All the web sites I have explored have been unequivocal in the praise and support for early childhood care and education. This is not surprising as evidences abound that experiences a child had in the early years has profound consequences on the child later on in life. Studies have shown how patterns of experience a child had in the early years have had long-term impacts on the social and cognitive development of the child. However, it must be stressed that the much talked about gains of early childhood care and education such as returns in human capital development, better social development, fewer drop-outs etc can only make sense and be felt by the society if programs been provided are of high quality and can be accessible by all children- their social, religious and cultural backgrounds and physical differences notwithstanding.
The last website that I visited was that of Eurochild at www.eurochild.org. Eurochild is a network of organizations and individuals working in Europe to improve the quality of life of children and young people. Eurochild's activities are underpinned by the principles enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and is being funded by the European Commission within the Progress Program. From the site I was able to assess conclusions made at the 3090th Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council meeting held in Brussels between 19th and 20th May, 2011. Stressing the importance of early childhood education, the council, among other conclusions recognizes the need for a provision of a generalized equitable access to high quality early childhood education and care as a strong contributing factor to the success of Europe 2010 strategy.
One important new insight about issues and trends in early childhood education that I got from exploring this site is that of the need to increase the proportion of men in early childhood education and care programs. I have never given this a thought before now, albeit, it is the tradition and implied practice in some schools that only women can provide education and care for young children. I now remember how parents kicked against a male teacher that was employed in my former school to teach at the preschool level- he was eventually moved to grade 1. Having role models of both sexes is good for children and helps their development, it can help break gender stereotyped feelings and perceptions. A care center or school composed of both sexes will widening children's experience and will make a positive statement about reduced gender segregation in the labor market.
Sources:
www.eurochild.org
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/Newsroom
Very interesting post. I have never heard of that website, sounds like a very beneficial one. That is interesting how the male teachers vs female teachers are an issue. Stereotypes are still alive and well no matter where you go. I definately agree with you however, that it is very good for children to have both sexes within their school environment, it helps with that stigma that all men do certain things and all female does other certain jobs, very good point/reminder. Thanks for sharing, I'll add this to my list of resources to check out further.
ReplyDeleteI also have not heard of this website before, but it sounds as if you found a great deal of useful information. As far as increasing the male to female ratio of early childhood teachers i think that is a very good idea. For a long time i was a single mother raising my sons, and i desired a male teacher for them so that they could have some positive male influence in their life. There are many times that children are being raised without fathers, and having a male teacher could be very beneficial to them. Thank you for your post.
ReplyDeleteI like your comment about men working in the early childhood field. Children, especially male children look up to male teachers as role model. Sometimes many families are just the mother and child. The boys are missing that male influence in their life. I can see the fear of some parents of having a male teacher associated with pedifilers but some men really do have the knack of being an excellent teacher to young children. thank you
ReplyDeleteRachael