WK 4: Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

The three national organizations that particularly appealed to me were the Children’s Defense Fund Organization (CDF), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), and the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). I chose these organizations as they are huge advocates for quality education and access for all children. They all are seeking change by speaking out to our policy makers and encouraging us to do the same. My daughter attends a German preschool and we pay 40euros per month for a hot lunch and she is cared for by qualified, loving and caring educators. More mothers are returning to work, which is making space an issue, but in my town we are currently in the works to build a brand new preschool as enrollment is increasing.

The CDF organization has a current campaign called, “Be Careful What You Cut” that discusses the dangers of cutting funding for early childhood programs. Research suggests that eliminating early childhood programs will result in more jail time, children born into poverty, children without health insurance, and limited access to education. The NCTE organization is planning a Literacy Education Advocacy Day in which NCTE members plan to meet with legislative offices to advocate time for teachers to collaborate and how not to support assessment practices that assess writing by machines as they do not authentically assess a child’s writing. The NIEER organization continues to actively research and support universal childcare. Steve Barnett, the director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University, is one of the biggest advocates for a universal preschool program.

In each organization, there were multiple ways to become an active member or volunteer your time and support for any of the campaigns listed above. Most of the job opportunities I saw included the opportunity to become a director to some of the various programs/campaigns to organize, implement, and collaborate with other directors in order to make the program successful. Some of the skills or qualifications needed for this role included superior written and oral communication skills, bachelor’s degree, ability to work effectively and maintain positive relationships as well as the ability to deal with complex situations with maturity and flexibility.


References: Children’s Defense Fund. (2014). Be Careful What You Cut. Retrieved February 1, 2014, from www.childrensdefense.org

National Council of Teachers of English. (2014). Literacy Education Advocacy Day. Retrieved February 1, 2014, from www.ncte.org

National Institute for Early Education Research. (2014). Retrieved February 1, 2014, from www.nieer.org