Friday, 16 January 2015

Exploring Local Roles in the Early Childhood Education Community



Alberta Resource Centre for Quality Enhancement has been the Early Learning and Care Service sector serving Edmonton, Alberta for over ten years (The Family Resource Facilitation Program, 2015).  The organization provides training for early childcare certification in conjunction with continuing education in-services to families and schools.  Its purpose is to provide mentorship, community building, and standardized training to early learning teams.  ARQUE focuses on supporting learning through play, developmentally appropriate practices, and child mental health.  As an educator, I am attracted to ARQUE because it offers staff training through hands-on approach to learning.  Workshops highlight pedagogical experiences in conjunction with the opportunities for early educators to interact and learn through play themselves. As a professional, it would be motivating to create workshops based upon evidence-based practices with an element of engagement that are critical to making learning more meaningful.  Additionally, outreach is an essential aspect of ARQUE services as teams work with communities across Alberta.  ARQUE employs a team of professionals who have real life experiences working in early education environments.  Early education professionals can identify their experiences and examples as being relevant.


Child and Adolescent Services (CASA) has over thirty years of experiences served children, youth and families’ to address challenging behaviors and mental issues (CASA Services, 2011). The multi-disciplinary CASA team incorporates clinic-based assessment and intervention. Psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, occupational therapists and social workers have experience with counseling, addictions, and trauma.  They also participate in research and resource development such as the FASD Learning Series (Government of Alberta, 2013).  


Here is the link to that resource http://fasd.alberta.ca/


Working within the CASA education environment and interfacing with families’ would be an exciting opportunity for personal and pedagogical growth.  While CASA has sites located in Alberta, they also offer Community Geographic Teams (CGT) work with educators and mental health professionals across Alberta delivering education and training (CASA Services, 2011).  An Education Specialist works with the team consultants to prepare and distribute educational materials suited to adult learners and workplace settings.  Areas that I believe to be highly motivating would include facilitation groups that target in preschool and kindergarten aged children, enhancing parent group facilitation, and coaching and mentoring new early education professionals.  Within a work assignment such as this, I would offer proactive behavioral expertise and understanding of universal strategies for learning.



Grant MacEwan University offers an Early Learning and Child Care Program that trains early education professionals for employment in early learning environments (MacEwan University, 2013).  While many Faculty members have their doctorates, there are a significant number who has their Masters in Education or Master of Science in Early Childhood Development.  My primary experiences have been with a school environment with children, youth and adults with special needs.  However, I may not require a doctorate level education to work directly with individuals training to acquire a diploma in early education. If seeking such a position, within MacEwan University.  I would bring my experiences working with families’, children and interdisciplinary team members.  Additionally, I would be able to share the importance of responsive and nurturing adult-child interactions in order to promote health childhood outcomes.

References and Links


MacEwan University (2013).  Early Learning and Child Care.  Retrieved January 16 from http://www.macewan.ca/wcm/SchoolsFaculties/HCS/Programs/EarlyLearningandChildCare/index.htm


CASA Services (2011).  About CASA.  Retrieved January 16, 2015 http://www.casaservices.org/about-us


The Family Resource Facilitation Program ( 2015). Alberta Resource Centre for Quality Enhancement.  http://www.frfp.ca/professional-resources/program-support-agencies/ARCQE-Alberta-Resource-Centre-for-Quality-Enhancement.htm


Goals Dice .  Retrieved from http://blog.doostang.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Career-goals_90545278.jpg


Government of Alberta (2013).  FASD Learning Series. Retrieved January 16, 2015 from http://fasd.alberta.ca/

Research.  Retrieved from http://spectrumcenter.umich.edu/article/research-participant- opportunities



  

 







 

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