Unfortunately, the international early childhood professionals I contacted did not respond. I will continue to try and make a contact with at least one international professional.
This week the topic of discussion was equity in early childhood education. The young children with special needs have many challenges which creates concerns about receiving an equal opportunity to succeed like their typically developing peers. I inquired about the "Working Group on including children with Special Needs". In the world, there are approximately 650 million persons with disabilities. Unfortunately, children which have special needs experience being excluded, hidden, left to survive on their own placed in a institution and treated horribly. Over 97 percent of children with disabilities do not go to school.
Even though every country has its unique challenges, they are some issues that are shared. Many countries find it challenging to access and improve funding. The use of certain terms are not constant throughout. A positive way to help society in all countries find ways to deal with stigma and negative ideas about disabilities. Several countries have trouble locating staff which are trained and training staff effectively. Many countries are finding it difficult to have policies coincide with the best practices. It is disheartening that other countries face helping families in poverty without having enough resources.
I have joined the mission to regain the vision of inclusion in their country. I am looking forward to working with my colleagues in other countries to ensure that our youngest children are included on matter their disability throughout the world.
The global children's initiative concentrates on finding ways to open global dialogue to educate essential international agencies on the necessity of investing in the earliest years of a child's life. Another important mission is to ensure that the health and development of young children are being met by making sure countries are providing quality childcare programs, researching disease control, and providing the necessary interventions for quality preschool.
Mental health in children is an issue that has not been explored in depth across the countries. More research opportunities are being developed which will influence policy and services provided to children with various background. Even though the Global Children's initiative has several priorities, the main focus is to build an infrastructure that will work with educators in a setting with global diversity. Leadership training will be provided for researchers, policy makers and institutions located in the major areas of the world.
As I read about early childhood professionals around the world, many countries have the same issues we have the United States. Many countries are finding ways to make sure the young children have quality education and are healthy overall. Young children and their families around the world are facing challenging due to poverty, opportunities and resources. Urban areas have the more of the resources needed to provide quality education to their young children throughout the world. Harvard University Center on the Developing Child is working with the majority of countries around the world to find techniques through research to solve the issues plaguing the early childhood field.
"It takes a village to raise a child."
-African Proverb-
Thank you for sharing your two resources this week. The statistic that you shared about 97% of children with disabilities was shocking to me!
ReplyDeleteIn talking with my contact in Poland, students with disabilities are in inclusion classrooms. There is a lead teacher and a special education teacher in the classrooms that have children with disabilities. I was surprised by this. I thought they might be in separate classes. They also receive accommodations when taking assessments.
Health is also an important issue in early childhood. If a child's health needs are not met, it will prevent them from reaching their potential. Even in our Head Start program, there are parents that need help in understanding the health care system and the importance of health insurance. We also have to explain to some the importance of regular doctor and dental visits. Once our parents have the knowledge, they are willing to act on that knowledge.