Jobs and Roles In the ECE Community: National and Federal Level

There are many national organizations for early childhood education.  One of the most well known is the National Association for the Education of Young Children (2015).  I would love to work for this organization some day.  I am not sure what jobs are available with them right now as that function of their website is down, but I am certain that a Master's Degree in early childhood studies would be able to get me an entry level position somewhere in the organization.

Another national organization that looks promising is the NAECTE, the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (2015).  As an organization, this is more of a Community of Practice as their purpose is to promote growth and advocate for their members, create a forum for discussions of issues in the ECE field.

A third national/international organization I find intriguing is the HighScope Educational Research Foundation (2015).  They are an independent organization based on the landmark research study in the Perry Preschool Program, which tracked 123 children born in poverty through the HighScope Preschool Curriculum in the 1960s until their 40's.  The study showed the effectiveness of early childhood education. They have several job opportunities such as vice president, training and curriculum specialists, and various teachers and administrators at several different programs.  I feel that with enough experience I could qualify for one of these positions.  It would be awesome to work for such an organization!

In the federal arena, there are several agencies that perform work in the ECE field.  Obviously, each military branch has their child and youth programs with plentiful opportunities to work in centers or administration.  But within the Department of Health and Human Services there is an office within the Administration for Children and Families dedicated specifically to early childhood development.  Their job is to "promote a joint approach at the federal level to improving the availability of high quality early learning and development programs" (Early Childhood Development, 2015). I am not sure I would want to work for the federal government any more than I do.  Eventually I would like to work outside of the military in one of the organizations I mentioned above.


References:
Early Childhood Development. (2015). About. Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ecd/about

HighScope Educational Research Foundation. (2015). About us.  Retrieved from http://www.highscope.org/Content.asp?ContentId=761

The National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators. (2015). Home. Retrieved from http://www.naecte.org

The National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2015). Home. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org

Start of EDUC 6990. Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

In thinking about communities of practice this week, my mind jumps to communities within the early childhood field.  I am a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (2014).  This is a great organization, and if you don't already know about it click here.  This is definitely an organization I would like to work for someday if the opportunity ever presented itself.

In Hawaii, we have an affiliate organization of NAEYC, the Hawaii Education for Association of Young Children (2014), or HAEYC.  I was privileged to attend an HAEYC conference back in October and it was really nice such a large gathering of early childhood professionals.  I have not yet become a member, but I am considering it.  I would also consider working for this organization.

In my search for local organizations, I came across the Hawaii Early Childhood Action Strategy.  The Hawaii Early Childhood Action Strategy is a research based strategic plan, informed from the fields of neurobiology, developmental psychology, and human capital economics in early childhood systems development (Hawaii Early Childhood Action Strategy, 2014).  It is definitely something I want to learn more about.

References:
Hawaii Action Strategy. (2014). Home. Retrieved from http://hawaiiactionstrategy.org

Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children. (2015). Home.  Retrieved from http://www.hawaiikeiki.org

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2014). Home.  Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org.