Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

U.S. Department Education – Institute of Education Sciences

Position – Public Affairs Specialist

This position is located at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in Washington, D.C. IES is the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education. Its mission is to provide reliable evidence on which to ground education practice and policy, and to share this information broadly. By identifying what works, what doesn't, and why, IES aims to improve educational outcomes for all students, particularly those at risk of educational failure. With an annual budget of over $550 million and a staff of approximately 180 people, IES supports a wide range of research, statistics, assessment, and evaluation activities. Its work is carried out by four centers:

Skills and Qualifications -A bachelor's degree or equivalent degree. OR
Applicants are expected to possess the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) listed below to qualify for this position. These KSAs are addressed in the self-assessment questionnaire that you will complete for this announcement. You do not need to respond separately to the KSAs listed below. Your answers to the on-line experience questions will serve as responses to the KSAs. Your application will be evaluated based on your ability to demonstrate the following knowledge, skills, and abilities/competencies (KSAs):

National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families – Zero to Three

ZERO TO THREE is a national, nonprofit organization that provides parents, professionals and policymakers the knowledge and know-how to nurture early development.

Job Title: Program Manager, Resource Development Department: National Center on Early Head Start-Child Care (EHS-CC) Partnerships

Qualifications and skills:

Knowledge, Skills and Experience · Excellent knowledge of and experience with the infants and toddlers, Early Head Start program, child care programs and systems, including Family Child Care, the Child Care and Development Fund, the Head Start Program Performance Standards and early childhood partnerships at state and local levels · At least ten years of experience in the early childhood field at various levels; at least five years of successful program or project leadership experience and supervision · Experience and capability in results-based work, using logic models and tracking outcomes · Clear and concise writing skills; effective verbal communication and public speaking skills · Effective training and technical assistance skills that reflect principles of adult learning, leadership, reflective supervision and team processing · Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills; successful experience working and communicating with diverse people · Ability to work independently as well as in a team structure; ability to manage multiple tasks and be flexible · Ability to travel required Essential Qualities · Encourages and practices critical thinking

Education Master’s degree in early childhood development or a related field preferred; Bachelor’s degree in early childhood or a related field required.

T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood-National Center – Implements and sustains programs and strategies that result in a well-educated, fairly compensated and stable early childhood workforce to ensure the long term success of our nation’s children in school and in life.

Job Title: Specialist, Infant Toddler Educ.

 The Specialist, Infant Toddler Education develops and delivers high quality professional development events for early child care and education program staff in an effort to increase knowledge and skills around providing quality infant and toddler group care to support early development and learning.

 Education and Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, or related field plus or including at least 6 birth to five focused semester hours; Master’s degree preferred. • At least three years of experience in working with infants and toddlers and their families or the programs that serve them; two years’ experience in the Infant Toddler Enhancement Project preferred • Experience in developing and conducting high quality early childhood professional development opportunities.

References

U.S. Department Education – Institute of Education Sciences

www.ed.gov

National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families – Zero to Three

www.zerotothree.org/

T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood-National Center

www.childcareservices.org/ps/teach

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

National Association for the Education of Young Children-NAEYC

I choose this association because it keys in on all the major components for the development of children from birth to age 8. During this time children are like sponges, they are absorbing as much as they can and learning themselves also. Having educators that are more diverse and dynamic in early childhood will help them to work harder and be passionate about the advancement of young children. There is one position that is available that interest me, Senior Director, NAEYC for Early Childhood Program Accreditation. The following skills would be needed;

·         Demonstrated leadership and management skills administering early childhood systems and quality improvement initiatives.  Demonstrated track record of staff supervision that motivates excellent performance and supports ongoing staff development.

·         Excellent organizational, communication and interpersonal skills.

·         Strong conceptual and analytic skills and talent for innovation.

National Center for Children in Poverty-NCCP

This association focuses on the family economic security, strong nurturing families and healthy child development. This association focuses on low-income families and children, they promote family-oriented solutions at the state and national levels. There is one position that is available that interest me, Qualitative Research Assistant. The following skills would be needed;

·         Recruit participants into the study using approved methodologies

·         Schedule focus group sessions for study participants

National Early Childhood Program Accreditation-NECPA

            

This association focuses on supporting children and early educators through mentor program, webinars, workshops and online resources. Primarily, the self-assessment process which involves parents, staff and program management encourages all to work together to reach for a higher level of quality. The one position that interest me was a Certified NECPA Verifier. The following skills would be needed;  Ensure children are stimulated in healthy, nurturing and developmentally appropriate environments.  Strengthens your child advocacy mission.

·         Cultivates a greater awareness for unparalleled quality in early childhood landscapes.

·         Focuses on the five founding principles; integrity, pursuit of excellence, responsibility, reliability and commitment.

Reflecting on Learning

My most passionate hope for my future while working with young children and their families is that every child be afforded the opportunity to receive high quality education, regardless of race, gender, economic class, language, culture, religion, etc. And also to continue to make every effort to create an anti-bias setting that is rich in possibilities for exploring cultural diversity.

Thank you colleagues for sharing you most inner thoughts, hopes and dreams. The knowledge and information I've gained from each of your experiences has truly been an inspiration.  Over the course of the last several months I've cultivated friendships beyond the classroom and I look forward to continuing those friendships and collaborating with those of you in the near future.

Impacts on Early Emotional Development

Impacts on Early Emotional Development 

The region of the world I chose to investigate was West and Central Africa.  After investigating the region I elected to focus on the country Guinea.  Guinea is located on the west coast of Africa, its population is approximately 7.5 million with almost half of the population under the age of fifteen.  Guinea is one of the world's poorest countries. Despite its natural resources and abundant rainfall, Guinea has low life expectancy, a low doctor-patient ratio, and a high rate of infant mortality. The country remains largely rural, and 80 percent of the population is involved in agricultural production. Many people can afford to eat only once a day. Their meals are frequently low in protein, and many children and adults suffer from malnutrition.

Guinea was one of countries that was effected by the worst Ebola outbreak on record, 773 children in Guinea alone have lost both parents to the disease.   And the fate of these grieving kids and those in other parts of West Africa who were orphaned by the virus, were in jeopardy when family members abandoned them or refused to take them in due to concerns that they could spread the disease, which has claimed more than 9,000 lives.  According to the aid organization, an estimated 16,000 children in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone lost one parent, both parents or their primary caregivers to Ebola.

The experiences of these children watching a parent die, and having to worry about who was going to take care of them or where they were going to stay no doubt had a tremendous effect on the children’s emotional wellbeing and development.

As an early childhood professionals, we should all take the opportunity to help improve child protection services for all vulnerable children.  Become a voice to address other forms of vulnerability that some of our young children may be facing on a daily basis.

References

UNICEF (2011). Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/guinea.html

The Sexualization of Early Childhood

The mere fact that there is actually a topic such as sexualization of early childhood is just unthinkable. Growing up in the early 1960’s as a child, we were not exposed to the sexually explicit terms and images that our young children are exposed too today in a world that I consider as being oversexualized world.   It wasn’t until deregulation of television in the 1980’s which allowed an increase in violent and sexually explicit TV programming that depicted little boys as being told they have to be macho and ready to fight and sending the message to girls that being just pretty and sweet is not enough but they have to be sexy and sexualized as well. As much as parents and/or early childhood educators would like to protect our children from these sexually explicit terms and images at such an early age, children are sure to encounter sexually explicit photos and lyrics from the media, their peers and the school environment.  

Our goal as educators and parents should be to help keep them safe first and far most and keep an open dialogue with our young children to allow them to ask questions about what they see and how they feel about themselves in regards to the sexually explicit terms and images they may encounter.  Help them to understand the images they see and come in contact with does not define who they are as a person, or what they should wear, or how they should or should not look. 

Because of the growing age of technology, it’s nearly impossible to protect children from exposure to sexual imagery in the media and popular culture.  Most children as early as the age of three have hand held computers or access to computers in their home, videos games and their own TV in their bedrooms with little or no parental guidance as to what type of music they are listening too or TV programs they watch.

In order to counteract sexualization in early childhood both parents and educators will have to narrow such stereotypes of boys and girls in commercial culture by helping boys learn alternatives to tough and violent behavior and encouraging girls to be physically active and independent, rather than focusing on their appearance and sexiness.

Reference

Levin, D. E., & Kilbourne, J. (2009). [Introduction]. So sexy so soon: The new sexualized childhood and what parents can do to protect their kids (pp. 1-8). New York: Ballantine Books. Retrieved from: http://dianeelevin.com/sosexysosoon/introduction.pdf

Evaluating Impacts on Professional Practice

There are no words to describe how racism feels. Everyone deals with it differently. Some people lash out verbally, others withdraw into themselves. Some people can talk openly about how it feels, others hide it deep within. It’s imperative that we talk to our children and prepare them for the possibility that they might experience racism. 

Most ethnic minority parents teach their children about their culture by passing down information and traditions from their country of origin. However, research suggests, with the exception of African-American families, they are less likely to talk to their children about what it means to be a minority in a country that is primarily Caucasian and discuss experiences related to discrimination and racial teasing they might experience because of their ethnic differences (Caughy, Nettles, O’Campo, and Lohrfink,  2002). Preparing children for racist interactions is important because it allows them to attribute the discrimination and bullying to the bully, not to a personal defect within themselves or with their culture, and will encourage them to talk about it, if when it occurs.  

As early childhood professional young children look to us as role models, so by being assertive it teaches them to find their own voice and to stand up for themselves and others who are being teased. My girlfriend, who is Korean, constantly experienced racial slurs at her job as pet groomer from co-workers to point where she quite a job.  It’s important that we, the community as a whole get involve and stand up for what is right. 

If we as educators know racial teasing or discrimination is occurring in our school, in our neighborhood, I believe we should get organized and get support to stop it.  Don’t ignore racism if you see it. It doesn’t go away if you close your eyes and don’t look.

Reference

Caughy, M. O., Nettles, S. M., O’Campo, P. J., & Lohrfink, K. F. (2005). Racial socialization and African American child development: The importance of neighborhood context. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, GA.

Observing Communication

This week we were asked to observe communication between an adult and a young child.  While in Walmart waiting an extremely line check-out line, I decided to take this opportunity to complete this week’s observation assignment.  A mother and a child who was no more than three years old was ahead of me in the check-out line.  The mother seemed very agitated because the child keep taking items off of the rack near the check-out line and throwing them in the cart.  After constantly telling the child no, and taking the thrown items out of the cart, the child began to scream and told her mother, “I want my daddy”.  The mother tried reasoning with the child to no avail, as the child continue to throw items into the cart and continued to ignore her mother’s response of No.  When the mother finally reached the cashier and began taking her items out of the cart, the child began screaming and hitting her mother in the chest.  The mother tried to hold the child’s arms while attempting to unload her cart at the same time. After several minutes of watching this scene between the mother and child, I found myself feeling sorry for the mother as another women immediately behind her offered to hold the child while she unload her cart only to refuse her help and struggled to resist the swinging child hands while unloading her cart. 

Finally after paying the cashier and pushing the cart out the door.  The mother yells at the child saying, wait until your father hears about how you’ve behaved.

In this particular scene it was hard to determine who the parent was, and who the child was.  Because the child clearly was use too getting her way.  The mother showed no type of meaningful communication with the child other than saying “no, no, no, no” to the child.  Instead of trying to communicate to the child that it’s not nice to try to hit mommy, or maybe say to child “you wouldn’t like it if mommy hit you in the chest, would you?”  Maybe, if the mother took just a few moment prior to reaching the cashier to communicate to the child that what she is doing is not good and that good little girls don’t behave that way.  Instead she showed no emotions or any attempt to communicate with the child.  Children sometimes act out to receive attention from a parent who they feel is neglecting them.