Saturday, April 26, 2014

Congratulations!

Dear Colleagues,

Congratulations on finishing the first course in the Early Childhood Studies Master's Degree Program. The accomplishment feels great, and I have enjoyed getting to know each of you through the discussions and blogs. Thank you for all your support and positive feedback!

-Mary

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Ethical Responsibilities in the Early Childhood Field

The Division of Early Childhood and the National Association for the Education of Young Children have each developed a code of ethics to help guide early childhood professionals in their daily workplace attitudes and decisions. In this blog post I am going to describe three key factors from the codes of ethics that guide my daily work.

First key: the individual child's development.

The NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment states, "Our paramount responsibility is to provide care and education in settings that are safe, healthy, nurturing, and responsive for each child" (NAEYC, 2005).

The Division for Early Childhood states, "We shall build relationships with individual children and families while individualizing the curricula and learning environments to facilitate young children's development and learning" (DEC, 2009).

These two statements help me stay focused in my job. It is important to remember that everything we do should revolve around what is best for each individual child's development. Each child is unique and deserves to be understood, loved and nurtured.

Second key: the importance of family.

The NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment states, "Because the family and early childhood practitioner have a common interest in the child's well-being, we acknowledge a primary responsibility to bring about communication, cooperation, and collaboration between home and early childhood program in ways that enhance the child's development (NAEYC, 2005)

The Division for Early Childhood states, "We shall empower families with information and resources so that they are informed consumers of services for their children" (DEC, 2009)

Partnering with families is of vital importance in early childhood education. Learning how to connect families with resources and keep communication strong and positive between the program and the families is one of my personal goals this year. I am working to identify and partner with community resources to assist parents, especially teen parents,  in meeting the needs of the children. I am fairly new to the field and feel that I have a lot to learn, but this is an area that I am focusing on.

Third key: collaboration with co-workers.

The NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment states, "Based upon our core values, our primary responsibility to colleagues is to establish and maintain settings and relationships that support productive work and meet professional needs" (NAEYC, 2005)

By majoring in Early Childhood Studies with a specialization in Administration, Management, and Leadership at Walden University, I hope to gain strong leadership skills and help create a positive workplace for my colleagues. By working together as a team, my co-workers and I can better serve children and families that we work with.

References:

NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf


The Division for Early Childhood. (2009, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from
http://www.dec-sped.org/

Thursday, April 3, 2014

ECE Resource Collection

Below is a list of resources provided by Dr. Dartt, an instructor at Walden University for the Foundations in Early Childhood Studies course:

Position Statements and Influential Practices


Global Support for Children's Rights and Well-Being


Selected Early Childhood Organizations

Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library

  • 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

Additional Resources to check out: