This document discusses how early childhood education is progressing towards becoming a recognized profession. It highlights two key areas of progress - acquiring specialized knowledge through education, and reliance on a code of ethics. It describes rising education requirements in many states and accreditation standards. It also outlines the development and promotion of the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, which guides practitioners' work. The document acknowledges that while progress has been made in some aspects of professionalism, full professional autonomy has not yet been achieved.

1. CHAPTER 13Contributing to the Profession
NAEYC Administrator Competencies Addressed in This Chapter
:
Management Knowledge and Skills
1. Personal and Professional Self-Awareness
·
The ability to evaluate ethical and moral dilemmas based on a p
rofessionalcode of ethics
8. Leadership and Advocacy
·
Knowledge of the legislative process, social issues, and public p
olicyaffecting young children and their families
·
The ability to advocate on behalf of young children, their famili
es and theprofession
Early Childhood Knowledge and Skills
1. Historical and Philosophical Foundations
· Knowledge of research methodologies
10. Professionalism
·
Knowledge of different professional organizations, resources, a
nd issuesimpacting the welfare of early childhood practitioners
·
Ability to make professional judgments based on the NAEYC “
Code ofEthical Conduct and Statement of Commitment”
·
Ability to work as part of a professional team and supervise sup
port staffor volunteers
Learning Outcomes
After studying this chapter, you will be able to:
1.
Describe how the field of early childhood education has made pr
ogressachieving two of the eight criteria of professional status.
2.
Identify the advocacy tools that early childhood advocates shoul

2. d have attheir disposal.
3.
Discuss opportunities that program administrators have to contri
bute tothe field’s future.
Grace’s Experience
Grace had found that working with children came naturally, and
she consideredherself to be a gifted teacher after only a short ti
me in the classroom. Shethought she would spend her entire car
eer working directly with children. She isnow somewhat surpris
ed how much she is enjoying the new responsibilities thatcome
with being a program director. She is gaining confidence that sh
e can workeffectively with all families, even when faced with di
fficult conversations; andher skills as a supervisor, coach, and
mentor are increasing as well. She is nowcomfortable as a leade
r in her own center and is considering volunteering to filla leade
rship role in the local early childhood professional organization.
Thatwould give her opportunities to refine her leadership skills
while contributing tothe quality of care provided for children th
roughout her community.
Early childhood administrators are leaders. They contribute to t
he professionby making the public aware of the field’s emerging
professionalism, includingits reliance on a code of ethics; enga
ging in informed advocacy; becominginvolved in research to inc
rease what we know about how children learn,grow, and develop
; and coaching and mentoring novices, experiencedpractitioners,
and emerging leaders.
13.1 PROMOTING PROFESSIONALIZATION1
Lilian Katz, one of the most influential voices in the field of ear
ly care andeducation, began discussions about the professionalis
m of the field in the mid-
1980s. Her work extended a foundation that had been laid by so
ciologists,philosophers, and other scholars and continues to infl
uence how earlychildhood educators think about their work and
the contribution they make tosociety. These are some of the attri

3. butes that are commonly used todistinguish professionals from o
ther workers and to determine whether anoccupation is, or is mo
ving toward becoming, a profession:
1.
Professionals possess specialized knowledge. They acquire this
knowledgeand skill in its application by following a course of p
rolonged training.
2.
Professions have rigorous requirements for entry into profession
altraining, and training is delivered in accredited institutions.
3. Members of a profession have agreed-
upon standards of practice thatguide their efforts to meet their p
rofessional obligations.
4.
A profession has a commitment to meet a significant social need
.
5.
Professionals are altruistic and service oriented rather than moti
vated byopportunities for personal gain. Their primary goal is to
meet clients’needs.
6.
Professionals provide an indispensable service and are recogniz
ed as theonly group in society that can perform its function.
7. A profession is characterized by autonomy—
it has control over entry intothe field, oversees the quality of th
e services offered by its members, andregulates itself.
8.
A profession has a code of ethics that spells out its obligations t
o society(Feeney, 1995; Katz, 1995; Feeney, 2012).
We will focus on two particular dimensions of professionalism i
n which thefield has made the most progress. The first is the acq
uisition of specializedknowledge attained through prolonged tra
ining (number 1 in the list above),and the second is reliance on
a code of ethics (number 8). We will alsoacknowledge some of t
he areas where progress has been slow, or where earlychildhood
educators’ approach to working with young children and theirfa

4. milies means they will never compromise the field’s traditions t
o satisfy allcriteria that set professions apart from other occupat
ions.Moving Toward Professionalism: Professional Preparation
andReliance on the NAEYC Code of Ethical ConductProfession
al Preparation:
Many states’ licensing regulations continue to require child care
teachers,caregivers, and directors to have only a high school di
ploma or GED; the CDACredential, which is generally consider
ed to be equivalent to 9 to 12 credithours of professional educat
ion, is the most frequently required form ofspecialized training t
hat an individual needs to be qualified to become acenter direct
or (Child Care Aware® of America, 2013). Publically fundedpro
grams, however, have raised the bar for entry into the field. The
ImprovingHead Start Act of 2007 required 50% of all center-
based teachers to hold atleast a bachelor’s degree in early child
hood education or a related field by2013 (Administration for Ch
ildren and Families [ACF], 2007). States’ QRISsystems and pub
lically funded 4K programs have followed suit. Most requiretea
chers to have specialized training to prepare them to teach youn
g children,requiring them to hold at least a bachelor’s degree or
to be making progresstoward attaining that degree (Barnett, Car
olan, Squires, Brown, & Horowitz,2015).
The National Association for the Education of Young Children’s
(NAEYC)Program Accreditation Standards also, over time, rais
e educationalrequirements across the board. They stipulate that
by 2020, 75% of theteachers in accredited programs must have a
minimum of a baccalaureatedegree in early childhood education
or a related field. NAEYC Accreditationalso requires directors
to hold at least a bachelor’s degree and requires themto have sp
ecialized coursework in administration, leadership, management
,and child development and learning, or a plan to meet these req
uirementswithin 5 years (NAEYC, 2014).
The effects of these policy changes are being felt by the entire f
ield of earlycare and education, raising expectations for educati
onal attainment innonprofit and for-
profit programs operated under a wide variety of auspices.These

5. developments point to progress that the field has made in one c
riterionof professionalism: requiring early childhood practitione
rs to have specializedknowledge gained by following a course o
f prolonged training.Reliance on the NAEYC Code of Ethical C
onduct:
Reliance on a code of professional ethics is a second criterion o
fprofessionalism in which early childhood educators have made
significantstrides. The NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct (NAEY
C, 2011a) includesstatements of the profession’s core values an
d guides practitioners in theirefforts to meet their responsibilitie
s to children, families, colleagues, andsociety. It articulates idea
ls (how we aspire to behave) and principles(standards of conduc
t describing what we must and must not do). A Statementof Com
mitment accompanies the Code. It is not a part of the Code but a
ttests tomembers’ resolve to abide by the Code as they work wit
h young children andtheir families.
NAEYC first adopted its Code of Ethical Conduct in 1989 (Feen
ey & Kipnis,1989), revised it in 1992, 1997, and 2005, and reaff
irmed and updated it in2011. The field has also taken steps to en
hance practitioners’ reliance on theCode and to make this relian
ce more apparent to those outside the profession.
One way that NAEYC has promoted the visibility and encourage
d reliance onthe Code is by making it an important criterion in
NAEYC AccreditationStandards that apply both to programs ser
ving young children and topostsecondary programs preparing te
achers for every rung along theprofessional ladder—
beginning with the CDA and extending throughassociate’s, bach
elor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree levels (NAEYC, 2011c; N
AEYC, 2012). These standards ensure that all practitioners in ac
creditedprograms are knowledgeable about the Code, and all wh
o graduate fromaccredited postsecondary programs have demons
trated that they know it andknow how to apply it in their work. I
t is noteworthy, however, that the NAEYCCode is not enforced.
That is because NAEYC is a membership organizationand is ope
n to all, regardless of their professional preparation or the role t
heyplay in the field.

6. Two Supplements extend the reach of the Code beyond those wo
rking directlywith young children and their families. The first S
upplement addressesprogram administrators (NAEYC, 2011b). I
t provides guidance as you facesituations with ethical dimension
s unique to the director’s roles andresponsibilities, such as how
to prioritize applicants when filling a much-sought-
after opening in the infant room, how to proceed when you must
terminate a teacher because decreased enrollment is forcing you
to downsize,and how to manage relationships with families in a
way that lets you keep theneeds of children paramount in your
decision making. This Supplement isfound as Appendix 3 in this
text.
The second Supplement guides adult educators (NAEYC, 2004a)
. It extends theoriginal Code to meet the needs of those providin
g training and education,whether in credit-
granting institutions such as colleges or universities or ininform
al professional development activities. As a program director, y
ou arelikely to provide professional development designed to m
eet the particularneeds of your staff. This Supplement reminds y
ou, for example, to remain trueto the approved training plan and
helps you have the courage to deny credit tothe caregiver who s
lept through the training activity instead of participatingand lear
ning from it.
Several efforts have helped to make the Code widely accessible.
The originalCode is now reprinted in many textbooks; the Code
and both Supplements areposted on the NAEYC website, the or
iginal Code in both English and Spanish;and the Code is availab
le from NAEYC in both English and Spanish asinexpensive broc
hures. NAEYC also offers an attractive laminated poster ofthe S
tatement of Commitment. Programs that display this poster attes
t to theirpledge to abide by the field’s ethical standards.
In addition to making the Code widely available, NAEYC has m
ade efforts tosupport practitioners’ efforts to apply the Code to t
heir work. NAEYC haspublished two books focusing on professi
onal ethics: The first book, Ethics andthe Early Childhood Educ
ator (Feeney, Freeman, & Pizzolongo, 2012), providesa compre

7. hensive introduction to the Code. It includes discussions of the
role ofmorality and ethics in early childhood education, makes a
distinction betweenearly childhood educators’ responsibilities a
nd the dilemmas they are likely toface, and offers guidance in a
ddressing ethical situations involving earlychildhood educators’
responsibilities to young children, families, colleagues,and the
community. This book is often a required text in 2-year and 4-
yearinstitutions’ early childhood programs. The second book, T
eaching the NAEYCCode of Ethical Conduct: A Resource Guide
(Feeney, Freeman, & Moravcik,2016), includes advice for instr
uctors planning to teach about the Code and itsapplication and d
escribes many activities for teaching the Code, includingreprod
ucible masters that can help you prepare for effective trainings.
NAEYC’s journal, Young Children, includes a regular column t
hat might helpyou include discussions of ethics in your regular
staff meetings. “Focus onEthics” alternates descriptions of com
monly occurring dilemmas with ananalysis and resolution of a p
reviously published dilemma. All past columnsare posted on the
NAEYC website and can be used as the basis for staffdevelopm
ent on professional ethics. This column is based on NAEYC me
mbers’submissions. You might decide to submit a dilemma that
your center has beengrappling with to be considered for publicat
ion and analysis. Specifics abouthow to become involved are inc
luded with each article.
The NAEYC has posted several video clipsof Stephanie Feeney
, one of the Code’s originalauthors and a leader in the field’s w
ork onprofessional ethics. Watch this video to see herprovide an
overview of the Code in thisdiscussion with Peter Pizzolongo, a
member ofNAEYC’s staff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=28&v=-R-gh3Z9BPY
You can help make the families you serve and others outside the
professionaware of the field’s reliance on the Code of Ethical C
onduct. Ways toaccomplish this goal are to include the Code (or
a link to its location on theNAEYC website) in your program’s
family handbook and to put families onnotice that they can expe
ct your behavior, and that of all members of yourstaff, to reflect

8. the program’s commitment to these ethical principles. You cana
lso prominently display the Statement of Commitment poster att
esting toyour program’s reliance on the Code. You are likely to
think of other ways tomake the Code more visible in your partic
ular setting.Other Criteria of Professionalism:
Early childhood education’s rich and unique history illustrates
why it isappropriate for early childhood education to satisfy so
me criteria ofprofessionalism but not others. For example, the fi
eld would not want toabandon its commitment to its career ladd
er, which welcomes employees whowork with young children w
hile they pursue their associate degree, often withthe support of
the popular T.E.A.C.H.® scholarships.
Application Activity
Rely on the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct (Appendix 2) and
the Supplement for Early Childhood Program Administrators (A
ppendix 3) toresolve one of the following dilemmas. Analyze ea
ch dilemma byidentifying to whom you have responsibilities. Fi
nd guidance in the NAEYC Code and Supplement for Early Chil
dhood Program Administrators(note item number[s]), brainstor
m possible resolutions, then decidewhat the “good director” sho
uld do in each of these situations.
·
An enrollment issue: The mother of the next child on your list f
oradmission has told you that she has had her child in 5 differen
tpreschools in the past 6 months. She tells you very emotional st
oriesabout what she found wrong with each of them.
·
A personnel issue: Your enrollment is down. You must close a c
lassroomand let a teacher go. Do you choose to terminate the las
t person hired,who is an excellent teacher, or the long-
time employee, who has neverdone a very good job?
·
A family issue: A parent who has been rude and abusive to staff
withdraws her child but then wants to come back to the center.
Other criteria of professionalism remain beyond our reach. For
example, wewould like to achieve greater professional autonom

9. y, but the fact remains thatregulations and standards that determ
ine who is eligible and qualified toteach and care for young chil
dren are not likely to have been developed byearly childhood ed
ucators. Efforts to include experts in early childhoodeducation i
n the groups that create these regulations are the focus of advoc
acyefforts in some states.
For these reasons, it is now generally agreed that early childhoo
d education isan “emerging” profession (Feeney, 2012). It is nei
ther like the “paradigmprofessions” of law and medicine, nor ar
e early childhood educators unskilledworkers, such as day labor
ers or short-
order cooks, who enter the workplacewith little prior training or
specialized knowledge, and whose employers arelikely to consi
der them to be interchangeable. Consider where early childhood
education falls on the professional continuum illustrated in Figu
re 13.1.
As the field moves toward increased professionalism, it is impor
tant thatprogram administrators, as leaders in the field, are activ
e in organizationsthat support their efforts to remain informed a
nd engaged professionals.Review the list of professional organi
zations found in Appendix 4. Werecommend that you join one o
r more that you find to be of particular interestand that you sele
ct one to become active in at the local, state, or national level.D
oing so can enhance your knowledge and expertise and connect
you with thelarger community of early childhood professionals.
Figure 13.1
A Professional Continuum
Application Activity
Our discussion focuses on efforts to increase the professionalis
m of thefield by setting higher expectations for professional pre
paration and bymaking our reliance on our Code of Ethical Con
duct explicit, and wediscuss the issues created by the field’s lac
k of autonomy. Select one ofthe other five criteria of profession
alism. Decide where the field of earlycare and education falls o
n the professionalism continuum that putsdoctors and lawyers at

10. one end and unskilled workers at the other.Provide a rationale f
or your conclusion.
13.2 ENGAGING IN INFORMED ADVOCACY
Advocacy is speaking out for and taking action in support of ca
uses that protect and support vulnerablepopulations. Early child
hood educators have a long history of advocacy on behalf of yo
ung children,their families, and the field of early care and educa
tion (Feeney, 2012). Our commitment to advocacy isestablished
by the Statement of Commitment that accompanies the NAEYC
Code of Ethical Conduct and isreiterated in several of the Code’
s Ideals, including those that urge early childhood educators to
advocatefor children who have special needs and to promote env
ironments that are physically and emotionallyhealthy and suppo
rt young children’s learning, growth, and development (NAEYC
, 2011a).
Advocacy can involve everything from working on behalf of a p
articular child or family to speaking outat the national level. Yo
ur personality, your passion, your available time and energy, an
d your stage ofprofessional development are all likely to influen
ce the kinds of advocacy that are right for you. Whenyou are a n
ovice in the field, advocacy on behalf of a particular child or fa
mily will probably be the bestfit for your interests and abilities.
As you become more experienced, and particularly when you m
oveinto an administrative role, it will be time to reevaluate your
strengths and interests in light of theresponsibilities you have a
ccepted by becoming a leader in the field. It may be time for yo
u to assume aleadership role in your local community, and perha
ps on an even larger stage. Consider the following listto identif
y the kinds of advocacy activities that are right for you:
·
Individual advocacy involves professionals in working on behal
f of children or families. Youengage in this form of advocacy w
hen you help a particular child or family gain access to neededs
ervices. An example of this kind of personal advocacy is pursui
ng speech therapy for the childwhose poor articulation is makin

11. g it difficult for him to have positive interactions with his peers.
Your individual advocacy efforts may also involve sharing your
views with individuals or groups toraise their awareness about a
n issue. This kind of advocacy can be either spontaneous or plan
ned(Robinson & Stark, 2002). Distributing information about th
e Campaign for a Commercial-
FreeChildhood to the families of the children in your program a
nd encouraging them to limit thenumber of commercial message
s to which their children are exposed are examples of individual
advocacy. You are also engaged in individual advocacy when yo
u write a letter to the editor orsubmit a guest editorial to your lo
cal paper.
·
Collective advocacy involves professionals working together on
behalf of a group of people, forexample, young children, famili
es who need child care, or caregivers who are not earning awork
ing wage or receiving appropriate benefits. As an early childhoo
d advocate, you are probablyfocused on securing a “greater soci
etal commitment to improving programs for young children and
more support for early childhood educators” (Jacobson & Simps
on, 2007, p. 92) and in speaking up“because all is not right for c
hildren in our country and the world” (Feeney, 2012, p. 71). Tw
o kindsof collective advocacy target decision makers far remove
d from the daily lives of young childrenand their families:
·
Public policy advocacy may involve you in efforts to influence
public policies and practices tomake them more responsive to th
e needs of children and families. Public policy advocateschallen
ge those who develop laws, regulations, and policies to support
young children, theirfamilies, and the caregivers with whom the
y spend their days (Robinson & Stark, 2002). When aprofession
al organization such as your state NAEYC affiliate communicat
es its position on an issuerelated to children and families to the
state legislature, the organization’s spokespersons areengaged i
n collective public policy advocacy.
· Private-

12. sector advocacy is designed to influence business leaders’ practi
ces and policies. Someprivate-
sector advocates work to make the workplace more family frien
dly, while others focus oneliminating violence in toys and child
ren’s media, or work to ensure that toys are made from safe,non
toxic materials. Successful private-
sector advocacy efforts have increased the number ofcorporatio
ns that offer employees flexible schedules, job sharing, telecom
muting, and part-
timeemployment. They also have increased the number of corpo
rations that offer on-site employer-
supported child care and have led to the removal of unsafe toys
from store shelves.
We hope that you will continue the field’s tradition of advocacy
by seizing opportunities to speak out forthose who are most vul
nerable and unable to speak out for themselves.
Application Activity
Identify an issue facing your center, your community, or your st
ate. Identify who might help youresolve this issue. Should the ta
rget of your advocacy be local policy makers, state-
level legislators,or corporate leaders? Identify strategies likely t
o be most effective to bring attention andeventually action to re
medy the problem or resolve the issue.Becoming an Effective A
dvocate
Becoming an effective advocate is an important part of becomin
g a mature professional. However, manyearly childhood educato
rs who enjoy their work with children find it difficult to speak
with authority toadults, particularly to public-
sector or business policy makers. That may be because working
directlywith children requires a different skill set than speaking
out in a public arena. Nevertheless, we knowthat if we are to att
ract the public support needed to create a robust, high-
quality, and sustainable systemof early care and education, we
must be effective advocates.
One strategy that helps ensure success is to create coalitions of
support and to network with otherindividuals or groups who sha

13. re your cause (Ellison & Barbour, 1992; Levine, 1992). That ma
y meanlinking with providers of special services such as speech
or occupational therapists, or working withsupport groups for m
others such as Mom’s Rising, a grassroots effort designed to sup
port family-
friendlypolicies and practices. Review Figure 13.2, Characterist
ics of Effective Advocates. It may inspire you totake action abo
ut an issue related to children, families, and child care personne
l.
Figure 13.2
Characteristics of Effective Advocates
Sources: Based on Blank, 1997; Robinson & Stark, 2002; Teles
& Schmitt, 2011.
Application Activity
Learn about the career of a successful early childhood advocate.
Consider the list below ofadvocates who championed the cause
s important to early childhood educators. You can probablyident
ify others who have been successful speaking out on behalf of c
hildren and families in a local,state, national, or international ar
ena. Learn about the major accomplishments of the advocate yo
uhave selected to research and identify how they contributed to
the well-
being of children andfamilies. Be prepared to share your finding
s with your class.
·
Susan Blow opened the first public kindergarten in St. Louis in
1873. Her goal was to givechildren experiences that would make
them love learning.
·
Margaret McMillan and her sister Rachel opened the first nurser
y school in London in 1911 toprovide the children of factory wo
rkers with opportunities to play outdoors in a safeenvironment.
·
James L. Hymes, Jr. was one of the founders of Head Start in 19
63. He spent his entire careerteaching parents and caregivers ho

14. w to support children’s learning, growth, and development.
·
Marian Wright Edelman founded the Children’s Defense Fund i
n 1973 to address inequalitiescreated by poverty and other risks
children face to their well-being.
· Susan Linn founded the Campaign for a Commercial-
Free Childhood in 2000 in response toconcerns about marketing
to children and the commercialization of childhood.
·
J. Ronald Lally founded For Our Babies, an advocacy initiative
focused on qualityprogramming for very young children in 2014
.An Advocate’s Toolbox
Effective advocates are good communicators. They know what t
hey want to achieve. They express thefacts clearly, directly, and
accurately, and are explicit about their goals (Jacobson & Simp
son, 2007).Advocates sometimes need to be ready to act on shor
t notice, such as when the legislature is preparing tovote on an i
ssue affecting children and families. In other instances, advocat
es have time to set goals forwhat they want to accomplish in the
future and can build coalitions around specific issues. In thesei
nstances, when time is not of the essence, they may become inv
olved with political action campaignsand can take their time to i
dentify candidates receptive to helping advance issues in suppor
t of childrenand families.
Effective advocates have many tools at their disposal. Every ad
vocacy effort must be tailored to meet aparticular audience’s ne
ed for information about the problem you have identified and th
e role theycould play to help you reach the solution you propose
. Consider how each of these advocacy tools mightcontribute to
the success of your own efforts to advocate on behalf of childre
n, families, and those whocare for them.
·
Position statements are expressions of professional organization
s’ official stance on issues related totheir mission. NAEYC, the
Division of Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptio
nal Children(CEC), the Southern Early Childhood Association (

15. SECA), and the Association for Childhood EducationInternation
al (ACEI) have developed position statements addressing contro
versial or critical issuesrelated to early childhood education pra
ctice, policy, and professional development. Sometimes two orm
ore professional organizations develop position statements toget
her. For example, Early ChildhoodMathematics: Promoting Goo
d Beginnings (NAEYC and the National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics,2010) is a joint position statement of NAEYC and
the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics(NCTM). In ot
her instances, allied organizations embrace each other’s positio
n statements, as SECA didwhen they endorsed the NAEYC Code
of Ethical Conduct.
Position statements include extensive reviews of the literature a
nd are a valuable foundation uponwhich to base your advocacy e
fforts. They can be extremely helpful as you prepare to testify o
n behalf oflegislation or to meet with policy makers in other set
tings, but are not usually appropriate to share withlegislators or
other decision makers because they are too in-
depth and detailed for their purposes.
·
White papers are reports developed by organizations to describe
a problem and propose a solution.These advocacy documents of
ten include many facts and figures that can be used to support th
e solutionyou propose.
·
A briefing paper or issue brief typically describes one problem,
describes the policy you propose, andgives an example of how t
he policy you propose is working in another locale. Legislators
are particularlyinterested in policies in neighboring states, so pr
ovide close-to-
home examples whenever possible(Robinson & Stark, 2002).
·
Talking points are short and to the point. They include “‘sound
bites’ telling why you support or opposea particular policy or de
cision” (Robinson & Stark, 2002, p. 82). Advocates find talking
points very usefulthen they meet with policy makers or talk to t

16. he media.
·
Key facts handouts are an advocacy tool intended for the public,
policy makers, and the media. Theyare short (one- or two-
page) to-the-
point summaries of the basic facts surrounding your issue and cl
earlystate the steps that you recommend policy makers take base
d on these facts. Any statistics you referencemust be accurate an
d up to date (Robinson & Stark, 2002). See Figure 13.3 for an e
xample of a Key FactsHandout that advocates for changes to So
uth Carolina’s child care regulations.
Figure 13.3
Key Facts Handout
Sources: AAP/APHA/NRCHSCC, 2011; Child Care Aware® of
America, 2013; NAEYC, 2014; NAEYC, 1993; South Carolina
Departmentof Social Services, 2005.
This Key Facts Handout briefly highlights research that support
s low ratios and class size, providesinformation about neighbori
ng states’ child care regulations, and makes specific recommend
ations forSouth Carolina policy makers to consider.
·
Concrete examples are compelling and often effective ways to d
emonstrate the importance of the policyor initiative you are reco
mmending. If you are advocating for quality programs for 4-
year-
olds, forexample, you will want to give policy makers a glimpse
into a classroom with many authentic hands-
onexperiences, and you will need to identify what children learn
when they build with blocks or dress upin the dramatic play ce
nter. You can do this by inviting policy makers to your center or
by taking thecenter to them with photos, short videos, and real-
life success stories (Jacobson & Simpson, 2007). Oryour advoca
cy efforts might focus on efforts to make quality care more acce
ssible and affordable. In thatcase, you could give policy makers
the opportunity to hear from a family struggling to gain access t

17. oquality care for their young children.
Watch this video to hear a father describe the challengeshis mil
itary family, who was new to the community, facedwhen trying t
o find quality child care for their young child.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRbfZr6Ty1k
·
Action alerts mobilize advocates to take immediate action. They
are typically emailed to supporters andurge them to contact thei
r legislators immediately to ask them to support children and fa
milies whenthey cast their votes on specific legislation. You can
expect action alerts to include the phone numbersand email add
resses of targeted legislators and specific facts advocates can us
e in their message(Robinson & Stark, 2002).
Application Activity
Find examples of a variety of advocacy materials online. Positio
n papers are typically linkeddirectly from organizations’ websit
es. Other advocacy materials can be found by searching on theIn
ternet. Look, for example, for NAEYC’s current public policy ta
lking points, the American LibraryAssociation’s white paper, “T
he Importance of Diversity in Library Programs and MaterialsC
ollections for Children,” or the National Art Association’s serie
s of white papers describing thevalue of arts education. Evaluat
e how successful you think the materials you find are likely to b
e.
Many organizations focused on young children and their familie
s have become more active in theadvocacy arena in recent years.
It is likely their stepped-
up efforts have been prompted by their hopethat they can restor
e funding that was cut from bare-
bones local, state, and federal budgets in theaftermath of the 20
08 economic slowdown. As the economy has recovered, some in
itiatives have beensuccessful in increasing support for programs
focused on children’s issue, but the competition for thesemonie
s is intense. We recommend that you rely on advocacy materials
created by national organizationsthat support your own local-
or state-

18. level advocacy efforts, whether you are concerned with expandi
nginfant/toddler or 4K programs, or increasing services to youn
g children with special needs and theirfamilies. Some organizati
ons active in leading advocacy efforts are listed at the end of thi
s chapter. Youmay know of other advocacy groups that address i
ssues faced in your own community.
Watch this Week of the Young Child video to see how onestate
effectively highlighted the benefits of quality earlychildhood pr
ogramming. Videos like these can be emailed topolicy makers o
r used by television stations as public serviceannouncements.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNy0nYtrtvU
NAEYC sponsors an annual Week of the Young Child in mid-
April. This might be an ideal advocacyopportunity when used as
a platform for informing the public and elected officials about i
ssues relatedto young children and their families; to spotlight a
local champion for children; or to grow grassrootsadvocacy effo
rts by involving students, programs, and providers in high-
profile activities (Advocates inAction, 2009). By coordinating a
dvocacy efforts in your community, city, or state, you can incre
ase thechances for presenting a unified message that is likely to
have a greater impact than would be a single,isolated effort. The
NAEYC website has many suggestions for how you might take
Week of the YoungChild activities out into your community.
Watch this video to see how one community has engagedits loc
al TV station in their efforts to share information aboutthe Wee
k of the Young Child and the contributions of qualityearly child
hood programming.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2ECFiAsqKcImportant Re
minders!
We hope we have inspired you to become an effective advocate
for young children and families on thelocal, state, or national le
vel. It is important to remember, however, that some agencies or
organizationsprohibit their employees from taking a public stan
d on controversial issues. Before you or members ofyour staff s
peak out publically, you need to be certain that you are followin
g your employer’s policiesrelated to advocacy activities. You m

19. ay not be permitted to participate in rallies or other demonstrati
onsduring work hours, and may be prohibited from identifying y
ourself as a public employee in a letter tothe editor or a guest e
ditorial in your local paper. It is best to find out about any restri
ctions that mightlimit how you can speak out before your comm
unity is engaged in heated public debate. That way, youcan be a
ssured that center personnel will appreciate that the limits you s
et are not intended to silencetheir weighing in on a particular is
sue but are, instead, designed to adhere to the agency’s establis
hedpolicies.
You also need to be aware of limitations that apply to 501(c)(3)
affiliates of NAEYC and other nonprofitorganizations, and to yo
ur program if it has this nonprofit designation. It is not permissi
ble, for example,for nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations to recogn
ize elected officials who are candidates for reelection withan aw
ard during an election year. That means that it would not be pos
sible for your local NAEYC affiliateto honor your local state se
nator as a Champion for Children after she has announced her c
andidacy forreelection (NAEYC, 2004b).
If the kinds of advocacy efforts described earlier are not permitt
ed by your employer, we encourage youto share information wit
h your friends and family. Maybe you will inspire them to advoc
ate on behalf ofchildren and families.
A Better Way
Grace has become comfortable as a supervisor, mentor, and coa
ch to the teachers in her center, and sheis beginning to see herse
lf as a leader in the local early childhood community. She was n
ot willing,however, to talk to the newspaper reporter who recent
ly asked her to comment on proposed changes tothe state’s child
care regulations. She does not consider herself an expert on tha
t issue and did not wantto make a misstatement she would later
regret.
After studying the guidelines describing tools of effective advoc
ates, Grace decided that she needed tobecome better informed a
bout how the proposed reduction in child–
staff ratios for licensed centerscould improve child outcomes. S

20. he attended public hearings on the issue and networked with the
directors of other high-
quality programs in her community. After checking with her boa
rd of directorsto be certain public advocacy would not violate a
ny established policies, she studied relevant positionstatements
and prepared a key facts handout to summarize the points she w
anted to make. She calledback the reporter and agreed to be inte
rviewed on the topic. She knew she had done the right thingwhe
n the parents of the children in her program thanked her for spe
aking out publicly on behalf ofquality.
13.3 INVESTING IN THE PROFESSION’S FUTURESupporting
Developing Professionals
When you help others find their place in the profession of early
care and education,you are engaging in a particular form of lead
ership. Some of the ways programadministrators can help others
find their place in the profession are by:
·
being a resource for those who want to know more about career
options forthose who specialize in early childhood education.
·
welcoming students enrolled in internships or other courses that
require themto observe or interact with young children or famil
ies.
·
mentoring and coaching novices to enhance their skills and kno
wledge ofyoung children and early childhood education.
·
encouraging emerging leaders to enhance their professional kno
wledge byenrolling in postsecondary degree programs; pursuing
advanced professionaldevelopment opportunities; and participat
ing in professional organizations,including attending and presen
ting at local, regional, and nationalconferences.Supporting Rese
arch
One way your program can contribute to the profession is by ser

21. ving as a practicum site forbeginning students.
David Kostelnik/Pearson Education
Another way you can contribute to the future of the field is by i
nviting researcherswith projects investigating topics related to c
hildren, families, teaching, or learningto consider conducting th
eir research at your center. You will first want to becertain any
research involving the children or teachers at your center is inco
mpliance with NAEYC’s Code of Ethical Conduct. That means
no research thatcould jeopardize children’s well-
being would be permitted; and that potentialparticipants in the s
tudy, both teachers and children’s families, are informed inadva
nce and have the opportunity, but are not required, to participat
e.
Then you will want to ask researchers if their project has been a
pproved by theappropriate institutional review board (IRB). Thi
s review requires researchers tohave a plan to gain participants’
consent and to have procedures in place to protectthe privacy of
participating children and adults. Once you are convinced those
requirements have been met, we advise you, whenever possible,
to grant researchrequests and invite researchers involved in exp
anding the field’s knowledge baseinto your program.Teachers as
Researchers
It is important to appreciate that research can be conducted not
only by scholarssuch as university-
based researchers, but also by teachers in their own classrooms(
Cochran-
Smith & Lytle, 1999). Teachers involved in this kind of action r
esearch(which is sometimes called teacher research) explore pra
ctical questions withintheir own world of work “to better unders
tand teaching and learning and toimprove practice in specific an
d concrete ways” (Stremmel, 2007, p. 4). Teacherresearch suppo
rts reflective teaching, and has the potential to become an every
dayevent that informs practice (Paley, 1981; Murphy, Bryant, &
Ingram, 2014).
When teachers become researchers in their own classrooms they
move away fromthe view that they transmit knowledge to childr

22. en and toward the view that theyconstruct knowledge and under
standings with the children they teach (Moran,2007; Murphy, Br
yant, & Ingram, 2014). Action research can also take teachers to
the cutting edge of best practices and can give them opportuniti
es to collaboratewith colleagues, university researchers, and pre
service teacher preparationprograms (Charlesworth & DeBoer, 2
000; Cooney, Buchanan, & Parkinson, 2001; Moran, 2007).
Program administrators who are committed to action research of
ten support theirteachers’ inquiry by making it part of the progr
am’s culture. They can help to buildbeginners’ confidence by gi
ving novices opportunities to conduct research projectswith a m
entor or a partner. When two or more teachers work together, th
ey bringbroader perspectives to their inquiry, and the analysis o
f their findings may bemore insightful (Dietze et al., 2014). Dir
ectors can also encourage teachers to createstudy groups where t
hey work together to “intentionally and systematicallyresearch a
nd answer their own questions” (Murphy, Bryant, & Ingram, 20
14, p. 29).When teachers embark on teacher research, directors
often find that it has becomea very powerful and effective form
of professional development that makes roomfor in-
depth, intellectual conversations during which teachers ask and
answer theirown questions (Murphy, Bryant, & Ingram, 2014, p.
29).
SUMMARY
When you become a program administrator, you are taking the f
irst steptoward becoming a leader in the field. You will have inc
reased opportunitiesto contribute to efforts to enhance the qualit
y of programming for youngchildren. We hope you are looking f
orward to the challenges andopportunities to come.
·
Describe how the field of early childhood education has made pr
ogressachieving two of the eight criteria of professional status.
Professionals possess specialized knowledge, have rigorous req
uirements forentry, and have agreed-

23. upon standards of practice. Practitioners meet asignificant socie
tal need, are altruistic and service oriented, provide anindispens
able service, and are recognized as the only group in society tha
t canperform its function. Professions have autonomy and have
a code of ethics thatspells out its obligations to society. The fiel
d clearly meets the code of ethicscriterion. NAYEC’s Code of E
thical Conduct was first adopted in 1989 and hasbeen revised re
gularly since that time. And publically funded programs have,in
recent years, raised the bar for entry into the field. As a result,
more arecoming into early childhood education with specialized
training thatprepares them to teach young children.
·
Identify the advocacy tools that early childhood advocates shoul
d have at theirdisposal.
Early childhood educators engage in both individual and collect
ive forms ofadvocacy, which may address either those who shap
e public policy ordecision makers in the private sector. They rel
y on position statements andwhite papers to develop a comprehe
nsive understanding of the issues, issuebriefs, talking points, ke
y fact handouts, and concrete examples to take theirmessage to t
heir audience; and action alerts to mobilize fellow advocates tot
ake action.
·
Discuss opportunities program administrators have to contribute
to the field’sfuture.
Program administrators have opportunities to develop future lea
ders bybeing a resource to those considering a career in early ch
ildhood, bywelcoming students into their centers to complete as
signments, by mentoringand coaching novices, and by encouragi
ng emerging leaders to enhance theirknowledge and skills. They
can also make their program available toqualified researchers a
nd support their teachers’ implementation of actionresearch to p
romote reflective practice and to inform their teaching.
USEFUL WEBSITESWebsites for Professional Ethics Resource
sNational Association for the Education of Young Children (NA

24. EYC)
·
Follow the Position Statement link to the Code of Ethical Condu
ct and itsSupplements:
· NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct (2011)
·
El Código de Conducta Ética y Declaración de Compromiso (20
11)
· Supplement for Adult Educators (2004)
·
Supplement for Program Administrators (2011)Websites for Ad
vocacy ResourcesCampaign for a Commercial Free Childhood
This nonprofit is dedicated to raising families’ and caregivers’ a
wareness ofthe pervasive influence of commercial messages targ
eting children and tosupport their efforts to raise healthy famili
es by ending the exploitive practiceof marketing directly to chil
dren.Family and Work Institute
This nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization focuses on the
changingworkforce, the changing family, and the communities i
n which they live.Moms Rising
This grassroots advocacy organization strives to raise the public
’s awarenessand build support for issues related to children and
families. Its goal is to buildmore family-
friendly communities.NAEYC Advocacy Toolkit
This comprehensive resource addresses many facets of effective
advocacy. Itincludes helpful information about the legislative p
rocess and effectivestrategies for creating relationships with leg
islators.Zero to Three
The mission of this nonprofit organization is to promote the hea
lth anddevelopment of infants and toddlers through training of p
rofessionals, policymakers, and families.Website for Reports of
Teacher ResearchVoices of Practitioners
The collection of teacher research reports found by following li
nks from thiswebsite demonstrates how teachers conduct inquiry
projects in their ownclassrooms to help them understand their c
hildren, teaching, and learning.They are inspiring examples that

25. might encourage you to try similar projectsin your classroom or
center.
TO REFLECT
1.
Have you ever noticed that professional conference sessions foc
used onpublic policy or systems development are likely to have
plenty of emptyseats, whereas sessions such as “Music for Mon
day Mornings” are standingroom only? What do you think this s
ays about our profession? How couldthis situation be changed?
2.
A class in administration is discussing collaboration. One stude
ntcommented, “We always talk about all we can accomplish thro
ughcollaboration, but doesn’t collaboration come at a cost?” Wh
at are the costsof collaboration?
1Versions of this discussion have been published in “The New F
ace of EarlyChildhood Education: Who Are We? Where Are We
Going?” by N. K. Freemanand S. Feeney, 2006, Young Children
, 61(5), pp. 10–
16, and also in“Professionalism and Ethics in Early Care and Ed
ucation,” by N. K. Freemanand S. Feeney, 2009, Continuing Iss
ues in Early Childhood Education (3rd ed.,pp. 196–
211), by S. Feeney, A. Galper, and C. Seefeldt (eds.), Upper Sa
ddle River,NJ: Pearson.