[This post is part of my Noteworthy Early Childhood Development (ECD) Resources series, which rounds up and highlights key resources on particular topics.]
In today’s edition, I’d like to share with you four important international resources in early childhood development that I have come across in the last few weeks: a digital children’s library, two books, and an online course.
The International Children’s Digital Library – A Library for the World’s Children: The ICDL has a large collection of digital children’s books from around the world – over 4500 books in over 60 different languages. The collection can be searched or browsed – the books are organized by language, age, length, and type. As stated on their About page, “The ICDL Foundation’s goal is to build a collection of books that represents outstanding historical and contemporary books from throughout the world. Ultimately, the Foundation aspires to have every culture and language represented so that every child can know and appreciate the riches of children’s literature from the world community.”
Going to School in South Asia – book edited by Amita Gupta (2007): I learned of this book recently when I met Amita Gupta at a conference in New York. I mentioned to her that I was searching for research and information on the historical and current socio-political context of education in Pakistan. She referred me to this book, and it is exactly what I was looking for – and more. The book provides an excellent overview of the historical and current effects of Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, British, and other internal and foreign influences on culture and education systems in the different countries of South Asia. There are separate chapters highlighting the more specific histories of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Handbook of Early Childhood Development Research and its Impact on Global Policy – book edited by Pia Rebello Britto, Patrice L. Engle, & Charles M. Super (2013): This book was recently published by the Oxford University Press, sponsored by UNICEF and the Society for Research in Child Development. It covers a range of topics around early childhood research – from economic perspectives to scientific analyses, from indigenous and cultural perspectives to measurement and monitoring, from media to rights, and from barriers to new directions, all within the context of research and global policy. Chapter authors include Kathy Bartlett, Aisha Yousafzai, Clyde Hertzman, Mary E. Young, Martin Woodhead, Alan Pence, Sara Harkness, Jack P. Shonkoff, and the editors themselves, among many others.
Effective Classroom Interactions – Supporting Young Children’s Development: The University of Virginia is partnering with Coursera to offer this free massive open online course on effective classroom interactions to support early childhood development. The course is directed towards teachers/educators working with young children. The course starts this October and is 6 weeks long with a workload of 2-3 hours per week. The course material will be taught by Bridget K. Hamre, Grace W. Funk, Allison P. Leach and Kathy Neesen. The course description states: “During the early childhood years children gain knowledge and skills that provide the foundation for later learning. Young children learn many of these skills through the interactions they have with their teachers. This course is intended to increase teachers’ knowledge about specific types of teacher-child interactions that promote young children’s development.”
Please share thoughts, ideas, and additional resources in the comments section or via email! Thanks.
For more resources, check out other Noteworthy Early Childhood Development Resources editions.