With thanks to these past couple of blog assignments, I have had the opportunity to find SO MANY helpful resources that are relevant to the early childhood education field. I have already highlighted some of the local resources that I found, available to those of us in North Carolina. Now I am highlighting the resources that I feel are the most helpful at the national level.
Zero to Three is a "national nonprofit organization that provides parents, professionals, and policymakers the knowledge and the know-how to nurture early development" (www.zerotothree.org). Zero to Three has so many great resources on their website. There are articles on topics related to behavior and development, maltreatment, care and education, and public policy. I find this website particularly helpful because it provides information for all ECE professionals. Teachers, administration, and even law makers can all find this website helpful.
There is a job opportunity that Zero to Three has posted on their website for a program manager for the National Center on Early Head Start - Child Care. This position For me, this is a dream job. It is based in Washington, DC and you get to work with all of the major ECE researchers and analysts. This position requires applicants to have at least 10 years experience in ECE on a variety of levels, as well as a masters degree in ECE.
The National Child Care Association (NCCA) is an organization whose "mission is to promote the growth and safeguard the interest of quality early childhood care and education, focusing on licensed, private providers of these services (www.nccanet.org). I like this organization because since 1987, NCCA is the only voice for the private early childhood care sector. Being that I am currently in private ECE and have previously only worked on this sector, I think that it is great to have a resource dedicated to that specific situation. While you do have to pay to become a member, the fee is very small ($25) and gives you access to a plethora of articles on a number of different topics. NCCA is also very active in lobbying and advocating for the rights of children.
The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) is a resource that I came across when researching my challenge for my Capstone Project. I found NIEER to be super helpful in terms of data and statistics, as they publish an annual State Preschool Yearbook, showcasing state funded Pre-K programs. www.nieer.org offers users access to tons of research articles, public policy publications, videos, and current news and events.
While there was a couple of job opportunities offered by NIEER, it is not something that interests me. However, I will mention it here in case it does interest others. The positions offered are for: assistant research professor and for data collectors. Both positions are located in New Jersey, as NIEER is a unit of the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University. The assistant research professor position requires a doctorate in the field while the other position only requires a bachelors degree.
Hi Cassie,
ReplyDeleteYes I agree with you, these assignments have given us some great insight toward our future of being professional leaders of the world. Zero to Three is a great organization that I have used within my past assignment. I love the fact they they are out to help people grasp the knowledge of leading children toward a bright future. We are in this master's program because we want to be effective high-quality leaders of not only the present, but the future as well. Zero to Three ensures that with their guidance, we can lead children toward a great start in life. If a child loves to learn within the preschool years of education, this will build on as they enter grade school level and on. As educators, if we can grasp the attention of children as early as possible, I believe the future is bright for those children. The job position of program manager that zero to three have posted is a dream job for me as well Cassie. I do believe if we continue to work hard and grab as much information and sources as we can, experience will come and opportunities like this can and will present itself.
HI Cassie,
ReplyDeleteI like Zero to Three too! I used this organization in my Capstone Project, too! I think it provided great insights into the growth and development of young children! I have gathered some useful information form them! I think I would not mind working for this organization! I also like NCCA because of the advocacy they do for young children. I think the $25 membership fee would be worth the price! Thanks for your post!
Cassie,
ReplyDeleteI have never look at the NCCA website. Now, it is going on my list of ECE resource I have to explore. Zero to Three is a organization that I would love to be involved with but am not willing to move. When I reviewed the NIEER site I found their Early Education Research position quite interesting. However, it stated that you have to be a graduate student and I do not plan to continue on after this class. All the resources you discovered were informative. I appreciate you sharing the information you discovered.
Cassie,
ReplyDeleteZero to Three is a fantastic organization. I frequenty use that website for information, and it is part of my Community of Practice as well. NCCA and NIEER are new organizations to me I will be looking on their websites soon to see the information they have to offer.
Thank you for sharing!