Early Childhood

Image ©Shutterstock / Stephane Bidouze

Long-term impact: Early childhood

education in the Philippines

 13 August 2015

A three-year longitudinal study in the Philippines

is investigating how children’s participation in early

childhood education contributes to their development

of social, emotional, and cognitive skills, as the

Project Director, Rachel Parker explains.

The Philippines Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Longitudinal Study

is annually assessing a cohort of children across the first three years of their schooling

to measure their social and emotional skills such as sociability, cooperation, resilience

and empathy, as well as their literacy and numeracy knowledge and skills.

Funded by UNICEF, the study is being undertaken by the Australian Council for Educational

Research (ACER) in partnership with the South East Asian Ministers of Education Organisation

through its Regional Centre for Educational Innovation and Technology (SEAMEO INNOTECH)

and the Assessment, Curriculum and Technology Research Centre (ACTRC) of the University

of Melbourne and University of the Philippines.

The cohort of 4500 students, selected from a range of contexts and backgrounds across the

three main island groups of the Philippines, comprises children of different language backgrounds

and geographic locations, and includes children residing in conflict and disaster-affected areas.

Most significantly, data from the study will enable the ACER and SEAMEO INNOTECH researchers

to compare the skills development of children who have participated in pre-school education and

those who have not, and monitor their respective growth and development over time. A select

number of case studies will be developed to provide in-depth descriptions of the context for the

results, through interviews with school leaders, teachers and parents.

The ECCD Longitudinal Study represents a major research investment by UNICEF into the effects

of early childhood education in the Philippines, where the education system has undergone extensive

and ambitious reforms in recent years, extending from a 10-year system to a 13-year Foundation

to Year 12 system.

By adding a compulsory Foundation year under the Enhanced Basic Education Act 2013, the

Government of the Philippines acknowledges the critical importance of early years education;

however, limitations on the supply of teachers and resources alongside increased demand as

a result of the legislation are likely to mean that the universal participation of children will be difficult

to achieve.  

The ECCD Longitudinal Study embodies aid effectiveness principles by sharing approaches and

resources with development partners. It builds on work currently undertaken by ACTRC to assess

student learning outcomes in the southern islands of Mindanao.

The study will use cognitive assessment instruments developed by ACRTC and extend their use

across the Philippines. ACTRC is also supporting the study by training staff and advising on the

issues and challenges it has faced through implementing a longitudinal study on student learning

outcomes in the Philippines.   

It is anticipated that results from the ECCD Longitudinal Study will inform policy as the relationship

between early years education and school performance is better understood. Case studies will inform

understanding about transitions between grades and how school and family factors relate to cognitive,

social and emotional development in the first years at school.

ACER has designed the research methodology, developed survey and test instruments, and will

analyse, interpret and workshop the results with UNICEF and the Department of Education in the

Philippines. A series of policy papers will be produced before the project concludes in 2018. ■

Rachel Parker is a Research Fellow in ACER’s Education and Development research program.

More [rd] articles by Rachel Parker

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10 ways to get your graduation noticed

By Sean CoughlanEducation correspondent

• 15 July 2015
 
• From the sectionBusiness

Graduating students in Bonn, Germany celebrate with classic hat-throwing. But is it enough?

Knowledge economy

• 'Oldest' Koran found in Birmingham
• Women in Asia buck trend for male business courses
• US universities on symbolic visit to Iran
• Vietnam's 'stunning' rise in school standards

This is the graduation season, with universities awash with gowns, photographers and ceremonial handshakes. But how are you going to get noticed in the sea of catering tents and pompous speeches?

1) It's all about the hat: What is it about hats and graduations? Years of studying and you get to throw an impractical hat in the air. But the hat is the graduation scene stealer - either with a look-at-me message written on top or with rows of hats creating that symmetrical overhead photo opportunity.

If you want to get ahead get a hat: A graduate in New York sends a mortar board message

Even when there's a ban on throwing hats, that becomes the story. The attention-grabbing graduation ceremony needs a hat with a message and ideally someone slipping over when they're wearing it.

Hebei Academy in China has a campus where Harry Potter might feel at home

2) Make your campus look like Hogwarts: Graduation is a curious mixture of ceremony, ritual, pseudo-religious imagery and young people feeling like they've achieved something against the odds. Which means there's a lot in common with a Harry Potter adventure. Hebei Academy in China has brought this full circle. Last month's graduation drew the world's photographers because it actually looks like it's been staged on a back-lot in Hogwarts.

A spaniel in the works: Fudge has been part of his owner's academic "journey"

3) Bring a dog: Among the most photographed graduates this year must have been Fudge the cocker spaniel, pictured in his canine-size robes at his owner's graduation at Edinburgh Napier University. "I know it seems eccentric, but Fudge has been part of my journey through uni since day one," said owner, Jack Proctor. Fudge was unavailable for comment, but he is believed to be considering postgraduate studies if he can manage the fees.

George and Miko Kaihara had their graduation interrupted by the Second World War

4) Old people with a poignant tale: George and Miko Kaihara, now aged 90, were part of the Japanese community in the United States interned during the Second World War. It meant that they never got to graduate. But that was put right last month, when these two veterans of the Class of 1943 finally got to pick up their diplomas. This is a much more uplifting way of getting people to see your graduation than funny pictures on YouTube of graduates in high heels falling over.

5) Keep them guessing: Particularly tough nuns about to take out the geography department? A remake of Sister Act with a special forces theme? These were Iranian female police cadets showing their skills at a graduation ceremony a few years ago. It's a little different from the "motivational" speech from the bloke from Norwich who sponsored the new sports hall.

Gown rock: Jon Bon Jovi shared some big ideas with students

6) Deploy an old rocker: "Our future starts in our past - but it doesn't end there". "Choose a direction and if the road turns - turn! If there is a fork in the road - take it! It's ok to map out your future - but do it in pencil." Wise, wise words from Jon Bon Jovi at Rutgers University last month. These philosophical insights were light work for a man who brought the world a breakthrough album called Slippery When Wet.

President Obama has a look of weary resignation for this James Bond-themed graduation picture

7) Famous face, awkward photo: You've got the US president at your graduation. Time for a serious face, full of respectful gravitas? Nope, an opportunity to pretend to be James Bond. President Obama went along with this Bond gag at a coastguard graduation ceremony. But that expression? Parent who wanted to be taken seriously forced to join in with the novelty dance at a teenage disco. Nice.

Emily Bruell in Colorado tells the world she is gay

8) That big personal statement. Who can resist the perfect platform for a big statement? Friends and family are gathered, it's a symbolic time of change, it's a moment made for a big reveal. And so this year saw the coming out coming into the graduation hall.

9) Exit through the gift shop: Graduations have become merchandising opportunities. Part of the impact is now being felt, not just with a lump in the throat but with a substantial hit on the parental wallet. On top of the commemorative photos, outfit hire, food and souvenir mugs and T-shirts, there are now more upmarket souvenirs, such as graduation rings and jewellery. None of this fundraising feels as strange as some US colleges which offer university-themed coffins.

10) Toe-curlingly embarrassing dance routine: When they say something is going viral, it's sometimes because it's like a virus that makes you feel rather nauseous. Here's the entirely spontaneous moment when students in Portsmouth, New Hampshire began to dance along to a Taylor Swift song. There's something about organised fun that feels like you've been trapped in a terrible recurring nightmare.

“Living a Life from Within”

A good life is what everybody wants. But what does it mean to have a good life? I know everyone of us has different ideas about living a good life. Some people think more about themselves, some like to help others, and some just wants to be selfless, just like Lao Tzu mean in his view about living a good life, ‘goodness must comes from within’.

              

Upon reading and analyzing the lines about the views of Lao Tzu in living a good life, I realize lot of things and base from the given question to us by our professor, ‘why do I live a good life?’ , ‘why not be a bad person?’, and ‘Is it always right to tell the truth?’.

                

Why do I live a good life? I am living a good life because that is what I wanted for. I live a good life because I want to have a life with purpose and meaning. I want my life to be in accordance with what God has planned for me. Not because I want fame, not because I want to be recognize or become famous, but because this is where I know I can find my happiness. I live a good life because I think this is what God wanted us to have. I believe in God and I know that in living my life in a good way I know I will be happy. I may not receive any material thing or fame from doing it but this is where I can be happy. I feel happy whenever I can help others and whenever I can make others happy. Doing right when no one is looking is the true essence of being a good man which is said by Lao Tzu. Base from this line that Lao Tzu said, I can say that it is what God also wants us to do. Living a good life requires us to be good also from within. We cannot achieve a life that is good if we ourselves are not good.

               

Why not be a bad person? I think I can base my answer from the movie God’s not dead. It was said there that if God is dead then everything is permissible. But for me God is not dead and I strongly and truly believe in God, so for me doing bad is not good. Doing bad is making me a bad person which I think is not good because just like what I said, I can only find my happiness by doing good. Everybody wants a life that is good; if I choose to be a bad person, I am not only destroying my life but also the life of others.

                

Is it always right to tell the truth? I think it is always right to tell the truth because for me telling the truth will set me free. I believe that telling a lie will just make the situation worst, so while it’s still early and before it’s too late, it’s better to tell the truth. There was a time that I lied to someone and that thing really bothered me. The longer I keep the truth to that someone the more I felt conscience. And from that experience, I really learn that ‘truth will set us free’. Living a good life also connects in telling the truth. Why? It’s because telling the truth is what is right. We may not feel good about telling it but we were able to do the right thing which is good. For instance, I know that stealing is not right but by stealing I know I will also earn good benefits. But the question is, am I doing the right thing? Of course not, I may earn good benefit with it but it is wrong. The same also with telling the truth, truth may hurt us sometimes but only truth that would set us free. As the saying goes by, ‘there are no secrets that are not being revealed’. Truth will always be the truth, it is constant. We can change reality but never the truth.

                

Living a good life is a choice. It depends on us  how we are going to live it. 

When I Dream About You

by: Stevie B

There was a time in my life

When I opened my eyes and there you were,

You were more than a dream,

I could reach out and touch you,

Boy that was long ago.

There are some things that I guess I’ll never know,

When you love someone

You got to learn to let them go.

When I dream about you,

That’s when everything’s all right,

You're in my arms

Here next to me, forever.

When I dream about you,

Boy you never go away,

Just close my eyes

Wait for my dreams

Cause I still love, loving you.

How can I get you to see

That I’m falling apart

Since you’ve been gone,

I can never be sure

I could ever let go

Your love is much to strong,

There are some things that I guess I’ll never know,

When you love someone

You got to learn to let them go.

When I dream about you,

That’s when everything’s all right,

You're in my arms

Here next to me, forever.

When I dream about you,

Boy you never go away,

Just close my eyes

Wait for my dreams,

Cause I still love, loving you.

There are some things that I guess I’ll never know,

When you love someone

You got to learn to let them go.

When I dream about you,

That’s when everything’s all right,

You're in my arms

Here next to me, forever.

When I dream about you

Boy you never go away,

Just close my eyes

Wait for my dreams,

Cause I still love, loving you.

True Meaning Of Friendship

What is it that makes a true friend?

     The Japanese have a term, kenzoku, which translated literally means "family." The connotation suggests a bond between people who've made a similar commitment and who possibly therefore share a similar destiny. It implies the presence of the deepest connection of friendship, of lives lived as comrades from the distant past.

    

 Many of us have people in our lives with whom we feel the bond described by the word kenzoku. They may be family members, a mother, a brother, a daughter, a cousin. Or a friend from grammar school with whom we haven't talked in decades. Time and distance do nothing to diminish the bond we have with these kinds of friends.

     The question then arises: why do we have the kind of chemistry encapsulated by the word kenzoku with only a few people we know and not scores of others? The closer we look for the answer the more elusive it becomes. It may not in fact be possible to know, but the characteristics that define a kenzoku relationship most certainly are.

WHAT DRAWS PEOPLE TOGETHER AS FRIENDS?

1. Common interests. This probably ties us closer to our friends than many would like to admit. When our interests diverge and we can find nothing to enjoy jointly, time spent together tends to rapidly diminish. Not that we can't still care deeply about friends with whom we no longer share common interests, but it's probably uncommon for such friends to interact on a regular basis.
2. History. Nothing ties people together, even people with little in common, than having gone through the same difficult experience. As the sole glue to keep friendships whole in the long run, however, it often dries, cracks, and ultimately fails.
3. Common values. Though not necessarily enough to create a friendship, if values are too divergent, it's difficult for a friendship to thrive.
4. Equality. If one friend needs the support of the other on a consistent basis such that the person depended upon receives no benefit other than the opportunity to support and encourage, while the relationship may be significant and valuable, it can't be said to define a true friendship.

WHAT MAKES A FRIEND WORTHY OF THE NAME?

1. A commitment to your happiness. A true friend is consistently willing to put your happiness before your friendship. It's said that "good advice grates on the ear," but a true friend won't refrain from telling you something you don't want to hear, something that may even risk fracturing the friendship, if hearing it lies in your best interest. A true friend will not lack the mercy to correct you when you're wrong. A true friend will confront you with your drinking problem as quickly as inform you about a malignant-looking skin lesion on your back that you can't see yourself.
2. Not asking you to place the friendship before your principles. A true friend won't ask you to compromise your principles in the name of your friendship or anything else. Ever.
3. A good influence. A true friend inspires you to live up to your best potential, not to indulge your basest drives.

     Of course, we may have friends who fit all these criteria and still don't quite feel kenzoku. There still seems to be an extra factor, an attraction similar to that which draws people together romantically, that cements friends together irrevocably, often immediately, for no reason either person can identify. But when you find these people, these kenzoku, they're like priceless gems. They're like finding home.

HOW TO ATTRACT TRUE FRIENDS

This one is easy, at least on paper: become a true friend yourself. One of my favorite quotations comes from Gandhi:

• "Be the change you wish to see in the world.
• "Be the friend you want to have. We all tend to attract people into our lives whose character mirrors our own. 
• You don't have to make yourself into what you think others would find attractive.
• No matter what your areas of interest, others share them somewhere. Simply make yourself a big target.

Some of these pictures will make you laugh, some will make you cry, and some will make you say awwwww. But they all will remind you how much you need your friends.

Real friends stick together when times are tough,

They’re always there with a shoulder to lean on,

Friendship is when people know all about you but like you anyway,

Regardless of size,

How much money you have,

Shape,

Color,

Species,

Or age.

Real friends won’t let you do stupid things alone,

They’ll give you a ride,

Go for a ride,

Keep an eye out for you,

Have your back,

And stop you from doing something stupid.

Friendship isn’t about whom you have known the longest… It’s about who came, and never left your side.

Friend will keep you warm,

Give you a boost,

Be there when you’re feeling down,

And be your eyes when you can’t see.

Friends pick us up when we fall down, and if they can’t pick us up, they lie down and listen for a while.

           "True friends are forever."