Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

This week, we are required to find three local or state organization or communities of practice that appealed to me and job opportunities that interest me, and some skills and experience that I would need to competently fulfill each of these roles.

The first community of practice is the Parent Support Association (PSA) for our international school. It is a non-profit organization with volunteer parents filling the roles of executive, committee organizers and school representatives. It has been a source of information about the school, and a way for concerned and actively involved parents to channel their energy. It provides parent and school approved events with the desire to raise school spirit and promote community involvement. If I could, I would like to be a member of this community-PSA. In this community, I could gain more information about families from different countries and cultures and have a better knowledge of what different families need in this school and in this country where they are newcomers out of job transfer. In this community, I could learn more about the cultural background of other members who represent a group of families from the same country; in this way, I could gain more knowledge of cultural diversity. Working in PSA, I need some skills to fulfill this role. The most important skill is the listening skill. Since the other members in this community are from diverse cultures, they have their own perspectives and ways of doing things. To better serve the children and families in this school, I should first listen carefully and respectfully to their perspectives and then find a common ground after sharing my own perspective; thus, cultural conflicts could be reduced, eased or avoided.

The second community of practice that interests me is the Center for Parent Information and Resources (CPIR). I chose this community because I find its objectives inspire me: to provide PTIs (the community of Parent Training Information) and CPRCs (the Community Parent Resource Centers) with products and materials to support their work with families; to increase Parent Centers’ knowledge and capacity in specific domains; and to increase the coordination of parent training efforts throughout the network. If I could, I would like to work as a member of one of the CPIR team--FHI 360, which brings together experts in health, education, nutrition, environment, economic development, civil society, gender, youth and technology to address the full range of human development needs. Working in FHI 360, I would learn to embrace innovation, to mutually respect for diversity and cultural differences, to have a passion to make a positive difference, to have accountability, to have commitment to excellence and to teamwork. To fulfill the role in FHI 360, I need to have professional knowledge of education and relevant knowledge, such as knowledge of nutrition and technology; as well, I need collaboration skill to work with other experts in different areas.

The third community of practice is the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), which works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, advances a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and supports all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children. I chose this organization because I am inspired by its vision, mission, values and beliefs. And that's why I would like to work as a member of NAEYC. Since NAEYC comprises nearly 70,000 individual members of the early childhood community and more than 300 regional Affiliate chapters, culturally competent communication skills, (including listening, appropriate verbal and nonverbal communication skills) and collaboration skills are essentially required. As stated, "Collaboration is a mutually beneficial and well-defined relationship entered into by two or more organizations to achieve results they are more likely to achieve together than alone" (Winer & Ray, 1994, p.24).

Reference:

Winer, M., & Ray, K. (1994). Collaboration handbook: Creating, sustaining, and enjoying the journey. St. Paul, MN: Fieldstone Alliance.
Winer, M., & Ray, K., "How Do We Set Forth?", Collaboration handbook: Creating, sustaining, and enjoying the journey. Copyright 1994 Fieldstone Alliance. Used with permission from Amherst H. Wilder Foundation via the Copyright Clearance Center.