Advocating for High-Quality Care and Education
As Barbara Bowman remarks in the Week 1 DVD program "A Call for Leadership," early childhood professionals at every level-from child care aide to the top administrator-have specialized knowledge about young children and a responsibility to inform their community about what young children need in terms of care and education. No matter what career choice you make, taking a leadership role to support and promote high-quality programs will be an aspect of your job as an early childhood professional.
In the Morrison course text, review the sections "What Constitutes Quality Care and Education?" on pages 182-187 and "The Effects of Care and Education on Children" on pages 188-190. Consider the following questions as you read:
- Why is it important that early childhood professionals make children's families and communities aware of why quality is essential in early care and education programs?
- How can early childhood professionals make children's families and communities aware of what constitutes quality care and education for young children?
- What, if any, results from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study surprise you?
- Which results from the NICHD Study seem most important for young children's families to be aware of?
- How could you use the results to explain to families and community members the importance of quality early care and education programs?
- What does it mean to you to be an advocate for quality care and education for young children?
Post:
- Choose one characteristic of quality care and education that is of special interest or concern to you. Describe how you would explain the importance of this characteristic to families and community members. Include results from the NICHD Study in your explanation;
- Describe two results from the NICHD Study (different from those you included in your first posting) that surprised you the most in terms of positive and/or negative conclusions about the effects of care and education on young children. Explain how you would use these results as an early childhood professional to advocate for quality care and education programs.