Assignment:
Project: Conducting Informational Interviews
The video segments you viewed covered only some of the jobs available in the field of early childhood and child development. Many other jobs were referred to throughout your program, including music therapists, art therapists, child-life specialists, speech therapists, community college faculty, four-year college faculty, children's book authors and illustrators, educational writers, and more.
For this Project, choose three jobs that truly interest you and interview three people who have these jobs. For instance, if one of your choices is the job of children's librarian, you will need to interview a children's librarian.
To complete this assignment:
- Use the Web sites provided in the Learning Resources and the video segments to help you choose the professions/jobs you are interested in learning about.
- Contact and set up in-person or telephone interviews with three people.
- Use the Informational Interview sheet to conduct your interviews.
- Write a summary of each of your interviews, and in your final paragraph, identify the one job that most interests you and explain why.
Assignment length: 2 to 3 pages
Learning Resources
Required Resources
1. Media: "Looking to the Future: Your Career in Child Development"
These video segments feature eight early childhood/child development professionals describing their jobs, experiences, and education. Click each image to view a presentation. You can watch the presentations in any order, just make sure to view them all.
2. Web Site: European Communities Trade Mark Association: Habits of mind
3. Article: Harper-Whalen, S., & Morris, S. L. (2008, June). Early childhood dispositions for teachers and trainers. Montana Early Childhood Project.
4. Course Text: Bolles, R. N. (2018). What color is your parachute? A practical manual for job-hunters and career-changers (2018 ed.). Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press.
- "How to Deal with Any Handicaps You Have"
Use the following resources to broaden your awareness of the range of jobs in the early childhood field and to decide on which job you are going to focus. (Note: These sources/Web sites are highly recommended, but you may also find other resources on your own.)
5. Document: Early Childhood Practitioner's Professional Pathway in Oklahoma Click for more options
From: Morrison, G. S. (2007). Early childhood education today (10th ed., p. 9). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
Reprinted by permission from Center of Early Childhood Professional Development, College of Continuing Educ., Univ. of Oklahoma
6. Web Site: Vocational Information Center: Early Childcare and Education Career Guide
Scan the titles listed under Child Care and Education Career Descriptions. Click the links to review at least five positions of interest to you. Note that the Web site below may also be accessed from this site by clicking "Careers with Children" (eighth line in the first column).
7. Web Site: Personnel Improvement Center: Career Development
8. Web Site: NAEYC: Job Seekers
9. Web Site: Child Care Exchange: Employment Opportunities
10. Web Site: Gateways to Opportunities
Though this Web site is based in Illinois, there are many job ideas listed here that pertain to all states.
11. Search Google to find out whether your state has a professional development plan. Type "career lattice early childhood education" or "career ladder early childhood education" AND the name of your state.