FYI

FYI from Tamalin from South Africa

These are some things she thought I should know about South Africa:

Economic environment

Working in communities that live in circumstances of extreme poverty is a constant challenge. The families we work with have serious and persistent concerns about food, clothes, shelter and other expenses related to daily life. Quite often, the last worry on their minds is whether they should send their children to an ECD centre, how many books they should be reading with their child and which education activities are more stimulating.  These are also the families that are unlikely to be able to afford to send their children to an ECD centre or purchase educational equipment such as books, puzzles and blocks.

We always aim to plan our programmes and workshops with these families (and their needs, concerns and struggles) in mind. We use incentives, such as food parcels, to attract participants to workshops; budget for stipends, so that we can offer a financial incentive to parents travelling to our programme events and turn learning into a fun activity, so that families make the time to learn together, and enjoy it.

Poverty: Literacy, numeracy and lifeskills

Some young children grow up in environments and circumstances where parents are able to devote considerable time to their early education needs. In these homes books, magazines and newspapers are readily available and are read to children. Counting games and pre-numeracy activities take place which encourage the development of numeracy. But, for families affected by poverty, the situation is very different. With little time and few (if any) resources these parents are not able to provide the optimal environment for the development of literacy, numeracy and life skills.

Additional information (consequences of poverty and economic return on investing in ECD)

Young children in South Africa grow up in circumstances of extreme poverty. This is the case both in urban settlements and rural areas. This poverty has many consequences; the most immediate being illness, stunted growth, lagging cognitive development, poor nutrition and general lethargy. These children enter grade 1 poorly prepared for schooling and as a result they fail and drop out of the education system never to return. The effect is seen at matric level where only 35% of all children starting grade 1 make it through twelve years of schooling.

One way of overcoming these effects of poverty is to provide good quality early childhood development (ECD) programmes for young children with support to their families.

International research, corroborated by research in South Africa, shows that a good quality preschool experience has many positive effects on young children. Children who attend a quality preschool programme:

·                Do better at formal school

·                Are less likely to get involved in crime

·                Are more likely to be employed

·                Are less likely to need costly remedial education

·                and for girls, are less likely to become pregnant whilst a teenager.

Quality early childhood development programmes are a means of eradicating poverty. By providing a range of services at early childhood development centres and by providing ECD stakeholders with information on early childhood development we can significantly improve the quality and quantity of early childhood development and education for young children in South Africa.

Many children are extraordinarily disadvantaged in South Africa. Research in South Africa and internationally indicates that the early years are critical for development. The research shows that quality early childhood development learning and care leads to higher levels of physical, cognitive and emotional wellbeing and better rates of lifetime learning and productivity. The early years have been recognised as the ideal phase for the passing of values that are important for the building of a peaceful, prosperous and democratic society. Early and appropriate provisioning and interventions for children at risk can often reverse the effects of deprivation and make it possible for children to grow and develop to their full potential, thus reducing the need for remedial services to address the developmental lag and social problems later in life.

As a country, South Africa needs a much greater investment in education at the level that produces the greatest social and economic return - the early years – and reaps the benefits all the way through the education system.

Week 4 Sharing Resources

What specific section(s) or information seemed particularly relevant to your current professional development?

1. For this week’s Blog Assignment, I chose to visit http://www.pewstates.org/. I reviewed the research and analysis section of the website. One article I chose to read is entitled “Using Pre-K Advance Education Reform Opportunities for State Advisory Councils” (http://www.pewstates.org/research/reports/using-pre-k-to-advance-education-reform-85899378028) because I am interested in what councils say about closing achievement gaps and improving school performance.   The article verified that high quality pre-k programs have a vital role in improving student outcomes and will be stronger if states connect policies between pre –K and early elementary grades.  Some states have already have jumped on the bandwagon utilizing funds from the Early Learning Challenge.

Which ideas/statements/resources, either on the website or in an e-newsletter, did you find controversial or made you think about an issue in new ways?

2. a. PEW reports that nearly 51 million people are not registered to vote. That is amazing to me because I value my right to vote.  PEW says that is 1 in 4 people are not registered. (The reason, I enjoy this website is because it has a variety of information, it is like reading the newspaper not like viewing a website that covers only one central topic.) 

b. I viewed what looked like a chart with printed statistics called an infographic. This infographic displayed information on the topic Child Abuse.   In a brief moment I was thrust into statistics about what age abuse takes place and how an alternative call home visiting program can diminish these stats. This was more powerful that any 10 page report I have ever read on the topic.

http://www.pewstates.org/research/data-visualizations/child-abuse-prevention-month-infographic-85899376583     

What information does the website or the e-newsletter contain that adds to your understanding of how economists, neuroscientists, or politicians support the early childhood field?

3. In this letter to the editor, “Money Spent on Early Childhood Education Would Be a Wise Investment” by Terry Alexander expresses  is what we have been talking about in class this week.  The author says for what we know about brain development we would be wise to utilize our tax dollar in a child’s early stages of life.  This article gives views from economists, neuroscientists and politicians regarding finances, taxes and brain development. 

http://www2.scnow.com/news/2012/mar/26/letter-editor-money-spent-early-childhood-educatio-ar-3484797

What other new insights about issues and trends in the early childhood field did you gain from exploring the website or e-newsletter?

 http://www.pewstates.org/news-room/video-library/pre-k-now-marking-a-decade-of-pre-k-milestones-85899379929

4. I viewed this awesome informative video entitled, Pre-K Now: Marking a Decade of Pre-k Milestones.  Professionals speak of their beliefs about pre-school education envisioning a day when all children have access to a high quality program no matter what their socio-economic status.  One person says that she hope a day comes when pre-K is as essential as 7^th, 8^th grades and so on. Another person says that there is no science that places artificial barriers between grade levels.  Bottom line is that research supports  pre-k education and that it holds its ground and prepares children to learn.  View it for yourself, it’s a must. 

Getting to Know Your International Contacts—Part 1

     In week one, Dr. Longo provided us with Blog Resources to pursue our International contacts.  After several efforts to make contact via e-mail, no one was responding to me but I did not give up hope.  Finally, I received an e-mail from Tamalin Harper from South Africa who said she would be willing to be my international contact.  She is employed by the National Early Childhood Development Alliance of South Africa.  I did not send the e-mail to her but the director, Mr. Eric Atmore who in turn gave her the assignment of corresponding with me. 

     Ms. Harper attached a journal article written by their team to the e-mail.  The article is entitled, “Challenges Facing the Early Childhood Development Sector in South Africa” authored by Eric Atmore, Lauren-Jayne Niekerk & Michaela Ashley-Cooper on 15 June 2012.  The name of the journal was not included in the e-mail but I have been trying to locate it through Walden University Library and staff. 

     On the issue of poverty, the article says, “more than half of South Africa’s children live in severe poverty, which jeopardizes the realization of their rights as contained in the South African Constitution”   (Du Plessis, 2007). Additionally, another author states “children living in poverty are extremely vulnerable, discriminated against, and isolated.” Furthermore, Atmore says, “monetary poverty is closely connected to poor health and well-being, as well as to limited access to education, nutrition, healthcare services and safe environments” (Atmore, 15 June 2012). Through the support of the government, financial support is provided for poverty stricken families through social assistance programs.  This grant, Child Support Grant, is the largest child poverty alleviation program in South Africa and contributes towards food, education as well as basic goods and services for millions of children across the country (South African Child Gauge, 2010).

     From this article, I realize that poverty is a very serious issue for the world.  Early childhood educators, should be perplexed by the complexity of poverty.  Poverty affects so many areas of a child and family’s life.  I just began to think about some of the children who I personally know who live in poverty.  For starters, my school duty station is the cafeteria.  I see the children as soon as they exit the bus.  They come to school hungry and uncared for by having dirty faces and dirty uniforms.  As the one of the first adults they see when they come to school, I have learned to do a quick hygiene tactic with them.  I hand out wipes and combs as needed.  I have collected extra hygiene supplies over the years and sometimes, I just have to purchase it.  I then escort them into the cafeteria for breakfast.  With the help of my co-workers, we have made an extras table.  Children are encouraged to take all food items then place the unwanted items on the extras table for children who may want additional items.  I feel as though it is hard enough to concentrate when one has poverty issues at home, so the least we can do is make sure they are well fed to start  the school day. 

References

Atmore, E.,  van Niekerk, L., & Ashley-Cooper, M., (2012). Challenges facing the early childhood development sector in south  africa.

Du Plessis, P. & Conley, L. (2007) ‘Children and Poverty in South Africa: The Right to Social Security’ Educational Research and Review, 2 (4): 49-59.

Statistics South Africa. (2010) General Household Survey 2009. Pretoria: StatsSA.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). (2009) The State of the World’s Children: Special Edition. New York: Brodock Press.

Sharing Web Resources

Sharing Web Resources

 The organization I choose is the Pew Center on the States “Good policy depends on good information”. (http://www.pewstates.org/projects/pre-k-now-328067) The PEW Center on the State completed a 10 year study which is challenging the states to change the face of education to include  pre-K education and move away from K-12 grade levels. Why should this be done? In the information provided  on the site, researchers say that vital learning happens before the age of five.  The information continues by stating “to ensure that all children fulfill their potential as individuals and citizens, we must re-imagine public education as a system that begins not with kindergarten, but with quality pre-k, and builds on that foundation to raise performance in later grades”.

     The article which resonated with me was “Children’s Dental Campaign.” The author stated “tooth decay affects 60% of kids and untreated, the consequences can be painful and disruptive to learning and daily activities.” Also, the Dental Campaign promotes cost effective strategies to provide high quality care to children whose household income is low.  A few of the efforts included  to increase services are access to fluoride water, ensuring that Medicaid is efficient and expanding the number of professionals who provide dental care. Additionally, PEW works with a variety of agencies, lawmakers (national and local) targeting states in which policy changes can dramatically improve children’s lives.