Lessons Learned from Work with International Partners to Inform Rural Practices for Early Childhood Intervention

Abstract

The United States is becoming increasingly diverse with the largest growth in Hispanic populations. Diversity also is increasing in rural America. This diversity is reflected in the participants in early care and education programs and K-12 students. Unfortunately, demographics for college and university teacher education programs do not match those of early childhood participants and K-12 students. This lack of diversity, especially in teacher education programs, compromises the ability of personnel preparation programs to adequately prepare graduates to work and interact effectively with diverse populations of children and families. Therefore, intentional and planned multi-cultural community-based experiences are vital and necessary to promote the scholarship and citizenship of our teacher-education graduates. The purpose of this article is to describe strategies program faculty in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education (IECE) at the University of Kentucky (UK) have used to support IECE students to understand, appreciate, and value the perspectives of Hispanic children and families with whom they will work. Through travel and exploration of how languages and cultural traditions are practiced in Hispanic home countries, IECE students gain a greater understanding of where Hispanic roots begin and how these influence education in rural early childhood programs and schools. This article will describe two program activities that have a significant global component and represent two different ways in which students are involved in a global experience. One is in-country (Guatemala) and focuses on curriculum and assessment while the second is focused on curriculum materials developed by students on campus for use in a rural tribal community in Ecuador.