As I near the completion of my Master's degree through Walden University, one of my final assignments is to explore international organizations that positively promote working with children. The first organization that I have found is the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI), which can be found at http://acei.org/. ACEI is a non-profit organization that strives to promote quality educational services worldwide. They work to customize educational experiences based on the traditional customs and resources available in a child's environmental context where they live. It would be an honor to serve as a member of ACEI's Board of Directors. Qualifications for candidates include professional knowledge pertaining to business or public policy related to education, strong leadership skills, and the passion to represent diverse populations around the world (http://acei.org/qualifications-for-candidates-for-the-acei-board-of-directors).
Another international organization is the International Child Resource Institute (ICRI), which can be found at http://www.icrichild.org/. The ICRI is another non-profit organization that promotes quality care and services to children around the world. They believe that they should only offer services where they are welcome, so their organization is invited to serve regions where local leaders offer their support. One of ICRI's current projects was to provide training to teachers about learning and implementing non-violent discipline techniques with their students. ICRI provides a variety of consultation services that work to improve the quality of care and services offered to children in a certain locality. As a consultant for ICRI, I could have the potential to work with public policy leaders and key educators to determine the need to provide higher quality services to populations in question. I could also provide training to educational staff about developmentally-appropriate practice and other professional development opportunities.
A third international organization is the International Step by Step Association (ISSA), which can be found at http://www.issa.nl/. ISSA is a relatively new educational organization that was established in 1999 in the Netherlands. ISSA strives to provide professional development opportunities for educators working with young children and acknowledging the diverse populations of children served around the world. ISSA works to build the capacity of educators' knowledge by providing unique professional development opportunities to bring educators up-to-date with current issues and trends in the education field. As an early childhood educator, I would find it interesting to serve as a program mentor or adult educator for ISSA. ISSA offers a variety of trainings and online courses for educational programs. By serving as an adult educator or trainer, I would be able to share my knowledge for the early childhood field and advocate to other parts of the world to offer quality educational services to children everywhere.
There are several other international organizations that promote quality educational services to children, but I wanted to feature a few programs that I found to be unique in the populations they serve and services that they provide.
Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteThanks for insights on job opportunities in other programs. There are great jobs available in both international and national that can help benefit young children well-being. As a professional working to help young children to reach their potential goals, I would consider working in an organization like the ICRI. Communicating with different people around the world can help me to be more knowledgeable as a professional. Good Job!!
Ida,
Ida,
DeleteThank you for the positive feedback! I agree that collaborating with professionals from around the world can definitely help us improve our understanding about research and current practices.
Tiffany
I find the IRCI the most interesting. I think early childhood research is exciting and I would love to be a part of this. I find especially intriguing that they are participating in research to help teachers learn to use non violent discipline techniques. This seems like a very worthwhile project. thank so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteApril,
DeleteThank you for your feedback! I really enjoyed this part of our research because it forced me to explore programs that I did not even know were in existence. ICRI is definitely an organization that I am going to explore even further because I believe that providing professional development to all educators is essential to improving quality early childhood programming.
Tiffany
Hi Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteI agree with the others that ICRI is an organization that I would be interested in working with. Being able to consult with teachers would be a job I would like. I would like to do this locally as well. I often have the opportunity to consult with new teachers at my school as well as student interns. I truly enjoy working with them and providing them feedback as they learn to teach as well as to be sure they are providing services to the students; teaching them strategies, classroom management etc. Thanks for the information!
Caitlin
Caitlin,
DeleteI think it is great that you get to work as a mentor to new teachers and student interns in your program. Sharing the knowledge that you have gained through your education and experience is a great way to help new teachers establish a stronger understanding of the early childhood field.
Tiffany
Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteISSA seems like a great organization. You don’t often see organizations who provide professional development opportunities to educators. I think the job opportunity you mentioned would be perfect, especially with your background.
Eileen
Eileen,
DeleteThank you so much for your kind words. I would love to serve as a mentor or trainer and help other educators improve their understanding of the early childhood field. I am strongly considering adding the graduate certificate through Walden for teaching adults so that I can further pursue mentoring other educators. Thanks again for your feedback!
Tiffany
Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog! The organizations you mentioned would definitely benefit from your experience and background! ISSA seems like a really great opportunity for educators like yourself and I wish you all the best in your pursuits!
Maria