Global Gathering in Moscow Put Spotlight on Early Childhood Issues
On September 27-29, 2010 the first ever “World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education: Building the Wealth of Nations”, was held in Moscow. The conference brought together neuroscientists, high level government leaders, policy makers, and professionals from other science and education fields to attempt to put early childhood education and education in the spotlight as an imperative human development policy.
In 2000, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), developed the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The goals that were agreed upon were; to end extreme poverty and hunger, ensure that every child worldwide completes at least a primary education, and to reduce child mortality by two-thirds. The goals were to be reached by 2015. As the deadline is quickly approaching the government leaders acknowledge that early childhood care and education is key to meeting several of the Millennium Development Goals.
Dr. Jack Shonkoff, director of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, was a keynote speaker at the conference. Dr. Shonkoff shared with the attendees that current research on brain science human genome and behavioral and social sciences is “demonstrating how healthy development in the earliest years of life builds the foundations of successful adaptation and effective learning that lead to better outcomes in academic achievement, responsible citizenship, lifelong health, and economic and human development”.(Center, 2010)
Opportunities for nations to discuss policy and practice were also allotted at this year’s conference. Topics of discussion were country cases, policy challenges, innovative strategies and best practices, and integration and coordination across sectors. UNICEF reported in 2006 that 30 governments worldwide had established national early childhood development policies nationwide. However, more than half of the world’s governments remain without “formal policy or coordination mechanisms in place related to early childhood development”(Center, 2010).
The article closed with a statement from Dr. Mmantsetsa Marope, the director of the Division of Basic Education at UNESCO. She stated that “Early Childhood Care and Education is an unshakable foundation for the development of the human capital required for higher value-added productivity, sustainable growth, competiveness…and ultimately more equitable and politically stable societies”(Center, 2010). What a great statement to close an article or a conference on. Indeed giving children the best foundation with which to develop means that they receive a high quality of care in the early years of development. Success begins with the foundation.
Three new insights that I gained from reading the article this week are that around the world the desire to create an education system that provides children with the best opportunities for success is linked directly to the early childhood care and education. As I read the article, I found myself wondering in third world nations where the conditions are so bad that is amazing that the government is concerned with early childhood development. I definitely agree that in order for the circumstances to change in economically challenged areas, there has to be improvements to the education and development of the younger generation. The second topic that interested me was the discussion by Dr. Shonkoff about the research from other fields. This is what we learned about last week in class. It seems that other professions are supporting the efforts of the early childhood field with valuable research on development and statistics over time. With all the research and support that has been give to Early Childhood Education; I do not understand why we are fighting for funding. The research shows that the hope of the world is in the early years of child development. The third item that I wanted to share with others is that there is an organization for Early Childhood Education through the United Nations and that they have set goals in the field of early childhood care and development globally. I had not heard of this organization, and to be honest I have not even considered that all nations are interested in early childhood education. I guess I just assumed that with the economic troubles and wars around the world that people were not interested in education. I enjoyed reading the goals or Millennium Development goals, and hope that everyone takes a moment to learn more about this initiative.
Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2010). Global children’s initiative. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/global_initiative/ Moscow Conference Article
http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/topics/global_child_development/moscow-conference/
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