International Early Childhood Resources

From the podcast, I have learned that standards focus more on academics right now. To just focus on academics can puts pressure on teachers, children, and their families as well. Teachers are practically drilling ABCs into the child’s brain instead of letting them explore and letting the concept come naturally to them through play. We can create bigger achievement gaps if we do not allow children to practice, acquire, and learn to have a healthy development. We need to find a way to resolve the issues of early childhood in order to prepare them for kindergarten. The best thing that we as early childhood professionals can do is continue working with children and to do what’s right for them. (Laureate Edu, 2011)

Within the Global Children’s Initiative website, there is a program called “Grand Challenges Canada, Saving Brains”. They seek to improve outcomes for children living in poverty through interventions that nurture and protect early brain development in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life. The Saving Brains portfolio of activities is designed to develop and broaden the reach of products, services, and policies that protect and nurture early brain development. The activities work to support the lifelong health of children and provide selected countries with a strategy to help break the cycle of poverty.  Within the program, the Saving Brains Platform brings together mentors and experts in the fields of early childhood development, innovation systems, and learning communities. Together, the community is also creating a suite of interventions for nurturing and protecting early brain development. Projects are being implemented in low- and middle-income countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America.  (Canada, n.d.) Núcleo Ciência Pela Infância  seeks to apply scientific knowledge to inform new strategies that will improve the well-being and life outcomes of vulnerable children in Brazil, while also supporting sustainable social and economic development in the country. They are committed to building a unified science of child development to explain the early roots of lifelong health, learning, and behavior in Brazil; Translating and communicating science effectively to inform the public discourse around issues that affect children and families; and Preparing leaders to leverage the science of healthy development in the design and implementation of innovative policies and programs that reduce preventable disparities and promote greater well-being for all Brazilian children. (Initiative, n.d.) Un Buen Comienzo, "A Good Start," is a collaborative project in Santiago, Chile, that sought to improve early childhood education through teacher professional development. Its goal is to improve the quality of educational offerings for four-to-six-year-olds, particularly in the area of language development. The project also addressed critical health areas that can improve school attendance and socioemotional development, and worked to involve the children's families in their education. (Initiative, Center on the Developing Child, n.d.)

References

Canada, G. C. (n.d.). Center on Developing Child. Retrieved from Grand Challenges Canda: Saving Brains: http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/saving_brains/

Initiative, G. C. (n.d.). Center on the Developing Child. Retrieved from Núcleo Ciência Pela Infância : http://developingchild.harvard.edu/activities/global_initiative/applying_the_science_of_early_childhood_in_brazi/

Initiative, G. C. (n.d.). Center on the Developing Child. Retrieved from Chile: Expanding effective interventions to improve preschool quality: http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/support_for_faculty/

 Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Issues and trends in the early childhood field: Excellence and equity of care and education for children and families—Part 1. Baltimore, MD: Author.