Global Children’s Initiative

 Global Children’s Initiative

 

To help children around the world reach their full potential the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University collaborates with organizations around the world to provide ground-breaking information in regard to how science is connected to child development. The information is shared with policy makers. I find it fascinating that there is a global effort to improve the lives of children.

According to Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” website, “The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University was established in 2006 by Center director Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D. Our founding mission was to generate, translate, and apply scientific knowledge that would close the gap between what we know and what we do to improve the lives of children facing adversity.” (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2010). The scientific knowledge that is discovered or gathered at the center is taught to organizations around the world. Those organizations then teach their policy makers and make greater changes for the children of those countries. The Center on the Developing Child educates its partners with information in regard to the science of early childhood development.



One of the countries that the center collaborates with is Canada. Science is not easily understand by everyone. The center collaborates with an organization called the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative (AFWI) to find scientific evidence they can be applied to childhood development. AFWI started in 2007 due to an increase of mental illness and substance abuse. According to Alberta Family Wellness Initiative, “Through a strategy they call “knowledge mobilization.” Much of AFWI’s work has focused on providing the infrastructure and facilitation to bring together practitioners and policymakers from across Alberta with scientists from the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child and other experts to enable them to collaborate and develop science-based, innovative solutions for the fields of health, justice, education, and human services.” (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2010). I find it amazing that there are individuals around the world collaborating together to research, discuss and change policies that will influence the lives of children. The profession of childcare is larger than I had imagined.




Another insight that I gained from Global Children’s Initiative is the IDEAS impact Framework located on the Guiding Principles sub-page of the website. The guiding principles of IDEAS Impact Framework are precision, fast-cycle iteration, co-creation, and shared learning. When incorporating precision into a program the principle recommends an individual should be precise in how they implement the program and document the positive and negative results of the program. This will help to determine was the program successful. According to Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative” website, “ In contrast to more traditional randomized control trials, which involve high numbers of participants over several years, project teams using IDEAS Impact Framework fast-cycle iteration start with a series of low-cost, relatively small-scale pilot tests that enable them to establish feasibility and begin to explore the program’s theory of change. “ (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2010). Instead of spending years to test a new program idea or explore a reconstruction of a program, it is recommended that little changes be implemented in a short amount of time. The little changes are then determinations of what works and what does not work. Fast-cycle iteration involves seeing if something works or needs modification. We all know a phrase that goes something like,  “it takes a village to raise a child”. Co-creation is reflection of this phrase. Co-creation refers to the idea that of having a various people come together for the greater good of a purpose. It is an opportunity for experts to come together to share ideas. This provides an opportunity to bring a community of people together. It makes the community stronger and more efficient. Part of working with a community of experts is sharing information. Shared learning refers to sharing information amongst those people who share your common purpose. Even sharing mistakes or negative results with others can be a beneficial to others. These guiding principles have been shared around the world through the center.

            Around the world there are people who are passionate about making sure policies are created for the greater good of children’s lives. The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University is proving that science can be influential in persuading and arguing why changes need to made or created for children. In the future, I hope to gain more scientific knowledge that will help me provide better care for children.

 

References

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2010). Global Children’s Initiative, Retrieved from: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/about/who-we-are/history-of-the-center/

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2010). Alberta Family Wellness Initiative. Retrieved from: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/collective-change/key-concepts/distributed-leadership/alberta-family-wellness-initiative/

Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing! Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child is a great resource. What is one thing you learned from the website that you will be implementing into your practice as an ECE professional?

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  2. I love that Harvard shares their scientific knowledge with policy makers world wide. We need to get the information out their. Hopefully the government will take it seriously. The knowledge may not bridge the gaps globally yet, but it will bridge gaps from city to city, then state to state, county to county. Together educators, families and community members around the world can help children thrive as whole beings.

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