Elevate and Empower Through Advocacy

Editor's note: This text-based course is an edited transcript of the webinar, Elevate and Empower Through Advocacy, presented by Sarah Ozuna Brown, MS.

Learning Outcomes

After this course, participants will be able to:

• Identify and explain aspects and types of advocacy.
• Describe the educator's role in advocating at small (classroom/local) and large (state/national) levels.
• Explain the impact advocacy has on children, their families, early childhood teachers, and the ECE field and ways of getting involved.

What is Advocacy?

Let's start with the basics because I want us to all be on the same page for this course. Often our first assumption, when we hear the word advocacy, is that it's marching to the capitol because we've got grandiose policy ideas. Sometimes that can be intimidating and make us stray away from getting involved, thinking things such as, "Oh, I'm not a public speaker. That's not for me. I'm not an activist." But really, advocacy can take on many different forms. We'll explore those today. You might already be doing some of these versions of advocating in your daily life.

At its heart, advocacy is supporting, promoting, and defending others' rights, needs, and interests. When you break down what advocacy is, you can start to see these are things that most of us probably do already. It doesn't have to be some big, grand action if that's not what you're comfortable with. Advocacy starts with gaining an understanding. It is you as the advocate gaining the understanding and perspective of others and being able to help them through advocating for them. Understanding is at the heart of this.

Samantha Power said, "All advocacy is, at its core, an exercise in empathy." That goes back to what I was saying about how when we start to break it apart. It's really just helping others learn about people's experiences and gaining that empathetic side of perspective-taking, which we teach young children every day.

Types of Advocacy

There are different types of advocacy as it takes on different forms. That can be something on a smaller level in everyday classroom interactions with young children. Maybe it is part of the everyday work you do with young children's families. It can also be looking at a broader scope and engaging in a program-wide effort at the early learning program you work for. That continues to expand and ventures out to get involved in the local community or engage at a state or national level.

Why Do We Advocate?

Why do we advocate? What is the purpose, and why is it necessary? There are many reasons why it is beneficial and why we each need to be involved in advocacy. It empowers you as an advocate and helps share others' voices. I once heard someone say, "It's not giving others a voice because they have their own voices. It is helping them find a platform to share their voice." However, they may not have access to a platform to speak out and share their own experiences. As advocates, we can help provide them with that platform. It is very empowering to be able to help others feel heard. It elevates and expands the potential for that person to be heard, whether it's a young child, a member of their family, an educator, or someone else in the field. When we start to advocate, we can create change in the early childhood profession.

Advocacy promotes understanding and respect, which in turn promotes empathy and perspective-taking. It is solution-focused. This is beneficial when dealing with the many challenges we face in early education. Being able to advocate provides a solution to the problem. Nothing is solved when everyone complains and hopes someone else will step up and do something. Advocacy is a solution-focused approach. It advances equity, celebrates diversity, and increases value. Valuing the person you're advocating for is a central piece to advocating. Advocacy emphasizes the child, which is where our value needs to lie. Once changes and perspectives can shift to see the value in the individual child and the strengths that each child brings to the classroom and early childhood education, we'll start to see changes in the early education field. Advocacy is our responsibility. As I said, most of us already do this on some level daily, but I want to explain how that might look.

Children in the Classroom

Let's start at the heart of it, advocating for children in the classroom. It's important to be able to listen to the child to understand, not just listen to hear. There's a big distinction there. Helping children feel heard can sometimes be a tricky thing. I have been in a classroom with 17 three-year-olds, and they all have something to say. Usually, they're talking over each other. Help them and really take the time to listen to what they're trying to tell you, even if you just need them to get things in their cubbies so you can move on to the next part of the day. We've all been there. But that might be the one time throughout the day when the child wanted to open up to you and tell you about something that happened to them that morning or something that was exciting to them. Try as much as you can not to discount the things that children want to tell us. Make the time and the space to listen and understand them.

Give choices. As educators and early childhood professionals, we know that children need choices. That goes a long way in helping them feel empowered in a world where, as young children, they don't have much control over things that happen to them throughout their daily lives, including when they eat breakfast or where they go (grocery store, school, etc.). Giving them as many choices in the classroom as possible can go a long way.

Respectfully communicate with children in developmentally appropriate ways. Give them mutual respect. We often get caught up in the daily hustle and grind as we move children to the next thing. We forget that they are just small humans. Remember to communicate with them in a developmentally appropriate way for their age, but also not talk down to them in a belittling way. Speak to them as we would want to be spoken to as adults. That helps build authentic and meaningful relationships with young children. It involves gaining their trust. When they know that we hear them, respect them, and appreciate what they bring to the classroom, they will open up so much more. That's when we can really get to know them and help advocate for them.

Invest in a child's interests. That's a great way to advocate for each child and help them feel heard daily. When I hear the words "child's interests," I sometimes think of emergent curriculum and being able to incorporate the child's interests into all parts of the curriculum in our day. That's awesome if you are at a program that takes that approach, but that's not all that this means. Investing in a child's interests, even if you teach at a program that follows a prescribed curriculum, includes moments throughout the day where you listen as everyone shares something they're interested in. You can have a small portion of the classroom, such as a bulletin board, where you have different topics that children are interested in that you share and discuss together as a class. It's about making the time and space for every child to be represented and heard.

That goes along with showing that children are valued, which comes out in our relationships and the way that we interact with them. We can show children that we value them and who they are, but also in the things we display in the classroom, their artwork, something they are interested in, and learning about topics they brought up. That's a great way to incorporate a child's culture and individual strengths and recognize their contributions to the classroom as a whole. 

Children with Exceptionalities

Advocating for children with exceptionalities is very important. We need to be especially mindful of it as educators or early childhood professionals. With children with exceptionalities, we want to do all of the things we would do with other children in the classroom. However, there are some other things to be especially mindful of. For children with exceptionalities and their families, it's crucial to help them feel heard. It can be difficult for children and families as they navigate what education looks like for them and their children and the different resources they might have access to. We can help them by listening, connecting with them, building rapport, and establishing communication, not just with the child but with the family.

Validate what families are experiencing. We may not know exactly what they're going through, but we can validate that their feelings are understandable. This also gives them respect. We also must document our observations. That can be helpful in advocating for a child to their families, additional resources, funding, or programs that might benefit the child. Think about your own biases. You may have a bias if you have a family member who has experienced exceptionalities or preconceived notions about what someone with exceptionalities can or can't do. Make sure to treat every family and individual child for who they are, not based on potential biases that could affect how you interact with them.

Support Children's Self-Advocacy

We can not only advocate for other people, but we can help young children advocate for themselves. We need to teach children to speak up for themselves. In the classroom and in your interactions with children, encourage appropriate expression to be able to speak up for themselves and others. Providing positive reinforcement when they're doing those types of things can go a long way to helping them realize that speaking up for a friend is a great thing to do. It allows them to see they need to continue to do that.

Encourage self-confidence and self-efficacy. That can be done during all of our interactions with a child. This is something I frequently do at the art table. Somebody might want me to draw them a heart, a kitty cat, or something else. I say, "Well, this is how I could do that, but I want to see how you do it because you might do it differently from me. That's really special." Find those opportunities to celebrate that and instill self-confidence in children. 

Encourage autonomy and responsibility. This is done when we provide children with choices, as I discussed earlier. Let children have power and control in various situations as much as possible. In addition to letting them make choices, give them tasks or jobs so they can feel good about responsibility and being able to do things for themselves and others. 

When I'm helping young toddlers get on the step stool to reach the sink to wash their hands, I ask if they want an elevator ride up or if they want to climb up themselves. The elevator ride means I'll help pick them up and set them on the step stool. It only takes two seconds for me to ask if they want the elevator or to climb. They can let me know what they want rather than me just moving their body. I sometimes think as adults, we get caught up in the fast pace and the hustle and bustle of the day. We've got so many children and need to get them all through to the next thing. With something as simple as that, once you try it out a couple of times, the children get used to it, and then they can tell you from the get-go as they're walking to the bathroom to wash their hands, "Elevator, please," or, "I want to do it, I'm going to climb up." That goes back to respect and the idea that we don't treat children differently than we would want to be treated. It would be very strange if somebody came up to you and just started picking you up. So why do we do that to young children?

The previous example also shows how we can teach children about asking for permission while encouraging them to do the same. That continues to build their autonomy and helps them realize that adults should ask for permission if they're doing things with them. When children are being friendly and loving as they give hugs, I encourage them to ask. For example, I might say, "You can ask if you can hug someone. Just say, 'Can I give you a hug?' If they say no, then maybe you can just hug me. Or maybe later they would like one." It's all about helping them realize the agency that they have, and that other people have and respecting that.

A great way to help practice these skills with young children is through role plays or social stories. I like to use social stories when working on a wide range of topics with young children. You can create your own social story or find them online. Use social stories at large group meetings like circle time or smaller group meetings where you can talk with children about these things. Pose a role-play scenario or pose questions about characters in a story. What should this person do? What should the alligator do in this scenario? Get the children involved so they can practice while regulated and learn how to use skills throughout the day.

Encourage empathy. This goes back to the quote by Samantha Power about how empathy is at the core of advocacy. Encourage children to empathize with others and take others' perspectives. That happens through communication and action. An easy way to build this skill in young children is if somebody takes a little tumble on the outdoor play space, encourage them to go over and check on that person. The communication piece is saying, "Are you okay?" Also, follow it up with action. Help young children realize that we can take action and do things for others to help them. They might say, "Is your body okay? Would you like a drink of water? Can I bring you your water bottle?" or, "Can I get you an ice pack?" or even maybe, "Do you want me to sit with you until you feel better?" Teach children that they can take action to help another person feel better, to speak up for another person, or do something kind for them. Those are some great ways that we can help advocate for children and help them advocate for themselves. But that's not the limit to advocacy in early childhood education.

Children's Families

Let's talk about how we can advocate for children's families. The most important thing we can do when trying to advocate for families is to show them how much we value them. A child's family is their first teacher. That is who they learned from when they were born and who will continue to be around them. Value families for all that they bring and for all their knowledge about their children. They are a wealth of knowledge about their children, and they know them best. We need to learn from families and celebrate the cultural wealth each family brings into the classroom or the work we do with them.

Try to walk in their shoes and understand their perspective and situation. Many of us have likely said something like, "Oh, if I could only get that child's family to understand. Maybe all these problems would disappear, or we could figure this out together." Consider how many families have said, "If I could only get my child's teacher to understand." Make sure you don't get caught up in yourself or the moment. Look at things from their perspective and try to understand where they're coming from. Learn more about who they are, their culture, their background, and their family as a unit. This helps us learn how to best go forward with them.

Going forward, we have to establish a partnership and open communication. Partnership is a keyword here because it's not just a relationship. Relationships can sometimes be very basic or surface-level. You might have a relationship with your morning barista. You know who they are, you see them every morning, and they know your order. You might chit-chat with them and make small talk while waiting for your coffee to be ready. But that's just a bare-bones relationship. It's not a partnership where you two are exchanging open communication and working together towards common goals. That's a partnership. It's much different. That's what we need to be striving for with families.

We can help advocate for families by supporting them and providing different resources such as parenting articles or activities they could do at home. I send a weekly newsletter to the young children and families I teach. It has a little something for families to do at home or a research-based article that is put in terms that general families can understand. You don't have to be an early childhood professional to understand the article.

We can help support families by providing referrals to early intervention. We'll circle back to that later, but we know that's key. Have open communication with families and talk to them about what they see at home and what we see at school, and work forward if need be. Put them in contact with local, state, or federal programs that support families through different forms of assistance. Help them realize the different rights and options they might have during their child's preschool and school years. Helping families understand their options is vital for those with exceptional children. We can be the person to help set families up for a positive experience throughout the rest of their child's preschool years and beyond into school years if we make ourselves knowledgeable and take on the role of advocating for families in that way.

Early Childhood Teachers

We can also advocate for ourselves and other early childhood educators or professionals in the field. One way we can start doing that is by changing our language. We are not daycare workers; we are early childhood educators. Changing the language increases our value of ourselves, which will help increase the value that others have for us. Help people see the impactful work that we do daily. I think things with COVID helped others in the community and society see that value when children were having to learn from home. Changing our language can be an additional thing we can do to help continue that mission forward and advocate for ourselves.

Share resources and knowledge with others. Opportunities to learn, such as attending training or conferences, bring us together as educators and professionals in the field. Everybody has different experiences and strengths, so it's great to learn from each other. You can do that within your program at annual staff meetings, retreats, or monthly meetings by sharing the knowledge and resources you have found or created that are helpful. Building on that, collaborate and utilize each other's strengths.

One thing we can advocate for as early childhood professionals is increased pay and benefits. That's something I think we all would be appreciative of. Children at Risk, a nonprofit organization in the state of Texas, where I'm located, stated that 56% of childcare workers in Texas qualify for at least one form of public assistance. We are helping support the nation's youngest learners and future generations. Yet, in Texas (and I'm sure in many other states), over half of the childcare workers earn so little money they qualify for at least one form of public assistance. You may be interested in looking up those numbers in your state and want to advocate for increased pay. You may want to advocate for early childhood educators to be able to seek out degrees or certification programs with financial assistance or loan forgiveness programs so that that doesn't all fall back on us to have to fund that.

Early Childhood Field

We can do things to advocate for the field of early childhood education in general. Raise awareness and value. I keep going back to that because it really is important. I believe that once society, policymakers, and public officials start to see the value of the child and early childhood education, they will begin to see the value of early childhood educators. You might be interested in advocating for high-quality early childhood programs, whether center-based programs or family in-home care. Research shows that high-quality matters. Unfortunately, research also indicates that the children who need that quality most often are not receiving it. That's a cause we can all get behind.

An extension of that is that equitable access to care and education. Every child should have the opportunity to have high-quality childcare and education in their early years. This is part of the universal pre-K programs or preschool programs that are current topics. Advocate for state and federal funding for early childhood. This is not just receiving that funding but also the appropriate use. Many times in different states, there is funding, but it's not getting used properly. Explore that as another cause. Advocate for childcare subsidies, or maybe you find that your passion lies in helping support children and their families through other resources that affect a child's ability to learn.

Research also tells us that experiencing poverty, chronic stress, and trauma affects a child's learning ability. You might find a passion in advocating for housing, food, or healthcare for young children and their families. Early intervention is vital for helping children and their families. Providing them with the support they need early on will last that child a lifetime. Maybe your passion is finding ways to advocate for early intervention. There are a lot of different things that we can do and become passionate about in our field.

Inspire Others

I encourage you to inspire others. Share your own experiences and knowledge, but also help share the experiences and knowledge of others. That's what advocacy is about. As I said, it's not necessarily giving the voice but providing a platform for the voice to be heard. That is what will raise awareness for the individual child and their family. If this is something that is starting to light a fire for you, invite others to be involved in the initiative with you. I once heard that part of being a good leader is bringing others up with you. If you feel that this is something you're being called to or drawn to, see who else is out there, whether somebody at your program or organization or getting involved with others in the community.

I encourage you to develop your elevator pitch in that quest to inspire others. An elevator pitch should be about knowing your why. There are many different things you can look up online to help you find your why, including YouTube videos and TED Talks about some of the things we've discussed today. Sharing our why helps us tell others what we're passionate about and why we're passionate about those things. We should be able to share our why and passions with others in just a few minutes. Being able to deliver that in a way that is clear and concise might instill some passion or fire in others. Think about that and reflect on your why and what your elevator pitch could be. Then start to practice saying it so you can get used to it and continue sharing it with others. This can create a snowball effect of being able to help advocate and help others join you in your mission.

Get Involved

There are plenty of ways to get involved, from a very small level to a much larger one. It depends on what you are comfortable with and what feels right for you at that moment. As we've looked at, advocacy can start in the classroom through your interactions with children as you help instill self-advocacy in them. It can begin with helping advocate for children's families within your organization, classroom, or program that you work with.

You can also sign up to receive newsletters. I know we're all already bogged down with emails, but signing up for newsletters through different early childhood organizations can be a great way to get informed and learn more about what's going on in your specific area and what opportunities are out there. I'm not a policy person, so when I started with advocacy, I wasn't aware of the different house bills or things like that. Newsletters are a great way to learn more about that because you'll be able to see what's coming up in your area for policymakers. Many different organizations help break those down so that we can really understand what's going into some of those policies.

You could join a chapter affiliate or an early childhood organization in your area. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has many chapter affiliates across every state. Look for that type of organization in your area. If there's not one in your area, maybe you could start one. Many early childhood associations have virtual and in-person meetings you can attend. That's the great thing about how things have evolved after COVID. We all can do things virtually now. There may not be a local chapter or early childhood organization in your area that you can drive to their monthly meetings, but if they have it as an option, you could attend their meetings virtually. Reach out to those organizations to check in and explore those options.

Another way to get involved is to call your public officials. NAEYC sends emails that help you learn more about how to do that. They give you information about things like what to say and how that structure works. Utilize social media to seek out ways to get involved and opportunities in your area and to share and use that as your advocating platform. You can share different messages or posts from broader organizations about their missions and work.

Share your story and help others share theirs. That goes back to the heart of advocacy. That's where the understanding happens. Make the statistics that research finds real. Put faces to them. That's a crucial aspect of advocating. I mentioned a stat about early childhood educators, but you have no idea who that 56% of people in Texas are. But if I got several of them in a room or could read you some of their firsthand experiences and accounts, that would be a much more powerful experience. Sharing your own story and helping others share theirs is an impactful way to bring realness to advocating for children and their families.

Resources

Here are some resources and tools you can use to find ways to connect and advocate. Some can get info for your specific state, while others look at the national level. Utilize yourself as a researcher to gather the information that might be used as an advocating opportunity. Start talking to other people. They may have resources or information they can share with you that you might not find on a website. Connect with people at your organization or program and build from there on what's going on in your town, city, or county.

• Child Care Aware of America - https://www.childcareaware.org/our-issues/public-policy/
• Defending the Early Years (Info by State) - https://dey.org/early-childhood-advocacy-map/
• Family Child Care - https://nafcc.org/our-work/public-policy-and-advocacy/
• Find your NAEYC Affiliate - https://www.naeyc.org/get-involved/membership/affiliates
• NAEYC - https://www.naeyc.org/get-involved/advocate
• Teacher as Researcher for Advocacy - https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/499-using-everyday-classroom-experiences-to-advocate-for-young-children
• Zero To Three - https://www.zerotothree.org/policy-and-advocacy

Here is another quote that helps make advocacy a little more natural. Janna Cachola said, "No voice is too soft when that voice speaks for others." Some may feel they are somewhat insignificant as one person in a small town or a big town of a million people. This quote lets you know your voice is important. I encourage you to reflect on that and use that as a driving force when you may think, "Am I really going to be able to make a difference?" 

Adopting some of these techniques in your classroom makes a world of difference to that individual child or to that family. Maybe you set them up with some resources that change their experience for their child's education, not just in preschool and the early learning years but also as they transition into school age. Even though you might think, "Well, I'm just one person," it all has to start with someone somewhere. Reflect on that and think about what you can do now, whether it's something small like classroom interactions and daily interactions with families or if you feel compelled to do something on a broader level at the local, state, or national level.

Question and Answer

How do you help parents advocate for their children, whether they have a disability or an exceptionality, or they just want to advocate for their child to get regular services, learning, and safety that they need?

Many families are unsure of where to begin. They're uncertain if their voice is going to be heard. They may not be the one who has the early childhood credential, but they may see something as they observe their child at home. As a parent, they may not feel they can speak up and comment on something because they are not the most knowledgeable about it. Helping families starts with making them feel valued and empowering them, just as we want to empower children. Help them to know that we want to hear what they have to say, and we want to hear their perspective. We appreciate that and respect their perspective.

That goes back to the communication piece and being able to establish open two-way communication where we can share, and they can ask questions, knowing that no question is a bad question. Families are learning. They may have already raised two children through the early years, but every child is different, so they might have questions about their third child. Allow parents to feel the freedom to express themselves and to ask questions. It's helpful to enter a partnership and establish that you're learning together. Let parents know that you are not the end-all expert on young children and that they know their child better than you do.

As educators, we must be able to support families and children so that we can best meet their needs. To do this, you may need to do a little research on your own to find out what resources are available to families. Where I work, we have a resource with lists of different speech pathologists, occupational therapists, and family therapists we've worked with over the years. We continue to add to these lists and include notes about the therapist or organization, including family comments about how easy they were to work with or the different insurances they accept. Look at your local resources. Connect with others in your local area. 

References

Child Development Council. (n.d.). Advocate for children. https://www.childdevelopmentcouncil.org/community/speak-out-for-children/

Clark, A. (n.d.) How to build the foundation for self-advocacy in young children. Understood. https://www.understood.org/en/articles/how-to-build-the-foundation-for-self-advocacy-in-young-children 

Koplewicz, H.S. (n.d.). Being an effective advocate for your child. Child Mind Institute. https://childmind.org/article/being-an-effective-advocate-for-your-child/ 

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2017, February 1). What can you do to support and advocate for children, families, and educators? https://www.naeyc.org/resources/blog/support-and-advocate 

The Australian Parenting Website. (2021, August, 9). Being an advocate for your child. https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/school-learning/working-with-schools-teachers/being-an-advocate 

Riddle, H. (2016, February 18). Everyday ECE advocacy. Council for Professional Recognition. https://www.cdacouncil.org/en/everyday-ece-advocacy/ 

The Borgen Project. (2018, September 24). Top 10 quotes about advocacy. https://borgenproject.org/top-10-quotes-about-advocacy/