Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level
The National
Head Start Association
The
National Head Start Association plays a valuable role in the leadership in its
efforts to educate and serve its most vulnerable children and families. They are a high impact organization who
values partnerships
and collaboration and are intent on transforming ourselves into a
relationship-based organization. This
organization is accountable to their members and funders, practicing the
highest standards of governance and financial stewardship, ensuring
transparency in their operations and living up to the highest standards of
quality. Its mission is to coalesce,
inspire and support the Head Start field as a leader in early childhood
development and education.
ZERO TO THREE
ZERO
TO THREE is a national nonprofit organization that provides parents,
professionals and policymakers the knowledge and the know-how to nurture early
development. Research and clinical
experience also demonstrate that health and development are directly influenced
by the quality of care and experiences a child has with his parents and other
adults. It’s their mission to ensure
that all babies and toddlers have a strong start in life.
National
Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
NAEYC's mission is to serve and act on behalf of the
needs, rights and well-being of all young children with primary focus on the
provision of educational and developmental services and resources. “NAEYC's mission is based on three major
goals and guidelines: Bettering well-qualified practitioners and improving the
conditions these professionals work in, improving early childhood education by
working to deliver a high-quality system of supporting early childhood
programs, and encouraging excellence in childhood education for all children by
constructing an extraordinary, all-around organization of groups and
individuals who are committed to promoting excellence in early childhood
education for all young children” (NAEYC, 2007).
Some job opportunities
that interest me include:
Pre-school Teacher
- Getting a job in this field requires the candidate
to possess the key personal traits, as well as the formal education and
training, needed to work with young children.
Teaching preschool requires patience and the ability to reteach material
until the students understand it. Preschool teachers need to have a
well-developed imagination, creativity, and the flexibility to create lessons
and activities to operate effectively in the classroom.
Counselor –
highly qualified with both strong academic backgrounds and extensive
multi-disciplinary experience in working with young children. In addition counselors are active
participants serving with a variety of provincial and local child education
initiatives.
Psychologist –
must model
respectful behavior and language, as well as maintain a healthy lifestyle. They should also be consistent and positive
in their interactions with children. Patience
and flexibility are especially important not only when interacting with
children, but also families and other staff.
Knowledge of psychology can be beneficial to students when applied in the classroom. This
skill can help you understand why a child is acting in a certain way. That
means when you face a challenging situation in the classroom, you will have the
skill to get to the root of the problem and respond appropriately. You don’t need to earn a master’s or PhD,
just be sure to make use of any previous psychology credits you may have.
Social Worker -
You
will need a degree in social work to become a social worker. If you are not
studying this subject at the moment you will need to take another undergraduate
degree in the future: this is normally a full three-year degree in social work,
but there
are some accelerated two-year programs for graduates in relevant subjects such
as sociology, social policy, psychology and law.
Reference
Washington, K.
(1995) "Long Term Effects of
Early Childhood Programs on Cognitive and School Outcomes". The Future
of Children 5 (3): 25–50. Head Start
Kesha,
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job finding the different organizations. I have had a direct relationship with the Head Start Project and they are very effective in reaching out to families. They also work well with different health departments in identifying children.