Gibbs (2004) defines Advocacy as “the act of speaking, writing or acting in support of something and someone.” However, “activism refers to direct action like protesting, or activities with tangible results, such as fundraising or researching solutions (EDU40004, 2016). As the early childhood professional play an important role in children’s lives, they can be the advocates for the rights of children. The main aim of advocacy and activism is to support equity, inclusivity, the rights, interests and needs of children and families, which can be done by following some specific strategies.
2.3.1 To support equity and inclusive child participation
The educators can develop a number of strategies for advocacy and activism to support equity and …show more content…
Vygotsky (1978) stresses the idea “that young children learn in a social context under the guidance of more skillful tutor” (Ac cited in McLeod, 2014). Besides the teacher can provide the fair access and participation in learning experiences for all the children. Thus, as advocates of social justice, the educators can create a difference by teaching the concept of equality to the young children. Besides, the educators can support inclusive child participation through arranging additional support staff for the centre, if the centre is unable to include children with disability because of financial problem. “Inclusion and early childhood opportunities are very crucial to provide children the social space to learn through play” (Inclusion Now, n.d.). However, there can be some challenges to follow these strategies. Firstly, the educators might not be skillful enough to plan the learning experiences to cater to the needs of different …show more content…
The educators and educational institutions in the early childhood setting can promote the rights, interests and needs of children and their families in a number of ways. First of all, the education setting can include the equal rights of all the children in their policy documents, which will boost the wellbeing of children and their families and create an environment of social justice in the society. By following this policy, early childhood settings can provide the basis to the teachers and the educators to follow the interest and needs of the children with disability. Then, the educational setting can raise the issue using media advocacy “to increase public awareness and influence broader public debate about early childhood issue” (The Ounce, 2009, p.8) of discrimination towards disability. The use of media is a very effective strategy to present the issue of discrimination to the government authorities, common public and the child welfare organisations. Also the media can be used to present the case studies of the affected families, which can raise the seriousness of the issue among others. However, the above strategies are very effective to highlight the issue in front of others, they can be challenging. It can be a challenge for the early childhood setting to train all the staff to
2.3.1 To support equity and inclusive child participation
The educators can develop a number of strategies for advocacy and activism to support equity and …show more content…
Vygotsky (1978) stresses the idea “that young children learn in a social context under the guidance of more skillful tutor” (Ac cited in McLeod, 2014). Besides the teacher can provide the fair access and participation in learning experiences for all the children. Thus, as advocates of social justice, the educators can create a difference by teaching the concept of equality to the young children. Besides, the educators can support inclusive child participation through arranging additional support staff for the centre, if the centre is unable to include children with disability because of financial problem. “Inclusion and early childhood opportunities are very crucial to provide children the social space to learn through play” (Inclusion Now, n.d.). However, there can be some challenges to follow these strategies. Firstly, the educators might not be skillful enough to plan the learning experiences to cater to the needs of different …show more content…
The educators and educational institutions in the early childhood setting can promote the rights, interests and needs of children and their families in a number of ways. First of all, the education setting can include the equal rights of all the children in their policy documents, which will boost the wellbeing of children and their families and create an environment of social justice in the society. By following this policy, early childhood settings can provide the basis to the teachers and the educators to follow the interest and needs of the children with disability. Then, the educational setting can raise the issue using media advocacy “to increase public awareness and influence broader public debate about early childhood issue” (The Ounce, 2009, p.8) of discrimination towards disability. The use of media is a very effective strategy to present the issue of discrimination to the government authorities, common public and the child welfare organisations. Also the media can be used to present the case studies of the affected families, which can raise the seriousness of the issue among others. However, the above strategies are very effective to highlight the issue in front of others, they can be challenging. It can be a challenge for the early childhood setting to train all the staff to