Job/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

What an intriguing assignment.  It seems I have never really thought about looking for job opportunities outside of my local area.  It is appealing, though I never considered, nor have I wanted to leave my home state.  However, after completing this venture I have decided if the right job or opportunity arose in the early childhood field that fueled my passion I would have to consider a life change.  Three international organizations that appeal to me and why are:

1.     UNICEF or the United Nations Children’s’ Fund (n.d.) is a national organization that advocates for all children around the world.  I chose this organization because of exactly that.  UNICEF (n.d.) continually and consistently works tirelessly to ensure the rights of children.  UNICEF (n.d.) is setting the standard in providing services to and for children in need across the nation and setting national policy concerning the rights of children.  UNICEF (n.d.) is a mandated advocate for the protection of children’s rights and sanctioned by the National General Assembly.

2.     NAEYC or the National Association For the Education Of Young Children (n.d.) is a national organization focusing on educational, developmental services, and resources surrounding early childhood and young children acting on their behalf in order to protect their personal rights and well being.  The NAEYC (n.d.) is an organization that is appealing to me in that it actively promotes developmentally appropriate practice with an abundance of resources and research available to early childhood professionals.

3.     NIEER or the National Institute for Early Education (n.d.) is a national organization that conducts and shares research to promote effective and high quality early childhood education for all children.  NIEER (n.d.) provides independent advice and technical assistance to educators, journalists, policymakers, and researchers.  I like NIEER, in that it is a national organization that facilitates national and state discussions on early education that promote and encourage policy changes in the early childhood field that benefit all children, including universal access to preschool for all children.

Job opportunities that interest me are:

1.     Early Childhood Consultant: provide information and assistance to ECE programs, business and industry, communities, public officials, and state and federal agencies that in order to assist in developing programs, guidelines, and public policy that promote the overall improvement and quality of early childhood programs.  Specific skills and/or experience I would need to fulfill this role are my education in early childhood, knowledge of licensing regulations, and excellent communication and writing skills.

2.     Professional Development Specialist and/or Coordinator: assists early childhood professionals in reaching personal professional development goals. Specific skills and/or experience I would need to fulfill this role are knowledge and/or experience of early childhood careers and the education and/or the professional experience needed to achieve them, excellent communication and writing skills, and some administrative skills.

3.     Director of Educational Programing: leads a company team that ensures that high-quality early education curriculum is provided for the early childhood programs they serve.  Specific skills and/or experience I would need to fulfill this role are strong administrative and management skills, excellent communication and writing skills, organized, extensive knowledge of early childhood development, and developmentally appropriate practice.

These are positions in the early childhood field that interest me, however I still truly enjoy interacting with children.  I have been told that as a director I spend to much time on the floor.  I have to ask if that is even possible…have you ever tried to talk to a parent, addressing issues about their child…a child you weren’t familiar with?  I never have that problem! Over the years I have found this promotes better family relations and increased parent involvement in the program.  I would think that all of these positions would require getting to know the families, staff, and programs in order to provide valid and useful information …what’s the number one rule for success…know your clientele. 

References

NAEYC (n.d.). National Association for the Education of Young Children | NAEYC. Retrieved October 12, 2013, from http://www.naeyc.org/

NIEER (n.d.). National institute for early education research. Retrieved October 12, 2013, from http://nieer.org/

UNICEF (n.d.). United nations children's fund. Retrieved October 12, 2013, from http://www.unicef.org