Early Childhood Education in Australia
http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/
http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/nqsplp/
It is difficult to only choose one international site to look at. Since I am currently in education I often wonder if other countries run their programs similar to the U.S. I want to know if the same educational pains are felt globally or only in the U.S. When I looked at the Australian early childhood education website I discovered that the U.S. is not alone in the battle for funds and support in the early childhood field.
To address the first question of current international research topics, some of the topics are the same as the U.S. In a September 4th media release it was announced that over 140,000 early childhood education professionals will be caring for over 1 million children in over 16,000 centers across Australia. Similarly to the U.S. there is a high need for more funding and assistance through grants and federal monies. Early childhood professionals want to invest in quality training for professionals to ensure that the must current ideas are being implemented in the the field. New and affordable care is needed for families that have young children. Like the U.S. many families cannot take part of what programs are available due to money troubles. Political parties need to become more aware of these issues and address them as a high priority. Young children are leading the way, but professionals and adults are letting them down.
In the second question I was asked if there were any surprising insights, facts, or ideas about early childhood that I gained from this site. I did obtain some new information about EC from this site. The U.S. is clearly not alone in the battle for funding and development of EC programs and institutions. Australia is doing its best to accommodate families in need with what funding they do have. The country has also implemented the RIPS program which is Research in Practice Services. This is a purchasable service and it includes a variety of topics that pertain to the early childhood field. Many links are also posted on this site to provide professionals and caregivers insight into the current issues of EC.
Lastly, I commend this site for providing many supplemental materials and support to professionals, caregivers, and parents. A free news letter can be sent to you electronically (which takes about 20 seconds to fill out), and this program has been in the works for 75 years. Australia is doing its best to support best practices for EC environments and the professionals involved.
Hi Natasha,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I really enjoyed reading what you learned from the ECA website. I also chose to explore this website. It was great to find out that there are organizations in other countries that are similar to our NAEYC program in the United States. I just feel so relieved that children, EC professionals, families, and others are being helped/guided by such programs like ECA. I learned many things from their RIPS program. Programs like NAEYC and ECA/RIPS give me hope that children will have a bright future ahead of them. It makes me proud to be an educator.
Ashley T.
Natasha,
ReplyDeleteGreat reflection on what you gained from exploring the"Early Childhood of Australia" website. I also chose this website and was very pleased with all of the information I found. It was interesting to see that like you said, the U.S. struggles with very similar issues that were discussed to occur in Australia as well. Like Ashley said above, I am glad to see organizations in other parts of the world similar to the NAEYC.
Caitlin
Natasha,
ReplyDeleteIt looks like several of us chose this website and we each found a lot of really great information. I will definitely be visiting this site in the future. Thanks for posting your findings. I think it is also interesting that we each visited this site and each found similar information yet we each found additional information that the others didn't discuss. I want to find the time to revisit this site and take in more of the information shared there.
Natasha,
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that some of the research topics being addressed by Early Childhood Australia seem to be similar to issues being discussed in the United States such as: Issues of quality, accessibility and support for families within the early childhood field. My goal is to stay informed on research in other countries. This will allow us, to improve our practice and be able to inform others.Early Childhood Australia is the peak early childhood advocacy organization, acting in the interests of young children, their families and those in the early childhood field.
It looks like several of us chose this website and we each found really great information. Great post!!!