Final Blog: The International Early Childhood Field



Early childhood teachers and professionals have the power to create change in the lives of children in their classrooms and centers and children they never meet. No matter who these children are today, they will grow up into adults that will control the world, thus making children worldwide our responsibility.  This fact makes teaching, protecting, and guiding children to become intelligent, respectful, productive members of society imperative.

One goal for the field related to the international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations is that we open more lines of communication between the world's educators. As teachers working every day in the classrooms, the people who the children see regularly need to use each other as resources. This is important now more than ever as America is becoming more culturally responsive.

Another consequence of learning about international early childhood is

that stakeholders in early childhood education in the U.S. should provide the "financial backbone" needed for high-quality early childhood education. In addition, the U.S. could learn a lot about early education from our international counterparts.

For many countries, investments in young children are the mark of prudent thinking and wise resource allocation," Mongeau (2018) writes, "often approaching the top of the list of requisite investments." Not so in the U.S., where both per child spending and total pre-primary enrollment lag far behind other well-to-do nations. There are incredible lessons we can learn from countries like Netherland, Finland, Germany, and others. The lessons manifest themselves not only we can do but also in how we actually think about young children and the services for them. So as advocates for high-quality education, we must continue to exert pressure on the government and others at every level to see early childhood education for what it is- as an investment in the nation's well-being.

Lastly, the consequences of learning about international early childhood education make a stronger case for universal Pre-K. According to National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), half of all three-year-olds and a third of 4-year-olds in the United States were not enrolled in pre-school in 2019. Compared to England, "Early childhood services are part of the "reform, not revolution." All children over three with working parents are eligible for thirty hours of free child care and education in public or private pre-school. Those with non-working parents and the forty percent of 2-year-olds from the lowest income families are eligible for 15 hours a week of funded care. Australians idealize the notion of giving everyone "a fair go" and see improving their early childhood education system as a way to better live up to this principle. The Finnish ideals of universalism, social rights, and equality dictate that all citizens are entitled to education, health care, and other services needed to enhance their well-being.

     I hope what the Biden administration is proposing-large scale program will provide both pragmatic and philosophical ideas for helping the U.S. get to the point of upping its investment in the early years. We need to move beyond the conventional, "not just what other countries are doing, but how other countries are thinking. Pre-school is a worthy investment, not just for kids but for society overall.

My goal is to continue to be a strong voice as a Child Advocate for equitable opportunity for all children. I have already partnered with other advocacy groups at both the local and federal levels to speak for children of color and the disabled at a disadvantage, ensuring equitable access to high education.

                                                                               

                                                             Reference

MONGEA, L. (2018)Time to change how we think about early education, international study finds

https://hechingerreport.org/time-to-change-how-we-think-about-early-education-international-study-finds/


Comments

  1. BriannaJuly 3, 2021 at 2:29 PM

    Thank you for sharing such a great post. I resonate with the notion of thinking how other countries are thinking. Our country definitely has a way to go and a lot to learn from countries that prioritize early education and care. I wish you the best in your new advocacy group!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LucyJuly 3, 2021 at 3:29 PM

      Thank you Brianna! wishing you the best too.

      Delete
  2. Kathleen MontoyaJuly 4, 2021 at 8:16 AM

    Great post Lucy. I love the graphic you used. Multicultural children reaching for the globe. Beautiful. I whole heartedly agree with your statement “that stakeholders in early childhood education in the U.S. should provide the "financial backbone" needed for high-quality early childhood education.” It is a fight two get stakeholders in the US to understand how important early childhood education is. There are many countries that are exceeding far beyond what the US is doing with early childhood. We can learn a lot from our international counterparts.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJuly 4, 2021 at 11:22 AM

    I love that your goal is to open conversation and collaboration to a global scale. I remember as a child having a pen pal in another country and it was the coolest experience, I wonder if this could somehow be done with fellow educators!? I enjoyed reading your posts. Happy Summer :)
    -Rebecca Hurth
    rebecca.hurth@waldenu.edu

    ReplyDelete

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