|
New Resources
The Impact of Global Migration on the Education of Young Children (English) (Adams, L.D., September 2008)
Global migration is at an all-time high. The number of international migrants in industrialized countries more than doubled between 1985 and 2005, affecting both sending and receiving nations around the world. This brief focuses on issues related to the effects of global migration on the education of the young migrants, apart from the circumstances of their migration and proposes specific policy development and implementation. For the French version please see The Impact of Global Migration on the Education of Young Children (French)
The contribution of early childhood education to a sustainable society (Samuelsson, I. P., & Kaga, Y. [Eds.], June 2008)
This report explores ideas of promoting a sustainable society through early childhood education. It emphasizes that through sustainability, societies begin to embrace the values and principles of inclusion. In keeping with paradigms that support sustainability within early childhood education, it is critical to continuously rethink and redefine practices within the field. The document also highlights the works of authors from around the world, each of whom consider the notion of sustainability and early childhood education.
Early Childhood Policy--Getting it Right--Lessons Learned in Asia (Horn, R., May 2008)
This report details the key trends and challenges identified for Early Childhood Policy in the Asia-Pacific region. It also includes country profiles in Pakistan, China, and the Phillipines.
State of the WORLD’S MOTHERS 2008: Closing the Survival Gap for Children Under 5 (Save the Children, May 2008)
Worldwide, more than 200 million children under age 5 do not receive the basic health care they need. This contributes to nearly 10 million children dying each year from highly preventable or treatable ailments. The State of the World's Mothers reports continuously highlights the interrelationship between a mother's well-being and their child. This year’s State of the World’s Mothers report explores countries which are succeeding – and which are failing – to deliver basic health care to the mothers and children who need it most. It examines the health care and survival gaps between the poorest and the wealthiest children within developed and developing countries. This report demonstrates that the lives of millions of children can be saved, if they are provided with equal access to low-cost health care.
Building the Future of Family Involvement (Weiss, H., & Bouffard, S. [Eds.], May 2008)
Recognizing the value of family participation within the education system, this article examines the current state of and future directions for the family involvement field in research, policy, and practice. It also features innovative initiatives, new evaluation approaches and findings, as well as interviews with field leaders. Now is the time to ensure that family involvement has a voice in policy and in the national conversation about education reform. This issue is designed to spark discussion about how to elevate voices at all levels.
Context matters: Supporting local capacity development across cultures
Most professionals who work internationally and across cultures appreciate the fundamental importance of culture and context. Finding child, youth and family publications, however, that specifically address context and the importance of diverse perspectives is difficult. These four recent publications (2006- 2008) provide insights into ways in which child and family professionals can appreciate and engage issues of context, diversity and social equity. Click on the link for a synopsis of each book, as well as for information on how to place an order.
Developing positive identities: Diversity and young children (Brooker, L., & Woodhead, M., [Eds.], May 2008)
This new edition of Early Childhood in Focus surveys the theory and evidence surrounding children's positive identity and how it can be affected by diversity, adversity and discrimination. The care, guidance and teaching offered by parents, professionals and other adults are critical factors which support children's positive identities. However, acknowledging children’s own agency is also central. Recent research confirms the powerful role played by friends and peers, and offers insights into the ways that the developing of positive identity can be at the expense of other children. This report highlights the importance of positive identity formation, as it is fundamental to recognizing the rights of every child.
New Partnerships for EFA: Building on Experience (Draxler, A., April 2008)
Early in 2007, UNESCO and the World Education Forum launched a new programme, ’Partnerships for Education’ (PfE). PfE aims to create a global coalition among multi-stakeholder partnerships for education (MSPEs) in order to advance toward the objectives of Education for All (EFA). PfE will conduct studies, as well as develop tools and frameworks for the establishment, implementation, and evaluation of MSPEs. It will advocate for the development of multi-stakeholder partnerships in education. It will build capacity for implementation within various countries, at both the regional and global levels. The following study reviews current literature on public-private and multi-stakeholder partnerships that has bearing on education. It is intended for development practitioners at the international and country levels.
Africa's Future, Africa's Challenge: Early Childhood Care and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa
(Garcia, M., Pence, A., & Evans, J.L. [Eds.], March 2008)
This book presents the case for investment in early childhood development within Sub-Saharan Africa. It emphasizes current neuroscientific findings, as well as trends in early childhood development from socio-historical perspectives (e.g, new threats to early childhood such as HIV/AIDS, the challenges of caring for children under 3 years of age, and the role of African fathers). In addition, this document examines comparative studies from various countries to see how they have addressed matters of ECD policy, ECD planning, and community-based approaches. In an effort to move forward, this book describes financing of early childhood programs and the approaches being taken toward capacity building and knowledge dissemination.
Copies of this book may be purchased through amazon.com. For orders of 10 or more copies of this book, please contact Alan Pence (apence@uvic.ca)
UNICEF ECD Resource Pack (2nd edition)
This second edition Resource Pack is designed to help programme planners and managers effectively work together in understanding the basic elements of the "best start" in life for children. It combines advocacy arguments with experiences, exercises and information that can be used to develop skills and programming for young children in development and emergency situations.
Along with being available online, CD versions can also be requested by emailing Ruth Owuor-Odondi rowuorodondi@unicef.org
The Lancet: Maternal and Child Undernutrition
Nutrition is a desperately neglected aspect of maternal, newborn, and child health. Somehow, nutrition has slipped through the gap. This five-part Series on maternal and child undernutrition by The Lancet, aims to fill the gap in global public health and policy action.
The key messages of the Series, which has been written by an independent team of public-health scientists led by Robert Black, Zulfiqar Bhutta, Jennifer Bryce, Saul Morris, and Cesar Victora, are critically important for all those concerned with the health and wellbeing of women and children. Under-nutrition is the largely preventable cause of over a third-3.5 million-of all child deaths. Stunting, severe wasting, and intrauterine growth restriction are among the most important problems. There is a golden interval for intervention: from pregnancy to 2 years of age. After age 2 years, undernutrition will have caused irreversible damage for future development toward adulthood.
This Series examines effective interventions to reduce stunting and micro-nutrient deficiencies (e.g., breastfeeding counselling, vitamin A supplementation, zinc fortification, attention to maternal nutrition during pregnancy, etc...). But these interventions need additional programmatic experience about how to achieve full coverage. This Lancet Series concludes that the international nutrition system is broken. It urges for more leadership, resources, capacity, and emergency response systems. Also see The Lancet Commentary to this five-part series.
Tracking and tackling deprivation's toll (Bhattacharjee, Y., February 2008)
This article briefly explores the affects of poverty and school achievement among young children. It also provides suggestions as to how this cycle may be broken.
Dr. T. Berry Brazelton--’Touchpoints’ in early childhood (Zuehlke, E., February 2008)
Dr. T. Berry Brazelton recently visited (i.e., February/08) UNICEF Headquarters in New York to discuss the concept of ’Touchpoints’; his innovative model of parenting and child development.
The Timing and Quality of Early Experiences Combine to Shape Brain Architecture (The National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, December 2007)
Scientific research demonstrates that the relationship between the environment and personal experience influence genetic predispositions and brain development. This paper explores the role of maintaining quality early environment and experience during critical developmental stages, as they may serve to either weaken or strengthen a child's brain development.
Key 2006/2007 Publications previously posted
1) Lancet Journal Series on Child Development (January 2007).
A 3-part series on child development for the Lancet Journal. The first paper, Child Development in Developing Countries: Development Potential in the First 5 years for Children in Developing Countries shows that more than 200 million children under 5 years of age in developing countries do not reach their developmental potential.
The second paper, Child Development: Risk Factors for Adverse Outcomes in Developing Countries identifies four well-documented risks: stunting, iodine deficiency, iron deficiency anaemia, and inadequate cognitive stimulation, plus four potential risks based on epidemiological evidence: maternal depression, violence exposure, environmental contamination, and malaria.
The third paper, Strategies to Avoid the Loss of Developmental Potential in More Than 200 Million Children in the Developing World assesses strategies to promote child development and to prevent or ameliorate the loss of developmental potential.
The series concludes that the most effective early child development programmes provide direct learning experiences to children and families, are targeted toward younger and disadvantaged children, are of longer duration, high quality, and high intensity, and are integrated with family support, health, nutrition, or educational systems and services. Despite convincing evidence, programme coverage is low. To achieve the Millennium Development Goals of reducing poverty and ensuring primary school completion for both girls and boys, governments and civil society should consider expanding high quality, cost-effective early child development programmes.
Includes ECD: The Global Challenge, Comment by Richard Jolly, from The Lancet journal
2) 2007 Global Monitoring Report on ECCE: Strong Foundations (October 2006).
A new international Report on progress towards Education for All, with a special focus on Early Childhood Care and Education, including
• Progress towards universal primary education
• Trends in early childhood care and education: who benefits and where?
• How early childhood programmes move the anti-poverty agenda forward
• The role of the international community
3) (a) General Comment No. 7 (2005): Implementing child rights in early childhood (November 2005). The purpose of this general comment is to recognize the rights of all young children as outlined in the Convention, as well as to emphasize early childhood as a vital period in acknowledging these rights. The general comment provides a definition of the term "early childhood", and identifies characteristics and features specific to this developmental period. In addition, this document examines research, general principles, and rights in early childhood. The general comment also explores policies and programmes, capacity-building, as well as the responsibilities of parents and state parties for early childhood.
Also available in French Observation Générale No. 7 (2005): Mise en ouvre des droits de l'enfant dans la petite enfance (Septembre 2006).
(b) A Guide to General Comment 7: Implementing Child Rights in Early Childhood (April 2006).
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child applies to all children under 18 - but its implementation poses particular practical challenges when it comes to young children. Published in 2006 by the Bernard van Leer Foundation, UNICEF and the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, this book is a guide to implementing child rights in early childhood. It is based around the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child's General Comment no 7. It contains extracts from the papers submitted to the committee at the time of the Day of General Discussion which preceded the General Comment, and other relevant material.
Now newly available in Spanish La Observación general No. 7 del Comité de los Derechos del Niño de las Naciones Unidas
|
