About Children education: Families, Community and Citizenship

Education is central to growth

Indeed, the majority of studies testify to a clear positive association between education and progress, leading to the incorporation of the right to education as one of the fundamental human rights. Education provides people with life skills as well as career skills that they can use to live happier lives and even find work and a livelihood (Council of Australian Governments, 2009). Personally, I am a firm believer in education, which is why I have devoted a considerable portion of my life to obtaining a high-quality education. My considerable love for education and the strong belief that quality education is pivotal in improving people’s lives compelled me to take this course to get appropriate skills with which I could impart knowledge to others, especially the young children. My enthusiasm with early childhood education stems from the fact that imparting children with quality education while they are still young maximizes their future wellbeing.

The journey to attain quality education

The journey to attain quality education has not been smooth sailing; I have had a fair share of challenges, ranging from financial challenges, lack of motivation among other challenges. I would have quit, but my family and community were always there to assist and lift me up. I remember an instance when I was almost left-out of the program due to financial challenges, but my parents were head over heel to get sufficient resources to fund my education. From then, I have always placed the family at the centre of the education path of all family members, specifically the children though the government has considerably funded education, my parents have always been in the forefront in providing all the resources that I have required for my education. When I was young, my parents helped me with the carry-home assignments thus they played a critical role to ensure that I completed all my assignments, and that I was not left behind in my education. Additionally, my parents have continually motivated me to continue schooling even when I felt like quitting; they have always provided a shoulder for me to lean on every time that my education proved challenging. This inspired me not to drop out of school but rather transition into higher levels of education. As such, I believe that the parents should be fully involved in the education of their children. This should not just be merely providing the resources needed for the education; the involvement should be deep such that the parents are cognizant of the performance and conduct of their children not only at home but also at school, and they should be concerned with all academic and non-academic activities of their children.

The right of every child to access high quality education

According to the UNICEF (2015), it is the right of every child to access high quality education. However, this right is sometimes infringed upon due to different factors, among them financial challenges (UNESCO, 2017). According to the Department of Education and Training (2010), the parent and the family are the first and the most important influencers of children’s lives, as they help instill values that help support the children in participating in school, which promotes their education. Further, the Department of Education and Training (2010), attests to the positive impacts of increased parens participation in the education affairs of their children. According to the Department of Education and Training (2010), family participation in education is twice as predictive of student’s academic success as the social-economic statuses of families, thus, schools that have high levels of student’s participation lead on to have excellent performances in their education. For instance, high rates of parent involvement in educational affairs of their children ensure that the children complete their assignments, increases the aspiration to seek higher education, and in-fact improves the rate of transition between the different levels of education. Other advantages of parent involvement include higher self-esteem, higher grades and test scores, increased one-time graduation rates and increased conflict resolutions (Department of Education and Training, 2010).

Promoting family participation in the classroom

Privy to the pivotal contributions of families in childhood education, I will be in the forefront to promote their participation in the classroom. As such, I will acknowledge the rights of families to make decision about their children, and I will listen and learn from families so as to acknowledge and build on their strength and competencies to nurture their competencies. I will also help develop partnerships with families and engage in shared decision making where appropriate and assist family strength to develop a sense of belonging and inclusion. I will also respect the exclusivity of each family in terms of culture, and I will strive to understand all types of families, and most important, respect their privacy and confidentiality (Early Childhood Australia, 2014).

The role of the community in childhood education

Evidently, the family plays a considerable role in facilitating and enhancing and providing for all the educational needs of their children. However, families do not exist in islands; they exist within a community, thus the community holds a special place in the educational needs for the children in the community. It was no different when I was growing up; the community played a significant role socializing me into a good student that I am. My community held and still holds education in great reverence, and is cognizant of the fact that quality education leads on to better lives. Consequently, the community socialized all of us into agreeing to our studies seriously. I remember an instance in the earlier years when I visited one of my friend’s houses on a Saturday, and instead of going to play, the parents encouraged us to complete our weekend homework then proceed to play later on. The great reverence of education has compelled the community to take part in different school-related activities, such as fund-raising programs to support different causes, rewarding top performers among other noble causes. The involvement of the community showcases the importance that the community accords education, and has always been a critical source of motivation to students, thus important in promoting improved performances. As such, I a great believer in greater community participation in children education, since evidence attests that increased community involvement in education improves student’s performances.

The importance of community involvement in childhood education

There is an adage that “it takes a village to raise a child,” which aims at pinpointing the need for community-based approaches in bringing up children due to numerous known benefits. Similarly, the community needs to be involved in promoting educational needs for children. Different studies have attested to the importance of community involvement in education on improving the quality of education offered. According to Lush & Boddy (2014), the community should provide a supportive environment that cultivates social connectedness. Such an environment cultivates inclusiveness, equity, connectedness, social cohesion, political security and efficacy, community trust among other positive impacts. Thus, childhood education offered in an environment with community participation would ensure quality and equity of education among all children. This leads on to improved performances amongst the children, a factor that sets them on a successful future, thus reduces rates of crimes since such children will have better means of earning their living. In light of the importance of community involvement in childhood education, I will be in the forefront creating connection between people, services and agencies in the community that support children education. I will also advocate for the enactment and implementation of laws and policies that promote community involvement in education, and most importantly, work towards promoting the community’s understanding of their role and importance in getting involved in children education (Early Childhood Australia, 2014).

The role of education in cultivating citizenship

Parents bear the primary responsibility of building characters of their children. However, education should play a supportive role of weaving-in the character that has been nurtured by the parents (Peterson et al., 2014). This has been clearly manifested in me, whereby my parents taught me the virtues of selflessness, love and unity among other important virtues, but these have been woven-in through citizenship education that I have received through the years. As such, I am a strong believer in citizenship education as it helps children to develop good morals, understand the societal values and also develop important conflict-resolution skills to resolve the different conflicts that they may face in their lives. I believe that it is the duty of schools to help children to develop healthy attitudes towards self and others, and also develop civic responsibility.

Building school visions for citizenship education

The critical role that should be played by education in cultivating citizenship has been studied by Lush & Boddy (2014). According to Lush & Boddy (2014), education should help develop important values and virtues, among them empathy, conscience, self-control, fairness, tolerance and self-dignity, develop social and conflict resolution skills. Consequently, I will be in the forefront in building school visions that specify the expectation for specific students especially pertinent to building morals, characters and citizenship. I will also lead in inculcating important values and virtues by developing and sustaining positive changes towards attaining the desired citizenship among all children (Department of Education and Training, 2010). I know these tasks and responsibilities will not be easy. However, I am very passionate about education, especially childhood education, thus this passion will be the motivation that will lead me throughout my career, and I am confident that I will be pivotal in nurturing our children to be the best now and in the future.

References

Bowes, J. & Warburton, W. (2012). Family as the primary context of children’s development in Bowes, Grace & Hodge Children, families and communities: Contexts and consequences (3rd ed.). Melbourne: Oxford University Press pp. 95-109.

Council of Australian Governments. (2009). Investing in the early years: a national childhood development strategy. Retrieved from https://www.coag.gov.au/node/205

Council of Australian Governments. (2009). Investing in the early years: a national childhood development strategy. Retrieved from https://www.coag.gov.au/node/205

Department of Education and Training, (2010) Families as partners in learning . Retrieved from http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/programs/partnerships/ecstrategies.pdf 

Early Childhood Australia. (2014). Early Childhood Australia Code of Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au

Lush, B. &Boddy, J. (2014). Reflections on the value of a supportive ‘village’ culture for parents, carers, and families: Findings from a community survey. Journal of social inclusion 5(2), pp. 44-55. Retrieved from http://www98.griffith.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/handle/10072/66491/100753_1.pdf;jsessionid=D2F4ECE607882FE0E851FD00F9A9E6B4?sequence=1

Lush, B. &Boddy, J. (2014). Reflections on the value of a supportive ‘village’ culture for parents, carers, and families: Findings from a community survey. Journal of social inclusion 5(2), pp. 44-55. Retrieved from http://www98.griffith.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/handle/10072/66491/100753_1.pdf;jsessionid=D2F4ECE607882FE0E851FD00F9A9E6B4?sequence=1

Peterson, E.R., Schmidt, J., Reese, E., Lee, A.C., Carr, P., Grant, C.C. & Morton, S.M.B. (2014). “I expect my baby to grow up to be a responsible and caring citizen”: What are expectant parents’ hopes, dreams and expectations for their unborn children? Family Matters 94. Retrieved from http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/fm2014/fm94/fm94d.html

UNICEF United Kingdom. (2015). A summary of The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved from http://www.unescocentre.ulster.ac.uk/pdfs/pdfs_uncrc/uncrc_summary_version.pdf

United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO], (2017). A human rights-based approach to education for all: a framework for the realization of children’s right to education and rights within education. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/A_Human_Rights_Based_Approach_to_Education_for_All.pdf