After some research, the agencies I would like to become a
part of are the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
(UNICEF), the Peace Corps, and the Division for Early Childhood’s (DEC)
community of practice (CoP) DECIDE.
UNICEF, among a magnitude of other organizations and
agencies, understand the importance of receiving proper care during the early
years as those years help to set the foundation for future success. They work
in 190 different countries to defend the rights of all children around the
world. They offer individuals the opportunities to work directly with
disadvantages populations and help to improve their conditions (UNICEF, n.d.). One
job posting that caught my eye was Early Childhood Development (ECD) Officer.
As an ECD Officer I would be able to offer professional technical, operational,
and administrative assistance to the ECD programs and projects throughout a
given country/territory. I would aid in researching, collecting, analyzing, and
presenting program information to help support the formation and development of
the ECD program as well. TO qualify for this position I would need the
following:
·
A university degree in education, public
administration/health, nutrition, economics, psychology, sociology, human
development, child development, family studies or other social science field is
required. * Degrees and/or specialized professional courses in early childhood
education, child development and pediatrics are an asset.
·
A minimum of 2 years of relevant professional
experience in early childhood development related areas.
·
Experience working with international
organizations or UN agencies in an asset.
·
Fluency in Spanish and English is required (UNICEF,
n.d.).
The Peach Corps is a 24 month service opportunity to work
directly, as the grassroots level, with disadvantaged populations and work
alongside local leaders to address challenges in their area. The Peace Corps aims
to promote world peace by helping to meet the need for knowledgeable and
skilled men and women in interested countries, and promoting a better
understanding of Americans and people from other countries. They are federal
agency that works to build and sustain global relationships through
volunteering (Peace Corps, n.d.). One of the volunteer options that stood out
to me was the English Education Teaching in Thailand. I would co-teach with 1-3
Thai teachers about 20 hours a week with children from 1st grade to
6th grade to help develop lessons and classroom resources and
conduct community outreach to promote parent involvement in their children’s
English learning. An additional pro of this position is that I would be able to
take part in the TEFL training program and receive a TEFL Certificate by the
end of my volunteer time. The minimum required skills for this position is:
• Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of
Science degree in any discipline AND
• A strong desire to teach English
However,
they are looking for theses desired skills:
• Degree in elementary or secondary
education or another field of education
• Experience or an interest in
curriculum and resource development
• Classroom teaching experience,
tutoring experience, and/or teacher training experience (Peace Corps, n.d.).
The DEC’s DECIDE CoP works to enhance the quality of
doctoral education programs through innovative approaches to learning. DECIDE
aims to promote higher education institution, policy makers, researchers, ECE specialists,
and doctoral students to engage in a CoP and a peer mentoring relationship to help inform and shape the future of the early
childhood intervention and special education (DEC, n.d.). This CoP sparked my
interests as it has a lot to do with continuing education and professional
development and ensuring the early educators working with our future leaders
are fully equipped with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to
provide the appropriate ealry learning experiences and interventions needed to support
children’s healthy growth and development.
References
Division for Early Childhood (DEC).
(n.d.). DECIDE. Retrieved from
https://www.decdecide.org/
Peace Corps. (n.d.). About. Retrieved from https://www.peacecorps.gov/about/
Peace Corps. (n.d.). English Education Teaching. Retrieved
from https://www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/volunteer-openings/english-education-teaching-5654br/
United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
(UNICEF). (n.d.). About. Retrieved
from https://www.unicef.org/about/who/index_introduction.html
United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
(UNICEF). (n.d.). Vacancies. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/?job=520566
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing information about the organizations that appeal to you. I am familiar with the wonderful works of UNICEF and the Peace Corp, as their work is internationally known. The DEC's DECIDE CoP is new to me and I thank you for sharing. It is refreshing to know that there are communities dedicated to higher learning, especially in the early childhood field. We play a major part in helping children develop and it is important that we have the support of others to help us, as educators, continue to grow and become more knowledgeable to help the children we serve.
Amy,
ReplyDeleteI find it super interesting your desire to help educate in the Peace Corp My fiance works on base (Wright Patterson Air Force Base) here in Ohio and he tells me quite often that the base is always looking to hire people with degrees to help educate these children. I seem to forget that their are children within the military that need schooling but seem to get forgotten and that's a selfish thing to say! But thanks to people like you - you take care of them and educate them. I do hope success within these organizations come your way as you are an advocate for these children.
Thank you for bringing these to my attention.
Amy, thank you for sharing such great information about each of the organizations you selected. Your thorough responses will help guide me in my additional research for answers. These are great organizations that seek to improve the lives of all that they come into contact with!
ReplyDeleteHello Amy,
ReplyDeleteUNICEF is a great organization. I love that they have fun ways to contribute such as the trick-or-treat for UNICEF, which involves children helping other children. There is a powerful documentary on Netflix about the conditions children live in called Tales By Light. You should check it out if you haven't already. It would be satisfying to work for the organization, or the Peace Corps. I am also interested in the DEC CoP, they have many resources for early childhood professionals. Thank you for sharing your ideas.
Mitzy Molina