The first international organization I researched and found
intriguing is the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI).
ACEI is "an international organization driven by the belief that education
is essential to human development." I am interested in this organization
because I believe that human development is dependent upon education. As a
life-long learner I believe that education is important to our global health. It
is through education that we understand the world and all who set foot on this
earth.
A position I found within this organization is the role of
Country Liaison. This is a volunteer position but one that I believe is critically
important for the sake of informing the global conversation through a local
lens. Liaisons represent countries from around the globe and provide
information bi-annually to ACEI which is shared with the global community.
These liaisons must have the following knowledge and experience: "A
Country Liaison should have experience in a nation's or region's education,
economic, and/or social systems, and have professional experience in global education,
international development, child and human rights, or related
disciplines."
The second organization that I find fascinating is the Council
for Exceptional Children (CEC). This international organization "builds
relationships between educators who are working with special and gifted
education children. The CEC is dedicated to improving education for children
with disabilities in addition to children demonstrating unique gifts and
talents" (Rasmussen College, 2012). I found this to be interesting because
we often hear about organizations for children with varying disabilities but infrequently
do I learn of one that also focuses on gifted and talented education.
There are no currently available jobs at CEC but one that
sounds interesting is the Manager of Professional Development and Standards.
The person in this role manages the organizations "webinars, online
learning, Professional Development Hours, and Professional Standards and
Practice program reviewers and web page." I think to fulfill this role one
would need knowledge and experience in exceptional education as well as
distance learning and adult education.
The third organization that is interesting to me is Educational
Credential Evaluators (ECE). I have seen many teachers who have education
from other countries who struggle to have those credits recognized by local
agencies and organizations. Below you will see how ECE aims to ensure that all
education is recognized whether obtained in the US or abroad.
Although this organization is not specific to early
childhood I do see a need for this type of service for early education
professionals. Many teachers in my community come from other countries and have
trouble obtaining credit for their education which was completed in their
country of origin. In my role as an early childhood coach I would love to have
the ability to look at those transcripts and support the teachers in their
ability to identify the amount of credit that will be given within my state on
the AZ Early Childhood Workforce Registry. No career opportunities are
currently available at this organization. However, I would love to know more
about becoming a member of their team as an educational evaluator.
References
Association for
Childhood Education International. (n.d.) Who
we are. Retrieved from https://www.acei.org/about/
Council for
Exceptional Children. (2018). Headquarters
staff. Retrieved from https://www.cec.sped.org/About-Us/Contact-Us/Headquarters-Staff
Educational
Credential Evaluators. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.ece.org/ECE
Rasmussen
College. (2012, Dec. 28) 5 Professional
ECE associations you can't ignore. Retrieved from https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/education/blog/5-professional-ece-assocations-you-cant-ignore/
I wish you all the best as you continue your work and advocacy in the early education field.
