Professional Consequence/Goals

Consequences about the international early childhood field:

1. Strong differences across the world 
2. Cultural indifferences between nations based upon religion, location, etc. 
3. No clear consistency between nations. 

Professional goal for international awareness:

I believe my professional international goal would be to be able to understand the logistics and base of the international early childhood field so maybe the consistency between nations can be more profound and clear to any opposing agencies - as field, we would be extremely organized. 

Early Childhood Goals

Throughout the class, I've attempted contact with my international contacts and I have not heard back from anyone.

There are childhood changes being put in place on the Army base where I live. With the base growing, there are new centers being built and there are always new changes being written and put into action to increase the efficiency of the centers already built.

Some professional goals would include:

• Increase diversity awareness
• Foster healthy development with the child/family
• Attempt to control the consistency within the field 

While these are all goals, I'm sure with time and effort they can be put into affect for the field to grow and develop over time. 

DEC - Special Interest Groups

The website I was drawn to in the beginning of this course was DEC. They have strong values and their interest group tab on their website is intriguing. 

DEC mentioned the point of their special interest groups.

"A DEC Special Interest Group (SIG) is a group of DEC members who have a shared interest on a particular topic. The purpose of a SIG is to engage members and provide a forum for dialogue around a specific topic of interest. SIGs are independent, autonomous communities for DEC members to gather information, learn about resources and share ideas with other who have similar interests.  SIGs are not charged with any formal DEC initiatives; however, they may support and collaborate on DEC activities that fall within the group’s shared interest. SIG activities typically include opportunities for their members to share ideas and resources and to learn together," (DEC). 

It can be common for websites like DEC to have similar interest groups. It's what their organization is about and how they maintain a strong impact in the community and even surrounding communities. 

Retrieved from: http://www.dec-sped.org/sigs

The Harvard University website has a lot of valuable information, especially considering the following:

• reframing the discourse around child health and development in the global policy arena by educating high-level decision-makers about the underlying science of learning, behavior, and health, beginning in the earliest years of life;
• supporting innovative, multi-disciplinary research and demonstration projects to expand global understanding of how healthy development happens, how it can be derailed, and how to get it back on track; and
• building leadership capacity in child development research and policy—focused on both individuals and institutions—in low- and middle-income countries to increase the number and influence of diverse voices and perspectives that are contributing to the growing global movement on behalf of young children.

All three bullet points showed valuable statements on the website. 

Harvard University. Retrieved from: http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/activities/global_initiative/