Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

When considering international organizations that advocate for early childhood education and the well-being of children worldwide, I chose three communities of practice that appealed to my personal and professional interests: KidsRights, Girls on the Run International, and the Forest Kindergarten Association.  All three organizations are appealing for different reasons and would require various levels of work and required expertise to partner with.  The following explores each organization’s mission and possible job opportunities within the group.

KidsRights

In the past, I have highlighted this organization for their innovative thinking used when advocating for children and their well-being.  KidsRights empowers children around the world to join the advocation process themselves as changemakers and strive to achieve the goal of getting their voices recognized and listened to.  They’re mission is stated as such: “We act with children, amplifying and accelerating their actions in their communities and beyond. Lastly, we make sure everyone is informed about children’s rights.” (KidsRights Foundation, n.d.).  Empowering children to advocate for themselves and providing research-based evidence to support their voice of change in quite inspiring on a global scale.  

Currently, KidsRights is hiring for a Vice President that will be responsible for encouraging involvement from other international organizations to support the movement KidsRights is trying to grow.  The role of the vice president will be responsible for developing proposals and conducting face-to-face meetings, coordinating expansion efforts for the organization and curriculum training, collaborating with the KidsRights board, and coordinating with the Amersterdam based Director of Corporate Accounts regarding account management.  This position sounds exciting and will require flexible and multi-task thinking to be successful.  I would need to improve my knowledge in account management tasks to be effective at all duties listed for the job.

Girls on the Run International

            The Girls on the Run International organization has become a recent interest personally for me.  I have found their mission to empower our youngest females necessary in the evolving society we are growing.  This past year, my daughter has joined the organization, as a third grader, and is finding the work they do together inspiring, it has encouraged her to love herself and has created a desire to continue to practice self-love throughout life.  Girls on the Run International is driven by a set of core values for all volunteers and participating girls: “recognize our power and responsibility to be intentional in our decision making, embrace our differences and find strength in our connectedness, express joy, optimism and gratitude through our words, thoughts and actions, nurture our physical, emotional and spiritual health, lead with an open heart and assume positive intent, and stand up for ourselves and others” (GOTR, n.d.). 

            Developing a deeper understanding of the organization has fueled my passion for advocating for children’s well-being outside of the traditional educational setting.  Organizations, like GOTR, have noticed that young girls need encouragement not only in school, but throughout their daily lives.  Currently, they are hiring for an Executive Director to lead volunteers and girls towards success.  The duties of the executive director include but are not limited to program and staff management, program development and strategic planning, administrative tasks (procedures and standards), and manage financial considerations.  The role of the executive director requires personal experience and knowledge in marketing and fundraising to be effective.  This is one professional area that I am lacking in.  I would need to consider my efforts heavily when taking on those tasks.  I believe that my commitment to the vision of GOTR would aid in my ability to advocate for such an impactful organization.

Forest Kindergarten Association

            Since I can remember, I have always felt at ease when interacting with nature.  This feeling and belief in the power of outdoor learning has carried on with me personally and professionally into adulthood.  I believe our early childhood programs need to abandon traditional classroom settings and get back outside to learn life-long skills and knowledge.  Interacting directly with natural elements have proven to be much more meaningful than desks and worksheets.  The Forest Kindergarten Association, located in the UK, is advocating for this very movement in transforming the learning environments that we use when working with children.  “The FSA is represented on various national committees and strategic groups involved with education and the environment. These include, the Council for Learning outside the Classroom (CLoTC) natural environment group, the Forest Skills Forum, the Forest Education Network, liaison with HMIs in the Department for Education, and liaison with the Outdoor Education Advisory Panel.” (FSA, n.d.).  The goal of the FSA is to promote the benefits of forest school learning, using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to demonstrate the necessity and capability in meeting all needs of children in educational settings (basic needs and psychological needs). 

            Considering job opportunities within the FSA required me to think about my professional qualifications in a different light.  Each job posting discusses educational backgrounds, as well as forest certification experience.  I have no problem demonstrating my educational knowledge, however, additional training for outdoor environments is not something that is easily accessible where I am currently located.  The FSA provides specific training and support to grow educators into forest teachers.  The role of a forest teacher is to not only support general learning, it is also their job to educate the child and the family about how to learn in natural environments to best support overall health and learning simultaneously.  This job opportunity is the most interesting personally.  I would be more than willing to put in the time and effort in additional training to secure this role of becoming a forest kindergarten teacher.  My commitment to nature and children could be melted into one, and that is extremely inspiring professionally!

References

Forest Kindergarten Association (FSA). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.forestschoolassociation.org/

Girls on the Run International (GOTR). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.girlsontherun.org/

KidsRights Foundation (n.d.). Retrieved from https://kidsrights.org/