Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

This week we were asked to look at some organizations or communities of practice in the ECE field and find out some more information.  After much thought, the ones I chose to research were First 5 California, California Association for the Education of Young Children (CAEYC), and the Professional Association for Childhood Education (PACE) in California.

1. First 5 California: This is an organization that develops and implements programs and resources for children, teachers, and parents, focusing on the areas of nutrition, early literacy, language development, and smoking cessation (First 5 California, n.d. para. 3). When I first read this assignment, this organization was the first one that popped into my head because they have great informative advertising- I always see their billboards, signs on bus stops, and information at parks and public libraries. I had always seen their advertising and after my son was born I realized that at the public library you can get a free “New Parent Information Kit” from First 5 California that includes books (for caregivers and one for baby!), resource information (such as numbers for health insurance, emergencies, community groups), and a small booklet about illnesses in babies. I have been a big fan of this organization since and thus chose to include it here.

After searching on this website, I found that there are only three different job openings at this time, the one that interested me the most was:

-Child Development Consultant: This job entails “developing concept papers leading to modifications in state and federal law and regulations related to child,” leading workshops, and supervising research. The qualifications for this are: knowing about early childhood issues, trends, principles and practices, and the ability to demonstrate effective procedures, establish and maintain strong professional relationships, and conduct research and workshops (First 5 California, n.d.).

2. California Association for the Education of Young Children (CAEYC): This is a not-for profit organization that provides information on “parenting, advocacy, research, credentialing, child care, salary and status, regulations, professional development and children’s education” (California Association for the Education of Young Children, 2012, para. 6). This organization is affiliated with NAEYC and seems like it provides similar information and resources that are more local (ie. within my state of California) for professional development in the early childhood field; I am definitely going to look into this more! I chose to include this organization here because it is affiliated with NAEYC, which I have found to be a great resource and example of a community of practice. After searching the site, I could not find any job openings through CAEYC, but they do have a CAEYC-sponsored link that helps you find early childhood education career openings. These range from assistant preschool teacher to center director to research director. They covered counties across the state of California and some in other states and other countries as well. Across the jobs posted, it seemed as though to qualify you need a strong background in ECE and knowledge of issues, trends, and diversity in the early childhood field.

3. ProfessionalAssociation for Childhood Education (PACE): This is an non-profit organization for early childhood professionals in California that helps advocate for “development, progress and welfare of all young children at the state and local legislative level so member voices are heard “ as well as for early childhood educators, provides information on state licensing rules and regulations, and offers ”a space to network, exchange ideas, policies and techniques among members” (Professional Association for Childhood Educators, 2010, para. 4). I chose this organization because it seems like a really good example of a community of practice; the members and board come from different backgrounds in early childhood development and hold different positions at different centers across the state. I could not find any job openings for PACE but I did find that if you are a member of PACE you can join one of their committees (they range from working with public policies to regional developments to budgeting) that hold meetings via conference calls. To be a member of PACE, you need to be dedicated to the early childhood field and want to grow professionally; I think that to serve on one of the committees you would have to be dedicated and committed because these are volunteer positions and opportunities. 

One insight that I gained from my research this week is that there are a lot of communities of practice in the early childhood field. As we have learned, child development covers multiple areas and the communities of practice I read about reflected this. They are drawing upon resources and professionals from different professions and fields to advocate and provide information for children to develop in all areas. 

Resources:

California Association for the Education of Young Children (CAEYC). (2012). Retrieved from: http://caeyc.org/main/page/navhome

First 5 California Commission. (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://www.ccfc.ca.gov/

Professional Association for Childhood Education (PACE). (2010). Retrieved from: http://www.pacenet.org/