Job Roles in ECE Community: Internationally

The three international websites that resonated with me most are The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF, n.d.), Save the Children (2011), and the International Step by Step Association (International Step by Step Association, n.d.).

United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF)

UNICEF’s overall goal is to take a stand for children’s rights and to ensure children’s survival. To accomplish this, UNICEF has several focus areas, child survival and development which includes evidence based environmental and nutrition interventions, basic education and gender equality including educating girls,  the treatment and prevention of HIV Aids for children, child protection from exploitation and abuse, and policy advocacy and partnerships which involves collecting data, leveraging resources and recruiting child participation(UNICEF, n.d.).

What struck me most about the work that UNICEF does is the advocacy work they are doing to end child marriages and gender socialization. On Oct. 11, 2012, the United Nations held their first International Day of the Young Girl Child. The issue of child marriages was addressed. It was disturbing to learn that girls are married off as young as 5 years old! Secretary Ban Ki Moon stated that it is important to invest in girls by seeing to it that they are educated. Evidence shows that in areas where girls are educated, there is a decline in child marriages as girls are taught to become critical thinkers and self sufficient.

Save the Children

Save the Children’s mission is to “inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives” (Save the Children, 2011). What attracted me to Save the Children’s website is their involvement in United States which began in 1932 during the Great Depression. In the United States, approximately 1 out of every four children lives in poverty (Save the Children, 2011). Issues affecting children living in poverty include developmental delays, high rates of illiteracy, and obesity (Save the Children, 2011). Today, Save the Children provides assistance to underserved rural areas by providing high quality early childhood development programs for children birth through five years of age and literacy, nutrition, and physical activity programs for children from kindergarten through eighth grade.

FH1 360

The third international website that struck me was FH1 360 (2012), a nonprofit human development organization committed to improving lives by integrating all aspects within the local society including civil society, environmental, gender, youth, research and technology.  Their mission is to improve lives by solving problems through integrating local solutions for human development (FH1 360, 2012). The work they do to improve lives is vast, however their stand for gender equality resonates with me most. Not only is gender inequality alive in non U.S. countries, it is very well alive in the United States as well. While 45% of the U.S. work force is women, only 12% have jobs in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. To bridge this gap, FH1 360 (2012) developed a nationwide afterschool initiative called “Great Science for Girls”. Through this initiative girls are encouraged to participate in hands on science experiences to break the stereotype that Science is only for boys.

International job opportunities that interested me

Two positions that interested me were offered through the Save the Children website, Head Start Manager and Early Steps to School Success (ESSS) Coordinator.

Save the Children Head Start Manager

As the Head Start Manager, my responsibility would be to oversee three “Save the Children” head start programs, in the state of Arkansas. My duties would include directing, administering, and coordinating the activities of these sites while supporting the policies, goals, and objectives established by the program, grantee, and governing bodies.

The skills and experience I would need for this position include the following,

• ·         The ability to develop and implement financial plans and budgets
• ·         Effective verbal and written communication skills
• ·         Effective supervisory and leadership skills
• ·         Critical thinking skills, the ability to evaluate and analyze data
• ·         Strong interpersonal skills, the ability to work with others from diverse backgrounds
• ·         Advocacy skills
• ·         Confident Public Speaking Skills

Although one of the requirements for the Head Start manager is a minimum of five years experience in a progressive managerial role in the head start program, I am hopeful that the managerial and leadership experience I gained from being a child care director and the experience I gained from managing a caseload of 50 early childhood vendors along with my public speaking experience n the job and education will qualify me to be considered for this position.

Coordinator/ Early Steps to School Success

The second job that interested me was the Coordinator position for the Save the Children early Steps to Success program in several counties in the state of Colorado. The goals of the Early Steps to School Success program are as follows:

1) Ensuring that children enter school with the necessary skills they need to be successful, 2) equipping parents with the knowledge and skills to support their children’s education, 3) to promote congruence between home and school, and 4) to increase early childhood knowledge and skills in the communities. The experience and skills I will need to do this job include the following,

• ·         Knowledgeable about child development and the ability to screen for developmental delays
• ·         Strong interpersonal skills between children, families, and co-workers
• ·         Strong collaborative skills to work with program partners
• ·         The ability to organize, plan, and implement age appropriate program activities that meet the social/ emotional needs of children
• ·         The ability to promote language development and preliteracy education for children and parents through regularly scheduled home visits.
• ·         While speaking Spanish is not mandatory, it is a plus.

Hopefully my past experience of living in El Paso, TX for 14 years will be viewed as a positive as my exposure to the Hispanic culture will provide me with the insight I need to connect with this population. Although I am not fluent in speaking Spanish, perhaps the little I know will be enough, at least until I can learn more. Other than that, my 26 years of being in the early childhood field and the new knowledge I have gained through the Walden MSECE program well qualifies me to do this job.

References

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2011, from http://www.unicef.org/

Save the Children. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm

FHI 360. (2012). fhi360 The Science of Improving Lives. Retrieved from FHI 360: www.fhi360.org