This is an Early Childhood Education assignment. Topic is Domestic Violence like separated parents or divorced parents.

Red River College Early Childhood Education Program

Mentorship Advocacy and Community Building ECED 3019

Advocacy Assignment

For this assignment you will be developing an advocacy campaign. It is important that for each of the sections below you ensure clear and detailed explanations when writing up your advocacy plan. You will be utilizing resources online, as well as from your course shell in LEARN, and possibly content from other courses. All ideas taken from these resources must be properly cited and referenced.

There are many possible topics for your advocacy campaign. Choose something you believe is worth fighting for. Something you are passionate about. Consider topics related to the inequities in how some groups are treated, topics that highlight where social policies and practices may not meet the needs of the group those policies are intended to serve, and/or topics that are tied to the work you will be doing with children, their families, and communities.

Part A: State your concern or issue. Consider discussing this with the “5 Ws plus H”. (see below).

What is the issue? Who is affected? When, Where and Why is this a concern? (this may also include information on the length of time this concern has persisted with a brief explanation of why it remains). How are those involved affected by this issue? 5 Marks.

Part B: List your stakeholders

Who has a stake in this issue? Explain your reasoning for each of the choices you identify on the stake holder list. Review the information on stakeholders in the LEARN shell to ensure you develop a detailed list for your cause. For example, if you were advocating to develop a dog park in a particular area, dog owners would be an obvious choice, but also veterinary clinics, pet stores and pet rescues in the area might want to be involved (all for different reasons). Even if you cannot find 5 stakeholders (which should be reasonably easy), ensure you include a minimum of 5 reasons for stakeholder involvement. On the other hand, if your list is over 5 stakeholders, clearly explain reasons for five stakeholders on the list. 5 marks

Part C: Understanding your issue

Show what you know about the cause or issue you are fighting for. You are the spokesperson. What is the history or evolution of your issue? What are the barriers standing in the way of this issue? What do you want? (be specific “Advocating for creation of a dog park in the empty lot on the west end of Womple street”). What data and research back up your claims or your cause? What details do people need to know to be empathetic to your cause? What research can you share that suggests the changes you are advocating for will impact concerned groups in a positive way? If we consider the Dog Park again, the barriers might include a lack of funds and zoning restrictions in certain areas that have prevented this from being developed in the past. For research: perhaps you will share how large the neighborhood is, how many people have dogs in the area, and the benefits of activity for dogs and their owners. Additionally, you might have data about the numbers of strays in communities with dog parks and those without. These objective details add weight to your cause and show others you are a knowledgeable trusted voice for this issue.

Your discussion here should explain the concern clearly. Elaborate on the brief “W5” approach you used in Part A. Your discussion should describe at least 3 pieces of research which will support your cause.

Explain how this information connects to your issue. Be sure to include references for the research papers, articles and or agencies where the information is contained. 10 Marks

Part D: What will happen in this campaign?

What will you do to carry out your advocacy plan? How will you share info with the public to gain support? What channels will you use to distribute information? What groups could you network with?

Once you have a growing body of support, what will you do with that support? To whom will you direct your concerns to affect a change? How will you do that? What meaningful advocacy actions would you pursue to further your cause? Which politicians, policy makers and/or government depts will you direct questions and concerns to? In the case of our dog park example, we may need to consider the government department who handles municipal zoning as well as those in charge of funding recreation spaces or concerned with public spaces and improvements. For your project you will need to identify actual depts and the current government leaders who would be involved in your issue. You will need to include their contact information.

Create a detailed list all the steps that are necessary in a sequential manner. Be creative and diverse in your plan to reach the most people and activate your stakeholders (in support of the cause), effectively. 7.5 Marks

Part E: Action – choose one of the three following options.

Be creative and get one of your strategies “action ready”. Posters, Petitions and Policies OH MY!

Choose specific parts of the info you shared in Part C as the messaging in your poster or petition. 7.5 Marks

Poster option 1: Are you considering a social media Campaign? Then create a poster you would want distributed on social media with the information you want to share. Be sure to let readers know how they can get more info or become involved in the cause.

Poster option 2: Perhaps you need to advertise your rally. Develop a poster telling potential supporters the “W5” of your rally. People should know when and where, but also why they should attend and what will happen there? Who will be involved?

***Either poster option needs to be eye catching, engaging and informative***

Petition Option: If you are not feeling artistic it’s time to become a wordsmith. Develop a petition in support of your cause. What do you want to achieve? What would you say about your cause to generate signatures and support? What would you do with the signatures after?

Once Part E is complete, post a photo of your poster or a copy of your petition description into the Advocacy discussion area on LEARN. Please include the same photo or petition description with your assignment submission in drop box also. Review peer submissions and respond with feedback to two classmates.

This assignment is worth 50 Marks (marks for APA and mechanics, as well as for peer feedback are included in this total) and 50% of your final for the course. You will be marked according to the Advocacy Assignment Rubric available on LEARN.

I encourage you to review the rubric carefully before submitting your assignment in drop box to ensure you have included all necessary details and met all assignment expectations.