Informed Advocacy in Early Childhood Care and Education

Description

In Informed Advocacy in Early Childhood Care and Education: Making a Difference for Young Children and Families the author outlines six contexts for advocacy in the field of early childhood education — individual child and family, advocacy for the profession, program-based advocacy, private-sector advocacy, political activism, and advocacy in the global arena. This practical guide describes the critical need for advocacy in the field of early care and extols the ethical responsibilities of all early child educators, as outlined in the Code of Ethical Conduct (NAEYC 2005). Organized into three parts, the text begins with advocacy in the field of early childhood education, discusses how to develop an advocacy agenda, and concludes with becoming an advocate for life.

Additionally, a wide range of advocacy activities are addressed, including: choosing effective strategies, networking, advocating for program changes from within, navigating and being effective in the political process, working with the private sector to bring about positive changes for children, developing and managing an advocacy agenda, and working with the media. 

Informed Advocacy in Early Childhood Care and Education: Making a Difference for Young Children and Families

PART I: Advocacy in Field of Child Development and Early Childhood Education

Chapter 1: Building a Case for Advocacy

Chapter 2: Contexts for Advocacy

Chapter 3: Working with Families to Advocate for their Children Chapter 4: Advocacy for Our Profession and Programs and within the Private Sector Chapter 5:Political Activism Part II: Developing an Advocacy Agenda Chapter 6: Becoming Informed

Chapter 7: Choosing Strategies Chapter 8: Getting connected; Staying the Course PART III: Advocacy as Lifestyle Chapter 9: Advocacy in the Global Community Chapter 10: Volunteerism as Advocacy References Appendix A. Advocacy Planning Worksheet

“Connections” features begin each chapter and links the reader with the content of the chapter through brief questions about their background knowledge and experience.

Part One, Developing Advocacy Knowledge and Skills: Taking Action in the Field of Early Childhood – lays out a definition and rationale for advocacy as a job responsibility of all early childhood professionals and describes multiple contexts for advocacy action including:

• description of the critical need for advocacy in the field and an analysis of the C ode of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment providing an initial rationale for seeing advocacy as an ethical responsibility.
• describes six specific contexts for advocacy include advocacy for the individual child and family, advocacy for the profession, program-based advocacy, private-sector advocacy, political activism, and advocacy in the global arena.
• description of four conditions that require advocacy for individual children and families.

Part II, Developing an Advocacy Agenda, lays out the skills involved in becoming an effective advocate including

• the context for advocacy, stakeholder perspectives,
• strategies useful for developing an advocacy agenda,
• mobilizing strategies for maintaining an advocacy agenda,
• the importance of networking to successful advocacy efforts, 
• a  worksheet for developing the agenda,
• a description of three important contexts for advocacy within the field,  
• and a review of the process of policy development at the state and federal level and description of how advocates can influence this development.

This practical guide describes the critical need for advocacy in the field of early care and extols the ethical responsibilities of all early child educators, as outlined in the Code of Ethical Conduct (NAEYC 2005). Organized into three parts, the text begins with advocacy in the field of early childhood education, discusses how to develop an advocacy agenda, and concludes with becoming an advocate for life.

Additionally, the author outlines six contexts for advocacy in the field of early childhood — individual child and family, advocacy for the profession, program-based advocacy, private-sector advocacy, political activism, and advocacy in the global arena.

Informed Advocacy in Early Childhood Care and Education: Making a Difference for Young Children and Families deconstructs the myth that advocacy is something done by someone else, or only by someone at state or national levels of government.  Rather, advocacy is a skill and responsibility to be practiced at the local level by any and all of us.  It discusses contexts of advocacy for young children and their families, beginning locally and working outwardly to global advocacy, and provides specific guidelines for developing an advocacy agenda.

This book discusses a wide range of advocacy activities, including

·        becoming an  informed advocate,

·        choosing effective strategies,

·        networking,

·        advocating for program changes from within,

·        navigating and being effective in the political process,

·        working with the private sector to bring about positive changes for children,

·        developing and managing an advocacy agenda, and

·        working with the media. 

It is practical enough for individual use by in-service early childhood professionals, yet robust enough for college courses.