Introduction
One of the first thing that the person should be asking themselves if they want to opt a field is that is that field a profession on its own. And that alone raises an interesting argument regarding how something can be described as a profession or not. The same goes for early childhood education. Can early childhood education be attributed as something as a profession, or are there some other aspects that need to be kept in mind to make sure that a better understanding is developed in this regard? Looking specifically at the case, the people who identify themselves as early childhood education experts can be termed as professionals in their own rights. In this paper, we will examine why early childhood education practitioners are not categorized as professionals on their own (Aitken & Kennedy, 2007).
Inclusiveness Of The Early Childhood Education
One of the key things that needs to be taken into account is the fact that early childhood education is rather inclusive in nature (Hyson et al. 2009). Due to that, any definition that is bound to create boundaries where certain people are deemed as professional and certain people are not is bound to create a certain level of discomfort (Aitken & Kennedy, 2007). When there is such kind of discomfort, it can lead to resistance from certain people. Now, the key problem that one faces when one talks about early childhood education experts is the way they are being included in the basic educational program. Their role starts after a considerable time period during the course of the educational process, and it is one of the key things that need to be taken into consideration. So, even if one looks at the basic perspective, early childhood education does not seem to be like a profession (Aitken & Kennedy, 2007).
Basic Sense Of Purpose And Identity
Most of the time, more or less, all professions are based on the sense of common purpose and identity (Hyson et al. 2009). That identity is based on the set of unique roles as well as the attributes of their following members (Aitken & Kennedy, 2007). The example of the NAEYC initiative that was led by the 15-member task force as well as the 30-member stakeholders group is one of the examples where the professional group seems to have shared a certain sense of identity at the combined level (Cook et al. 2013). The idea was to make sure that the establishment of the early childhood education program could be carried out at the professional level. Now, this is one of the ways a professional is supposed to work out. Looking at the way some of the larger groups and associations are working for early childhood education (Aitken & Kennedy, 2007). The problem is that they are not really that well versed when it comes to making sure that the fulfilment of their professional obligations is carried out in the appropriate manner (Cook et al. 2013). As a matter of fact, it is one of the biggest issues that one gets to see with regard to early childhood education, and thus, it is not at times attributed as the profession on its own.
Professional Responsibilities Of The Childhood Educational Expert And Do They Count As Professional Responsibilities
There are many sets of responsibilities that are supposed to be provided by the professional educational expert (Aitken & Kennedy, 2007). For instance, they have to make sure that they plan and implant the intentional and developmental learning experience for the students that allows the advancement of their cognitive and social skills. At the same time, they are also supposed to make sure that they establish and maintain a healthy learning environment. Not only that, they are also inclined to ensure that the needs of the children, as well as their families, are being taken care of in the appropriate manner (Aitken & Kennedy, 2007). That seems like quite a lot of responsibilities that might fall under the domain of the professional. That is not the case here, though, as the main problem that is being faced when one talks about the fact that how these things are not attributed as a profession is due to the knowledge that the extent to which accountability is needed to be done is not going to be carried out at each and every level (Cook et al. 2013). At times, even though the execution of the jobs and the responsibilities that are part of the Early Childhood Educator comprises many things, the problem is that as there is a severe lack of accountability, it is not considered a profession in its own right (Aitken & Kennedy, 2007).
Conclusion
Looking at some of the combined responsibilities as well as the accountability program that comprises the profession, it can be said that the Early Childhood Education Programs do not really constitute or fulfil the requirements that they can be termed as a profession. The main issue that one gets to face as far as the whole thing is that, at times, the combined interests of all the stakeholders who are involved in the decision-making process are also kept in mind and due to this, the early childhood education experts are not considered to be a professional (Chalke, 2013).
References
Aitken, H., & Kennedy, A. (2007). Critical issues for the early childhood profession. In L. Keesing-Styles & H. Hedges (Eds.), Theorising early childhood practice: Emerging dialogues (pp. 165 -185). Sydney: Pademelon Press.
Chalke, J. (2013). Will the early years professionals please stand up? Professionalism in the early childhood workforce in England.Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 14(3), 212 – 222.
Cook, K., Davis, E., Williamson, L., Harrison, L.J., & Sims, M., (2013). Discourses of professionalism in Family Day Care. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood,14 (2), 112 – 126.
Hyson, M., Morris, C. A. S., & Tomlinson, H. B. (2009). Quality improvement in early childhood teacher education: faculty perspectives and recommendations for the future. Early Childhood Research & Practice, 11(1).
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