International ECE Community

Early on in the program, students were asked to research what other countries were doing in terms of early childhood education. When I discovered the Early Childhood Australia website, I fell in love with this country’s pro-active approach to the field. According to the national website, those professionals are quick to implement new science-based understanding to best serve children.

What also caught my attention is their constant reference to “reconciliation and acknowledgement that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are the owners and custodians of Australia and that their culture and heritage shapes the cultural heritage of all Australians (Early Childhood Australia, 2012). With this recognition, provisions are made to serve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders children’s needs: equity in action.  

Clearly, I would like to work in collaboration with KidsMatter Early Childhood to access resources to support children’s mental health; share insights with professionals from the land down under who strive to bring children from diverse cultural backgrounds an equitable education.  For this type of work, I need to have good organizational skills since the people I will work with live on the other side of the planet. It will be necessary to hold Skype type conferences and be mindful of the time difference and be flexible with regard to scheduling. I will also work with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to obtain local resources. Mental health is as important as the health of the body and Arco Iris strives to provide children and their families with a wide array of medical and social resources  

Save the Children is another organization that my program will work with. I would love to learn from Kendra Blackett-Dibinga, Advisor for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Programs, how to grow Arco Iris in a Save the Children field based center and help open a sister program in a Spanish speaking country for instance. For this type of job, I need to collaborate with people working in another country, finance travels to this country, and become familiar with the country laws and educational system. In other words, I will need to brush up on my collaborative skills. Schleicher (2012), Deputy Director, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Education Directorate, and Special Advisor on Education to the OECD Secretary-General affirms that “skills have become the global currency of the 21^st century economies” (para. 2). It is primordial to ensure that young children start their lives with full potential of skills.

 

Joining an organization such as FHI 360 would definitely be exciting and motivating. Collaborating with experts in health, education, nutrition, environment, economic development, civil society, gender, youth, research and technology would accelerate the process of finding local and adequate resources for children and their families in “today’s interrelated development challenges” (2013, para. 1). FHI 360 is currently advertising for a position of Education team leader, Strengthening Family and Community Support to Orphans and Vulnerable children (SFCS-OVC) in Mozambique-Maputo. This position requires that candidates to have

·         “Master’s degree in education with a specialization in girls education

·         Minimum of 7 years of relevant experience working on reading assessment, instruction, early childhood development, block grants and training especially in developing countries

·         Demonstrated ability to work with government  and cooperating partners

·         In-depth knowledge of Mozambican education system

·         Effective communication skills” (FHI 360, 2013, para. 4).

To fulfill the above requirements, I would have to develop superior communication skills to “navigate politically sensitive terrain and maintain constructive relationships with a diverse set of key stakeholders” (FHI, para. 4). These position requirements emphasize the importance of teaching children excellent oral and written communication skills necessary to compete in today’s society.  

References

Early Childhood Australia. (2014). A Voice for Young Children.

FHI 360. (2013). The Science of Improving Lives. Education Team Leader. Careers. Retrieved from: https://jobs-fhi360.icims.com/jobs/14227/education-team-leader/job

KidsMatter. (2012). Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Observer. Retrieved from: http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/3777/OECD_Skills_Strategy:_The_pathway_of_choice.html

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (n. d.)

ECE Community - National/Federal Level

When I validated the words national agencies bilingual education, I was struck by the internet feedback: New Jersey and Connecticut organizations prevailed providing amazing resources related to general information and programs in progress. For instance, the State of New Jersey Department of Education Bilingual Education page offers the following resources:

Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition

Center for Applied Linguistics

National Association for Bilingual Education

National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition

NJTESOL-NJBE - New Jersey Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages-New Jersey Bilingual Educators,

Office of English Language Acquisition

TESOL

 

Disregarding the political leadership of the State, I am thankful for its quick internet response to key words like bilingual and education and somewhat disappointed that my own state was not on the first page of answers. I am also perplexed why schools that implement a bilingual kindergarten program keep it a secret moreover when a nearby child care center uses a bilingual approach in one of their pre-k classes. There is a program in place, a purpose, and it is aligned with state requirement to provide bilingual services when at least twenty children require those services.

Clearly, I must investigate a little more to understand why those programs are seemingly covert and reassess the implementation of my project of bilingual 3 to 5 preschool. It reinforces the need to closely work with public schools since they are growing their transitional kindergarten program and perhaps waiting on the next election to have the green light for opening pre-k classes

 In addition to the resources offered by the State of New Jersey Office of Education, three federal organizations caught my attention. First, the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) that “works to influence and create policies, programs, research, pedagogy, and professional development, because we know we are investing in our children’s education, our nation’s leadership and our world’s well being”, a new member of my Community of Practice (CoP) will give me support and resources relative to best practices in bilingual education (2014).

Also a member of my CoP, the National Latino Children’s Institute (NLCI) will help bring perspective to information since the NLCI’s mission is verifying that programs, initiatives and policies are actually implemented and “address poverty, immigration, and language barriers” (2001).

Third, an administrator’s duty is to keep abreast of latest advances in early childhood science. To help me fulfill this task, I selected the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) dedicated to producing research-based best practices for high-quality early childhood education “enhancing their physical, cognitive, and social development and subsequent success in school and later life” (2014).

On the job front, I am still looking at program director positions whether they include teaching or not. Although I know that I have acquired adequate knowledge to manage a child care center, I tend to take job requirements to the letter. To competently fulfill requirements, I need to practice Spanish and English with administrative vocabulary and gain more work experience in  a preschool environment.   

My next step is to celebrate this last stretch gaining more confidence in myself before the end of the master’s program; we are almost at the top of the mountain and I feel the exhilaration and the lack of oxygen