NIEER (National
Institute for Early Education Research)
Exploring the NIEER website I came across a link Child Trends
and the link took me to their website http://www.childtrends.org/.
The organization conducts studies on various issues and trends in child
development. Also gather evidence-based data on children at various levels of
development. Their goal is to inform the public of issues and trends in early
childhood by identifying children’s needs through high quality research. Their motivation is to improve policies and
support of healthy development of all children. The website offers a wealth of information, research,
data about various happenings and concerns in the early care and learning.
I explored another link http://www.nncc.org/about.html it is
a National Network for Child Care. It is an internet source of research based
publication associated with child care. The network’s goal is to share information on
child care from various perspectives, from parents, general public, professionals
and experts.
Newsletter: Volume 11, Issue 12 June 1, 2012
This week in this course, Trend and Issues in Early Childhood,
we are continuing to learn about quality and excellence in the early childhood
field and in past weeks learned about new voices advocating for quality early
education. In the June 1st Newsletter, under the Early Education
News Round Up section, there is a link to an article titled, “Business Leaders
Seek Greater Preschool Access.” In this
article business leaders are seeking changes in policies to eliminate the shortage
of access to quality programs for disadvantaged children. The leaders complain that inadequate
preschools are causing children to fail. Michigan children that are not exposed
to quality early education are unable to catch up by fourth grade; about
seventy percent are non-proficient readers (Flesher, 2012). As a result Michigan is unable to create the
workforce necessary to be competitive. A
union of business leaders recommended a plan to increase funding, increase
professional development and foster healthy child development.
Link to article: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9V39IN80.htm
It is important to gather resources to stay informed with matters
related to early education and care. The article by Flesher helped me understand
the necessity to promote equity and excellence in early care and education.
When 70% of a population is considered non-proficient reader there is a severe
problem. All children should have a right to access quality care and learning. It
is essential to their healthy development and future success.
Resources:
Flesher, J (2012). Business Leaders Seek Greater Preschool
Access. Business Week http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9V39IN80.htm
70% are non-proficient readers - that's a very sobering statistic. Very interesting post. It ties in so well with what we have been learning this week.
ReplyDeleteYou have provided some great resources that goes along with many things we have discussed. I am looking forward to readng some of these websites for more information. I enjoyed searching and reading websites that are useful in the field of education. I agree that children have the right to a good quality care and learning and yes it is very imporatant to healthy development and their future success. Great post. I enjoyed reading.
ReplyDeleteI went to the childtrends website and there is so much information!! I can't believe how many pull down tabs there are to look at. The first page graphy on non-marital births to all women was really interesting to look at and it had what looked like great articles on fatherhood. I'm going to mark down this website to use for future papers.
ReplyDeleteKatara,
ReplyDeleteIt is important to stay current on issues that are affecting our children as well as our career choices. The state of our economy, change in policies and standards, and also the change in the quality of child care are the most important reasons that we should want to know what is going on in the world. My program director is always sending emails and copies of newsletters so that we can stay informed.
The information that you located is very vital to educators as well as economist. It ties in with what we having been discussing in the recent weeks; if quality education is not provided it will have a negative outcome on the future of our economy. With 70% of the school population being considered non-proficient readers I completely agree there is a serious problem; a problem that many of us or noticing. Next school year my district will be providing 4 hours of tutoring and enrichment to those in need with hopes of bridging the academic gap.
ReplyDeleteKatara,
ReplyDeleteWow! 70% non-proficient readers is a very high number! It is so disheartening that there are children who do not have access to high quality education, whether it is because of the program, location, or educators. As a fourth grade teacher, I can say that that it is probably the toughest year for an elementary student. The workload increases and the students are being asked to be more independent. If a child is a struggling reader in 4th grade, they really do fall behind. More than likely they will be referred and will receive extra support, but they have to work double hard to catch up with their peers.
It is interesting the link between early childhood education and the business world. It is great to see business leaders recognizing the importance and suppoting early childhood education.
ReplyDelete