7.1 Advocacy

What is advocacy?^[1]

What comes to mind when you hear the word “advocacy?” A lobbyist in Ottawa, ON? A political rally with thousands of participants? Or perhaps a member of the legislative assembly speaking on the senate floor about the concerns of her community? These are all examples of advocacy, as are other types of actions that most of us take every day.

You are an advocate if you have ever:

• helped a family receive needed services;
• stood up for someone who was being treated unfairly;
• attended a parent/teacher conference at your child’s school;
• participated in a city council meeting.

Advocacy is building support for an issue among audiences such as the general public, elected officials, the media, and key opinion leaders. Activities such as educating audiences about a topic, sharing illustrative stories, or working on a solution to a problem are considered advocacy. Individual citizens can always contact their elected officials as constituents.

Provincial and federal governments do not regulate the public at large from participating in advocacy or lobbying activities. Remember to use your personal e-mail and telephone when contacting policymakers. Lobbying is communicating with elected officials to influence their actions regarding a specific piece of legislation.

Advocacy activities that are not lobbying:

• Invite a legislator to visit your program and hear about the work being done.
• Provide a policymaker with information or educational materials on a topic.
• Talk with the media about a specific social issue.
• Track legislative positions and voting records.

Embracing the Work You are Already Doing and Taking it Further

What does it mean to be an advocate?

Simply defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an advocate is “someone who publicly supports or promotes the interests of a cause or group.” ^[2] The role of an advocate in early childhood care and education is to support or promote the interests of children, families, and community.

As an early childhood care and education (ECE) professional you are in a unique and powerful position in influencing the lives of children and families. You are also in a unique and powerful position in understanding the issues that affect many families and children. You see the day-to-day struggles that families face, the barriers that keep children for succeeding to their full potential, and the missteps of policy creation that hold families back. You are an expert on these issues. Your thoughts, experiences and ideas are valuable, and your voice needs to be heard.

Don’t believe me? Then watch the two following YouTube videos. The first is a TedTalk titled “Every Kid needs a Champion” given by Rita Pierson. Ms. Pierson passed away in 2013 but her message is still just as important today.

Every Kid needs a Champion

The second is a TedxPortland talk titled “The Power of Advocacy” given by Xiomara Torres, a Multnomah County judge who shares her journey which began with just one person who believed in her and stood beside her when she was just a child.

The Power of Advocacy

These videos show the positive power that one single person can have over the life of a child or an entire group of children. You can be that person—in fact, you probably already are.

Citations

Campbell, J.R. (2018, January). Five Steps to Becoming an Advocate [Video]. TEDxAdelaide.https://youtu.be/nIo31mMB4P8.

CAPS Independent Advocacy. (n.d.). Collective Advocacy. CAPS Independent Advocacy. Retrieved February 13, 2021, from http://capsadvocacy.org/collective-advocacy/.

Densten, I. L., & Gray, J. H. (2001). Leadership development and reflection: what is the connection?. International Journal of Educational Management.

Guyon, S. K. (2019). Experiences of Early Childhood Educators Working with Teaching Strategies GOLD® :a Narrative Inquiry. Portland State University.

Pierson, R. (2013, May). Every Kid Needs a Champion [Video]. TED. https://youtu.be/SFnMTHhKdkw.

Torres, X. (2019, September). The Power of Advocacy [Video]. TEDxPortland.https://youtu.be/xjutWPTA4wo.

ZERO TO THREE. (2016). You Have What It Takes! Advocacy Tool. https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/494-you-have-what-it-takes-advocacy-tool

Adaptation Credit

Adapted from Chapter 6 in Leadership in Early Care and Education by Dr. Tammy Marino; Dr. Maidie Rosengarden; Dr. Sally Gunyon; and Taya Noland is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

New section on Advocacy added from Early Childhood Advocacy Toolkit, and modified to reflect the Canadian context.