Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Getting to Know Your International Contacts –Part 2
One thing I discussed with my contacts in Ireland this week is the rise of early childhood education. In the past, it was less popular to place your child in an early childhood education type setting. With the economy the way it is in Ireland, working mothers and fathers are becoming more prominent and the need for quality childcare is a necessity. However, the cost for quality childcare is something that is nearly unaffordable for most families. I thought this was interesting because we also struggle with this in the United States. Ireland as a counrty is very focused on Early Childhood Education and providing the best programs for their young children. They take an approach contisting of play and creative expression rather than testing.
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Amanda,
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that affordable early childhood education is a problem in Ireland very much like in the US. For the last application, I focused on inequities in who attends preschool, and it seems like socioeconomic status is one of the main reasons both in the US and Ireland. I think even if our countries could not provide universal pre-k for all, them it would be amazing if something could be done to lower the ridiculous cost of preschool. In St. Louis, it is a minimum of $1000 a month for full time daycare, and that is the very basic programs. When families are struggling for the basics, then the only way they will send a child to daycare is as you stated, "working mothers and fathers are becoming more prominent and the need for quality childcare is a necessity." I liked to hear that in Ireland there is a greater focus on play and creative expression, thank you for sharing!