The International website that I took a look at was http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/ which is the australian early childhood website. Some of the current international research topics that I noticed were the inclusion of children with disabilities, neurobiology and child develeopment, social inclusion and physical activity or sun protection.
A surprising idea was the childcare rebate information for parents. This information reminded me of our Purchase of Care system. Purchase of Care helps parents who have specific incomes with the cost of childcare. The Australian childcare rebate seemed to offer parents rebates on childcare if they qualified.
Some noteworthy information that I found on the site was school readiness information. The school system that I work for is really big on school readiness and because we have early pre-k and pre-k children it is our job to make sure students are school ready!! It was good to see that this is the focus of those in Australia also. There was a lot of information on the website to help parents prepare their children. I also liked a section that talked about baby and toddler sleep problems. I needed to read that information for myself with transitioning my son from waking in the middle of the night for a bottle.
This website was informative it kind of reminded me of the Zero to three website, full of information.
Jamie,
ReplyDeleteIt seemed liked you were able to obtain a lot of information that will be beneficial to you in your work environment. It's good to see that school readiness is an issue across the world as well. Any of the information that you learned do you think you can implement it, at the school system were you work?
Hi Jamie,
ReplyDeleteI am also familar with the purchase of care system. This is how over 90% of our clients pay for childcare. Unlike the Australian system, the parents here don't receive a rebate but a "discount". You also made great points about school readiness. I found that this issue was on the forefront of their educational reform. What did you think about their reform of the title of a child care provider to early childhood educators who provide care?