Heidi Hollingsworth, Mary Knight-McKenna and Ren Bryan, co-authored an article on policy and advocacy content in early childhood personnel preparation.
Abstract: Knowledge and skills regarding policy and advocacy are important expectations for today’s early childhood workforce, yet policy and advocacy content and processes have not traditionally been emphasized in teacher preparation programs. This article describes an innovative undergraduate course that goes beyond traditional foci on developmental research and pedagogy and aims to inform future early childhood professionals about policies and policy-making procedures. The course also prepares students to engage in advocacy efforts on behalf of young children and their families by providing content on advocacy processes and opportunities, and by requiring students to complete an advocacy project. The authors present student responses to the course and discuss possible implications for research and practice.
Hollingsworth, H. L., Knight-McKenna, M., & Bryan, R. (2015). Policy and advocacy concepts and processes: Innovative content in early childhood teacher education. Early Child Development and Care. Advance online publication. doi:10.1080/03004430.2015.1121252