Knowing that early childhood settings look differently in other countries, I was excited to learn that the UK focuses on professional development for family child care providers as part of their programming. This is a unique audience that sometimes gets left out of the professionalism of child care. Although the United Kingdom training programs appear to offer a variety of opportunities similar to what I coordinate in my job, there is a much smaller offering scheduled for this spring/summer.
The British Association believes membership is important. A member shares her experience and what she has gained from her connections."I will never forget attending my first meeting of Early Education in the 1970s...As the years have gone by, the journals and the clear and concise information and updates have continued to be invaluable. I can rely on Early Education to research and evaluate the facts, figures and events carefully and to campaign in a measured, articulate and informed way."
Professor Tina Bruce CBE Early Education Vice-President
The British Association works to influence decision makers. A member of the early education co-production group advocates for children and families through her work on the Daycare Trust, a national charity campaigning for child care. I do not care for the word daycare as I feel it does not speak to the work we do in educating children and supporting families; however, I did find great resources on the Daycare Trust site. They put focus on the essential components of child care (information for parents, training, and policy and campaigning). Some of the information includes sharing what quality child care looks like and how it can be measured, as well as some data on how the cost of child care is increasing in Great Britain. It appears that the educators all over the UK have their work cut out for them to influence policy makers on the importance of quality child care and making it accessible and affordable for families.
www.daycaretrust.org.uk
http://www.early-education.org.uk
Indeed, membership IS important. The National Association for the Education of Young Children has suffered huge losses in membership. Most of this, I suspect is related to the poor economy. Some small amount may be related to some poor policy decisions made by NAEYC.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, I am constantly disappointed that so many leaders in the field of Early Care and Education in the US do not belong to any professional association.
How can we be a strong voice for children in isolation from our colleagues?
Greg,
DeleteI am happy to report that although our local membership is down, I coordinated a Kindergarten readiness member event last evening that was very successful. We have almost 35 participants! Previous Programming VP's have struggled getting people to attend these events. Our governing board have discussed and explored various ideas to generate interest and membership. One such idea was a Pamper the Professional evening this past February. It was successful as well. Just as educators must be able to reach children, we must strive to reach professionals where they are on their journey in the field, and in life.
Hi Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteI agree, family child care professionals are often not given the recognition they deserve. Also, they are usually the group that do not belong to organizations that advocate for them and the services they provide.
I use to work for a CCR&R (Child Care Resource and Referral) agency. We had to work extra hard in recruiting home providers to attend classes, conferences, and in using the free resources available to them at their local CCR&R. It was difficult, but worth every uphill step. Seeing those providers blossom and become voices for their profession was the reward.
Sally
Sally,
DeleteGlad to have this specific work in common. We are currently planning our 2nd Annual Family Child Care Appreciation and Professional Development Day (conference). In addition to these efforts to reach out to FCC providers, we were awarded grant funding to implement a Language and Literacy project with local FCC providers. We hope that these continued efforts will bring these providers within the realm of ECE professionalism.