Week Eight - Reflections

This last eight weeks has flown by, and I believe I have begun to conquer most of my fears about returning as an older learner.  I still have some procrastination issues to work on, but they are not nearly as bad as when I was 20!  Thanks to all my classmates and Dr. Dartt for helping to get me off on the right foot.  I hope to see all of you in a week or so in the next class.

Leigh

Ethics in Early Childhood

For this week's blog post, we were asked to choose three ideals from the either the NAEYC or the DEC's Code of Ethics, and talk about why they are important to us personally.  I have chosen mine from the NAEYC Code of Ethics, however, I could not choose only three because when it comes to the ideals stated under "Ethical Responsibilities to Children" there were four that were equally important to me.  I also chose one from "Ethical Responsibilities to Families", and one from "Ethical Responsibilities to Colleagues".

ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES TO CHILDREN

I-1.8- To support the right of each child to play and learn in an inclusive environment that meets the needs of children with and without disabilities

I-1.9-To advocate for and ensure that all children, including those with special needs, have access to the support services needed to be successful.

I-1.10- To ensure that each child's culture, language, ethnicity, and family structure are recognized and valued in the program.

I-1.11- To provide all children with experiences in a language that they know, as well as support children in maintaining the use of their home language and in learning English.

These four ideals encompass the range of my work for the last 20 years.  There is still much work to be done to assure adequate inclusion opportunities for special needs children.  The United States is a country made of immigrants, and so it stands to reason that the multitude of cultures that exist in our society will continue to need to be addressed in the early childhood field for years to come.  I will continue to be an advocate for inclusion and recognition of diversity throughout my career in the field.

ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES TO FAMILIES

I-2.2- To develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve.

As professionals there are many ethical responsibilities to families and choosing one is difficult.  However, I believe developing mutual respect and trust is the basis of all positive future interactions.  Making families feel heard and appreciated is a skill all professionals need to learn.

ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES TO CO-WORKERS

I-3A.2-To share resources with co-workers, collaborating to ensure that the best possible early childhood care and education program is provided.

I have written about the importance of collaboration with other professionals in the application for this week.  It is not only important to share resources, but to find ways to avoid duplication of services so that funds are used wisely and families are not overwhelmed with people coming into their lives unnecessarily.  Collaboration also means letting go of territoriality and keeping the best interest of the child/family front and center.  Unfortunately, I have worked in situations where one agency felt they were competing for numbers with mine.  Until the day arrives where we have no more families in need, children at-risk, poverty, and hunger, there will be room at the table for those who wish to help.  It is my opinion that we need to hold each other up as professionals, listen when needed and, give advice when asked.

Reference

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

Early Childhood Studies Resources

Videos

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010) The resources for early childhood. Baltimore: Author

Articles

NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. From http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap

NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. From http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf

NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. From http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf

NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and diversity. From http://naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf

NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. From http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf

NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSUMMAR _A.pdf

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler agenda. From http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller

FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snpashot, No. 33) From http://community.fpg.unc.edu?sites/community.fpg.unc.edu/files/imce/documents/FPG_Snpashot_N33_EvidenceBasedPractice_09-2006.pdf

Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J.Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al. (2010) Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42-53.

UNICEF (N.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the child. From http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf

Holfester, C. (2015). The Montessori Method. Research Starters Education, p 1-1, 12p. Retrived from https://www/ebscohost.com/academic/research-starters-education

Gichuru, M., Riley, J., Robertson, J., et al. (2015). The perceptions of head start teachers about culturally relevant practice. Multicultural Education. Vol.22 Issue 2, p46-50. 5p. Retrieved from http://www.worldcat.org/title/multicultural-education-the-magazine-of-the-national-association-for multicultural-education/oclc/27667643

Michael-Luna, S. (2013) What linguistically diverse parents know and how it can help early childhood educators: A case study of a dual language preschool community. Early Childhood Education Journal. Vol.41, p447-455. 9p. d.o.i. 10.1007/s10643-013-0574

Websites

World Forum Foundation

http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us 

World Organization for Early Childhood Education

http://www.omep-usnc.org

Association for Childhood Education International

http://acei.org/

National Association for the Education of young Children

http://www.naeyc.org/

The Division for Early Childhood

http://www.dec-sped.org/

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families

http://www.zerotothree.org/

WESTED

http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm

Harvard Education Letter

http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85

FPG Child Development Institute

http://www.fpg.unc.edu

Administration for Children and Families Headstart's National Research Conference

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/

HighScope

http://www.highscope.org/

Children's Defense Fund

http://www.childrensdefense.org/

Center for Child Care Workforce

http://www.ccw.org/

Council for Exceptional Children

http://www.cec.sped.org./

Institute for Women's Policy Research

http://www.iwpr.org/

National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education

http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/

National Child Care Association

http://www.nccanet.org/

National Institute for Early Education Research

http://nieer.org

Pre[K]Now

http://www.pewstate.org/projects/pre-k-now-328067

Voices for America's Children

http://www.voices.org

The Erikson Institute

http://www.erikson.edu/

The National Institute for Play
http://nifp.org

Alliance for Childhood
http://www.allianceforchildhood.org/play_resources

Life is Good Kids Foundation
content/lifeisgood/playmakers/

Professional Journals

YC Young Child

Childhood

Journal of Child and 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