Learning about Early Childhood Internationally has....

Three consequences of learning about 

the international early childhood field

1. It has made me more aware of the inequities in the field.  Theya re wide spread with some programs just starting out and other programs adopting curriculum.  Also, the age variance among programs, what age is considered early childhood in various countries differs.  In Azerbajan where my global contact was located for the Issues and Trends course, stated that early childhood there has only recently been considered education in the last 5 yeasrs. 
2. Teacher quality is different everywhere and everywhere teachers are pushing to be heard.  In Azerbajan they do not have a quality teacher system in place in education.  That is, there entire education system.  I realize the importance of having quality programs in place with quality teachers.  The importance of sharing this information with parents.  In order to make it more available to parents efforts will need to be made to get the word out there about the importance of early care. Efforts like this are being put into practice in Australia with the new Education Reform Act, just passed this year to be extended over the next 10 years to improve quality in teaching and education.   I will advocate more for quality programs and quality teachers, knowing what I know about where early childhood is and where it needs to be here and internationally. 
3. The issues of poverty internationally are very much surrounding us and affecting our future generations.  Poverty no longer means not enough food or no shelter.  Learning about this has given me a new meaning of poverty and how many people are truly affected by this.  Poverty is not always about what is visible but also about what is invisible.   With new websites and numerous organization locally and internationally I believe partnerships efforts are beginning to form to help prevent poverty and stress in many places. 

One Goal for the Field related to International Awareness 

of Issues and Trends & the spirit of collegial relations

I would like to continue to form international relationships with advocates and colleagues in the field to remain updated on challenges and changes as it relates to families, children, and educators in the field.  Regardless if relationships are made I will be able to stay abreast of new and changing information through a vast array of web-casts and journals issued in the field.   Through these efforts it will allow me to push to strengthen my advocating ability and teaching professionalism in early childhood. 

To My Colleagues Working in the Field in so Many Ways

Let's remain strong in our fight for equity in the programs and remember we are in this together, for our future, our children's future, and to make a difference in the lives of children, families and educators everywhere.