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

This week we were to look for national/federal organizations that we would want to be a part of. The first organization that came to mind is the National Association for the Education of Young Children, NAEYC. I chose this organization because it is their information that I always come across when doing research on the early childhood field. The NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children, n.d.) “Is the world’s largest organization working on behalf of young children with nearly 80,000 members, a national network of more than 300 state and local Affiliates, and a growing global alliance of like-minded organizations.” I couldn’t really find any job opportunities but it seems that there is an abundance of things to do and work towards.

 

The next organization that I looked into was LearnNow. This organization is based on getting people together to work towards a common cause. Their mission is:

To better prepare children for a dramatically changing world, LearnNow presents evidence-based information as the basis for sound decision-making in ways that can help build an online community to help answer questions and demystify some of the challenges involved in raising, caring for and nurturing children. (LearnNow, 2012)

People involved in their organization are professors, neuroscientists, parents, psychologists, and many others. Once again, I couldn’t find any job opportunities but saw that there were an abundance of people on three different advisory boards. I chose this organization though because it doesn’t just look towards educators but to the whole community to help with advocating for children.

 

The final organization that I looked into was the Alliance for Childhood. I chose this organization because they are working towards getting children away from televisions and computers along with reducing the amount of high-stakes tests that children have to take. Their mission statement is to:

Promote policies and practices that support children’s healthy development, love of learning, and joy in living. Our public education campaigns bring to light both the promise and the vulnerability of childhood. We act for the sake of the children themselves and for a more just, democratic, and ecologically responsible future. (Alliance for Childhood, n.d.)

They have professors, directors, and CEOs of other companies that are a part of their board of trustees. There is also a person who is just in charge of communications with other organizations.

 

References:

Alliance for Childhood. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.allianceforchildhood.org/

LearnNow. (2012). From research to the real world. Retrieved from http://www.learnnow.org/

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/

Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

The first state organization that I found was the Ohio Education Association. I chose this organization because they “represent 124,00 teachers, faculty members and support professionals who work in Ohio’s schools, colleges and universities to help improve public education and the lives of Ohio’s children” (OEA, n.d.). Their focus is on how quality education can help all children and their lives. When looking through the job openings, I was surprised to see that 2/3 of the job opening wanted degrees in other professions than in the education field. The one job that I did find, that wanted education experience was a consulting job which wanted experience in advocacy work.

The next organization that I found was The Ohio Confederation of Teacher of Educaiton Organizations, OCTEO (n.d.). This organization is known as an umbrella organization that brings together other organizations. The OCTEO sets up conferences for these different organizations to come together. I really liked how this organization helps other organizations stay connected. This seems like it would be a great way to learn more about the programs that are out there and find out what others are doing in their organizations. The different job openings that I found were for colleges in the area which involved assessment, human resources, and assistant professor. This organization would be a great way to impact the future teachers of America. One main skill that I saw they wanted was strong communication and collaboration skills.

The final organization that I found was based in other states but could be a great opportunity. Playworks (n.d.) is an organization that I found that sets up trainings and inform schools how important play is in the schools. One success that they have had is bringing coaches into the school so that they can teach teachers and administrators on what to do to get children to be more active. I found this to be a great organization and one that should be shared with schools that are trying to bring play back into the classroom. The jobs that I found involved being a coach in a school or being a program coordinator. Once again, the requirements for this job are strong communication skills.

 

References

Ohio Education Association, OEA. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.ohea.org/

Playworks. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.playworks.org/

The Ohio Confederation of Teacher of Educaiton Organizations, OCTEO. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ohioteachered.org/index.html