Early childhood education is a profession and not just glorified babysitting. Early childhood is a branch of education that deals with studying children from birth to age eight. The children in this age category have different needs from older children. Early childhood professionals combine care and education in many different programs. They strive to educate the whole child by taking into consideration their body, mind, and feelings. They ensure that the educational goals are designed to help each child realize their potential. Professionals also recognize that children cannot get separated from the social context, for example, family, culture, and society. Professionals look at the science of child development that includes what children need and how they learn and develop. They also rely a lot on research so as to distinguish science from myths. People not trained in early childhood education tend to rely more on their assumptions, background, and experience. For instance, someone with no knowledge on child development may expect a child to act older than they are. Early childhood professionals know the appropriate behavior expectations for each development stage in children (Mena, 2003).
Research gives childhood practitioners essential knowledge that they require to make decisions on behalf of young children and families. The results on the research can influence public policies especially if shared with other childhood practitioners. Children tend to benefit a lot from research especially if it is used appropriately and thoughtfully (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2014). Professionals in the early childhood development influence the field by conducting research, advocacy, and policy and giving current news in early childhood (Hatch, 2013). Advocacy is supporting issues among audience such as the general public, media and key opinion leaders. It includes activities such as educating people on a topic or working out a solution to the problem. There are different types of advocacy, for instance, case advocacy can be about intervening to address an individual child’s or family problem. Administrative advocacy can include creating policies, revising guidelines and resolving problems by changing rules and regulations (Ounce of Prevention Fund, 2009).
My career goals in this field are to help children and families by advocating change in policies especially to help those from poor backgrounds. Children should have access to resources and equal opportunities regardless of their background. I hope to gain the right skills and knowledge that will help in my career. What skills do you have that will distinguish you in the early childhood field? What difference would you like to make in this field?
References
Hatch. (2013). Early Childhood Organizations. Retrieved from http://hatchearlylearning.com/resources/early-childhood-organizations/
Mena, J. G. (2003). Foundations of Early Childhood Education: Teaching Children in a Diverse Society. Retrieved from http://novellaqalive2.mhhe.com/sites/dl/free/0073525871/437999/gonz_chapter_01.pdf
National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2014). Using Early Childhood Research. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/research/using
Ounce of Prevention Fund. (2009). Early Childhood Advocacy Toolkit. Retrieved from http://www.ounceofprevention.org/advocacy/pdfs/EarlyChildhoodAdvocacyToolkit.pdf
