Brazil, for example, leads the E-9 countries in per-capita expenditures for young children (Levin 2005, p. 198). China has committed to the universalization of preschool education (children ages 3-6) in urban areas by 2015, to increasing enrollment in one-year programs in rural areas, and increasing overall enrollment in preschool education. India has likewise committed to improved programs and access for its 3- to 6-year-olds, but has not established a timeframe in which to accomplish its goal. Indonesia has no standardized a preschool program, although there is a curriculum for public kindergartens. Schooling for preschoolers tends to emphasize creativity and good hygiene, and strongly support informal playgroups and parent education (Levine 2005, p. 199). In many ways, these programs do not compare with programs in the U.K. And the U.S. For many children in emerging nations, the focus of early childhood is survival. Development of programs that provide education and enrichment for cognitive and social aspects of the child, for example, are less urgent than reducing infant and child mortality. Basics of nutrition and hygiene are important, education of parents is important and many of these cultures also demand that religious education be part of the programs as well, as is the case with many Muslim schools, for instance, in Indonesia (Levine 2005, p. 200). However, where the merging nations are ahead of U.K. And the U.S. is in their commitment to ECE and the apparent willingness to fund sustained efforts that will truly make a difference.
Davis (2010, p. 286) argues that there is so much controversy about programs and implementation in the U.K. because of long-standing philosophical traditions about the period of time in a child's life from infancy to age seven, the so-called "age of reason." Earlier models of ECE were framed largely from the aristocratic perspective, in which "relatively distant parental figures have outsourced their educational and emotional responsibilities to a range of professional nurses, tutors and mentors " (Davis, 2010, p. 286). Although this has not been as true in the United States, given the nation's shorter history and heightened efforts, particularly in the last fifty years, to make programs and access more equitable, it does remain true that both the U.S. And the U.K. must redouble their efforts to bring quality ECE to their nations' children.
One of the issues at the heart of quality ECE programs is the debate between pedagogical traditions, which tend to focus on developmentally-oriented practices, and the curriculum-based structure of primary school (Walsh, McGuinness, Sproule & Trew 2010, p. 53). Researchers in Northern Ireland found evidence to support the first approach, yet note that teacher education and in-service professional development have yet to fully embrace this shift in focus.
Hegde and Cassidy (2009, p. 846) cited research on U.S. programs that correlated stringent program regulations, consistently enforced, with better-quality ECE programs. It makes sense. Bracken and Crawford (2010, p. 421) explored the development and implementation of early childhood educational standards, particularly with regard to the inclusion of basic concepts into state standards throughout the U.S. They cited the importance of ensuring that all children acquire foundations in language arts necessary to "explore, comprehend, and discuss topical concepts in all content areas if they are to succeed academically" (Bracken and Crawford 2010, p. 422). It is especially true for children with special needs and those from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds where languages other than English are spoken in the home. As the U.K.'s population becomes more ethnically diverse, standardized curriculum building foundations in language arts will be essential there as well.
Feldman (2010, p. 233) argues that early learning standards can be universally incorporated using state benchmarks as an umbrella structure to support curricular planning. Feldman asserts that benchmarks have a hierarchical structure permitting educators to think about benchmarks "as embedded within educational goals, spanning different age-ranges,...
Also like Levine, Neuman indicates that other nations have taken such great strides in advancing ECE efforts, in some cases while struggling with other serious issues facing developing countries; as a result, the United States should look to these nations for ways to improve its own educational system (Levine 2005; Neuman 2005). Unlike Levine, Neuman draws her information from researching the "OECD of early childhood education and care in 20
The participant's conditional use of requests for assistance and independent task completion were sustained across time" (Reichle, Dropik, Alden-Anderson & Haley, 2008, ¶ 1). A number of young children with autism experience considerable communicative delays. Peter (a pseudonym), a 5-year-old boy, diagnosed with autism and global developmental delay, had been diagnosed with autism at 3 years, 8 months (Reichle, Dropik, Alden-Anderson & Haley, 2008, Participants section, ¶ 1). Sessions for
CONTROLLING OUR EMOTIONS? EMOTIONAL LITERACY: MECHANISM FOR SOCIAL CONTROL? At the core of becoming an activist educator Is identifying the regimes of truth that govern us the ideas that govern how we think, act and feel as educators because it is within regimes of truth that inequity is produced and reproduced. (MacNaughton 2005, 20) Disorder, addictions, vulnerability and dysfunction...." Disorder, addictions, vulnerability and dysfunction...." These terns, according to Nolan (1998; Furedi 2003; cited by Ecclestone
Controversy with vaccines, adverse reactions of the MMR vaccine and the negative publicity surrounding it SHAPE Measles, Mumps and Rubella Vaccine: Absence of Evidence for Link to Autistic-Spectrum Disorders Henry K. Nguyen, MD Candidate Increased incidence of measles, mumps, and rubella is directly due to controversies regarding the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine despite the absence of data supporting a correlation between this combined vaccine and development of autism. Correspondence to: Mentor: Dr. Anshu Kacker 5650 including Abstracts Increased incidence of
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