Getting to know International Contacts-Part 3

A part of my educational goals is to utilize available resources, network with other professionals, and increase my awareness of the early childhood field.  I had the opportunity to do so while exploring the UNESCO's Early Childhood Care and Education website:

In New Zealand, home based care for birth to five years old, has increased due to more mothers entering the work force.  Home based care is under the supervision of a home based coordinator, but the Ministry of Education is over administration and partial funding.  Each home receives the same funding per child per hour.  The government oversees the quality of the early childhood education and evaluates the safetyy of children, the learning programs and the performance of management.  Each coordinator must have a qualification approval by the head of the Ministry of Education.  No formal education is required for care-givers, but changes are being implemented and new policies are being created to encourage and improve quality.

Brazil has a mandatory education fund for primary education that requires 60% of the local governments budgets to be spent on primary education.  Policy makers are trying to develop the same type of education for early childhood education for 0-6 year olds in order to increase early childhood education in Brazil.  Budgets for primary education tend to stretch beyond the 60%, and it leaves early childhood education with very little funding.  Efforts are being made to make funding mandatory for early childhood education, but assistance is also needed from the federal government.

HIV and AIDS affected children was addressed at the First World Conference on Early Care and Education held in September 2010.  A new series of children's books were featured at the conference about a boy and girl named "Bouba & Zaza."  "Childhood Cultures" is an intergenerational African series of children's books that takes  you through the experiences of Bouba and Zaza.  The series covers subjects affecting the lives of African families such as war, HIV/AIDS, water resources, and environmental protection.  The books help children address these problems and adapt to their environment, as well as, become active members of it.  The books help children to develop responsibility, improve communication skills, oral and written language, and various other skills. The books are also a great teaching resource for teachers, and they also benefit older children, parents, grandparents and the community.

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/