Early Childhood Australia (ECA) is a non-profit organisation that promotes and works towards what is best for children and the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector. Since 1938, ECA’s main focus has been advocacy, influencing many significant issues relevant to the care, wellbeing and education of young children in Australia. They develop projects in the sector and produce a variety of resources by way of subscription-based publications for their members and the broader sector which includes early childhood educators, services, academics and students. Their vision is that every young child is thriving and learning.
They advocate for the best interests for children and they aim to identify and promote the best practice in the field. They do so by:
- developing and advocating policies on early childhood education and care
- promoting and reviewing the Early Childhood Australia Code of Ethics
- contributing to the development and evaluation of government policies and programs through submissions, committee membership, delegations, and discussion with politicians and departments
- promoting increased awareness and understanding of the needs of young children and their families
- supporting informed debate and good practice in early childhood settings through its own specialist early childhood publications
The one thing that I liked about this site is how they are so concerned with trying to not only help the children but the families as well. They have programs that work at home with the parents, and at school with the children. This program also works with other programs in Australia to make sure the children and their families receive health care, education, and other further assistance. It seems like it is almost similar to our Head Start programs, but more involved. They have turned this into a huge program involving not only their government, but many other programs. Their only goals are helping children and their families, to make their lives better, and not only through education.
http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/
MaryJane,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post I was curious to find out about the data is on poverty in Australia and how many children it affects. I found out that a recent 2014 report by the Australian Council for Social Services stated that there has been an increase in the number of people living in poverty in Australia. The number reported was 2.5 million, with the number of children living below the poverty line being 602,604 (17.7% of all children). It seems that although the methodology of what the poverty line is differs among nations, all have the issue of poverty and advocates for children and families who are most vulnerable are needed. So for this reason it is important that organizations like Early Childhood Australia (ECA) advocate for children and their families.
http://www.acoss.org.au/images/uploads/ACOSS_Poverty_in_Australia_2014.pdf
Mary Jane,
ReplyDeleteI wondered if there were any localized branches of Early Childhood Australia. The advocacy of the organization reminds me of NAEYC in America, but it has state and local affiilates that do a lot of the grassroots advocacy and work with families and educators. Also, was there any information on immigrants or working with aborigines via the website that you could see? I didn't immediately find anything.
Thanks for sharing!
Shawna Daniels-Ash