Exploring Roles in the ECE: National/Federal Level
ZERO TO THREE
The first organization that I explored this week was the ZERO TO THREE National non-profit organization. Through their website, I learned that they work towards providing education and the knowledge of how to foster early development to families, professionals, and policymakers. ZERO TO THREE understands the critical period that is a child’s early years and how adults influence development during this time through their care and interactions with a child.
The mission of ZERO TO THREE is “to ensure that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life” (http://www.zerotothree.org/).
ZERO TO THREE currently has several job listings available through their newly developed career center. I was particularly interested in a management position regarding program planning since this is the type of position that I am hoping will be a reality for me one day with my current school board or community. Through this position, I believe that I can positively influence both the daily experiences and future of young children. A position such as this also allows me to provide the necessary support that educators often seek. This position will require me to have a strong understanding of early development and how developmentally appropriate environments support this development. My leadership skills will need to be strong, as will my interpersonal skills and ability to develop relationships with teachers, administrators, and family members. Organization skills will be important as I work to keep track of the needs and accomplishments within each program that I work with.
The North American Reggio Alliance
The second organization that I was very interested in was the North American Reggio Alliance (NAREA). I am still exploring the world of Reggio Emilia and would love to have the guidance of this alliance as I move forward to incorporating some of this philosophy into my classroom. The principles of NAREA are based “on the fundamental values and principles of the Reggio Emilia approach” (http://reggioalliance.org/) and in an effort to support their beliefs that “children deserve intelligent teachers” (http://reggioalliance.org/), they work to deepen their members awareness of the Reggio Emilia philosophy and encourage members to stay connected with each other.
Although they do not have a stated vision or mission statement, the following description of the NAREA describes the goals of their work.
“The North American Reggio Emilia Alliance exists to connect early childhood educators and advocates together in discovering, interpreting, and promoting Reggio Emilia inspired education. NAREA believes in the inherent abilities and basic rights of children and adults, particularly with regard to their competence and right to actively construct relations, knowledge, feelings, and identity. NAREA works to mobilize educators, parents and policymakers to play a collective role in moving the value of early childhood education to a position of priority. Through conferences, networking, and resource sharing, NAREA is advancing an inspiring and innovative movement that is giving more quality and excellence to education.” (http://reggioalliance.org/narea/)
Their site lists jobs from around North America in relation to the Reggio Emilia approach to early learning. Most of the positions are for classroom teachers but a few are for directors (assistant and lead). I am particularly attracted to the family center and school director positions as I sometimes feel that the connection to family is not always present in early learning programs and the school director position can put me in a place where I can encourage play programming beyond the early years. As a director, I would need to have an excellent understanding of the philosophy of Reggio Emilia, good organizational and managements skills, excellent communication and people skills, a positive attitude and approach, the ability to problem solve, motivate others, and create leadership within my team.
The Human Early Learning Partnership
The Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) is a cooperative research partnership that studies how early experiences result in inequalities in children’s development. Through their interdisciplinary and collaborative approach, they are able to connect with other researchers and practitioners from across Canada and internationally. Their wide range of research focuses helps to build a strong base of understanding of the early years and how the powerful affect of these experiences can affect a child over a lifetime. HELP’s research focuses on the biology of child development, building databases of information in regards to child development, and developing policies and programs that are consistent with scientific research and address vulnerability issues of children. I find this organization extremely attractive to be a part of as solid research continues to be an issue in the field of early learning and development and is a much needed source of information for those advocating for positive and healthy learning environments for young children.
HELP’s Mission Statement is as follows:
“Creating, promoting and applying new knowledge to help children and families thrive.” (http://earlylearning.ubc.ca/about/)
With the following goals in mind:
“Promote equity in children’s developmental and educational outcomes, and ultimately in their lifelong health and well-being.
Communicate the importance of quality environments for all children: those that support families and provide for healthy child development.
Contribute to social change that improves the health and well-being of children and families”. (http://earlylearning.ubc.ca/about/)
Their faculty consists of highly education individuals with the majority of them involved in the sciences. In order to have the necessary skills for any of these positions that consist of directors or professors, I would need to continue my schooling beyond my Masters degree and consider looking at the science behind child development in these studies. Currently they do not have any positions open that would suit my personal career goals or interests. However, one staff position that is currently held that I would consider is a Community Engagement Officer that is responsible for coordinating community initiatives. This staff member works directly with schools by supporting them in their efforts to gain a better understanding of the research in this area. This position involves creating workshops, webinars, and conferences for educators. I find this position attractive because it is through solid information that educators can make good choices about teaching practices and environments for their students. My communication skills, understanding for the reality of the classroom, passion for good practice supported by research, and experience with public speaking and presenting workshops would be helpful in this position. However, my lack of knowledge in operating a webinar would certainly require me to take time to learn how to do this. In addition, I imagine that this position would require other computer skills that I would need to develop.
More information about each of these organizations can be found at: