What Resonates With Me About Early Childhood Public Policy and Advocacy?

Why did I choose the specialization of Public Policy and Advocacy as part of my Master’s Degree program?

For over 25 years, I worked in direct care as a teacher and early childhood program administrator.  During the course of that work I began to see, feel and understand how important it is for all children, birth to age 8 to have access to early childhood programs and schools that are of high quality and developmentally appropriate.  Through my work as an administrator, I became involved in the Wyoming Early Childhood Association the Wyoming Affiliate of NAEYC. As a leader of the Wyoming Early Childhood Association I found a place where I could come together with likeminded people in the name of young children, their families and the professionals who work with them every day.  I began to understand the necessity of being an out spoken advocate and supporting policies that promoted the well being of children, families and the field of early childhood.

In 2012 I reached a crossroads in my career.  I knew it was time for a change.  Although I still enjoyed working with children, families, and staff, I wanted to do something more to advance the field of early childhood.  I decided to enter the Walden University Master’s in Early Childhood Studies program so I could better articulate to the outside world what I knew from all my experience and years in the field.   The obvious choice for my specialty and my future career aspirations was Public Policy and Advocacy. 

My personal reach for the stars vision for the field of early childhood is that all young children and their families have access to affordable high quality early childhood programs.  If I am gong to help our field reach this goal, my skills as an advocate and driver of public policy must be well developed.

Why do I think advocates are essential in the early childhood field?

A heightened public appreciation for early childhood education is increasing across our nation as early brain development research has become common knowledge and the affects of high quality early childhood programs on a person’s future have been documented    It has the attention of business leaders and elected officials.  It is exciting to hear and see about the need for children to have a strong foundation so they can succeed in school and life in the media.  There is lots of talk about new local, state and national programs and policies being developed in the name of what is best for young children, their families and the people who care for and teach them everyday….. But who is developing these programs and policies?  Do they understand what high quality means? Are they focused on what is developmentally appropriate for young children or the bottom dollar?  Is it about the process or the product?

In the book Early Childhood for a New Era: Leading for Our Profession (Goffin, 2013), Goffin suggests, “the field’s contribution of specialized knowledge and practitioner expertise to program and system development is being sidelined.  Early childhood education increasingly is the recipient of others’ decisions, leaving it reactive to others’ agenda” (Goffin, 2013).  

As our nation focuses on President Obama’s Early Childhood Agenda, it is imperative that we, the early childhood professionals, see ourselves as experts in the field of early childhood.  It is imperative that we as the experts guide the development of systems and programs that will affect the work we do.  It is imperative that we become skilled and confident advocates for policies and practices that promote the well being of all young children, their families and early childhood professionals.  It is imperative we lead the way.

If not us then who…

What do I hope to learn about public policy and advocacy?

Three goals related to public policy and advocacy that I have entering the Early Childhood Systems Course are….

·       To think deeply about public policy and advocacy as it relates to the field of early childhood, so I can begin to set a more defined vision and goals for my early childhood consulting business upon the completion of my master’s degree.

·       To have a greater understanding of the necessary skills and practices of a great advocate.

·       To use the ideas and understanding I gather to inspire other early childhood professionals to become active advocates.

Reference

Goffin,S. (2013). Early Childhood Education for a New Era: Leading for our Profession. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.