Well, I did not have any luck getting a response back
from my international contacts this week. When I contacted my contact from Australia,
an out of office message was sent back to me, so I decided to do the alternate
assignment this week.
UNESCO which stands for; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is an organization that I am unfamiliar with,
so I found it interesting to spend time navigating through the website to find
out what they are all about. Their mission is to provide international leadership to create learning societies with educational
opportunities for all populations, provide expertise and
foster partnerships to strengthen national educational leadership and the
capacity of countries to offer quality education for all, and work as an
intellectual leader, an honest broker and clearing house for ideas, propelling
both countries and the international community to accelerate progress towards
these goals. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/about-us/how-we-work/mission/
One aspect of the UNESCO website that I really
liked were the array of themes that they identified that helped to give me a
new insight on the issues related to international early childhood education. I took my focus to their themes on; Education for the the 21st Century, Teachers, and Literacy for All.
The UNESCO’s Education for the 21st
Century is trying to put quality education at the heart of development. Their
mission has been to aid with the building of peace, poverty, lasting development
and intercultural dialogue. They are committed to the reality that everyone has
the right to education, and that education plays a significant role in human,
social and economic development. (UNESCO, 2014).
“It is not enough to be connected to each other. We
also share our solutions, our experiences and dreams in one great community
supported by human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO
One of UNESCO’s top priorities is teachers and their
training, recruitment, retention, status and working conditions. “Teachers are
the single most influential and powerful force of equity, access an quality in
education” says Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO.
UNESCO believes that literacy is a human right and
the basis for lifelong learning. Literacy empowers individuals, families, and
communities and improves their quality of life. UNESCO is a firm believer that literacy
helps to erase poverty, reduce child mortality, curb population growth, achieve
gender equality and ensure sustainable development, peace and democracy (UNESCO,
2014). UNESCO has been at the forefront of global literacy efforts since it
foundation in 1946. You can find more information at: http://en.unesco.org/themes/literacy-all#sthash.1LvPr01.dpuf
Reference
UNESCO. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/strengthening-education-systems/early-childhood/
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ReplyDeleteStephanie,
ReplyDeleteUNESCO’s overall approach to literacy for all encompasses the following: building strong foundations through early childhood care and education; providing quality basic education for all children; scaling up literacy programs for youth and adults who lack basic literacy skills; and developing literate environments.
I found Irina Bokova's comments regarding teachers and connections bringing solutions to be inspiring. I feel that UNESCO's strategy for eradicating the world's struggles through education is one that could actually have an impact in each and every country. Just as we must regard the knowledge base and developmental timeline of each individual child, we can also consider these factors for individual countries. When creating a game plan for improvements, we must utilize our global connections and create mentoring situations between individuals and countries to collaborate and envision more favorable worldwide conditions. We all have to start somewhere. :)
ReplyDeleteStephanie,
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting the information on the mission of UNESCO. UNESCO appears to be a great resource for global early childhood education. I enjoyed reading about their priorities especially promoting teachers. I agree with them that the world needs better teachers. Unfortunately, I have seen early childhood centers in this country that could benefit from better teachers. I am encouraged to see a global effort to professionalize the career field. Hopefully, these efforts will help recruit more teachers that are committed to the growth of young children.
Tanya
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteI was also unaware of this organization. I was extremely impressed with all the resources that were connected to the website and organization. I think their focus on teachers and the quality of teachers is very important. Without high quality teachers a program will suffer and also the children. Did you read the Muscat Agreement? If not you should. It was very informative of what the international governments are targeting in 2030. I think this will change Early Education.
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteUNESCO's mission about literacy is so correct, and I am glad that you provided this information this week, thank you. My father instilled in me a life long love of reading, and exploring new literacy adventures, and I appreciate that. While I have been organizing my office at work, I made sure to have several large bookshelves installed so that I can bring my children's book library to school with me. I have over 500 books, in my work collection, some from my childhood. I like to stress to my teachers the importance of having a literacy rich classroom environment.
Machaela