A Report on the Progress of the International Guidelines for Early Childhood Education and Care.

INTERNATIONAL/INTERCULTURAL

On July 4-8, 1999, 75 delegates from 17 countries met at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute in Ruschlikon, Switzerland, to attend the International Symposium on Early Childhood Education and Care for the 21st Century. The symposium, sponsored by ACEI and OMEP (World Organization for Early Childhood Education), was planned over a period of three years, with meetings conducted at ACEI conferences in Minneapolis, Portland, and Tampa, and at OMEP conferences in Mexico City and Copenhagen. Leah Adams and Ulla Grob-Menges co-chaired the symposium for OMEP, and I chaired for ACEI. ACEI was represented by 31 delegates and recorders. Delegates also represented OMEP and other early childhood organizations with international interests.

Symposium delegates were divided into seven working groups representing different countries and continents. The groups developed guidelines for the following topics:

* Overall philosophy, goals, and policies

* Environment and physical space

* Curriculum content and pedagogy

* Early childhood educators and caregivers

* Young children with special needs

* Partnership with families/ communities

* Accountability, supervision, and management

When the working groups were first assembled to begin their task, they had general guidelines to follow, along with working papers and a multitude of resources to guide their efforts. At the end of the symposium, each working group submitted a draft copy for further editing. Each working group selected an editor to represent them in the process of further shaping the guidelines and preparing them for dissemination.

After the conference, work continued on the guidelines through the efforts of the major editors (Leah Adams, Sue Wortham, Audrey Curtis [President of OMEP], and Mary Jalongo) and the seven working group editors. Using E-mail and regular mail, the editors sent suggestions for changes and revisions back and forth across states and continents. Work on revisions continued as editing transitioned into preparations for publication and dissemination. A major challenge was to pare down the elements of the guidelines into manageable length without losing the intent and flavor of committee work. As this work continued into January of 2000, it became evident that the guidelines will never be finished; the document will be dynamic and in need of change over time.

As this column goes to press, the goal was to have an ACEI/ OMEP joint publication ready for the next ACEI Annual Conference in Baltimore in April 2000. The publication will include the guidelines, as well as the papers presented by the three keynote speakers, Blanca Hermosilla of Chile, Peter Moss of England, and Bettye Caldwell of the United States. Also to be included will be the names of delegates to the symposium, members of the seven working groups, and editors of the document.

Efforts to share information about the symposium and its work began soon after its conclusion in July. Delegates have presented their work at conferences in several nations. ACEI delegates were represented in a panel discussion of the symposium at the NAEYC conference in New Orleans in November 1999. A similar session is planned for the ACEI conference in Baltimore.

Symposium delegates expressed how meaningful working within a global group was to them as individuals and as professionals. The hard work that began three years prior to the symposium, and now after the symposium, continues to be rewarding to those involved. It is hoped that as the guidelines become available, ACEI members will acquire them and disseminate them to their colleagues and governments around the world.

-- Sue Wortham, ACEI Conference Chair