Learning about the international early childhood field has been quite interesting for me. Even though my initial contacts did not get back to me I was able to research the areas they were at and when I see them face to face we will be able to talk about the subject of education more in depth.

I am more aware now of what are the concerns of educators in Australia and Ireland. Even though one country is in major financial difficulty and the other never suffered the Great Recession they do have issues in common with us here back at home. Reaching all young children and giving them equal opportunities for an early start is key to both countries. Having standards in place for a quality education is important too.

The most startling facts that I noticed were at the Unesco web site. I know there are poor disadvantaged children the world over but the extent of their misery is so sad. Unesco also reports though on the hopes and challenges of bringing education to the young children. Learning about the possibility of using mobile devices such as phones and computers in education was an interesting idea.

What all this means to me professionally is that our world is becoming more of a global community and we are all looking to improve the educational capacities of our countries. We would be wise to learn more about other cultures. Be open to adaptability and change as we attempt to educate the young. Professionally I could see using some of the ideas I learned about on the Australian web site, for example: including families in the planning and implementation of education programs.

As future goal it would be excellent to tour a facility in another country and be able to talk to the teachers in person about what their concerns are in their local regions. Perhaps we could share ideas mindful of the fact that there could be useful learning on both sides

What professional goals do I have? I am not sure. What I can tell you is that I am much more aware of all in inequality in education that is out there in the world. Some areas are just so devastated and yet people are stuck in those conditions.
Unesco brings many corners of the world and their populations to light. In going to their web site in have read about "Inclusive Education", which is based on the right of all learners to quality education that meets basic learning needs and enriches lives (UNESCO, 2012). "Inclusive Education focuses primarily on marginalized and vulnerable people. I learned that 75 million children "are excluded from education. We have studied about some of the inequity’s that cause this. There are other reasons in the world though besides what we thought about. Imagine, child labor, nomadic life styles or gender inequity.
One of the disadvantaged groups of children is right in the heart of Europe. They are the Roma children. Roma are gypsies, thought to have originated from Romania along time ago. They are nomadic. Fifty percent of the Roma children fail to complete childhood education. Eight European countries met recently to discuss how to solve this problem of the Roma. One solution was that people directly involved with the Roma such as teachers and teacher assistants need to respect and know more about the culture.
Another idea I learned about was the use of mobile technology to help teach some of the children in the world. This includes hand help computers MP3 players and mobile phones. Information and ideas that were not available to teach are now more accessible. The Us Department of State and Nokia are some of the partners.
Mobile phones have potential to help early learning programs lay stronger foundations for learning.
It is apparent from all I have read that the world over is looking to improve the education chances for our young with the knowledge that more education brings and improved lifestyle. Different cultures are being embraced and enhanced by the use of education. Here in the USA we would be wise to embrace our differences too as we strive to work together for the good of all, especially in the realm of early childhood education.

Inclusive Education, 2012
Vulnerable and Marginalized Groups
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strenghtening -education-systems/Inclusive-education/

I returned to Donegal County Childcare Committee website and the organization called StartStrong this week. Their latest issue of their newsletter is out and in it I went to the link called “End Child Poverty”. It is hard to think of Ireland (land of merriment, all things green and Guinness) and at the same time think of children in poverty. Because of the recession they are suffering financial budgets cuts across the board right now including education. The End Child Poverty Coalition has put forth some recommendations to the government much the same way we do. They are concerned about accessibility and affordability of education programs. They feel there will not be enough places for children of poverty in the pre-schools if funds are not kept the same or even increased. Ireland has children of immigrant families and a sub culture of people known as the Travelers. These children are missing out on early education because of all three issues of availability, affordability and accessibility.
In the same newsletter there is a news release from the Dept. of Children and Youth Affairs supporting a strategy that champions early childhood education and ways to make it available to more children.
This website and the e-newsletter have made me more aware that excellence and equity in early education is not just a USA concern. Ireland is looking to us, New Zealand, France and England as they build a new education strategy. They have found that children who experience high quality preschool are higher achievers in education and employment and these benefits are having equity enhancing effects.(Dept. of Children and Youth Affairs, 2012).
Ireland operates under a more socialized government system. I learned more about their strategy they want to put in place. Besides accessibility, they are concerned about the affordability issue. They are calling for the government to set up a national 10-year plan for early childhood where the children of the year 2020 would have all the services and education programs in place that they would need.
To have our government actually get a plan in place that we could aspire to in early education might be a trend we should follow.

Links from Start Strong website:

Department of Children and Youth Affairs March 6, 2012
Government Approves Development of Ireland's First National Early Years Strategy for Children from birth to 6 years
http://www.dcya.gov.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=1809%20

End Child Poverty Coalition
Action Required by Government
http://endchildpoverty.ie/solutions/index.html