculum Framework in Ireland. Retrieved from www.ncca.ie/

            aisteartoolkit

Berger, K. S. (Ed.). (2009). The Developing Person Through Childhood (Fifth ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Child’s play is a parent’s business [Pamphlet]. (2012). Australian Childhood Foundation, Fostering Children. Retrieved from www.kidscount.com.ua/English/chapter 05.asp

Eisenberg, N., Wochik, S. A., Hernandez, R., & Pasternack, J. (1995, December 1995). Parental Socialization of Young Children’s Play: A short term longitudinal study. Child Development, 56(6), 1506-1513. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.ep7252407

Hill, A. (2010, August 26). Parents are forgetting how to play with their children study shows. Guardian, The State of Play, Back to Basics. Retrieved from www.guardian.co.uk/life and style/2010/Aug/26/parents-children-playtime

Johnson, G., Kent, G., & Leather, J. (2005, January 1). Strengthening the parent-child relationship: a review of family interventions and their use in medical settings. Child: Care Health & Development, 25-32. Retrieved from Walden University using the Academic Search Complete

Keenan, T., & Evans, S. (2009). Theories in development.  An Introduction to child development (pp. 33-43). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Powell, D. (2004, August 4). Being a good parent is simply childsplay; Welsh parents are some of the best in the UK when it comes to playing with children. Liverpool Daily Post and Echo Ltd. Retrieved from Walden University using the ProQuest Central database

Wood, C. (2002). Parent-child preschool activities can affect the development of literacy skills. Journal of Research in Reading, 25, 241-258. Retrieved from Walden University using the Academic Search Complete database