Exploring Roles in the ECE Community

Preparing for this blog entry was exciting and interesting.  Although there is not a wide array of organizations in the ECE community, it was refreshing to discover some which had the best interest of our children at heart.   The organizations chosen have a commitment to serve young children and to promote the development of their full potential.

The Child Development and Guidance Centre (CDGC) is the only multi-disciplinary developmental assessment centre on the island.   It was established in 1998 by Dr. Schuling, a German paediatrcian.  The CDGC is a non-profit organization which provides ongoing assessment, diagnosis, intervention and support for children with developmental difficulties aged from birth to 16 years, including cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autistic spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and general speech and language delay and disorder.  It also provides support, counseling and training for the parents of the children who are assigned to the facility.  CDGC provides Comprehensive Developmental Assessment; Early Intervention;  Physiotherapy; Speech and Language Therapy; Occupational Therapy; Psycho-educational Assessment.  CDGC promotes early identification and individual intervention programmes to help these children develop their fullest potential.  When fully staffed, the team consists of the paediatrician, a physiotherapist, a speech and language therapist, an occupational therapist and the office manager. Currently, the team is made up of a paediatrician, clinical psychologist and paediatric physiotherapist as there are no local trained paediatric therapist on the island.

At present, CDGC is looking for volunteers as well as recruiting permanent professionals in paediatric speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy.  In order to hold any of these positions the individual must have at least 5 years experience working in the field.  The physiotherapist must be Bobath trained while the occupational therapist and speech and language therapist must have experience of sensory integration and PECS.  Individuals show also possess the qualities of being patient and sensitive, having clinical reasoning skills and the ability to work as a team.

This organization appealed to me as I am very keen on assisting children with developmental delays.  I am particularly fascinated by the work of an occupational therapist as I believe that every child should be given the skills which are necessary to function independently in life. None the less in order to take up a position as an occupational therapist I would have to pursue studies in this discipline.


The Early Childhood Education Unit is a department of the Ministry of Education, Human Resource Development and Labour which caters to the needs of our islands youngest population.  The mission of this department is to develop a system of ECE aimed at satisfying the needs and demands of both children and parents by promoting the development of young children in a safe and stimulating environment designed to impact positively on learning skills and styles of the children and their parents; and to empower their parents and care-givers to play a more conscious, informed role in the holistic development of each child through education services.

The vision of the Early Childhood Education Unit is to;

1.  professionalize the EC sector

2.  enforce quality assurance standards in all EC settings

3.  develop an organizational structure for assessment and certification of the EC workforce

4.  develop an inter-ministerial operational plan for the establishment of service provider    

     networks at the district level

5.  expand the provision of parenting support and education

6.  develop model ECE centres at the district level.

A job opportunity in this unit is that of Education Officer.  To hold this position the individual must possess either a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education or related field plus Post Graduate Diploma/Certificate plus five (5) years experience in a supervisory or administrative position, plus Certificate in Teaching; a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education or related field, plus five (5) years experience in a supervisory or administrative position, plus Certificate in Teaching; a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, plus a Post Graduate Diploma, plus ten (10) years experience in a supervisory or administrative position, plus Certificate in Teaching.  Additionally, the individual would need to exhibit;

1.  Decisiveness and soundness of judgment in issuing directives.

2.  Excellent report writing skills.

3.  Quality of advice and supervision given in the delivery of professional development and   

     training activities.

4.  Working knowledge of the operation and delivery of Early Childhood programmes and

     services.

5.  Ability to effectively organize and manage administrative operations.

6.  Ability to effectively network with different stakeholders.

7.  Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a team of professionals.

8.  Ability to provide leadership, direction and guidance to staff.

This organization and the job opportunity appealed to me as I believe that the future of any nation lies in the hands of our children.  More so, the vision of this unit aligns with my vision of having every child on the island have access to quality early childhood care and development which would foster their full potential so that they would be able to contribute to positive social change.

The St. Lucia Autism Resource Centre (ARC) is a non-profit organization with a focus on creating awareness of autism, assisting children with autism and supporting families who have children with autism.  Although this organization is not so widely known I believe that its work is important and it is my intention to visit them to get to know more about them and how I can help in advocating for children with autism.  I believe nonetheless, that in order to work within this organization one needs to have some experience in working with children with disabilities or a certificate in special education.  Likewise one needs to be knowledgeable of the services and resources available to children with autism and their families.  Additionally, persons must be patient, sensitive and have good communication skills.

References

Child Development Guidance Centre (n.d.).  About us.  Retrived from

www.childdevelopmentstlucia.org

Ministry of Education, Human Resource Development and Labour (n.d.) Early childhood education unit.  Retrieved from http://education.govt.lc/

St. Lucia Autism Resource Centre (n.d.).   About us. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Lucia-ARC-Autism-Resource-Center/205934969952?sk=info&tab=page_info