My Goals

From the experience in EDUC 6005-8 Foundations: Early Childhood course, I feel one of the most important things I should remember are the three goals I have set. Throughout the course I have been reflecting upon my goals and refining them based on the knowledge I have received from the course. I am posting my goals on this blog site as a reminder of what my goals were when I began my Graduate school experience. In the future I hope to be able to reflect upon these goals and see in what ways I have been meeting them.

Goal #1: Embrace myself as a leader
Goal #2: Embrace Diversity
Goal #3: Explore and discover new ways to advocate for the staff whom I supervise

Examining Code of Ethics

This week we were asked to choose three ideals from the NAEYC and DEC code of ethics. At my center we use the NAEYC code of ethics a majority of the time. This is my first experience with the DEC code of ethics. Two of my ideals were chosen from the NAEYC Code of Ethics and my third ideal was chosen from the DEC Code of Ethics.

Ethical Responsibilities to Children- Ideal 1.1 To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and training.

I chose this ideal, because I find myself engrossed in meeting this ideal. As a current graduate school student I am constantly reading articles and watching media segments that relate to the early childhood field. I am spending a big part of my week continuing my education in the field.

Ethical Responsibilities o Colleagues- Ideal 3A.2- To share resources with co-workers, collaborating to ensure that the best possible early childhood care and education program is provided.

I have found in my new role this past year as center director/family worker I am in constant collaboration with the staff whom I supervise and the management team. I find a lot of the time I am the link between the two. I feel I am currently working on this ideal on a weekly basis, because I am sharing my knowledge with my staff and the management team in pursuit of continuation to run a program who is up to date on current issues and policies in the field of early childhood care and education.

Professional Development and Preparation: 4. We shall support professionals new to the field by mentoring them in the practice of evidence and ethically based services.

 This ideal I have been working with this past year as I have had three new staff on my team whom I have been supervising. I have found myself educating them throughout the year on policies and procedures specific to our program. I have also found myself referring to the NAEYC code of ethics in pursuit to make sure I am providing the new staff with "ethically based services".

3 Additional resources

I decided for my additional resources to choose two resources on Erik Erikson and one on Head Start. Erik Erikson and his concept for stages of development have deeply influenced my understanding of young children. I felt it was important to include him in my resources for this week. My third resource is an article about Head Start. I am a center director for a Early Head Start/ Head Start program. I thought this resource would be helpful for understanding a little bit more about where Head Start originated from.

References

Bergman, MD, A. B. (1980). Project Head Start: A Legacy of the War on Poverty. Retrieved from JAMA Pediatric: http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=509548

Erikson, E. H. (1950). In Childhood and Society (pp. 247-274). New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity Youth and Crisis. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

 

Week 5 Resources

Part 1: Position Statements and Influential Practices

• NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf
• NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
• NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
• FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://community.fpg.unc.edu/sites/community.fpg.unc.edu/files/imce/documents/FPG_Snapshot_N33_EvidenceBasedPractice_09-2006.pdf
• Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J. Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al. (2010). Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42-53.
  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Part 2: Global Support for Children's Rights and Well-Being

• Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
• Websites:
• • World Forum Foundation
    http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
    This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the media segment on this webpage
  • World Organization for Early Childhood Education
    http://www.omep-usnc.org/
    Read about OMEP's mission.
  • Association for Childhood Education International
    http://acei.org/
    Click on "Mission/Vision" and "Guiding Principles and Beliefs" and read these statements.

Note: Explore the resources in Parts 3 and 4 in preparation for this week's Application assignment.

Part 3: Selected Early Childhood Organizations

• National Association for the Education of Young Children
  http://www.naeyc.org/
• The Division for Early Childhood
  http://www.dec-sped.org/
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
  http://www.zerotothree.org/
• WESTED
  http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
• Harvard Education Letter
  http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
• FPG Child Development Institute
  http://www.fpg.unc.edu/
• Administration for Children and Families Headstart's National Research Conference
  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
• HighScope
  http://www.highscope.org/
• Children's Defense Fund
  http://www.childrensdefense.org/
• Center for Child Care Workforce
  http://www.ccw.org/
• Council for Exceptional Children
  http://www.cec.sped.org/
• Institute for Women's Policy Research
  http://www.iwpr.org/
• National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
  http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
• National Child Care Association
  http://www.nccanet.org/
• National Institute for Early Education Research
  http://nieer.org/
• Pre[K]Now
  http://www.pewstates.org/projects/pre-k-now-328067
• Voices for America's Children
  http://www.voices.org/
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/

Part 4: Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library

Tip: Use the Journal option under Search & Find on the library website to find journals by title.

• YC Young Children
• Childhood
• Journal of Child & Family Studies
• Child Study Journal
• Multicultural Education
• Early Childhood Education Journal
• Journal of Early Childhood Research
• International Journal of Early Childhood
• Early Childhood Research Quarterly
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Studies
• Maternal & Child Health Journal
• International Journal of Early Years Education