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