Getting to Know Your International Contacts - Part 3

I first reviewed the World Forum Foundation website.  I found a video on the WoFo TV by Dr. Susan Linn.  This was a short video but I felt with other components it could be used as part of professional development as the presentation talked about play.  Dr. Linn used a puppet during the presentation to talk about how children are not using creative play instead they are exposed to commercialization of play.  By this Dr. Linn discusses how toys of today leave less to children's imagination in that toys are linked to media or have a computer chip.  She posted different pictures of puppets giving the example that children can still play with a puppet but since most of them were recognized by children through programming or imagines their play was limited as most children would not use the "Cookie Monster" puppet as an elephant.  Dr. Linn states that children are born to engage in creative play and our society seems to do everything possible to stop it.  It was very interesting when she said she has many preschool teachers tell her that most of the children of today coming into preschool do not know how to play creatively.  She gave the reminder of how much children learn through play and they various ways they are learning through play and how it helps prepare them for life. 

In reviewing the UNESCO's Early Childhood Care and Education webpage I found numerous resources on early childhood care and education in various parts of the world.  The first section of the webpage I reviewed was Country Policy Reviews.  This provides a report of early childhood education policies from around the world and shares various demographic information as well as a wealth of other content relating to early childhood.  The second section I reviewed was Country Profiles.  This has information on various components within the field of early childhood and policies, also updates on any reforms or initiatives that have been developed.  Examples of content include the following:

- Type of personnel involved
- Type of staff training
- Recent national policies and reforms
- Efforts targeted at vulnerable or disadvantaged children
- Information concerning the ECCE curriculum or the contents

A third section I reviewed was titled Holistic Early Childhood Development Index.   This is an action agenda called upon UNESCO to have a work group develop an instrument to track progress towards goals paying specific attention to quality and the holistic aspects of early childhood education. As such UNESCO is working with a wide range of partners to develop the Holistic Early Childhood Development Index (HECDI).  As of June 2013, an agreement was reached with identifying 6 core indicators of early childhood development: health, nutrition, education, parent support, equity and social protection, and alleviation of poverty.  There is a series of reports that relate to each core indicator. 

The UNESCO Early Childhood Care and Education webpage has a wealth of information about early childhood education from around the world.  I find this to be a resource I will utilize.