EdAction
Maple River Education Coalition PAC
105 Peavey Rd, St 116 
Chaska, MN  55318 
952-361-4931
http://www.EdAction.org
E-mail

June 16, 2001
Print Version

International Baby Ed Agenda

An international conference called Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) was held in Stockholm, Sweden this week. Their conference website is evidence that the Baby Ed agenda is coordinated internationally. They state:

"The results of the conference will serve to clarify the place of early education and care as the foundation stage of lifelong learning, and to provide some future orientations for OECD Education Committee work in the early childhood field." (From their document, "About ECEC: The Reports") [COMMENT: Lifelong learning, Baby Ed, and School-to-Work are all elements in the new "Minnesota" education system.]

OECD stands for Office of Economic Cooperation and Development, an international organization of 30 countries that coordinates national policies within the international community. The OECD "Secretariat" is a staff of 1850 located in Paris, France, and directed by a Secretary-General and four deputy Secretaries-General. They work closely with the United Nations.

The reports listed include a review of the United States: (Go to their "Reports", click on United States. The recommendations are toward the end. It is a pdf file.)

Here are their recommendations to the U.S.:

• Make a clear policy commitment and investment priority to early childhood education and care. Set clear policy goals and devise strategies for their implementation and evaluation – federal and state. Create a network of interagency partnerships to build a sustainable system. A national commission to redefine the government role would be a good step.
• Consolidate the services. [That should sound familiar. Minnesota Governor Ventura has said that "consolidation" is one of his "nonnegotiables."] Here they reference European systems, especially Sweden, Spain, Denmark and Finland -- the most socialist countries. They recommend an inter-departmental board at the federal level to "establish greater coherence of policy." (That is, centralize and federalize the power.)
• Use an integrated approach to education, care, health and well-being, and family support with a clear infrastructure. They suggest a "Department of Services for Children and Families." (Hmmm. Sounds familiar, too. Is that like Minnesota's "Department of Children, Families and Learning?") This pushes the U.S. away from programs and into a system [their emphasis].
• Adopt a more universal approach through collaboration with public education. Education authorities need to have stronger intervention. (Sounds just like Minnesota's Baby Ed legislation, now in conference committee.)
• Set up boards to coordinate and link. Expand Head Start to include full-day services for all. (Also similar to the Minnesota Senate Baby Ed legistation, now in conference committee.)
• Expand services to apply to all, not simply the needy. In other words, make it an entitlement. including services that serve all youth. (This is part of the Minnesota Senate and Governor's plan.)
• Make housing policy and employment policy part of early childhood services.
• Establish national early childhood certification.
• Establish a paid parental leave system for all employees, not just those with over 50 employees.
• Set up a national research enterprise funded by government to help "inform effective policy-making."
• Set up a systematic national data collection network.
• "Measurement, outcomes, and accountability are given high priority in the U.S., and many of the instruments for assessing 'child outcomes' tend still today to have a cognitive emphasis. Supporting the development of research instruments and procedures that are more sensitive to the ... interdependence between family beliefs and practices and centre beliefs and practices." [emphasis added] [COMMENT: That means to collect data on private family beliefs and practices. Expanded data collection is part of the Minnesota Senate legislation now in conference committee.]

The recommendations of the OECD match the policy changes being voted on at the Minnesota state Capitol right now.

EdAction - 105 Peavey Rd, Ste 116, Chaska, MN  55318 
952-361-4931 - edaction@lakes.com - (c) EdAction - All rights reserved.