What a child can do today with assistance, she will be able to do by herself tomorrow - Lev Vygotsky
Out of the questions of students come most of the creative ideas and discoveries - Ellen Langer
A child's attitude towards everything is an artist's attitude - Willa Cather
These are some of the quotes I found and I really liked them so it was hard to choose one!!!
Farewell:
I have really enjoyed class! I'm new to the field but it has been a pleasure gleaning from some of the knowledgeable and dedicated educators. I hope while on this journey I continue to meet and network with educators that has a love and zeal for children! I hope to see you in the upcoming classes!!!! Thank you Thank you Thank you!!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Assessing the Whole Child
I think assessment is at the heart of education. Test scores are being used to gauge a child's academic strengths and weaknesses. I think assessments are great if we are using them just to give us an idea of where the child is at academically and sociallay. I heard a saying " You can't know where you going unless you know where you are" and I think that is true. I don't feel "standardized test" is the way to get there because many of us know that those test aren't" standardized" for everyone. I remember a movie "Lean On Me" where these children were taking a "standardized test" and there was a question pertaining to what wasn"t a normal routine with different options and the child circled "Breakfast" but we all know that wasn't the correct answer but for that child it was, so there goes "standardized".
A Successful Kindergarten Model in Hungary
Brief description of the Hungarian educational system
Education is compulsory up to the age of 18. Vocational studies may not be commenced before the age of 16, up to which pupils are to acquire fundamental education.
2.1. Óvoda (pre-primary) - one preparatory year, compulsory (ISCED 0-1) Age 5-6/7
2.2. Általános iskola (primary) (ISCED 1 + 2) Age 6/7-14 (1st cycle: age 6-10; 2nd cycle: age 10-14)
2.3. Secondary school
2.3.1. Gimnázium (general lower and upper secondary) (ISCED 2+ 3) Age 10/12/14 - 18/19
2.3.2. Szakközépiskola - vocational secondary school (ISCED 3) Age 14-18/19/20 (generally: 4years)
2.3.3. Szakiskola[1] (C course) - vocational training school (ISCED 3) Age 14-18 years (2+2 years)
2.3.4. Szakiskola[2] (A course / B course[3]) - remedial (ISCED 2)+ vocational training school (ISCED 3 ) Age 15/16-18/19 (1-2 +2years)
2.3.5. Szakiskola[4] (D course) - post-secondary vocational course (ISCED 4) Age 18-19/20 (1-2 years)
Brief history of kindergartens
The first official kindergarten was established in Hungary in 1828 and was the first kindergarten in Central Europe. Through the first half of the 19th century kindergartens were operated as pre-school institutions with a strong emphasis on education with only a secondary emphasis on play. By 1938 already, more than a quarter of 3-6 year old children were in kindergarten. There was little expansion over the next decades with only a third of children in kindergartens in 1960. In 1948, kindergartens were nationalized. They were increasingly seen as providing places for children as more women began working in the paid labor force. In curriculum, more emphasis was placed on preparing children for school. Substantial expansion of kindergartens followed during the late 1950’s through the 1980’s. By 1965 the number of children attending kindergarten had doubled with a total of 3227 kindergartens in operation. By 1975, two thirds of children were in kindergarten, and this figure increased to 92% for the 5-year olds by 1985. With the transition to democratic government after 1989, kindergarten operation and responsibility shifted to the local governments and most kindergartens operated formerly by industry were closed. In the 1993 Public Education Act, kindergarten was recognized as an official part of the education system and was given the same status as elementary and secondary education in Hungary. Attendance at kindergarten was made compulsory for all children beginning in the fall of the calendar year in which they become 5 years of age.
4.2. Current status of kindergarten
This educational level is considered as a crucially important integrated part of the school system. The kindergarten (óvoda) is the first stage of the Hungarian education system. It caters for children from 3 to 7 years of age. Participation in pre-primary education at this level is optional, except for the final year (beyond age 5), which is compulsory. Compulsory primary education begins at age 6, but all 5-year olds must attend kindergarten and need a kindergarten certificate before enrolling in a general school. Eligibility to enter mainstream primary education is therefore determined by prior kindergarten enrolment: by age (to have turned 6 years before 1st June of the year of enrolment) and by the level of maturity of the child. Because of these conditions, many 6-year-old children remain in kindergarten, while other 6 year olds will already be in primary school.
In school year 2009/2010 a total of 4336 kindergartens were in operation in Hungary serving a total of 328, 545 children in 14,298 groups. Number of kindergarten pedagogues: 30,007; average group-size: 23 children; children ratio per teacher: 11. http://statinfo.ksh.hu/Statinfo/haDetails.jsp Kindergarten coverage is over 90% in the 5 year or above age-group. Since about 1990, the number of children served has remained relatively constant with some reduction reflecting the lowering birth rate in the country. A few kindergartens are operated by churches (84), by private foundations or individuals (172), the central government (33) or others (30). Kindergartens are financed through a combination of national and local funds. The state provides normative grants to cover the costs of kindergarten services, which are determined in the Act on Public Education as a core of basic tasks that need to be fulfilled.
Curricular control and content
Detailed guidelines for the operation of kindergarten programs exist in the National Core Program for Kindergarten Education. School-based program for children aged 3-7 includes basic skills development, pre-reading, drawing, singing and school preparation. Children are assessed by the kindergarten teachers throughout the school year.2 As from September 2004, the revised Act on Public education stipulates that all pupils must be assessed in written, individual analysis. Kindergartens are staffed by kindergarten pedagogues who are required to have a tertiary degree of at least 2500 hours, of which 30% is of a practical nature including observations of kindergarten practice, individual and group sessions, and practical courses. They are helped by kindergarten assistants who provide support to the kindergarten pedagogues in the operation of the kindergarten class. Classes are therefore organized into groups with two pedagogues, and the support of an assistant/cleaner. The assistants do not have to have a secondary education and are able, but not required, to take a specialist examination. Currently some 80% of kindergarten teachers have a tertiary degree and a total of 97% have specialized training
Strengths of Hungarian early childhood education
The Hungarian kindergarten has a long tradition in pedagogical methodology, and its use of music, art, movement/motorial activity and handicrafts has placed it among the most successful kindergarten models in Europe. In over ten percent of kindergartens foreign language (mostly English or German) teaching is part of the curriculum.
5.1. All kindergartens are operated by professionally qualified staff and are able to ensure the well-being and global development of the child, including cognitive and social development according to age and to integrate children at risk as early as possible into full-day, tailored programs based on family outreach and community building. The kindergarten has had for years an active and child-centered methodology, with a strong grasp of how cognitive skills are developed in young children. A global approach to development and competencies is generally applied.
5.2. Kindergarten professionals are able to address needs of children who have learning disabilities, difficulties in vision or hearing impairments, or a tendency toward dyslexia. If such needs are identified early then special experts are placed at their disposal.
5.3. The social dimensions of kindergarten education have been long recognized. Early childhood services have consistently aimed at the balanced development of young children, placing an emphasis on the acquisition of social and learning skills rather than on rote learning and subject knowledge.
5.4. Initial training for kindergarten teachers is generally recognized to be of high quality, and delivers a tertiary level degree to kindergarten pedagogues. In-service training is strong and regular: there is an obligation for kindergarten pedagogues to take on a further 120 training hours each 7 years. The in-service training obligation of teachers is carried out on the basis of a 5 years institutional in-service training plan, which allows kindergarten to plan both the training budget and teacher substitutions as well. The Pedagogical Centre for Further Education Methodology and Information, the county pedagogical institutes and other educational service providers, private as well as public, offer in-service courses for kindergarten teachers.
5.5. In the kindergarten sector, quality assurance and assessment are equally comprehensive. Responsibility for quality assurance is assigned at three levels: education agencies (under the supervision of the ministry); at local level a network of County Pedagogical Institutes, the National Register of Education Experts (of which over 400 are kindergarten experts) and the supervisors and counselors of pedagogical institutes; and the maintainers (in general local governments). The head and staff of each kindergarten are expected to provide comprehensive documentation on management, the programs in use and on the progress of each child. The Ministry provides support to kindergartens to engage in self-evaluation procedures and to determine for themselves what support, training and certification they need.
5.6. If the parents of 8 minority children so request, the local authority is required to organize a special minority class or study group. A total of almost 20,000 children are enrolled in ethnic kindergartens, which represents about 5.4% of the total age group. Minority children may receive instruction in their mother tongue, in Hungarian or both in their mother tongue and Hungarian. The regulations recommend that external evaluations carried out in kindergartens providing for national and ethnic minorities should be made in the language of the group, or at least include an expert speaking the language. The results must be communicated to the relevant minority local government and to the national minority government. Kindergartens with minority children can claim special normative grants for language, or in the case of Roma, for the transmission of Roma culture, the fostering of traditions, or for compensatory Hungarian language activities. They are eligible for normative grants attached to children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and can claim grants for integrated education.
A Successful Kindergarten Model in Hungary
Brief description of the Hungarian educational system
Education is compulsory up to the age of 18. Vocational studies may not be commenced before the age of 16, up to which pupils are to acquire fundamental education.
2.1. Óvoda (pre-primary) - one preparatory year, compulsory (ISCED 0-1) Age 5-6/7
2.2. Általános iskola (primary) (ISCED 1 + 2) Age 6/7-14 (1st cycle: age 6-10; 2nd cycle: age 10-14)
2.3. Secondary school
2.3.1. Gimnázium (general lower and upper secondary) (ISCED 2+ 3) Age 10/12/14 - 18/19
2.3.2. Szakközépiskola - vocational secondary school (ISCED 3) Age 14-18/19/20 (generally: 4years)
2.3.3. Szakiskola[1] (C course) - vocational training school (ISCED 3) Age 14-18 years (2+2 years)
2.3.4. Szakiskola[2] (A course / B course[3]) - remedial (ISCED 2)+ vocational training school (ISCED 3 ) Age 15/16-18/19 (1-2 +2years)
2.3.5. Szakiskola[4] (D course) - post-secondary vocational course (ISCED 4) Age 18-19/20 (1-2 years)
Brief history of kindergartens
The first official kindergarten was established in Hungary in 1828 and was the first kindergarten in Central Europe. Through the first half of the 19th century kindergartens were operated as pre-school institutions with a strong emphasis on education with only a secondary emphasis on play. By 1938 already, more than a quarter of 3-6 year old children were in kindergarten. There was little expansion over the next decades with only a third of children in kindergartens in 1960. In 1948, kindergartens were nationalized. They were increasingly seen as providing places for children as more women began working in the paid labor force. In curriculum, more emphasis was placed on preparing children for school. Substantial expansion of kindergartens followed during the late 1950’s through the 1980’s. By 1965 the number of children attending kindergarten had doubled with a total of 3227 kindergartens in operation. By 1975, two thirds of children were in kindergarten, and this figure increased to 92% for the 5-year olds by 1985. With the transition to democratic government after 1989, kindergarten operation and responsibility shifted to the local governments and most kindergartens operated formerly by industry were closed. In the 1993 Public Education Act, kindergarten was recognized as an official part of the education system and was given the same status as elementary and secondary education in Hungary. Attendance at kindergarten was made compulsory for all children beginning in the fall of the calendar year in which they become 5 years of age.
4.2. Current status of kindergarten
This educational level is considered as a crucially important integrated part of the school system. The kindergarten (óvoda) is the first stage of the Hungarian education system. It caters for children from 3 to 7 years of age. Participation in pre-primary education at this level is optional, except for the final year (beyond age 5), which is compulsory. Compulsory primary education begins at age 6, but all 5-year olds must attend kindergarten and need a kindergarten certificate before enrolling in a general school. Eligibility to enter mainstream primary education is therefore determined by prior kindergarten enrolment: by age (to have turned 6 years before 1st June of the year of enrolment) and by the level of maturity of the child. Because of these conditions, many 6-year-old children remain in kindergarten, while other 6 year olds will already be in primary school.
In school year 2009/2010 a total of 4336 kindergartens were in operation in Hungary serving a total of 328, 545 children in 14,298 groups. Number of kindergarten pedagogues: 30,007; average group-size: 23 children; children ratio per teacher: 11. http://statinfo.ksh.hu/Statinfo/haDetails.jsp Kindergarten coverage is over 90% in the 5 year or above age-group. Since about 1990, the number of children served has remained relatively constant with some reduction reflecting the lowering birth rate in the country. A few kindergartens are operated by churches (84), by private foundations or individuals (172), the central government (33) or others (30). Kindergartens are financed through a combination of national and local funds. The state provides normative grants to cover the costs of kindergarten services, which are determined in the Act on Public Education as a core of basic tasks that need to be fulfilled.
Curricular control and content
Detailed guidelines for the operation of kindergarten programs exist in the National Core Program for Kindergarten Education. School-based program for children aged 3-7 includes basic skills development, pre-reading, drawing, singing and school preparation. Children are assessed by the kindergarten teachers throughout the school year.2 As from September 2004, the revised Act on Public education stipulates that all pupils must be assessed in written, individual analysis. Kindergartens are staffed by kindergarten pedagogues who are required to have a tertiary degree of at least 2500 hours, of which 30% is of a practical nature including observations of kindergarten practice, individual and group sessions, and practical courses. They are helped by kindergarten assistants who provide support to the kindergarten pedagogues in the operation of the kindergarten class. Classes are therefore organized into groups with two pedagogues, and the support of an assistant/cleaner. The assistants do not have to have a secondary education and are able, but not required, to take a specialist examination. Currently some 80% of kindergarten teachers have a tertiary degree and a total of 97% have specialized training
Strengths of Hungarian early childhood education
The Hungarian kindergarten has a long tradition in pedagogical methodology, and its use of music, art, movement/motorial activity and handicrafts has placed it among the most successful kindergarten models in Europe. In over ten percent of kindergartens foreign language (mostly English or German) teaching is part of the curriculum.
5.1. All kindergartens are operated by professionally qualified staff and are able to ensure the well-being and global development of the child, including cognitive and social development according to age and to integrate children at risk as early as possible into full-day, tailored programs based on family outreach and community building. The kindergarten has had for years an active and child-centered methodology, with a strong grasp of how cognitive skills are developed in young children. A global approach to development and competencies is generally applied.
5.2. Kindergarten professionals are able to address needs of children who have learning disabilities, difficulties in vision or hearing impairments, or a tendency toward dyslexia. If such needs are identified early then special experts are placed at their disposal.
5.3. The social dimensions of kindergarten education have been long recognized. Early childhood services have consistently aimed at the balanced development of young children, placing an emphasis on the acquisition of social and learning skills rather than on rote learning and subject knowledge.
5.4. Initial training for kindergarten teachers is generally recognized to be of high quality, and delivers a tertiary level degree to kindergarten pedagogues. In-service training is strong and regular: there is an obligation for kindergarten pedagogues to take on a further 120 training hours each 7 years. The in-service training obligation of teachers is carried out on the basis of a 5 years institutional in-service training plan, which allows kindergarten to plan both the training budget and teacher substitutions as well. The Pedagogical Centre for Further Education Methodology and Information, the county pedagogical institutes and other educational service providers, private as well as public, offer in-service courses for kindergarten teachers.
5.5. In the kindergarten sector, quality assurance and assessment are equally comprehensive. Responsibility for quality assurance is assigned at three levels: education agencies (under the supervision of the ministry); at local level a network of County Pedagogical Institutes, the National Register of Education Experts (of which over 400 are kindergarten experts) and the supervisors and counselors of pedagogical institutes; and the maintainers (in general local governments). The head and staff of each kindergarten are expected to provide comprehensive documentation on management, the programs in use and on the progress of each child. The Ministry provides support to kindergartens to engage in self-evaluation procedures and to determine for themselves what support, training and certification they need.
5.6. If the parents of 8 minority children so request, the local authority is required to organize a special minority class or study group. A total of almost 20,000 children are enrolled in ethnic kindergartens, which represents about 5.4% of the total age group. Minority children may receive instruction in their mother tongue, in Hungarian or both in their mother tongue and Hungarian. The regulations recommend that external evaluations carried out in kindergartens providing for national and ethnic minorities should be made in the language of the group, or at least include an expert speaking the language. The results must be communicated to the relevant minority local government and to the national minority government. Kindergartens with minority children can claim special normative grants for language, or in the case of Roma, for the transmission of Roma culture, the fostering of traditions, or for compensatory Hungarian language activities. They are eligible for normative grants attached to children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and can claim grants for integrated education.
References
Ministry of Culture and Education (1997), The Hungarian Core Programme of Kindergarten Education,
Budapest, Ministry of Culture and Education.
National Institute of Public Education (OKI),(2003), Integration versus Segregation: Hungarian Roma
Education Policy Note Nemeth et al. Budapest, National Institute of Public Education.
Puporka, Lajos and Zadori, Zsolt (1999), The Health Status of Romas in Hungary. Budapest, Bajapress.
OECD Directorate for Education (2004) Early childhood education and care policy Hungary: Country Note for Hungary
Ministry of Culture and Education (1997), The Hungarian Core Programme of Kindergarten Education,
Budapest, Ministry of Culture and Education.
National Institute of Public Education (OKI),(2003), Integration versus Segregation: Hungarian Roma
Education Policy Note Nemeth et al. Budapest, National Institute of Public Education.
Puporka, Lajos and Zadori, Zsolt (1999), The Health Status of Romas in Hungary. Budapest, Bajapress.
OECD Directorate for Education (2004) Early childhood education and care policy Hungary: Country Note for Hungary
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