I have not heard
from my contact this week therefore I decided to find out what the UNESCO
website had to say about Early Childhood Education. UNESCO advocates for Early Childhood Care and
Education (ECCE) programs that addresses the development of the whole child
throughout the world. As I browsed through the site I gained some very useful
information and insights about the global state of ECE.
First of all, I
was pleasantly surprised to hear of a world conference on ECCE that was held in
September 2010 in Moscow. The conference was organized by UNESCO and was the
first ever world conference dedicated to the area of ECCE. It was attended by
more than 1000 participants from 101 member states. According to the website, the
Conference was successful in raising awareness about the importance of ECCE as
a human right and a development imperative, and highlighted the global status,
challenges and experiences of expanding quality ECCE equitably. It culminated
in the adoption of the Moscow Framework for Action and Cooperation: Harnessing
the Wealth of Nations. In my view, participation in the conference and ECCE policy changes that have been implemented
since the conference shows evidence that world leaders are beginning to
recognize the importance of ECCE and are making it a priority. The information
found in the ‘Moscow Follow up’ area of the website highlights significant
developments and follow-up actions that have been taken at the national and
regional level. As an early childhood professional, I am very encouraged to
hear about this increasing focus on the field of ECCE at the global level.
As I
browsed through the website further, I gained insights into challenges that
countries face in implementing policies that address issues of quality, access
and equity in ECCE in their respective countries. In the Access and Equity
section of the website I learned that while many countries recognize the
importance of providing comprehensive early childhood care and education for
all children, ensuring that access to quality care for the most vulnerable and
disadvantaged groups is an issue due to limited resources. To address this
situation, governments are creating pro-poor policies that directly focus on increasing
state support for disadvantaged populations by reducing support for the more
privileged. In Gambia, in order to increase access for the most disadvantaged
children, the government planned to create Early Childhood Development centers
for 3 to 6 year olds on the premises of primary schools in the country’s
poorest areas. The goal was to increase access by using existing infrastructure
(primary school buildings, teachers) in the presence of limited resources.
The Investment and Financing tab
provided further information about the how limitations in resources is
affecting countries’ efforts to improve and expand the quality of ECCE in their
respective countries. Many developing countries have other pressing priorities which
results in ECCE being pushed down the list of priorities during resource
distribution. The website points out that engaging the private sector in such
cases maybe an effective strategy. For example ‘The Pact
for the Comprehensive Development of Salvadorian Early Childhood’ launched by
El Salavador with the goals of improving access and quality of early childhood
education and care in the country as well as increasing investments from
different sectors of society for early childhood development. Under the Coordination and
Integration tab I learned that another main challenge facing both developed and
developing countries is in difficulties in coordinating policy development and
implementation among the various sectors supporting early childhood efforts in
a country. In an effort to address this issue some countries have decided to
integrate sectoral responsibilities into a single ministry.
After
reading some of the content on the UNESCO website, I have a better
understanding of global initiatives that address the needs of the field of ECCE
and the various challenges countries face in implementing policies that address
ECCE issues.
References
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Keshika,
ReplyDeleteI also explored the UNESCO site. The site provided a lot of information about research and issues affecting children in education. I like that the organization focused on the whole child and provide research on health, poverty, and other issues.
Keshika:
ReplyDeleteI had to research UNESCO as well, because my international contact was not reachable. I had never really looked at the site, but I now noticed all the resources and information available. Many of the issues on the site were not other peoples problems and concerns our country has as well.
Fran Logan
Keshika
ReplyDeleteI am sure you would agree that we search and find information that there is so much connection from country to country with the issues and trends in early childhood. It is a hope that at the global level that ECCE will continue to get the needed attention and action that is necessary to continue to make progress for the betterment of our children and families.
Keshika
ReplyDeleteThis article was very informative. Global world of education is very important and this article provided a great concern about the early childhood field. I really liked that fact that they not only look at education, but the child health as well.