Code of Ethics of the Division for Early Childhood (DEC)and NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment

    When I read the DEC code of Ethics, I chose three that were significant to me. Although all codes of ethics are followed, we must maintain the safety and security for children in the early childhood special education programs.

#4

"We shall serve as advocates for children with disabilities and their families and for the professional who serve them by supporting both policy and programmatic decisions that enhance the quality of their lives."

    Being a advocate for the children, families and professionals is the main factor that helps are children. By following all policies in place to help them empower the skills they need to adjust to life and to move from one step to another in growth. Being an advocate for children in our program, we provide support in all areas of the child from nutrition, education, health, family support, mental health, referrals, and overall policies and procedures to make sure all of this is met for each individual family and child.

#6

"We shall build relationships with individual children and families while individualizing the curriculum and learning environments to facilitate young children's development and learning"

    Building relationships starts from the time the family enrolls in the program. At that time they meet with the social service advocate,  and after completion of application the teacher sits down with each individual family and child and discuss what the parent wants for the child in our program and then the child begins coming to school. However,before the child's first day the teachers prepare for the children to enter the classroom by setting up the environment to meet the needs of each individual child and welcome families in at anytime to volunteer their time to the program and growth of their child. All of this builds the relationship with the staff and other co-workers and building relationships is the first step to learning.

Part II #2

"We shall continually be aware of issues challenging the field of early childhood special education and advocate for changes in laws, regulations, and policies leading to improved outcomes and services for young children with disabilities and their families."

    We advocate for this by having a meeting with the family as a group, once they have completed the application process. This meeting is called a multi-disciplinary team meeting to meet the need of the child. Together the teacher, social service advocate, nurse, mental health consultant and center manager meet with the family to discuss the child's current level and together they develop goals for the child and family to improve the whole child and family. These are policies that are in place and must be adhere. As an advocate for children, I love the process and it provides the families with a sense of security that we will keep their child safe and provide for all their needs. The policies are reviewed regular to meet any changes that is suitable for all disabilities that are encountered.

    For the past 25 years working with children I feel the need for the NAEYC Ethical Conduct and statement of Commitment. The most significant of NAEYC ethical codes are as follows:

1. Ethical Responsibilities to children

             

"1-1.12-To work with families to provide a safe and smooth transition as children and families move from one program to the next."

     Transition is very important for the family as a whole. Each individual family member goes through transition to and from preschool and later in life. Through my years of working with families and children I have come to know the importance of transition and the overall meaning to a persons life. If you are unable to transition from one program, activity, or area to another on your own as you grow older, it can impact a person mentally. Educators must help our families as they transition their child from home to preschool and when they leave preschool to go to grade school. If we provided that assistance early, the family is able to move to another level in the child's life a lot easier. This is an ongoing process that occurs through their entire life and we as preschool educators are  the first to provide this for families. It is the thrill of being an early childhood educator to be the first to help families with this goal.

2. Ethical Responsibilities to Families

"1-2.3-To welcome all family members and encourage them to participate in the program."

     This is very significant to the early childhood field because welcoming the whole family to the program and having an open door policy, teaches the families the value of being a part of the child's educational growth and well-being. Families in turn learn how to help teach the child by observing the professionals in action.

3. Ethical Responsibilities to Colleagues

"1-3A.1-To establish and maintain relationships of respect, trust, confidentiality, collaboration, and cooperation with co-workers."

     This one of the ethical codes that is very important for colleagues to maintain. Because in order to teach families the importance of trust, respect, confidentiality, collaboration and cooperation we must model this for them. The best teacher models to show you how it makes a difference in the environment of children. Children do what they see and as adults we do the same without realization of it. Therefore this code must be performed in all early childhood programs throughout the world.