International Poverty

I had planned to discuss the poverty issue in Ghana this week but unfortunately I have not heard from my conservation partner yet. Her name is Jes Sudol. She taught in Ghana over the last two years at different times.

After listening to Dr. Grace's video and reviewing the articles, I learned an enormous amount of basic information about poverty statistics within the United States. The Childhood Poverty Research and Policies Centre is an online publication offering information on poverty throughout the world.

Here is some basic information about poverty in Ghana:

"While overall poverty was almost halved in a decade and a half, from 52% in 1991/92 to 28.5% in 2005/06, one-quarter of the population still lives below the poverty line and 18.5% of Ghanaians live in extreme poverty, with inadequate resources even to meet their basic food subsistence needs" (Unicef, 2009).

"Child deprivations are correlated with monetary poverty, residence in rural areas or the more deprived regions (particularly in northern Ghana) and a low level of maternal education." (Unicef, 2009).

"Child poverty remains a global phenomenon. State and non-state actors worldwide must prioritize children to break the cycle of life-long and inter-generational poverty." (odi, 2009).

The Overseas Development Institute focused on research throughout the world. The Childhood Poverty Research and Policies Centre website is a great new resource for worldwide information.


I hope to have an update sometime this weekend to update you all on my colleagues personal experiences over in Ghana.

Zero to Three

Zero to Three 

http://www.zerotothree.org/

Zero to Three is an organization dedicated to providing parents and professional the knowledge and know-how to nuture early development. This site has information on many different issues in early childhood development.

One trend that caught my eye while exploring the website was the article "The School Ready Child." 

http://www.zerotothree.org/public-policy/school-readiness-infographic.html

This policy graphic says that are five parts to preparing children for school. These are:

1. It's all about relationships

2. Everyday experiences shape early learning

3. Emotions

4. The importance of play

5. What a school ready child looks like.

This is a fresh new graphic is a great new tool for early childhood educators. 

Early Childhood Education Around the World

As I read our assignment for the week, I first thought "I really have to communicate with people across the world". After that initial thought, I began pursuing my contacts. I used the resources to locate emails from professionals in Ghana, Canada, and the Czech Republic. I have sent an initial contact email and I am hoping to hear back from these professionals soon. I chose these countries for different reasons. I decided to contact Lucie Rastocna from the Czech Republic because my great grandparents were born there. I chose to contact Yvonne Dionne from the Canadian Childcare Federation because it is our closest culture and I chose to contact Reverend Charles Arko-Nanoo from Ghana because I know other professionals who have worked in Ghana with their early childhood programs. I will also be working with my former co-worker Jessica Sudol, as she has spent time in Ghana working with the children in classrooms for several years.

As I look at many websites in regards to trends in Early Childhood Education, I will be following Zero to Three. This organization is great for not only professionals but also parents providing information that is needed to provide quality care to children in our lives.