I have to admit, I was quite glad to see we were researching
website outside of our initial choice. I have not been impressed by the site I
initially chose. It just has not been as informative as I had
hoped.
However, the links took me to good information. I searched several
of the links, but really liked the Australian Early Childhood Association. I
signed up for their newsletter. There were several resources on their page, I
spent quite some time looking at a link called Everyday Learning Series. It
publishes short books educating the reader on many different subjects, such as
everyday learning about loss and grief, being green, bullying, social emotional
learning etc. They also had a link to mychild.gov.au., which I had already
signed up for during the first week of this course. I received their newsletter
last week; and as I read through it today, I realized it was right on target
with what we are studying this week. This article discussed how Australia has two
programs to help families cover the expenses of child care. The first is based
on income and is called the Child Care Benefit it is targeted to low-income
families. To be eligible for the Child Care Benefit, you need to meet
eligibility requirements including residency, passing the Work, Training, Study
Test and immunization. The second programs is the Child Care Rebate. The Child
Care Rebate is not income-tested and provides assistance for families using
approved child care for work, training, or study related reasons. So, even if the
family income is too high to receive the Child Care Benefit, a family may be
eligible for the Child Care Rebate. I think this is a really great idea as many
families in the U.S. do not qualify for the subsidy, but certainly do not make
enough money to pay child care expenses.
I have listed the links available on the NAECTE website.
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
American Associate Degree Early Childhood Educators
Association for Childhood Education International
Association of Teacher Educators
Certification Map
Council of Exceptional Children, Division of Early Childhood
Education Commission of the States, Report on State Statutes on
Kindergarten
High/Scope Educational Research Foundation
National Association for the Education of Young Children
National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS)
Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP)
OMEP-U.S. National Committee (a unit of World Organization for
Early Childhood Education)
University of Kentucky page
Thematic Network Teacher Education in Europe
Australian Early Childhood Association
Canadian Association of Early Childhood Educators
5 comments:
Hello Crystal,
I think that those two programs are a great idea too. I have never heard of those two programs, but now I know. Thanks for sharing.
Crystal,
It’s great to hear about a program that addresses the needs of middle class families. I wholeheartedly agree with you that a program like the Australian Child Care Rebate program will be extremely beneficial to American families who don’t qualify for subsidies yet can’t afford quality childcare. I am curious about the eligibility requirements for this program and how this program is funded.
Hi Crystal
I recieved a response from Austrlia and look forward to comparing ideas. I did not know about the qualification for middle claas families, too often they are left out. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Crystal,
I too am not thrilled about the website I originally chose (NIEER). I reviewed it again this week, but I think I may look into some of the other websites they have linked on their page. I signed up for their news letter, but in the past 6 weeks I have only received 2 emails.
Thanks for the information from Australia. These sound like great programs. you would think that a group would form to research and study all the different programs offered throughout the world and come up with best practices that we could use here in the US.
Hi Crystal,
Glad to see they to have figured out a way to bridge the access gap down under. Pretty sad we haven't been able to do that here in the US.
There comes a time when all the rhetoric has to cease and for people to begin take action.
Cheers,
Jeff
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