Childhood Explorer Winter 2015
Exploring the Lives of Children Worldwide Association for Childhood Education International
Childhood Explorer (ISSN 2377-2883) is published quarterly by the Association for Childhood Education International, 1101 16th St., N.W., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036 Articles published in Childhood Explorer represent the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect positions taken by the Association for Childhood Education International. Copyright Š 2015 by the Association for Childhood Education International. No permission is needed to reproduce materials for education purposes. ACEI HEADQUARTERS STAFF: Diane P. Whitehead, Executive Director Michelle Allen, Director of Operations Anne Watson Bauer, Editor/Director of Publications Banhi Bhattacharya, Director of Professional Development Emebet G/Micheal, Accounting Manager Olivia Kent, Communications Manager Deborah Jordan Kravitz, Production Editor Sheri Levin, Member Relations Manager Yvette Murphy, Director of Advocacy and Outreach Nana Oppong, Director of Development Dione Walters, Membership Assistant Alyson Zimbler, Development Coordinator Photography Credits: cover photo: Purino/shutterstock p. 4: Cristina Negoita/shutterstock p. 6: Duc Den Thui/shutterstock p. 8: LauraVl/shutterstock pp. 9-11: courtesy of author p. 12: Free Wind 2014/shutterstock p. 15: Dona_Bozzi/shutterstock pp. 16-17: thomas koch/shutterstock p. 18: robuart/shutterstock pp. 19-20: courtesy of author p. 21: Asianet-Pakistan/shutterstock p. 23: thomas koch/shutterstock p. 27: Roman Sigaev/shutterstock p. 29: pisaphotography/shutterstock
Exploring the Lives of Children Worldwide Association for Childhood Education International
Childhood Explorer Winter 2015
Contents 6
Living a Good Childhood
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Education in Swaziland: Hebron’s Story
Vol. 2, No. 1
12 Classrooms as Safe Spaces for Somali Refugee Children in Kenya 15 Finding a Way to Education in Conflict-Torn Aleppo, Syria 18 “Add a Friend”: How Social Media Supported Transformation Through Education in Pakistan 22 Early Learning in Spain 23 A Teenager-Friendly Community in Tehran, Iran 27 Education in Italy: 10 Lessons Learned From an Immersion Semester 3
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A Good Childhood How can we help all children realize their full potential and offer a promise for their future and the future of childhood itself? During childhood, we develop the image of what it means to be a human being; from this image, we fashion the societies in which we live. Will they be harsh or compassionate, rigid or creative, mechanistic or human-centered? How we view and design our world depends largely on what we have learned and experienced in childhood. We can no longer afford to ignore the current state of childhood. The long-term effects of an unhealthy childhood will weaken societies that need creative and compassionate individuals with mature insights who are able to solve complex human problems. We have the collective strength to create a more robust and creative childhood for all children. The Ten Pillars of a Good Childhood are a starting point that can be used to consider what a good childhood looks like today. They can be the foundation of conversations about the experience of childhood in your home, your community, or your nation. Share the Ten Pillars with others. We would like to hear your opinions about the pillars and about creative ways that the pillars have been used to guide policies and practices related to the experience of childhood. Read more at the Decade for Childhood website.
The TEN PILLARS OF A GOOD CHILDHOOD 1. Safe and secure places for living and learning, with access to health care, clothing, shelter, and nutritious food 2. Strong families and loving, consistent caregivers 3. Social interactions and friendships 4. Creative play and physical activity 5. Appreciation and stewardship of the natural environment 6. Creative expression through music, dance, drama, and the other arts 7. Education that develops the full capacities of the child—cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and ethical 8. Supportive, nurturing, child-friendly communities 9. Growing independence and decision making 10. Children and youth participating in community life.
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Living a Good Childhood
By Olivia Kent Association for Childhood Education International Learn more about the Decade for Childhood and the 10 Pillars of a Good Childhood at www.decadeforchildhood.org, and find opportunities to help ensure a good childhood for all the world’s children at www.acei.org/about-us/volunteering.
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Fifty-seven million of the world’s children are out of school, and even more have inadequate access to nutrition and shelter. Yet even very young children have a sense that they are entitled to food, shelter, learning, and play—basic human rights. The following is an imagining about what life would be like from the perspective of a child who is benefiting from the 10 Pillars of a Good Childhood, which have been developed as part of the Decade for Childhood (2012-2022).
I’m a kid who’s going places. I have good food to help me grow big and strong. I am learning to read and have books at home and school where I can find out about anything I want to know. I have a clean and safe place to live with a comfortable bed. In my neighborhood, I am free to run and play. When I get sick, a nice doctor takes care of me— although I don’t really like it when she gives me shots. I have clothes to keep me warm in the winter and my mom doesn’t mind too much if they get dirty. My family helps me learn and grow in all sorts of ways. They’re teaching me to be a kind person who cares about helping other people. Even when I’m punished, my family is fair. I understand that they are only trying to teach me to be the best I can be. When I grow up, I want to be a science teacher, so I can do experiments and help kids learn about the moon and planets. At my school and in my neighborhood, I have lots of friends. We play together, build things, draw pictures, and spend lots of time outside. We know it’s important to protect the earth, so little children will always have lots of space to run and play. Sometimes we sing and dance for other friends and members of our families. I like to make up plays about going into space. In school, we’re learning to read and write. We have science class and art class and our teachers help us understand all sorts of things about the world and about being good students and friends. My family and teachers are
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working hard to be a good example to me, just like I try to be a good example for my younger brothers and sisters. When I get mad, I think about how to act in a way that will show my little brothers and sisters how to handle their feelings. In my town, there are lots of fun things for kids to do. We have parks and libraries with story time. At the market, I like helping my mother choose the fruits and vegetables and count the money. Sometimes they even have cooking classes for kids! The grown-ups in my community care about kids’ opinions and they even asked us where to put the monkey bars at the park. Now that I’m getting bigger, I get to help with lots of chores around the house, and participate in family decisions. I know they appreciate my ideas. I can choose my own clothes and bedtime stories, and I help with the cooking when my family needs it. If I need to chop anything, I ask a grown-up. My grandmother said I can use a knife when I’m 10. I have so much to look forward to! At school, I learned that there are lots of kids around the world who don’t have enough food and can’t even go to school. There are some children who are living in the middle of wars and whose parents are sick or gone. I believe that all children should have the chance to live in safe places with their families, to learn about planets and reading and math, to play outside with their friends, and to help make their towns a better place. Some kids don’t have the opportunities that I have. And that’s just not fair.
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Education in Swaziland: Hebron’s Story I first met Hebron when he was 13 years old.
By Susan Pierson Cabrini College
As he has struggled to attain an education, we have kept in touch through letters and two very special visits. Through my work at Cabrini College, in Radnor, Pennsylvania, I was able to travel to Hebron’s home in Swaziland, Southern Africa, where I learned more about his life, his school, his culture, and his dreams for the future.
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Hebron lost his mother to AIDS when he was 11 years old. Following her death, he and his siblings traveled from homestead to homestead in search of food and shelter. Hebron did not have the opportunity to attend school until he was 13. Although primary education in Swaziland is free, he did not have money to buy a uniform and he was too busy working in the fields to take time for study.
In 2011, shortly before I met him, Hebron, his younger brother, and two younger sisters came under the care and protection of Cabrini Ministries, Swaziland. Cabrini Ministries maintains a hostel in St. Philip’s Mission, Swaziland, where orphans and vulnerable children like Hebron and his siblings are able to thrive and grow. When he arrived at the hostel, Hebron’s life changed dramatically. For the first time he had three meals a day and was able to attend school. Because he was already 13, it was determined that Hebron should attend the Bridge School, established to provide for those students who needed small class size and differentiated instruction. His teacher, Nonhlanhla Shongwe, shepherded him through the 1st- and 2nd-grade curricula in one year, the 2nd- and 3rd-grade curricula the next, and then the 4th- and 5th-grade curricula.
including English. My task was to help his teachers learn new strategies for teaching English language learners and to work directly with Hebron and his classmates as they practiced reading, writing, and speaking English. In Swaziland, a child who fails English on the end-of-year exams must repeat the whole year. Learning English grammar and pronunciation can be daunting for any child. In Swaziland, it is particularly difficult because teachers lack the necessary resources and supplies.
Knowing how helpful computer technology is in enhancing teaching and learning of English as a second language, I had brought laptop computers, a projector, and specially created materials for Hebron and his classmates.
On my first trip to Swaziland, in June 2011, Hebron was preparing for his exams in all academic subjects,
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Over the past four years, my students at Cabrini and I have created many digital tools designed to enhance the education of the students at the Bridge School. We make the materials at Cabrini College and then send them to our friends in Swaziland via flash drives. Some of our tools present math, science, and social studies concepts; others present grammatical concepts through culturally relevant stories and literature. All are designed to be engaging and beneficial to our friends who are struggling to learn English language skills. In January 2012 and again in January 2013, Hebron’s teacher, Nonhlanhla, visited the United States to explore more strategies for teaching English language learners through movement, song, and computer technology. She brought letters for me from Hebron and kept me abreast of his progress. In between face-to-face visits, Hebron and I keep in touch through letters and frequent telephone calls. In January 2014, I was able to return to Swaziland, this time in the company of another teacher educator and five undergraduate students. We were asked to work with Swazi teachers who were putting together a teen camp for students between terms. The theme of our camp was “My Hands, My Heart, My Environment.� Each day for four days, we shared songs and stories, worked on business and entrepreneurial basics, and played sports and games.
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Hebron shared with me some of the challenges he was facing. During school breaks he was staying on a homestead where he had no place to sleep. He slept out in the open, without a roof over his head, even in stormy weather. Although he was working part time in the sugar cane fields, he was worried that he would not be able to get the things he needed for the next term in school, including his uniform and shoes. As his sponsor and his teacher friend, I am able, through Cabrini Ministries, to help him get those things. I am also able to keep informed of his academic progress through my phone calls to his Bridge School teacher, Nonhlanhla. She worked hard to help him pass through Grade 7, and she loves him as if he were her own child. I was so excited when Hebron sat for his exams at the end of Grade 7. Although he did not pass the English test, his other scores were high and as he was such a hard working and responsible student, an exception was made for him. He began Form 2 at a boarding school. Right now, Hebron is again struggling to pass English. He has difficulty with English literature and grammar.
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Without reliable Internet connection in Swaziland, he does not have access to the online resources that would be so helpful to him as an English language learner. Despite the difficulties, he is determined to finish school. As he states in every letter, “I know education is the key to my future.” I am sharing Hebron’s story to raise awareness of the educational challenges facing children and young adults in Swaziland and perhaps inspire those who read this to help. Hebron and his peers are survivors of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and as adults will shape the future of this small Southern African kingdom. Education of the heart and mind will be crucial as they move forward.
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Classrooms as Safe Spaces for Somali Refugee Children in Kenya by Sirad Shirdon, Doctoral Researcher, The Ohio State University
Eight-year-old Ruwayda was tucked away in a far corner of the classroom when I met her.
She was wearing a white shirt, white pants, a blue vest, and a black hijab (headscarf ). Most of the 20 students in the class were Somali refugees, like Ruwayda. When I visited her classroom, I quietly walked to the back of the classroom so as not to disturb the class in session. The lesson went on for about 10 minutes before the students had a short break. “Salaamu ‘alaikum (Peace be upon you),” I said to Ruwayda. In a whispered voice, she responded, “Wa ‘alaikumus salaam (And may peace be upon you).”
“Seetahay? (How are you?)” I asked. “Fiican (I’m good),” she responded. When I asked her how she liked the school and the class, she replied that she was very happy. I continued our conversation by asking about her siblings: “Do they also attend school?” I inquired. She told me that they go to “dugsi Qu’ran” (Qu’ranic schooling). Qu’ranic schooling is a rite of passage for all
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Somali children, be they in Mogadishu, Nairobi, London, or Toronto. Some outsiders may not understand eschewing formal education for Qu’ranic schooling. Yet it is one of the many important ways Somali children are apprenticed into Somali and Islamic culture; Somali children share this tradition of schooling with millions of Muslim children throughout the world.
Childhood Explorer
In 2011, I was working on a documentary project highlighting Somali refugee children’s education in Kenya. I visited a school in Eastleigh, a predominantly Somali neighborhood in Nairobi, Kenya. Nicknamed “little Mogadishu” after Somalia’s capital city, Eastleigh is a neighborhood of paradoxes: on one hand, it is a center of trade and commerce (it is argued that more money changes hands in Eastleigh than anywhere else in the nation); on the other hand, you find a textbook case of squalor—a shanty town. Million dollar hotels, shopping malls, and businesses line the streets of Eastleigh, yet its inhabitants bear the visible markers of poverty. Eastleigh is also home to the largest concentration of Somali refugees outside of the Dadaab refugee camp in the northeastern part of the country. Despite the poverty, Eastleigh’s residents are dynamic and entrepreneurial. In the wake of their lived experiences in the Somali conflict, these refugees are starting anew and creating businesses in areas as diverse as textiles, the service industry, and even selling camel milk. Questions about Somalia’s war and their harrowing journey to Kenya are typically met with the Islamic saying “AlhamduliAllah,” Arabic for “Praise is for Allah.” Instead of focusing on matters they are unable to control, the refugees focus on their blessings. The head teacher of the school graciously gave us a tour, and we had a chance to meet the teachers and their students. After the tour, I sat down with the school’s head teacher, Mrs. Jane, to interview her about her experiences teaching Somali children. Mrs. Jane was a middle-age Kenyan woman with an infectious and exuberant personality. She told me that before teaching at the school, she had disliked Somalis, but over time she had grown to love her students. Throughout our interview, she shared stories about some of her exceptional students. When I asked her about Somali parent involvement in this school, she surprised me by saying, “You know Somali parents, they are extremists. There are so many children who are out of school and only attend Qu’ranic schooling.” Yet Mrs. Jane is an exceptional teacher. Given the
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school’s meager resources, Mrs. Jane advocates for her students, often lobbying the Government of Kenya for increased funding to purchase textbooks, desks, etc. To teach refugee students is to go above and beyond: Mrs. Jane has assisted her students with everything from obtaining food to helping them get released from prison when detained by police. Her sentiments do not exist within a vacuum; to understand Mrs. Jane’s views one needs to understand the socio-cultural context in which she resides. Following the 1991 Somali civil war, Somali refugees began arriving in the Kenyan refugee camps. Shortly after the civil war, the United Nations Human Rights Commission opened two refugee camps: Dadaab, in the country’s northeastern province, and Kakuma in the country’s western region. For over two decades, Kenya has graciously hosted over half a million Somali refugees. Many families found that life in the camps was too challenging. Dadaab, which housed three camps, became overcrowded. Due to the lack of space and other facilities, many families found that their children could not attend school. In response to these and other hardships, many refugees began to leave the camps for Kenya’s urban centers, including the cities of Nairobi and Mombasa. They believed the cities held the promise of improved livelihoods and educational opportunities for their children. These urban refugees lived under the radar in Kenya for some time. Laws restricting refugee movement in the country were rarely enforced. In 2011, however, a slew of attacks occurred in Kenya that were blamed on a militia group in Somalia. In response to these attacks, the Kenyan military entered Somalia in the summer of 2011, and has remained in the country since. Sadly, the attacks have continued in Kenya, and the blame has shifted to the Somali refugee population. These days, if you are a refugee found without documentation, you are likely to be detained, sent to the refugee camps, or deported to Somalia. Childhood in this context has been scary, confusing, and unpredictable. Refugees continue to be
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traumatized from the scars of war, and are now encountering insecurity in their new homeland. There are numerous reports of police entering and seizing family homes unannounced, and arresting Somalis, including children. In this context, despite some Kenyan teachers’ misperceptions about Somali students, schools have been islands of peace and safety for the children.
teachers have expressed a desire for education about how to work with Somali children and their families. Unfortunately, teacher’s colleges in Kenya do not provide much training on how to work with children from different cultural backgrounds. Given that Kenya is a multi-ethnic and multi-tribal society, incorporating cultural education into teacher training is extremely important.
Parents from Somalia send their children to Qu’ranic schools for several reasons. First, learning the Qu’ran is fundamental in the process of becoming a proficient member of Somali and Islamic culture. Children require Qu’ranic knowledge to be able to engage in many Islamic activities, including the all-important daily prayer. The Qu’ran also is key to shaping a child’s morals and value system. Second, many Somali parents were traumatized from living in a war context. Following the violent displacement of war, Somali families became insular and closed off as a survival mechanism. This experience was only exacerbated by mainstream public opinion, which had grown suspicious of Somali refugees in the country. As a result, many parents opted to send their children to what they considered to be safe spaces. This included Qu’ranic schools and community schools started by local Somalis. Finally, many of the refugee families were not coming from metropolitan centers, but rather from rural areas of the country, where they made their living as nomadic pastoralists. While formal schools were seldom available to Somalis in rural areas, most Somalis did receive Qu’ranic schooling. Families send their children to Qu’ranic schooling because it was a seminal part in their own lives. Given that many Somali parents have never seen the inside of a classroom, it would not be a stretch to believe that they may be wary of the unknown and instead opt to send their children to what they do know: Qur’anic schooling.
What does this teacher training look like? First, teachers can begin by reflecting on their own cultural backgrounds. This self-reflection can be useful in helping teachers consciously consider stereotypes or biases they may have. Counteracting these misperceptions involves improving content knowledge of the Somali refugee community, but also learning how to become a critical consumer of information. Visiting students’ homes is also important. Education researchers have found that the best teachers of multicultural students are those who conduct home visits. Home visits, while not possible for all teachers, enable teachers to develop intimate relationships with families and discover how learning takes place in the student’s home culture. Teachers also can learn much by visiting Somali refugee community spaces. By engaging with the Somali community, Kenyan teachers can gain a deep understanding of the community that they otherwise would not get through mainstream media or books. Certain media narratives about a particular community, coupled with a lack of interaction, can sow seeds of misunderstanding, suspicion, and resentment. Mrs. Jane’s views about her students had been transformed through longterm, engaged interactions with her Somali refugee students. The same may have not been true about her understanding of the broader community, given her lack of interaction.
Mrs. Jane appreciated learning more about the role of Qu’ranic schools in Somali culture, and acknowledged that her school’s biggest need was training on how to work with the Somali children. In the years since, many
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By going the extra mile and working to engage with the Somali community, Mrs. Jane and other teachers can be successful in understanding Somali communities and creating classrooms that are islands of peace and tranquility in the tumultuous lives of Somali refugee students in Kenya.
Childhood Explorer
Finding a Way to Education in Conflict-Torn Aleppo, Syria
Adapted from an article by Shelly Kittleson, originally published by IPS at www.ipsnews.net
Aleppo, Syria, site of an ongoing military confrontation, is a difficult place to pursue an education.
The continuing hostilities between the Syrian regime and various rebel groups have brought catastrophic destruction to the city. Nevertheless, children are attending classes—even in the winter. They don their coats and stocking hats to attend school underground, where they are less exposed to the bombs and airstrikes devastating the city above.
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In October 2014, IPS visited Aleppo to learn about how the city’s children are being educated. The head of the education department of the Aleppo City Council, Mahmoud Al-Qudsi, told IPS that some 115 schools were still operating in the area, but that most of them were former ground-level flats, basements, or other structures. Only about 20 original school buildings were still operating, he said, down from 750 prior to the uprising. Syrian government forces have targeted educational and medical facilities in opposition areas throughout the conflict, and efforts are made to keep the locations secret. IPS visited one cold and damp underground facility housing a co-ed primary school. The students need to wear their winter clothes during class to avoid common seasonal viruses from taking hold in a city from which most doctors have fled or been killed. If medical care is required, only one perilous route leads out of the city, northward to the Turkish border and better care. On their way to school, the children pass by shop fronts blown out by airstrikes. A few remaining signs advertise what used to be hair salons or clothing stores; the “idolatrous” images on the signs have been spray-painted black. Even if they only live a block away, the children must walk by buildings entirely defaced by barrel bombs, exposed floors hanging down precariously above the heads of street vendors selling fruits, vegetables, and sweets. Furniture and appliances can be seen wedged between the mutilated and dangling upper levels of buildings. The teachers have tried to make the underground school a welcoming place. Some of the rough walls of the makeshift school have been painted sky blue or festooned with holiday-type decorations to “brighten the children’s spirits,” one of teachers says. A handful of comic-strip posters have been pasted in the corridor. A few of the children in the school seem shellshocked, yet many smile and laugh readily as they
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sit on crowded wooden benches stuffed into the cramped, cold spaces of the underground school. Two boys at the front of one of the rooms sway back and forth with their arms around each other’s shoulders, singing boisterously. This school and others like it only provide for children ages 6 to 13—older children are mostly left to their own devices. Those preparing for the baccalaureate— the Syrian secondary school diploma—study at home. They then come to centers on established dates in late June and early July to take the exams. Word is spread about where the exams will be held via the Aleppo Today television channel and posters are put up around the city to announce the times and places. While Turkey, Libya, and France currently recognize the baccalaureate exams, Qudsi noted that “French universities only accepted five of our students last year.’’ In the underground school IPS visited, classes run from 9:00 in the morning to 1:00 in the afternoon during the week. “The school opened last year,” Zakra, a teacher, told us, “but then stopped between October 2013 and July 2014, as the barrel-bombing campaign made it too dangerous for parents to send their children to school”–even to underground ones. Zakra, a former fifth-year university student in engineering, now teaches mathematics, English, and science at the school, and tells IPS that she gets paid about 50 dollars a month. The young teacher said that she plans on leaving at some point to continue her studies in Turkey, but she was not sure when she would be able to afford to do so. Most of the low salaries the teachers receive are necessarily funded by various international and private associations, because the city council does not have the funds. Qudsi explained that most of the curriculum remains that approved by the regime, but “nationalistic” parts praising the Assad family have been cut and religion classes now teach that “fighting against the Assad
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regime is a religious duty.” He continued to say, “We also want to change the curricula, but we can’t right now. We want it to be a Syrian-chosen one—one designed and wanted by all Syrians—but we can’t do that now, given the situation. And we obviously don’t have the money to print new books.’’ Qudsi was also adamant that even the most fundamentalist parents had not interfered with their teaching. “We are all in this together. Their children attend our schools, too.” These makeshift schools at least give the children a chance to focus on something other than the destruction and death surrounding them, Qudsi told IPS, and “are the only chance of Syria having any future at all.”
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“Add a Friend” How Social Media Supported Transformation Through Education in Pakistan By Dr Judy Findlay A literacy specialist and teacher educator, retired from the Graduate School of Education and Human Development, The George Washington University and founder of One Sky International with colleagues and former students from South Asia, the U.S., and the U.K. Liaqat Arshad is a student, and a voice for change
We never know the events that might be set in motion when we connect with someone over social media,
engaging in conversations that flatten the world. Liaqat Arshad, a teen-age boy from a village outside Lahore, Pakistan, is among the 72% of the world’s youth using social networks, according to a 2010 Pew Report. One morning, I received a message on my Facebook account from Liaqat: “Madam,” he said, “I want to attend your professional development seminar for teachers—the one in Karachi. I want to create a new NGO—one that will offer education to child laborers in our village. Each day, these children go to work—they have no chance to know they can learn. Madam, you must help us—you must let me come.” 18
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Later, after the Karachi seminar and after meeting this young man virtually, I discovered the depth of his commitment to change. Liaqat had followed my conversations for two years. During that time, he was learning English—practicing speaking and writing in a program sponsored by the U.S Embassy. He was doing so to be able to communicate with me in English about the need to reach the disenfranchised children in his community. Six months ago, Liaqat and a high school friend, Aamir Shahzad Ahmad, met with almost 50 child laborers, children for whom coloring a picture was a new and unfamiliar experience. These were children who had not known the names of the colors they placed on the page. Now, they know the names—and so much more. They know there might be a world beyond the servants’ quarters, the factory, or the field where they work. Liaqat tells me, “The youth of Pakistan are very talented, hard working, confident and very wise, but they are unable to show their moral and intellectual abilities. There is no cooperation of the government for the betterment of youth, and little recognition of the problems of youth. That is why, today, a large number of children and youth are not attending school.” More than half of Pakistan’s population is under 20, with two-thirds not yet 30 years old. Pakistan has the world’s 6th largest population, with the world’s second largest number of out-of-school youth. The education system is stratified along traditional socio-economic lines and employment opportunities are not designed to move youth into the middle class. Most rural families see little value in education. Liaqat explains, “Parents think, ‘What will you do after getting an education? You are just wasting your time.’ That is why most children are out of school. But by thinking this way, parents are destroying the futures of their children. If their children were to study, they could be anything! The children have dreams. But most parents do not see this.”
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Liaqat Arshad receiving a certificate from Miss Farzana Salman (Training Director of One Sky International) and “feeling excited about thematic teaching.”
Liaqat relates the following true story: One day when I was coming back from my college a 13-year-old boy requested me to drop him at his home. I was driving a bicycle and I said he should sit at my back. He was a laborer—he worked at a motor bike shop. I asked him, “How much do you earn in a week?” He replied, “I earn one hundred fifty rupees in a week.” ($1.50 U.S.) I was shocked to hear this, and I replied to him politely, “If I give you two hundred rupees, then will you go to school?” He looked at me happily and said, “I am interested in getting an education. If you give me two hundred rupees, then I must go to school. But first, you need to get my parents to agree.” When I asked his parents, they refused and said he will waste his time in education. If he spends his time at a shop, he will be a good mechanic very soon. This made me very disappointed and depressed. Tradition is strong in Pakistan. Change comes slowly— much too slowly for the needs of Pakistan’s increasingly young population. Many people see Pakistan’s youth as a time bomb, set to explode. But others, like Liaqat and his friends, see opportunity.
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Liaqat Arshad and Aamir Shahzad Ahmad teach about color.
Using Skype, I met with Liqat and four other young men—his friend Aamir, and schoolmates Muhammad Owais Sajjid, Alauddin Awan, and Waseem Abbas. As we planned the next meeting with their students, I asked what materials they needed most. The response was: books, mentors, and friends. They are now ready to explore a new rainbow of experiences with the children they teach. Through one young man’s concern and determination, a simple social media connection set in motion a whole chain of events. This young man’s curiosity, and a teacher’s kind response have linked strangers and opened a world of possibility. Using Facebook, Twitter, FaceTime, and Skype, conversations become collaborations that connect us with the most remarkable people. We discover new insights and alternative points of view, create new understandings, and are inspired to make a friend. We have become citizens of a larger world.
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Liaqat, still only 17 years old himself, recognizes that all students have the power to learn and the right to find significance in their lives. He wrote, “Education brings awareness and changes our thinking. It has a great role in progress, prosperity, and the welfare of a country.” Whether it is the child laborer or the son of an elite landowner, education must enable all students to see possibilities and ways of thinking not envisioned previously. Learning changes the way we envision the world, it stirs curiosity that leads us to create new colors to illuminate our lives. Perhaps it is because Liaqat and his friends are part of Pakistan’s new generation that they have come to understand the purpose of education. It is not enough to discover or even to understand. Each of us, like these young men, has the responsibility to use knowledge in a transformative action that leads to positive change and an enriched experience for all. There is hope and opportunity when we “Add a Friend.”
Childhood Explorer
School Attack in Peshawar, Pakistan Attacks on education have been on the rise in all regions of the world, occurring in varying degrees of disturbance and violence aimed at teachers and children, support staff, and community workers. On 16 December 2014, over 130 children lost their lives in a terrorist attack on their school in Peshawar, Pakistan. The school was targeted by the Taliban for the very purpose of inflicting maximum suffering by striking at defenseless children. Such events are so horrific and sobering, we must take pause to consider our humanity and advocate for a world that is safe for all, particularly the most vulnerable—children. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, in his statement on the attacks, said, “Getting an education is every child’s right. Going to school should not have to be an act of bravery.” It is essential that schools remain safe spaces in which children feel welcome and are able to learn and grow. They should and can be places in which children develop into peaceful citizens and realize their potential to transform themselves and their communities. Families and communities trust in schools to provide an environment in which students can thrive. We must connect with our humanity in response to these tragic events in order to protect that trust. The attacks in Peshawar violated the human rights of Peshawar’s children, families, and community. It is crucial that we protect the rights of children, which includes ensuring safe and secure places for living and learning. Children should not be targeted in conflict. They provide a beacon of hope in a world that is often difficult to understand and navigate. Tragically, the attack in Peshawar is not the first time schoolchildren have been targeted as a strategy in the war of terror. We all must work to ensure that such attacks are not repeated. Our future depends upon it. Links to information and advocacy associated with this attack on education can be found at: www.acei.org/global-news/school-attack-in-peshawar-pakistan
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Education Policy Highlight
Early Learning in Spain by Jesús Paz-Albo Director del Máster en Dirección de Centros Educativos Universidad Rey Juan Carlos Madrid, España
In the 21st century, there is a tremendous need for highquality early learning. In Spain, almost 2 million children are enrolled in early childhood education programs throughout the country. Thus, the importance of providing high-quality early learning is clear. The goal of the Spanish government is to offer quality early childhood education for Spanish families as they strive to make a better life and prepare their children to succeed in school and beyond. We need to prepare all of our children to compete in an increasingly global economy. To ensure every child in Spain has access to early learning opportunities, the government of Spain has emphasized the importance of effective early childhood learning by creating various legal and policy frameworks. Recognizing the importance of investment in early childhood for ultimate success of the Spanish youth, the government has expanded early childhood education by implementing programs such as Educa3. Educa3 is the first comprehensive program that invested in expansions of programs to provide high-quality early childhood development and learning experiences for children from birth through age 3, offering a new hope for children and families. Funded jointly by autonomous communities and the government, the program also supported teachers in implementing early childhood practices designed to improve children’s school readiness. The amount of government funding over 4 years (20082012) was €1,087 million.
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We know that early childhood education is fundamental to long-term student success; however, planning for equity can be a difficult task for early childhood educators across Spain. Under the Educa3 plan, the government committed to achieving access to quality early childhood education for all children by 2012. While there has been an expansion of formal early education opportunities for young children, with 3,381 new early childhood centers opening their doors since 2008, too many children in Spain still are not afforded an opportunity to attend a quality early childhood learning environment. The overall enrollment rate for 0-3 year-olds has risen consistently over time. Although participation increased steadily between 2002 and 2012, children age 3 are the most likely to participate in early childhood programs. Between 2002 and 2012, the percentage of 2-year-olds enrolled in early childhood programs increased by 29.8%. The percentages of 0- to 1-year-olds enrolled in early childhood programs in 2012 (9.7% and 31.8%, respectively) were higher than the percentages in 2002 (2.2% and 9.2%, respectively), with the majority of the growth occurring between 2010 and 2011. While positive steps have been taken to address children’s access to early childhood programs, there remains a shortage of funding for early childhood education programs in Spain. All children may not have an opportunity to attend an effective early childhood environment, and parents may be left out of decisions that affect their children.
Childhood Explorer
A Teenager-Friendly Community in Tehran, Iran by Mina Rezaei Graduate student, Urban Planning, University of Tehran
Urban planners recommend collaborative planning to prevent failures of top-down decision-making:
“Collaborative planning is an interactive process of consensus building and implementation using stakeholder and public involvement� (Margrum, 2002, p. 237). Recognizing the value of such collaboration, I developed my master’s thesis about making a teenager-friendly community by collaborating with 14- to 17-year-olds in Tehran. When I started working with the teenagers*, I did not expect the extent of the valuable spatial knowledge I was able to learn from them.
*The project was initiated in September 2013 and finished in January 2014 with the support of the University of Tehran in Iran.
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In Golha, a community located in the central part of Tehran (see Figure 1), Iran, I held three discussion sessions with teenagers at three high schools. During these sessions, I asked them to discuss elements of the Golha community (popular/unpopular places, green spaces, favorite routes, unpopular routes, problems in the community), describe what they prefer to have in a community, and to consider how they can change their community for the better. In every session, I started with an introduction about the subject of the discussion and then began an active discourse among the teenagers themselves and between the teenagers and me. The Golha Community The teenagers did not know the official borders of the community. While the community is named “Golha” by the municipality, some of the teenagers knew it as “Amirabad”—the previous and more popular name of the area. I gave the teenagers a map of the area and asked them to identify popular and unpopular places. Only the street names were written on the map and most of the teenagers (both girls and boys) could not identify their choices. They kept asking, “Where is Laleh Park?” or “Where is our school?” Once I showed them these places on the map, they could identify the other places they wanted to select. Most of the students liked green spaces, which were used in a variety of ways. Because of some social limitations, however, the boys felt freer in these public spaces. A 16-year-old girl explained, ”I like a place where police are not there; a place where nobody annoys me and my
friends; somewhere I feel free to meet my friends.” Some of girls identified Laleh Park (see Figure 2) as a good place where they can exercise and walk with their friends— where they “feel free.” However, one 15-year-old girl said, “I do not like to exercise when I wear the hijab; therefore, I prefer sport clubs.” Several girls said that they had been warned about their attire in public spaces. Therefore, coffee shops were more popular among girls than boys, as they were closed spaces with no police. The boys noted they also received warnings, for riding motorcycles or using rockets in the streets. A huge area of the community belongs to the University of Tehran. The teenagers frequently mentioned these areas as unpopular, explaining that they are “monotonous and also people are not that friendly.” The teenagers also did not like paths and routes with heavy traffic. I displayed pictures of three local public spaces (a square and two local parks; see Figure 3), and asked the teenagers to talk about them. A 15-year-old girl described the square as “my favorite place; several times we have been there roaming around in my friend’s car.” While girls were generally conservative about describing their experiences in the sessions, one 15-year-old girl knew the Golha community very well—all the hang-outs, all the popular routes, etc. She noted, ”I’ve lived in the community for 14 years of my life.” She asked me to not tell their principal that she knew all of these places, explaining that “they would tell that she spends all of her time in the streets.” Other girls also asked whether the principal would become aware of their answers. I assured them their answers would
Figure 1. Location of Golha community in Tehran.
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Childhood Explorer
15-year-old boys said that they cannot always play football in the parks, “as older teenagers always annoy us and kick us out of the park.”
Figure 2. Location and photo of Laleh Park.
remain confidential. Some of the girls were surprised when I asked about where they spent their time in the community, saying, “Do you know what will we be called if we spend our time in the streets? Besides, the streets are full of police.” The boys felt freer to describe their experiences. When I asked a 16-year-old boy to show me where in the community he preferred to spend time, he marked an alley that did not include any facilities. When I asked him why he chose that space, he replied, with a secret smile on his face, “A girls’ school is there; therefore, I go there to find a girlfriend.” In fact, a considerable number of boys said they like places ”where we can freely talk with girls and see them.” One 15-year-old boy noted that “Laleh Park is big enough. Besides, it is free of charge; if you want to go to a coffee shop, you pay lots of money!” Community Preferences When we were talking about smaller, local parks, one 17-yearold boy noted, “There is something there that I can’t tell; just too much brutalism.” Another teenager explained, “We cannot sleep, as our house is near the park. There are hooligans shouting all night.” Another noted that addicts are there and the parks are not safe places and are too small: “I prefer Laleh Park, which is bigger and safer.” The boys knew the atmosphere of these local parks better than the girls, as they had spent more time in these spaces (playing football, walking, etc.). Some of the 14- to
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I also showed the teenagers pictures of three pedestrian ways in the community and asked them to write descriptions of them. Most of them had not paid attention to the quality of pedestrian ways before. When they looked at the pictures, the most frequent problems they mentioned were lack of safety, uncleanliness, and lack of enough trees. Some added that “in Dubai, for instance, there are wide, green pedestrian ways, which I have not seen in Iran. In Iran, it is better to use your car. We do not have good pedestrian ways; they are full of ups and downs!” When I asked them, “Which do you prefer, driving in a car or walking?” most of them said they preferred using a car. When asked if they prefer places within the community or outside the community, most of the teenagers specified places in the community or near it, but not in their specific neighborhood. One girl explained, “The neighborhood is for kids; I like places that are not near our home—places that are more vital.” A 16-year-old boy agreed: “Of course, I prefer outside the neighborhood. The neighborhood is a small place where everybody knows each other.” Another girl expressed a preference for “peaceful places where I do not see familiar people.” When I asked them to describe the characteristics of their ideal community, they answered: “A safe, green, clean, and vital community.” How Can You Change Your Community? We discussed solutions to the following community problems identified by the teenagers: • Inadequate attractive uses for teenagers • Low quality of local public spaces • Low quality of environment in Golha community • Lack of a local public space to freely meet friends • Lack of local community management.
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All the photos were taken by the author, except the photo of Laleh Park, which was found at http://hamshahrionline.ir/details/182320) 3ds and maps are prepared by the author
Figure 3. Local spaces in the community and the photos that were shown to the teenagers.
One 17-year-old recommended that “the municipality send some representatives to our schools to make us aware of plans that affect us, or at least they can ask what we want.” A 16-year-old boy said to me, “I am very glad that you are here and are asking our opinion. I hope these ideas will be taken into account by city officials.” To achieve a more vital community, one 16-year-old girl asked me about creating more pedestrian ways. She explained, “I think expanding pedestrian ways will be a good option. I also propose cleaning the area; a group of us can be responsible for cleaning the area.” We discussed using vacant lands in the community in new ways and also considered planting trees along the pedestrian routes. Teenagers also proposed preparing restoration plans for older buildings. Through this study, I was able to learn about what would characterize a teenager-friendly community. Moreover, I improved my knowledge about the community and found ways to communicate with teenagers. Through these sessions, the teenagers learned about public spaces
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and how they can be made more vital. They also learned about concepts like “vitality,”“diversity,”“public spaces,” and ”public participation.” They considered their responsibility for their community and addressing its problems. The teenagers paid more attention to environmental (such as uncleanliness, air and noise pollution, etc.) and social (such as safety) problems than to physical or managerial problems. This may because these aspects are more tangible to the teenagers, who frequently complained about too much traffic or feeling unsafe in public spaces. After these sessions, however, they became more curious about other aspects (physical and managerial). Summary Overall, I found that teenagers like places that are not under the control of police or adults, that incorporate wide and green spaces, and that can be put to a variety of uses. Resources Margrum, R. (2002). Collaborative planning: Building consensus and building a distinct model for practice. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 21, 237-253.
Childhood Explorer
Education in Italy: 10 lessons learned from an immersion semester
by Barbara Torre Veltri, Northern Arizona University
During the 2014 spring semester, I accompanied nine teacher candidates to Siena, Italy,
where we spent five months living in the community, while supporting English language instruction in three schools. During that time, I traveled across the country, visited schools and teachers, collaborated with Italian educators, engaged in open conversation with students, and struggled as a second language learner immersed in Italian study. This article summarizes key points that I learned about education in Italy, during a full semester of teaching and learning, while the teacher candidates and I launched the first education track at The Siena School for the Liberal Arts (www.sienaschool.com). Winter 2015
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1. School Organization This school of 850 in Salerno is huge; the 19th-century structure sits four floors higher than the street level and extends across two city blocks. There are no elevators; rather, slabs of marble and stone flights of stairs lead to the upper levels. Dr. Matera, the principal, who has 35 years of experience as an educator and school administrator, provides me with necessary background on the formal educational structure, beginning with the infantile (toddlers), and progressing through materna (3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds), elementari (6- to 11-year-olds), mediale (12- to 14-yearolds), and secondaria (15- to 18-year-olds). The K-8 school includes four of these five levels of Italian education, housed in separate wings of the building. “In Italy, compulsory schooling begins at age 6,” Dr. Matera notes. “However, many parents take advantage of free public preschool provided by the government to all 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds.” I saw parents walking their young children to school, or riding with them on the backs of their bicycles, and congregating outside the building with other parents. In the preschooler area, the children are laughing as two female teachers engage in play and arts-based activities. A few spot me smiling in the hallway and wave to “la straniera.” The primary students in navy and white uniforms hold hands as they return to their classroom with a paper they carry between them. After the visit, I board the train back to Toscana, the region that has been home for me for over five months. 2. Lifetime Looping Gianni, a kind-hearted 10-year-old, gives his teacher, Laura, a hug. She laughs at his joke and sends him off to his seat. He has outgrown his royal blue smock and it no longer covers his corduroy pants. Laura shakes her head, but can’t contain her smile. “I have had them [she motions to her class] since they were in the 1st grade. They are like my own children. I care for them deeply. I am going to be so sad in June, when I have to say
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goodbye to them.” She acknowledges the public displays of affection between student and teacher and admits, “Even my male students hug me. It is seen as a sign of care and respect.” Students begin looping with teachers across grade levels beginning in 1st grade (1st-2nd, 2nd-3rd, 3rd-4th, 4th5th). I term this practice “lifetime looping.” The focus is on teachers learning about students over time, and building up relationships, rather than on content knowledge for any specialized grade level. K-8 schools across the country appear to favor this teacher/student progression. 3. Textbooks Textbooks outline the state curriculum that needs to be followed verbatim. The government (Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca - MIUR) pays for all textbooks for elementary grade children. The schools (whether religious, Catholic, private) select the actual texts, but the publishing companies contract directly with the government. Books with the imprint Ministry of Indirrizo are freely provided to all students. If a price is noted on the back cover, it is a supplemental text the parents pay for. Students use wheeled backpacks to transport their books and homework assignments. Even 1st-graders have several textbook assignments to complete and leave school with overloaded bags. 4. Attendance The school year in Italy begins in September and ends in late June. Even in the public schools, school calendars adhere to national and religious holidays. Students return to school for the winter term after January 6 (Three Kings’ Day). During my semester in Italy, four holidays were observed: Carnevale (the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday), Easter (10-day vacation that includes Good Friday and Easter Monday), Liberation Day (April 25), and Worker’s Day (May 1). Students attend school on either a Monday-Saturday schedule (from 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., with lunch [pranza] at home) or a Monday-Friday schedule (from 8:30 a.m.-4:30
Childhood Explorer
p.m., with lunch at school). Depending upon the school, teachers on the Monday through Friday schedule are in school until 5:30 p.m., which makes for very long days. I was able to eat lunch with 5th-graders at a private Catholic school in Siena in the cleanest lunchroom I’ve ever seen. The students and teachers give a song of thanks in unison, and then are expected to eat and not talk during lunch. A hot pasta (un primo corso) is served first, followed by cheese/bread or hot vegetables. The students drink water from a pitcher placed at the center of the table, refilling small plastic cups as needed. For a snack they have oranges or apples. No dessert is served and there are no vending machines on site for students to purchase any type of snack, soft drink, or candy. 5. Instruction Instruction is tied to mandated curriculum that is formalized and particularized by grade level/subject, and predetermined by the Ministry of Education. The teacher is the presenter of “information” and most employ didactic approaches based upon the textbook presentation and sequence, which is then tested in scheduled exams.
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Luisa Carretti, an Italian journalist from Puglia, and mother to a 6-year-old, tells me: “The program of study is imposed by the Ministry of Education for all public schools. Teachers just follow the program. They can’t change it, or can’t stop, even if children don’t understand. I am concerned because childhood curiosity is less desirable than compliance. It is not the norm to ask questions; that is viewed as upstaging the teacher. So, I am concerned for my daughter, who is an inquisitive child. “We don’t really have special needs’ programs here. I have a teacher friend who always tries to learn more through professional development. She met a researcher who works in Calabria and took a course on how to teach children with dyslexia, but there are few resources for teachers and little funding to support exceptional learners.” My teacher candidates are given a pink or red pen to correct student tests and submitted work. Answers are either right or wrong. When one of my more mature teacher candidates, herself a mother of grown children, responded with a quizzical look, one kindergarten
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teacher responded, “If they can’t see their mistakes (noted in red), how do they know to correct them? We can see the progress that students make when they see what needs to be changed.” 6. Teachers Teachers are predominately female, experienced, and range in age between 38-55 (data from The Ministry of Education). During school visits in Toscana, Campania, and Reggio Emilia, I observed that all the teachers in the scuole infantili, scuole materne, and scuole elementari were female, and few were younger than 30. Teachers value seniority, and remain in the profession for their career; many begin in one school and remain there for years. A colleague mentioned the need to postpone retirement in the current economic climate. As a result, there is an older teaching force who is less likely to be proficient in English or technology. Our undergraduate teacher candidates were well received. Their energy and enthusiasm integrated well with existing English instruction programs that we were supporting. Elementary teachers are responsible for teaching all subjects, including English. Most are not proficient in English and rely on workbooks and audiotapes for pronunciation of terms. Some classes do rotate teachers (for 3rd-grade math instruction, for example), but the students remain seated at their desks, which are aligned in horizontal rows (of five) and vertical rows (of four). The idea of breaking students into small instructional groups to reduce the pupil/teacher ratio was a new concept and teaching strategy. After trust was established, I modeled this approach with the teacher candidates and the English teacher at one school. We were then offered the opportunity to integrate this approach more regularly during our second month onsite in the 4th-grade classroom. As my teacher candidates became more confident, they tried it in other settings, and invited me to team-teach with them. Laura and Dania, teachers at two different school sites, said, “Your students are really exciting to watch. They
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teach the lesson in a way that uses the book, but that’s original and engages students so that they understand and apply the knowledge.” 7. Attire Students in a many elementary schools don’t wear uniforms in the traditional sense of white shirts and trousers. Rather, royal blue smocks with white collars are the norm, which are worn over street clothes (leggings/ pants). Students in both private and public schools resemble artists at work, in their flowing gowns that extend to their calves. The children’s names are embroidered on the smocks, and it is not uncommon to see children walking around town in their royal blue attire. On gym days, students arrive in matching two-piece, royal blue sweat suits. For the teachers, jeans and very casual pants are the norm. 8. Middle School Fortunately for students and teachers in Siena, all three levels of school (preschool, elementary, and middle) are clustered in two blocks of one section of the city. The middle school teachers also adhere to the looping practice. In 6th grade, students are assigned to two or three teachers who instruct them in at least three subjects over consecutive years. There are three sections of every grade level, with about 23 students in each class. While one teacher is responsible for teaching all subjects on the elementary level, middle school classes (grades 6-8) offer students the opportunity to learn from subject matter specialists. For example, Dr. Tuliani taught history, geography, and Italian to one class of students over their three years in the middle school. Julio, an 8th-grader, with a double-wrapped scarf over his hooded sweatshirt, eagerly shares why his teacher is amazing. His eyes widen with genuine enthusiasm, and he talks with his entire body, gesturing and shaking his head, while a wave of cocoa hair, Italian style—long and wavy on top, with shaved sides—drops off to the right center of his forehead. “Il nostrao Professore, è il migliore.” (Our teacher [Dr. Tuliani] is the best.) “He knows and uses technology to teach.”
Childhood Explorer
Dr. Tuliani is a respected and popular male teacher and role model. The students respect his intelligence and his calm demeanor. In a recent e-mail, he told me his class was going for their “final gelato” after three years together. The only male teachers I met in Italy were middle school teachers, teaching physical education, math, and history, and accompanying their adolescent students on field trips across the country. (Parents do not usually chaperone school field trips.) I also saw chair lift accommodations for students with special needs in the middle school, but little is provided in the way of one-on-one special education instruction. 9. Technology Dr. Tuliani teaches three subjects. He takes his students around the globe and back. He earned his doctorate at the University of Siena in medieval history. A native of the city, he is active in his contrada (one of the 17 cultural sections within the city that trace history and lineage back 800 years). Dr. Tuliani integrates technology into the teaching of history, geography, and Italian. He is one of only 24 Apple-trained technology educators in the country. “The students here know more about technology than their teachers,” he stated. “They practice on their own time, at home, developing projects.” 10. Language Learning Dr. Tuliani also notes a similar challenge with English language teaching: “Most teachers don’t speak English, and few use technology.” But Miriam Grottanelli de Santi, a bilingual (English/Italian) native of Siena, graduate of Siena schools, Cambridge University, and Director of the Siena School for the Liberal Arts, recognizes the future needs of the children in her beloved city. Her vision initiated the English education track in the schools. She explained, “It is quite plausible that children who are required by the Ministry of Education to study English in schools here, from age 6-16, will never, over their entire
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school career, learn the language by listening to a native English speaker.” Closing Thoughts In Italy, the country of my grandfather, I felt a strong connection to the people, the teachers, and most of all, the children. I ragazzi sono incredibili! In towns across Italy, I waved at children being transported on friendly yellow school buses, while I walked along uneven stone strade. In Firenze (Florence), I observed single-sex elementary schools (la scuola maschile and la scuola femminile) located on adjacent streets, yet housed in separate buildings, with unique playgrounds and entranceways. In Reggio Emilia, I noted street signs in four languages: Arabic, Mandarin, English, and Italian. And while I was observed on video surveillance outside school buildings, on streets, and in train stations in large urban centers, I always felt safe. I was welcomed in schools without ever walking through metal detectors or checkpoints armed by guards at the door. After a semester abroad in Italy, and visits to 20 cities and towns, I leave with the knowledge that teachers across Italy work very long hours, vary in their approaches to teaching children, find themselves coping with responsibilities outside of school (elderly parents, sick children, finances, car trouble), spend multiple years with the same group of students, are required to teach a mandated curriculum and align to textbooks, and feel safe in their schools. In spite of their collective personal and professional challenges and triumphs, educators in Italy offered a smile, a hug, thank-you gifts of books and flowers, and the cultural kiss on both cheeks that signaled that I was, and remain, more than a tourist, a visitor, or even a colleague. Questa è certo: I arrived a stranger, an educator abroad, and left as a friend who recognizes that “Ciao, per adesso” (goodbye for now) means that invaluable gifts of trust, acceptance, access, and appreciation were exchanged.
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Childhood Explorer The Association for Childhood Education International, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the optimal education and development of children, is proud to be offering this new publication that focuses specifically on the experience of childhood around the world. Childhood Explorer is an online vehicle for sharing informative and inspirational stories about childhood and about projects and campaigns that provide quality education, care, and support to children and youth in diverse communities and circumstances. We invite you to submit short, 1- to 3-page, articles for consideration. We are seeking narrative, conversational articles that stay focused on a personal story of childhood, while connected to a global issue concerning childhood and children’s education. Visit http://acei.org/acei-publications/childhood-explorer for more information and to download guidelines and samples.
Topics of interest are: Daily life of a child in a particular geographic location/culture/socioeconomic situation/life circumstance NGO initiatives to support children’s well-being and education Programs/approaches and how they work through real-life application Global trends in education
For more information about this publication, contact editorial@acei.org.
Global trends affecting childhood
Exploring the Landscape of Childhood Worldwide Association for Childhood Education International