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Advocacy to promote children's wellbeing and rights |
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Have you ever looked a child who is suffering in the eyes and asked if that person doesn't deserve more from life?
Advocacy is a way to raise issues and ask for change to make a difference for children's lives. Yet, it can sometimes seem daunting. Learning how other early childhood professionals approach the task can give us ideas, but there has been no research published to document the experience of these professionals. So a thesis (Smale, 2009) was undertaken, within the Master of Teaching (Early Childhood) at Melbourne University, to do this. Five early childhood professionals were interviewed, working primarily in kindergartens, with one in long day care. Here are some of the main learnings from this research.
VISION AND GOALS
The early childhood professionals generally described advocacy as being a voice for children, with some seeing aspects of activism part of it too. They commonly felt a sense of responsibility (or obligation) and social justice to drive their advocacy. This seems to reflect the ethical obligations of all early childhood professionals, as spelt out in Early Childhood Australia's (ECA) Code of Ethics: To advocate 'the rights of children as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1991)' (2006, section I, point two).
The early childhood professionals included statements of children's rights within their goals of advocacy, including a right to quality early childhood education and care. Hence, advocacy for the profession was seen as part of advocacy for children and families by many of these early childhood professionals. They also recognised the important role of parents in enacting their children's rights.
ACTIVITIES
Range of advocacy activities engaged in by the early childhood professionals:
Talking to:
- talk-back radio
- parents, other staff and management within own workplaces
- children's services advisors and other early childhood professionals
- professionals outside the early childhood arena
Writing:
- letters to specialist children's services, newspapers, politicians and senior public servants (sometimes representing and quoting parents)
- newsletters to parents, other early childhood services and professionals
- submissions to government enquiries
- press releases
- grant applications (for funding to support quality in a program)
Requesting and supporting the advocacy of:
- parents
- children
- other staff (e.g. to management)
- management (e.g. to parents)
- Indigenous families
- other early childhood professionals (e.g. recruiting them to organise cultural awareness training)
Discussing advocacy goals with:
- staff team in workplace
- own group of early childhood professionals (e.g. advocacy group)
- children
Documenting children's competencies
Engaging media:
- holding events that attract media attention
- focus on local media
Supporting the training of other advocates:
- writing book chapters on advocacy
Delivering conference presentations, keynote speeches and running workshops and training seminars
Linking own advocacy group to similar groups of early childhood professionals overseas
Receiving support and resources from other early childhood organisations, such as the Free Kindergarten Association, Early Childhood Australia, Community Care and the Australian Education Union.
COLLABORATION
The early childhood professionals all discussed involving other people in most of their advocacy efforts. Within their workplaces, they described collaborating with other staff, parents and families, along with children. They mentioned directly involving children, through supporting and promoting children's own advocacy. For children to be seen as competent was listed amongst the goals of these professionals. David* mentioned a child being quoted in a press release, while Heidi and Gabrielle indicated the ways in which children demonstrating something can serve advocacy.
Collaboration within groups of early childhood professionals, outside the workplace, was a very important aspect of advocacy described by these professionals. All were involved in a local teachers' network or dedicated advocacy group. They mainly indicated discussion of advocacy goals, advocating to politicians and policy-makers within these groups. Other such activities included engaging the media and supporting the advocacy training of other early childhood professionals.
More broadly, networking with other professionals, community members and organisations was also described by the early childhood professionals. This included advocacy to other early childhood professionals, and making links with, supporting and receiving support from other organisations. Engaging the media through press releases and contributing to public debate through the media was also mentioned.
FOCUS
Within their own workplaces, advocacy to children was discussed by these early childhood professionals as incorporated within their education of children, their interventions for change with children and empowerment of them. To management, advocacy was most commonly discussed in terms of educating management regarding work with children. Advocacy to other staff was referred to as leadership and also supporting the self-advocacy of families to other staff.
Supporting and educating parents to better understand their children was a main focus of advocacy to parents described in the study. Joanne actually mentioned running a parent education course at her kindergarten after hours. Advocacy to parents also centred mainly upon advocacy for the running of the early childhood professionals' own program for the children.
Children's rights were the most common focus of advocacy when networking with other professionals, community members and organisations. Supporting the rights of special groups of children was mentioned by Joanne, Cath and Gabrielle. Gabrielle also stressed children's rights in early childhood planning. Advocacy to politicians and policy-makers most commonly focused upon (early childhood) programs for children, but also included advocacy for other services for them, plus advocacy for refugee children in particular.
CONCLUSION
Advocacy involves aspects of the early childhood role, in which most early childhood professionals may already engage without actually calling it that. Extending it to activities like voicing children's rights and needs to other community groups or politicians is more easily undertaken when one finds the support and mentorship of other like-minded professionals. The most important advice learned from the research is to network and find those people who can help advance the cause-they are out there!!
Sarina Smale
Committee Member, Mental Health for the Young and their Families (Victorian Group)
*Pseudonyms are used to protect the confidentially of participating early childhood professionals.
References
Smale, S. (2009). Early childhood professionals' perceptions and experiences of advocacy for children's wellbeing. Master of Teaching (Early Childhood) Thesis, Melbourne University.
Recommended reading
Fennimore, B. S. (1989). Child advocacy for early childhood educators. New York: Teachers College Press.
Keiff, J. (2009). Informed advocacy in early childhood care and education: Making a difference for young children and their families. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 22 October 2010 )
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