Early Childhood Worldwide

I browsed the Early childhood Australia website. Many of their research topics are very similar to what we find in The United States, such as learning through play, the impact of quality programs, children's resilience, and dealing with bullying. One topic that I found particulary interesting involved the positive experiences children have when engaged in oral storytelling. Austrailian culture has a very strong storytelling tradition, and the study has found that young children are far more imaginative, creative and cognitively involved in oral sories (which are different than stories with print).

I also found an article on outdoor education very interesting. In my mind, Australia has so much to offer in the natural world - huge open spaes, extremely interesting and plentiful wildlife, a diverse ecosystem, etc. However, children living there are suffering from the same forms of nature deficit disorder as we find in The United States. Children who, literally, have kangaroos in their backyards are still lured by the electronic world. Austraila is deeply involved in research on the importance of including nature education in the lives of young children.

No matter where people live, what their religion is or their cultural beliefs, there is one thing we all have in common - our concern for and dedication to young children. Looking at Early Childhood sites from other areas of the world makes me feel a connection to te international Early Childhood community. Instead of focusing on differences, we should focus on similarities amongst us. One huge similarity is that every group of people includes children and a love for children.