Wanda Martin, works for the department of defense dependent school
(Dodds) in Germany
What issues regarding quality
and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work? “The German programs have
better resources than what is offered in the American programs. Funds are available for field trips,
materials, etc to assist in the education of the children. The American parents who are allowed to put
their children in the German Early Childhood Programs love it. They say their children get much more out of
the program than if they were in an American program. The American parents have to pay for the
extracurricular activities as they do not pay into the German taxes.” (W. Martin,
personal communications, 2012, May 25)
What opportunities and/or
requirements for professional development exist?
According to her friends, German educators must complete intense
education preparation programs and continue education in order to teach in German schools.
What are some of your
professional goals?
She wants to continue working abroad with Dodds. She is able to
live with the wages she receive because Dodds pays her rent and utilities for
living overseas. The downside is that positions for teaching pre-K classes are
scarce and few educators leave their posts. She continues to put an inter-district
application in hopes one day she will be able to teach pre-k again.
What are some of your
professional hopes, dreams, and challenges?
To return to the pre-K classroom. Complete MS program.
Deepa Joseph, Educator working in United Arab Emirates
What issues regarding quality
and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work? The ECE is developing in UAE.
Before professionals in ECE were not given much recognition. In fact, in their
work permit paperwork their official title was ‘Nanny’. There were no minimum
qualifications or education requirements to work as a preschool teacher. Now
things are improving. The education ministry has realized “ECE is equally an
important field and therefore teachers have to have at least minimum teacher
training to work as a preschool teacher” (D. Joseph, personal communication,
2012, June 11). They are also
standardizing the curriculum to cater to the developmental needs of the
children.
What opportunities and/or
requirements for professional development exist?
Due to the recent improvements the ministry of education is
offering trainings for educators that do not meet basic education
qualifications.
What are some of your
professional goals, hopes, dreams and challenges?
Deepa sees her future working for private companies creating
curriculums that are developmentally appropriate. Even though she loves working
with children in the classroom, she hopes one day to work behind a desk to
improve the quality standards of ECE in UAE. She wants to apply the knowledge
she is receiving from Walden; at this moment her biggest challenge is to finish
this intense MS program.
Franchesca
Ventura, Pre-K Teacher from El Salvador
I have not been able to reach
Franchesca, but based on previous emails I will answer as many questions as
possible.
What issues regarding quality
and early childhood professionals are being discussed where you live and work? There is a movement towards
child-centered curriculum, competency standards, and assessment based on observations of children development. However, there are limitation based on financial
resources, poverty of the population and quality of the educational materials used, like books.
What opportunities and/or
requirements for professional development exist?
Many professionals in the ECE field from El Salvador are still
unable to understand developmentally appropriate practices. Perhaps due to
limited funds for training and professional development support (my personal
assumption).
What are some of your
professional goals?
She views herself as a highly professional EC educator who
implements the latest evidence based information provided by researchers from
her country. She wants to be part of the latest education reforms in El
Salvador and implement DAP, child-appropriate assessments and curriculum.
Addendum:
Franchesca replied back... Her hopes, dreams and career goal include completing her education in psychology, her initial field of studies; she wants to continue her professional development in early childhood and improve her practice based on current information of child development; lastly, she wants to learn to speak and write English to be able to communicate globally with others in the field.
Addendum:
Franchesca replied back... Her hopes, dreams and career goal include completing her education in psychology, her initial field of studies; she wants to continue her professional development in early childhood and improve her practice based on current information of child development; lastly, she wants to learn to speak and write English to be able to communicate globally with others in the field.
Thank you for sharing your contacts responses this week. It was neat reading about other peoples hopes and dreams as well as their professional goals.
ReplyDeleteMelinda Thorneburg