Reflections: The International Early Childhood Field

Over the past several weeks, my exploration of early childhood websites, the insights shared by my colleagues and the information shared by my contact Fran in the Philippines has helped me broaden my knowledge of the international early childhood field. This knowledge has benefitted me in many ways. Firstly, my awareness of the issues affecting the field of early childhood globally has increased. I came to the realization that many countries both developed and developing still have a long way to go in terms of supporting the field of early childhood at the level it should be. Issues such as lack of funding and resources and lack of regulations seem to be universal as well as false perceptions about the field. I also realized that the state of early childhood in a country is dependent on whether or not the government of the country views it as a priority. Sweden has programs in place that support children and families while the United States in my view has a long way to go. On the other hand, countries such as the Philippines are beginning to recognize the importance of the early years and are beginning to put programs in place but are struggling with the lack of resources in the presence of many other pressing issues such as battling extreme poverty and dealing with the geographical barriers of reaching all children in the many islands that form the country. 

Secondly, in addition to course recommended websites, the resources shared by Fran and my colleagues have helped me build up a great collections of international early childhood resources which in turn has compelled me to continue to stay informed about early childhood happenings internationally. Reading about global and national early childhood initiatives have been eye opening. While I always felt that it is extremely important to stay informed as an early childhood professional, I realized that learning about issues other countries are dealing with and the ways they are being addressed is extremely useful in understanding issues right here in the United States and in trying to figure out ways to address them. For example, I read of a program in Gambia that planned on using the existing primary school infrastructure to support a preschool program as a way of supporting early childhood in their most impoverished neighborhoods. Lastly, I feel very much compelled to stay in touch and collaborate with Fran as a means of professional development by supporting each other through shared knowledge and ideas. In addition, I hope to build up my pool of international contacts as well as learn more about and become involved in initiatives been taking by international early childhood organizations. 

            Many of the issues affecting the field of early childhood seem to be universal. There is much to be done in drawing more attention to the importance of the early learning years and securing more support for the field at a global level. I believe that if early childhood professionals, researchers and other practitioners throughout the world collaborated more on issues affecting the field and worked together on finding solutions, we would be one step closer to ensuring that all our children have the opportunity to get a good start in life.