Sharing Web Resources: ISSA & Equity

This week I did a little more exploring on the ISSA website. First, I looked under the Events section and followed some links about the past ISSA conferences. The one that I found most interesting was the link to the Riga 2010 International Conference, Embracing Inclusive Approaches for Children and Youth with Special Education Needs. This was a conference held by Division of International Special Education and Services/USA (DISES), the Council for Exceptional Children/USA (CEC), the Center for Education Initiatives/Latvia (CEI) and the International Step by Step Association. When I followed the link, it directed me to a section of the Council of Exceptional Children’s website and I found information about the conference and select power point presentations from the speakers. In addition to this, the website had more information about professional development, news and issues about special education, and policy/advocacy information…another great resource to bookmark!

Going back to the ISSA website, I searched another area of the website that I have not really paid too much attention too and found some more really interesting information. Clicking on the ISSA Bookstore link takes you to a section about ISSA’s Reading Corner Initiative. This ISSA initiative is designed to provide information about high-quality children’s literature and reading to parents and educators. I thought it was really neat because all of the books promoted here are from one of the 26 countries ISSA works with, are available in all the languages spoken in those countries, and can be downloaded and used by parents and educators. Overall, I just thought that this was a really great way to promote literacy and provide high quality books and materials to children and their families.

Lastly, I read another article this week from the Winter 2010-2011 ISSA Newsletter. The article that I read this week, “ISSA and Partners Work to Improve Access to Quality Early Education Provisions in Rural Kazakhstan” is really relevant to the discussion that we have been having on equity and excellence. The article discussed a current project in Kazakhstan “Civil Society Partnership for Rural Children.” This project aims “to support every child’s right to quality education by developing models of child-centered, cost-effective early education services in rural areas in partnership with parents, local educational institutions, and municipal governments” (ISSA, 2010-2011). We have been talking about how many children and families do not have access to high quality early childhood education and what can be done to eliminate the barriers to awareness, access, and responsiveness. ISSA and its partners are working in Kazakhstan to eliminate these barriers by working with and empowering local communities, establishing high quality programs in rural areas (including teacher and parent classes/training),  and developing other outreach programs.

For more information about Kazakhstan from UNICEF: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/kazakhstan.html

This week gave me some new insights into global issues of equity and excellence as well as other issues in the early childhood field. I learned what steps other countries and organizations are taking to reduce inequities and promote excellence and high quality programs. I also gained some new information from looking at the power point presentations from the Riga 2010 International Conference and what the countries involved in this conference are doing to promote inclusion of all the children in their areas. From exploring the ISSA website and its links this week, I saw many issues are surrounding the field of early childhood and what professionals in this field are doing to address them. I think what I really gained this week was a sense of how the international community of early childhood educators is working towards promoting positive child development and sharing information and resources with each other.

References:

ISSA. Winter 2010-2011. “ISSA and Partners Work to Improve Access to Quality Early Education Provisions in Rural Kazakhstan.” Retrieved from ISSA Newsletter: http://www.issa.nl/newsletter/10/winter/network5.html.