TIME WELL SPENT

Whoa, still seems like a dream, I am now a Master’s degree holder in the early childhood field. I remember when I first started, I tried to imagine when it would be over, but I told myself, take one step after the other and hold on to your passion, commitment, dreams, be strong and you would see, you will get to the finishing line standing strong a different and better person.  I am grateful to God, my family, my parents, Walden institution, Walden instructors and my colleagues, without all these support, I would not be writing this heartfelt message today.

My experience with my program at Walden has truly being remarkable and a measurable professional growth for me; it has truly broadened my view of the world, of issues affecting children, families, and the early childhood field across the globe.

Three deeply felt learning experiences from this program are that:

 I need to have a passion, a vision, understand myself and strive to achieve greatness, to make a difference in the world. I am a different person both personally and professionally, I understand my strengths, weakness, bias, passions and desires, and more convinced and focused on the role I have to play in the lives of children, families, and the early childhood field.

I have also learn that to truly contribute to making changes, as educators or professionals, we need not sit on the fence but stand up for issues, take up leadership roles and also lead or be a part of advocacy for change.

 I have come to realize the importance of collaborative effort and its impact in achieving greater goals, and also ways to go about bringing together people who share similar interest with you together, in order to make a difference in the world

My long term goal is to continue to develop myself professionally, through reading resources, and networking, and also continue to pursue my advocacy effort for more focus on play, and probably in the near future go for my doctorate degree.

I would like to say my farewells to all my instructors at Walden, and a big thank you to Dr. Teri, for her support and constructive criticisms; it really made me a better writer and accomplished my research challenge more confidently. I would like to thank all my colleagues, and say a big farewell to everyone; you have all made a significant impact to my success. I say thank you all, and wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

BEST WISHES

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

For this week, while exploring various international early childhood organization while trying could  imagine myself in the variety of jobs that foster the well-being of children, families, and the early childhood field, several organizations caught my interest based on their mission and vision for the children, families and the early childhood field across the world. Three of the organizations and the job opportunities of interest are discussed below

 Child Fund International is an organization inspired and driven by the potential that is inherent in all children; the potential not only to survive but to thrive, to become leaders who bring positive change for those around them (Child fund, 2013).

Their goal is to help deprived, excluded and vulnerable children living in poverty have the capacity to become young adults, parents and leaders who bring lasting and positive change to their communities and also work to promote societies whose individuals and institutions participate in valuing, protecting, and advancing the worth and the rights of children (Child fund, 2013).

The job opportunity of interest is the Program Officer

The Program officer will work within the Program Development Division to provide technical support for Child Fund's Early Childhood Development Campaign. The Program Officer (PO) will work collaboratively with home office and field-based colleagues in support of effective program development, enhanced program learning, and resource development, in line with Child Fund's theory of change for infants and young children (Child fund, 2013).

I believe this position will help me grow professionally because position offer significant opportunity for growth and independent direction and many opportunities for leadership on initiatives and partnerships (Child fund, 2013)

Some of the minimum requirements are a bachelor degree related to early childhood development and maternal child health and nutrition or similar field and/or equivalent relevant experience, 1-3 years of experience in international development, or some experience living or working in a developing country required and a demonstrated exposure to program design, implementation and evaluation concepts, preferably relevant to related to early childhood development or gender

I believe I have the qualification, I have also lived in a developing nation and have knowledge about team work which I could foster better through this job but I do not have any international experience yet  

Save the Children is the world's leading independent organization for children. They work in around 120 countries saving children's lives; fighting for their rights; and helping them fulfill their potential. This they achieve by inspiring breakthroughs in the way the world treats children and to achieve immediate and lasting changes in their lives (Save the Children,

 Job-Early development specialist

This position is part of the International Program Department of Education and Child development team with a central focus in the area of early childhood care and development (Save the Children,). The Early Childhood Development Specialist will provide technical support to country offices in the design, implementation and monitoring of ECD programs (Save the Children,). In this role the ECD Specialist will contribute to quality assurance and program development by providing remote and in-person technical assistance, building capacity among program staff, and expanding the implementation and continual revision of Save the Children's ECD interventions( Save the Children,)

The Requirements for the position is a Masters in early childhood development, education, or related field, three to five years prior early childhood development program design/ implementation experience, experience in developing countries and an excellent communication skill in English and Spanish.

For this job, I believe that I have the knowledge based on my specialization on Early childhood program’s planning administration and management, the qualification, fluency in English but cannot speak Spanish and do not had those years of experience in any early childhood development program.

The FHI360- The Science of Improving Lives

 FHI 360 is a nonprofit human development organization dedicated to improving lives in lasting ways by advancing integrated, locally driven solutions (FHI360, 2013). Their staff population consists of individuals who are experts in Health, Education, Nutrition, Environment, Economic Development, Civil Society, Gender, Youth, Research and Technology, thereby creating a unique mix of capabilities to address today's interrelated development challenges(FHI360, 2013).

FHI 360 serves more than 60 countries and all U.S. states and territories and their work is grounded in research and science, strengthened by partnerships and focused on building the capacity of individuals, communities and countries to succeed (FHI360, 2013).

To improve lives in lasting ways by advancing integrated, locally driven solutions for human development

They are currently seeking qualified candidates for the position of early childhood Specialist, Region XII (Project Manager I) in Washington, DC or remote location.

The Early Childhood Early (ECE) Specialist will provide technical assistance and training to Head Start Grantees in areas related to school readiness, training and career needs of Grantee staff, and collaboration activities (FHI360, 2013). Some of the minimum requirements for the position is a minimum of a BA or BS Degree in Early Childhood Education, with a preference for a Master's degree, minimum of 5 years experience in programs serving young children, theoretical knowledge of child development, able to speak Spanish fluently and experience working with Migrant and Seasonal Head Start.

I chose this job because I have always imagine myself working for an organization in the United States  and also have experience opportunity with Head start because of the services its provide. Although I might not qualify because of my lack of experience and not being able to speak Spanish, but would definitely like to work in the organization.  

References

Child’s Fund International, (2013). Retrieved from http://www.childfund.org/

   

FHI 360, (2013). Retrieved from http://www.fhi360.org

Save the Children, (2013) Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm

Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: National/Federal Level

Exploring through various national organizations in my country Nigeria for this week, I found three organizations that were of interest based on their goal as a community.

Child Rights Awareness Creation organization.
 CRACO is a community of practice formed based on the passion to render humanitarian services. The organization focuses majorly on creating awareness on children’s rights and promoting same (Child Rights Awareness Campaign organization, 2011).This they achieve through publications, public lectures, songs and film production, and through the media. They work with schools with the aim of impacting human right education on students as well as training teachers to teach same, and they also undertake legal case work on behalf of children, in collaboration with relevant Government agencies (Child Rights Awareness Campaign organization, 2011).  They are interested in the protection of the rights and welfare of women, especially widows who undergo a lot of oppression in our society because they believe Children’s rights and welfare cannot be truly guaranteed if their mothers’ rights and welfare are not guaranteed (Child Rights Awareness Creation organization, 2011).
There are no job openings but membership is open to interested participants. But since I have the knowledge and skill as an early childhood professional, I believe I can contribute in creating public awareness through public lectures, education/ training of teachers and also through publications.

The second community is the Defense for Children International(DCI) is an independent non-governmental 
organization set up to ensure on-going, practical, systematic and concerted international action specially directed towards promoting and protecting the rights of the child.(Defense for children, nd).They Lobby with governments and the United Nations, provide training or education  and research on  child rights, undertake legal casework on behalf of children, and work in partnership with organizations, media,  press and also directly with children in Nigeria .(Defense for children, nd)

There are no job openings but based on their area of expertise which includes Children and the media,  Education and cultural rights, Health and welfare,  cases of violations, Justice, Sexual exploitation and abuse. I believe as a professional in the early childhood, and my various researches on international organizations and how they can support children rights; I believe I can contribute as an advocate and also be directly involved through research, education and training for promoting children’s right to education, healthy, stable and violent/abuse free life

The third is the National Coalition on Children's Rights (NCCR). They work to monitor and implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child nationally in Nigeria. They achieve their advocacy goal through lobbying with the Government and the United Nations; they perform more of implementation role (National Coalition on Children's Rights, nd).
There are no job openings because I could not locate their official website on the internet. But based on their mission of implementing conventions, I believe this requires planning. As an early childhood professional with specialization in Management, Planning and Administration, I believe I can contribute to the organization through planning organization of conventions that seeks to address children’s rights in Nigeria.

References

Child Rights Awareness Creation organization, (2011). Retrieved  from http://cracong.org/index.html
Defense for Children International, (nd) Retrieved November, 22 from Children Rights International Network, (2013). http://www.crin.org/organisations/viewOrg.asp?ID=1150
 National Coalition on Children's Rights,(nd). Retrieved November, 22 from Children Rights International Network, (2013). http://www.crin.org/organisations/viewOrg.asp?ID=1150

Exploring roles in ECE community.

While researching throughout this week on early childhood education community that I could imagine myself taking up jobs that could help me contribute to supporting children, families and the early childhood field as a whole, It was difficult for me to get information about local or state early childhood organization in my country Nigeria or Saudi Arabia, most of the early childhood organization with sufficient information were internationally affiliated. Most of the state or local organizations in my country did not have a website or sufficient information on the web page I found them. At the end of my search I was inspired by three

Save the African Child Development Initiative- is a community-based non-governmental association whose mission to support individuals and organizations working to protect children from Abuse and Neglect in Nigeria, Africa and the world in general. Their Guiding Principle is to listen to children, take their views seriously and promote their interest as well as focus on things that will make a positive difference to children lives, giving priority to vulnerable. (Save the African child development initiative, n.d)

Evergreen CSC( ECSC) is also a community-based  non-governmental association which aim is to eradicate street living among African children, to fight for the right of African child and to build a better tomorrow for children through seminars and workshop. They Provide training or education on child rights, Research child rights, Undertake legal casework on behalf of children, Work directly with children, Work in partnership with organizations, Work with media and press.(EvergreenCSC, n.d)

Edem Children Foundation (ECF-Nigeria) focuses on reducing violence against women, children and young people, reducing the incidence and impact of HIV/AIDS on orphans and vulnerable children, as well as mother-to-child empowerment opportunities. They believe that access to basic services is an integral part of a right based approach to development.( ECF, n.d)

 These associations are all group under the Child Right International Network of Nigeria and the information was retrieved from their webpage. There is no information on job opportunities or membership information on the webpage I got their information from.

References

 Child Right International Network, (2013) http://www.crin.org/

http://www.crin.org/organisations/viewOrg.asp?ID=2044

http://www.crin.org/organisations/viewOrg.asp?ID=3764

Edem Children Foundation, (n.d). Retrieved November, 9, 2013 from http://www.ecfnigeria.8m.com/

APPRECIATION

Reflecting on my experience for the past 8 weeks; I would say that my communication skills has greatly improved and I would continue to work on it for the greater goal of making the difference in the lives of young children and families. I would therefore say THANK YOU to Dr.Thomason for helping me make that remarkable change through her approaches and resources provided for understanding communication better and to be effective in a diverse society. I would also like to thank my colleagues for their insightful and generous comments on my blog post; I really appreciate your support. We are a team as professionals and I wish everyone the best of luck as we embark on another journey. I hope we continue to be better communicators and role models to the lives we touch and the people we interact with. I wish we all continue to improve on our communication skills and continue to make a difference in the world. Finally I sincerely hope I would be a part of Walden Commencement ceremony and have the opportunity to meet every one to celebrate our success and professional growth together. Once again; thank you and best wishes.

Adjourning stage

According to Abudi, (2010) “Every team goes through the five stages of team development. The five stages:

• Stage 1: Forming
• Stage 2: Storming
• Stage 3: Norming
• Stage 4: Performing
• Stage 5: Adjourning

 The adjourning stage is when the team is completing the current project. They will be joining other teams and moving on to other work in the near future. For a high performing team, the end of a project brings on feelings of sadness as the team members have effectively become as one and now are going their separate ways. The team leader should ensure that there is time for the team to celebrate the success of the project and capture best practices for future use. (Or, if it was not a successful project - to evaluate what happened and capture lessons learned for future projects.) This also provides the team the opportunity to say good-bye to each other and wish each other luck as they pursue their next endeavor. It is likely that any group that reached Stage 4: Performing will keep in touch with each other as they have become a very close knit group and there will be sadness at separating and moving on to other projects independently. (Abudi, 2010)

This goes to show that adjourning is crucial and essential in any team work. It indicates success and closure, evaluation and lesson learned, feeling of accomplishment, reflection and moment to make and discuss plans for the future, moment of merry and satisfaction about making a difference. This stage is also good for one’s self esteem, and gears individuals towards striving to achieve positive goals. It’s an emotional phase, filled with joy and sadness; having to say goodbye to group of people you have worked with as a team and support each other’s challenges as a team. Friendship definitely as being formed as human nature builds relationship around interaction, trust, commitment, empathy and support.

Of all the team work I have being a part of, a particular one stood out for me because of the success of the project and the adjourning phase. The team goal was to revive an association magazine. Six members were selected; two female and 4 male all form the field of arts and humanities. It was an amazing experience for me, I learnt a lot and I also got a lot of exposure within a short period of time. At the end the magazine was produced and we moved to the adjourning stage where we all told one another how well we performed and would not mind to working together on another project. We had our farewell ritual with a dinner party at a nice restaurant. The team leader was a wonderful person; He made the event a surprise packaged. It was fun and we all sat down to talk for hours about our dreams and ambitions. We ate, drank and we also got free copies of the magazines as our complimentary gift. Aside from that a certificate was given to members .We are all still good friends, although I lost contact with the other female team mate. I still communicate with the others via phone and social media even though we are far apart.

It has being amazing working with colleagues of different culture at Walden university. We have worked together sharing ideas and perspectives, supporting one another’s growth through interactive discussion and blog posts. I wish our adjourning stage would give me the opportunity to meet everyone in person, in form of an informal ceremony, where we get to talk wine and dine as professionals in the field. I believe some of us would still continue our relationship after this program. We have been like a team, working together for a common goal to acquire a higher degree to make a difference in the lives of young children and their family across the world and the early childhood field in generally. An adjourning phase is therefore needed and I truly hope and pray I am a part of it. I wish everyone all the best in this course and the rest and hope we meet to perform the last stage of our team building.

Reference

Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html

WEEK 5 - Nonviolent Communication and Conflict Management

Conflicts occur in our personal and professional relationships as well as our interaction with our community. Conflicts can either be managed productively or unproductively. Conflict management therefore, refers to the way that we engage in conflict and address disagreements with our relational partners. Unproductive conflict is conflict managed poorly and has negative impact on the individuals and relationships involved. While productive conflict is conflict managed effectively (O’H air & Wiemann, 2012). When we engage in productive conflict management we are able to make better decisions that would be of benefits to parties involved.

A recent disagreement I had was with my husband regarding the choice of preschool for my daughter when she eventually wants to start. My husband and I had not really discussed it but in some ways we had assumed that she would be enrolled in the same school with his colleague’s kids, but as I watched my daughter grow, I began to understand her better. I saw her as a very active ,spirited child who loves to learn new things but in a more unconventional and play-like manner and since I am an advocate of play in the early years I thought I needed to really take my time to ensure the preschool we eventually enroll her into would be able to meet her needs. I decided to discuss it with my husband, there was disagreements because my husband taught the issue of her school was a done-deal ,he had even made enquiries about tuition and some other information about the school meanwhile I was searching for other options. He made me realize that in some ways I had said things that indicated my interest in the school, so why the sudden change, he also said his colleague said ,all the schools offer the same thing, which I disagreed with him. He had a point I had showed and indicated earlier that she could start the preschool but that was before I began to understand my daughter’s personality better. I felt the best I could do was to look for a preschool that shares my goal of learning and create an environment that would enable her discover her full potential. After stating several facts and reasons ranging from locations, to tuition fees, facilities , reputation and teaching and learning strategies, I advised him to make conscious effort to spend more time with her and if he did not understand my point of view ,then I would reconsider. He did, at least for the benefit of doubt; I was surprised when he came to me and asked the schools I have being checking of late .We both concluded we need to search for schools that would meet our desire while given cost into consideration as well as location. We are yet to decide one but at least we have both agreed on what type we want.

I believe our conflict was aimed at bringing about a better decision for an important plan in our family; our daughter’s education, it was therefore necessary we took a productive step, despite the fact that we both had our reasons for disagreeing

The conflict managing strategies I feel would be appropriate for this disagreement would be to focus on the issue, consider options and alternative as well as adopt the cooperative strategy. I believe when we use these strategies we would be able to arrive at what is best for our daughter without hurting each other’s feelings.When one is aware of how to address conflicts it goes a long way in preventing the damages that comes with conflicts and violence.

Reference

O’ Hair, D. & Wiemann, M. (2012). Real communication: An introduction. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins’s.