ECE Advocacy Midterm Flashcards
Advocating is easiest when it’s….
Something that is important to you personally, start with your own story.
Characteristics of an Effective Advocate
Confidence
Professionalism
Active Listening
Knowledge
Body language
Consistency of the message
Calm temper
Un-bias
Knowing when your message is being herd
Collaborative
Research skills
Presentation skills
To be able to take you self out of it to benefit others
Levels of Advocacy
Micro “Silent”
Mezzo “Small a”
Macro “big A”
Micro “silent”
Conducting oneself ethically and professionally in one’s day to day work.
Mezzo “small a”
Actively speaking up for children and families at the centre level
Macro “big A”
Actively seeking out opportunities to challenge the prevailing social-political order, impacts policy or legislative change
ECEs as childcare Advocates
Examining the Scope of Childcare Advocacy Carried Out By ECEs from the Perspective of Childcare Movement Actors in Ontario and Manitoba
Explains the idea that ECE is primarily engage on the micro and meso level and an analyst on why
It’s easier to advocate for something when your….
Passionate about it
Advocacy is more passionate and from the heart when …
it’s your own story
Less experience you have on the topic the less……
Impact it has
The key to advocate well is…
Education
Characteristics of an Effective Advocate
• Confidence
• Professionalism
• Active listening
• Knowledge
• Body language
• Consistency of the message
• Calm temper
• Un-bias
• Knowing when your message is being herd
• Collaborative
• Research skills
• Presentation skills
• To be able to take you self out of it to benefit others
Level of advocacy is determined by
Who the receiver is of the advocacy, who is impacted or your target audience and what you are advocating for
The continuum of Advocacy is…
with impacts from ourselves (self-advocacy)
to single individuals
to mass impact of many people
Examples of Micro “silent” advocacy
• talking to a professional / colleague about a specific topic within the field
• ensuring child and youth well being & resilience
• if you are working ethically, you are providing a quality program, impacting quality which is advocating
• it’s what you do every day
• individual impact
Examples of Mezzo “silent” advocacy
Mezzo - helping families navigate the subsidy system, securing additional services through CF, JMCC, etc, fundraising for the centre/program
• ensuring parent & family well-being
• program well-being, supportive work environment
• individual impact
Examples of Macro Advocacy
Macro- participating in / organizing rallies, writing to politicians possibly in coordination with an advocacy group like the AECEO - being a member, impacting federal policy, participate in building a federal child care program that is Canada wide
• attending city council meeting to garner support - dependent on what you are advocating for whether it’s Messe or macro
• speak to the value of the profession and fight for fair wages
• impacting the masses
ECEs primarily engage in ______ and _____ advocacy
Why?
Micro and Mezzo
• a lack of understanding or knowledge about larger system and policy issues;
• a lack of confidence on the part of ECEs;
• a lack of time to devote to the broader advocacy movement; and
•instability of the field, including the immediate work environment.
Professionalism is too often conceptualized as_______ _______ ______ rather than developing the professional autonomy to critically reflect on and discuss the larger political issues around the childcare system (Urban, 2010).
applying technical knowledge
______ _______also appeared to prevent ECEs from engaging in “big A” advocacy.
Simply put, the day-to-day work of an ECE is hectic.
Practical barriers
If ECEs were presented with flexible opportunities to meet and discuss their work in relation to the broader sector, it might …..
facilitate unity within this ever-fragmented sector
Advocacy is…
is building support for an issue among audiences such as the general public, elected officials, the media, and key opinion leaders.
Examples of General public
May include families, children, colleagues
Elected officials:
Municipally (Locally), provincially, federally
Media
Social media, Tv/. Radio broadcasting
Opinion leaders
Ministry of education, policy makers, advisors
“We believe that a ________ ____ ______ is a vital foundation for all who work with young children” (Teaching Advocacy in Early Years Initial Teacher Education, 2009)
commitment to advocacy
The purpose of early childhood advocacy is to……
is to improve the lives of children and families by influencing legislators’ and policymakers’ opinions and activities.
To carry out their responsibilities, public officials require and welcome the advice that well-informed people (like you) provide.
You are an advocate if you have ever:
• talked to someone about the benefit of child care services & how to access them helped a family receive additional services
• stood up for someone who was being treated unfairly
• participated in a city council meeting
Key Issues in our field that’s would warrant advocacy
• The High Costs of Child Care - affordable
•RECE wages
• Funding - partial funding - FS to move towards a more universally funded system which would increase accessibility
• Accessibility - there is not enough licensed child care to meet growing demands
• Language and cultural barriers for families
• Greater cultural competency training