Professional and Personal Development

The three significances that I learned about the international early childhood field for my professional and personal development, is that it appears that no matter how poor and rich a country may be that the common goals among all countries is to develop stronger policies and larger investments to benefit the young and their families, to eradicate poverty and homelessness, to provide jobs for those who are able to work and who want to work, pay fair wages and to be able to build a stronger economy.

The one goal for the field related to international awareness of issues and trends and the spirit of collegial relations would be to eradicate poverty across the globe.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow colleagues, I’ve enjoyed corresponding with each of you over the past 8 weeks.  The array of information shared among colleagues has been both informative and inspirational.  I gained information on several websites that have enriched my professional development and that I will revisit often to keep up with current issues and trends within the early childhood field across the globe as I continue in my studies.

International Contacts—Part 3

Key milestones reached for new education goals

The international community has moved a step closer towards defining the education agenda beyond 2015, to be part of the global post-2015 development agenda.

The proposed overarching education goal is to
“ensure equitable and inclusive quality education and lifelong learning for all by 2030”.

The seven global education targets:

·         Early childhood care and education  
Target 1: By 2030, at least x% of girls and boys are ready for primary school through participation in quality early childhood care and education, including at least one year of free and compulsory pre-primary education, with particular attention to gender equality and the most marginalized. 

·         Basic education  
Target 2: By 2030, all girls and boys complete free and compulsory quality basic education of at least 9 years and achieve relevant learning outcomes, with particular attention to gender equality and the most marginalized. 

·         Youth and adult literacy
 Target 3: By 2030, all youth and at least x% of adults reach a proficiency level in literacy and numeracy sufficient to fully participate in society, with particular attention to girls and women and the most marginalized.   

·         Skills for work
 Target 4: By 2030, at least x% of youth and y% of adults have the knowledge and skills for decent work and life through technical and vocational, upper secondary and tertiary education and training, with particular attention to gender equality and the most marginalized. 

·         Skills for citizenship and sustainable development
 Target 5: By 2030, all learners acquire knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to establish sustainable and peaceful societies, including through global citizenship education and education for sustainable development. 

·         Teachers
Target 6: By 2030, all governments ensure that all learners are taught by qualified, professionally-trained, motivated and well-supported teachers. 

·         Financing  of education
Target 7: By 2030, all countries allocate at least 4-6% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or at least 15-20% of their public expenditure to education, prioritizing groups most in need; and strengthen financial cooperation for education, prioritizing countries most in need. 

Sharing Web Resources

Success Story

The Global Fund for Children partners with grassroots organizations all across the world to provide kids with what they need to thrive, even in the most challenging circumstances.  The Features News link shares success stories from across the world on how the Global Fund for Children and their partners serve some of the world's most vulnerable and hard-to-reach children who are victims of trafficking and violence, children of prostitutes and youth living in slum areas.  Following is a success story of young girl whose dream was to become a pilot and how her dream has inspired the whole community.

Angeline has her sights set on the sky: she wants to be a pilot when she grows up. When asked where she’d fly to, she says, “I want to fly to America to go to university there.” Unfortunately, for many girls like Angeline, obstacles stand in the way of big dreams.

In the Maasai community where Angeline lives, girls are often married off at age 12 after undergoing female genital mutilation. This traditional rite of passage into adulthood is extremely painful and dangerous, and it can lead to myriad problems, from infection to death.  Maasai girls are usually expected to drop out of school after this ceremony takes place, to take on their new roles as wives and mothers.

But Angeline was lucky. When she was 11 years old, she was admitted to the Academy for Girls, a boarding school for adolescent girls. A project of the Kakenya Center for Excellence (KCE), the Academy is the only school of its kind in the region.

Kakenya Ntaiya, founder of KCE, knows what it is like to be a Maasai girl with aspirations. Engaged at age 5, with marriage expected by age 13, Kakenya instead negotiated with her family and community to allow her to continue her education. In return, she promised to use her education to benefit Enoosaen.

True to her word, Kakenya has dedicated her organization to improving the lives of the most vulnerable and underprivileged Maasai girls. The Academy boasts a 100 percent retention rate and consistently ranks among the top schools in its division.  Alongside the educational and leadership curriculum, girls at the Academy learn enriching cultural traditions such as storytelling and beadwork. Life skills training teaches them how to maintain strong homes and productive and healthy farms.

Though many parents and village elders were unsure at first, the Academy has brought about a new level of acceptance of girls’ education. The chief of the village, who once publicly declared that girls should be married and not educated, is now a staunch supporter of KCE and its mission.

Now 16, Angeline has graduated from the Academy and is going to high school with assistance from KCE. Last year, Kakenya was named a CNN Hero for transforming the lives of girls like Angeline and helping them to pursue their dreams.

Getting to Know Your International Contacts

The Global Children’s Initiative, launched Núcleo Ciência Pela Infância, its first major programmatic effort outside the United States.  A project aimed to use the science of child health and development to guide stronger policies and larger investments to benefit young children and their families in Brazil.

Another insight that I gained was that in sub-Saharan Africa, the Zambian Ministry of Education, UNICEF, the University of Zambian and the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University has launch the Zambian Early Childhood Project (ZECDP) to collaborate on the effects of an ongoing anti-malaria initiative on children’s development.  There are over three billion people at risk of becoming infected with malaria, the groups of people who are especially vulnerable to malaria infections are children and pregnant women.  In Zambia, every 30 seconds a child dies from malaria.

In an explicit effort to build an integrated international approach to child survival, health, and development in the earliest years of life, the Center on the Developing Child has launched the Global Children’s Initiative as the centerpiece of its global child health and development agenda.

The Center’s commitment to global work represents both an acknowledgement of moral responsibility to meet the needs of all children and a critical investment in the roots of economic productivity, positive health outcomes, and strong civil society in all nations, from the poorest to the most affluent. One essential, cross-cutting aspect of the Center’s approach is its commitment to work collaboratively across disciplines and institutions, drawing together the best and most creative expertise available to achieve the Initiative’s goals.