Assignment:
Learning about Professions in the Field
This video segments included interviews with a children's museum manager, child care provider services manager, parent support specialist, professional development supervisor, preschool teacher, infant/toddler specialist, occupational therapist, and director of a child development lab. These professionals spoke about their jobs, experiences, and education.
For this Discussion, choose three that were of most interest to you and view these segments again, focusing on aspects of their jobs that appeal to you and dispositions that you believe help them to be successful.
Post:
- The three segments you chose and why each appealed to you
- At least three dispositions that you believe helped each person be successful
- Insights related to dispositions you will need to work on as you seek to be more effective in your work as an early childhood professional
Exploring Professional Possibilities
In order to expand your awareness of the range of jobs that are available in the early childhood/child development field, this Discussion requires you to explore and share the possibilities by using at least two job search engines such as Monster, CareerBuilder, or NAEYC Early Childhood Career Forum to:
- Identify at least two jobs you could apply for with your current background and schooling
- Identify one job that interests you but requires additional education
Note: For the sake of this Discussion, do not restrict yourself to the area in which you live; imagine that you could move anywhere. Look for jobs that interest you as well as jobs you might never have considered before. Your goal is to expand your awareness (and your colleagues') of the current job market and job possibilities.
Post:
- Three job descriptions including location
- Salary (if available)
- Job/experience requirements
- What you learned from your exploration
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.)
1. 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
2. Web Site: Vocational Information Center: Early Childcare and Education Career Guide
Scan the titles listed under Child Care and Education Career Descriptions. Note that the Web site below may also be accessed from this site by clicking "Careers with Children" (eighth line in the first column).
3. Web Site: Personnel Improvement Center: Career Development
4. Web Site: NAEYC: Job Seekers
5. Web Site: Child Care Exchange: Employment Opportunities
6. 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.
7. 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.