Program Planning As A Leader
Program Planning as a Leader
Prior to beginning work on this assignment, read Where We Stand on Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation (Links to an external site.).
The word “program” in early childhood education refers to “the planning of the curriculum, which also includes the instructional practices, the daily schedule, the routines for caring for children, and the recreational activities, such as outdoor play” (Gadikowski, 2013, Section 4.1). Educational administrators are the instructional leaders of their schools and centers primarily in the planning of curriculum. For this assignment, you will choose a particular age group (infants, toddlers, or preschoolers), and design (outline) a program that is developmentally appropriate.
Please review the following web pages for examples:
- Primrose School at East Lake (Links to an external site.)
- Bright Horizons at Hunter’s Green: Our Curriculum (Links to an external site.)
In your paper,
- Describe the role of the early childhood administrator as an instructional leader implementing high-quality program models, theory, and curriculum into your early childhood program.
- Briefly describe the learning and developmental needs of your chosen age gro
- Analyze how your program will address the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development of children in this age group (give specific curricular ideas for each area of development), as well as classroom management, individual assessment, and the daily schedule.
- Explain how your program aligns with the philosophy, vision, and mission statements you created in Week
- Discuss how your program aligns with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) indicators of effective curriculum, as outlined in Chapter 4, and found in the position statement Where We Stand on Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation (Links to an external site.).
- Discuss a plan of professional development to train staff on how to implement high-quality program models, theory, and curriculum into their specific environments.
The Program Planning as a Leader paper
- Must be three to four double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s APA Style (Links to an external site.)
- Must include a separate title page with the following:
- Title of paper
- Student’s name
- Course name and number
- Instructor’s name
- Date submitted
For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.).
- Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) resource for additional guidance.
- Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
- For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.) as well as Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.), refer to the Ashford Writing Center resources.
- Must use at least two credible sources in addition to the course text and the NAEYC position statement.
- The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
- To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, view this Ashford University Library Quick ‘n’ Dirty (Links to an external site.) tutorial, which introduces the Ashford University Library and the research process, and provides some library search tips
- Must document any information used from sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.)
- Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.
Required Resources
Text
Gadzikowski, A. (2013). Administration of early childhood education programs. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu
- Chapter 3: The Business Side of Early Childhood Education: Policies, Procedures, Financial Management, and Marketing
- This chapter introduces characteristics of the policies and procedures that administrators use to manage early childhood programs.
- Chapter 4: Planning the Program
- This chapter presents an overview of programming, the actual content of the services provided by an early childhood program.
Web Pages
Bright Horizons. (n.d.). Our curriculum (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from https://child-care-preschool.brighthorizons.com/fl/tampa/huntersgreen/curriculum
- This web page provides information about an early childhood education program in Tampa, Florida. This page provides four different curriculum examples for different age groups and will assist you in your Program Planning as a Leader assignment this week.
Accessibility Statement does not exist.
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Primrose Schools. (n.d.). Primrose School at East Lake (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.primroseschools.com/schools/east-lake
- This web page provides information about an early childhood education program in Marietta, Georgia and provides an example of curriculum for different age groups and will assist you in your Program Planning as a Leader assignment this week.
Accessibility Statement (Links to an external site.)
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
Supplemental Materials
Cengage. (n.d.). Sample budget form (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from https://www.cengage.com/resource_uploads/downloads/0495808989_226293.pdf
- This resource provides an overview and example of a budget form that could be used in an early childhood education program will assist you in your Financial Decisions Scenario discussion this week.
Accessibility Statement (Links to an external site.)
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
National Association for the Education of Young Children. (1995). Quality, compensation, and affordability (Links to an external site.) [Position statement]. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSQCA98.PDF
- This resource from National Association for the Education of Young Children outlines best practices for maintaining affordable and high-quality child care programs. This article provides information about budgeting and will assist you in your Financial Decisions Scenario discussion this week.
Accessibility Statement does not exist.
Privacy Policy (Links to an external site.)
National Association for the Education of Young Children and National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education. (n.d.). Where we stand on curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation (Links to an external site.) [Position statement]. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/StandCurrAss.pdf
- This joint position statement from the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education discusses the key components of high-quality early childhood education programs. This resource provides information about high-quality programs and will assist you in your Program Planning as a Leader discussion this week.
Accessibility Statement does not exist.
Privacy Policywhere we STAND on curriculum, assessment,
and program evaluation
W hat should children be taught in the years from birth through age 8? How would we know if they are developing well and learning what we want them to learn? And how could we decide whether programs for children from infancy through the primary grades are doing a good job? Answers to these questions—questions about early childhood curriculum, child assessment, and program evaluation—are the foundation of a joint position state- ment from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (NAECS/SDE).
The position statement’s recommendations
Curriculum Implement curriculum that is thoughtfully planned, challenging, engaging, developmentally appropriate, culturally and linguistically responsive, comprehensive, and likely to promote positive outcomes for all young children.
Indicators of effective curriculum
• Children are active and engaged.
• Goals are clear and shared by all.
• Curriculum is evidence-based.
• Valued content is learned through investigation and focused, intentional teaching.
• Curriculum builds on prior learning and experiences.
• Curriculum is comprehensive.
• Professional standards validate the curriculum’s subject-matter content.
• The curriculum is likely to benefit children.
Assessment Make ethical, appropriate, valid, and reliable assessment a central part of all early childhood programs. To best assess young children’s strengths, progress, and needs, use assessment methods that are developmentally ap- propriate, culturally and linguistically responsive, tied to children’s daily activities, supported by professional
Beyond Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation: What Else Matters?
Without other essential components of high-quality early childhood education, these recommendations will be of limited value. Learn more about . . .
• early learning standards, as described in NAEYC and NAECS/SDE’s 2002 position statement, online at www.naeyc.org/positionstatements/learning_ standards.
• teaching strategies and other elements of devel- opmentally appropriate practice. See C. Copple & S. Bredekamp (eds.), Developmentally Appropriate Prac- tice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8, 3d ed., Washington, DC: NAEYC, 2009. Access the position statement online at www. naeyc.org/positionstatements/dap.
• standards for early childhood programs and ac- creditation performance criteria, online at www. naeyc.org/academy/primary/standardsintro.
• standards for early childhood professional prepara- tion programs as updated by NAEYC in 2009, online at www.naeyc.org/positionstatements/ppp.
• implementation of professional standards. See M. Hyson (ed.), Preparing Early Childhood Professionals: NAEYC’s Standards for Programs, Washington, DC: NAEYC, 2003.
naeyc and naecs/sde
National Association for the Education of Young Children and National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education
where we STAND naeyc and naecs/sde
development, inclusive of families, and connected to specific, beneficial purposes. The purposes of doing as- sessment are: (1) making sound decisions about teach- ing and learning, (2) identifying significant concerns that may require focused intervention for individual children, and (3) helping programs improve their educational and developmental interventions.
Indicators of effective assessment practices
• Ethical principles guide assessment practices.
• Assessment instruments are used for their intended purposes.
• Assessments are appropriate for ages and other char- acteristics of children being assessed.
• Assessment instruments are in compliance with profes- sional criteria for quality.
• What is assessed is developmentally and educationally significant.
• Assessment evidence is used to understand and im- prove learning.
• Assessment evidence is gathered from realistic settings and situations that reflect children’s actual performance.
• Assessments use multiple sources of evidence gath- ered over time.
• Screening is always linked to follow-up.
• Use of individually administered, norm-referenced tests is limited.
• Staff and families are knowledgeable about assessment.
Program evaluation and accountability Regularly evaluate early childhood programs in light of program goals, using varied, appropriate, and conceptu- ally and technically sound evidence to determine the extent to which programs meet the expected standards of quality and to examine intended as well as unintended results.
Indicators of effective program evaluation and accountability
• Evaluation is used for continuous improvement.
• Goals become guide for evaluation.
• Comprehensive goals are used.
• Evaluations use valid designs.
• Multiple sources of data are available.
• Sampling is used when assessing individual children as part of large-scale program evaluation.
• Safeguards are in place if standardized tests are used as part of evaluations.
• Children’s gains over time are emphasized.
• Well-trained individuals conduct evaluations.
• Evaluation results are publicly shared.
Creating change through support for programs Implementing the preceding recommendations for curriculum, child assessment, and program evaluation requires a solid foundation. Calls for better results and greater accountability from programs for children in preschool, kindergarten, and the primary grades have not been backed up by essential supports for teacher recruitment and compensation, professional prepara- tion and ongoing professional development, and other ingredients of quality early education. The overarching need is to create an integrated, well-financed system of early care and education that has the capacity to support learning and development in all children, including children living in poverty, children whose home language is not English, and children with disabilities. Unlike many other countries, the United States continues to have a fragmented system for edu- cating children from birth through age 8, under multiple auspices, with greatly varying levels of support, and with inadequate communication and collaboration. Many challenges face efforts to provide all young children with high-quality curriculum, assessment, and evaluation of their programs. Public commitment, along with investments in a well-financed system of early child- hood education and in other components of services for young children and their families, will make it possible to implement these recommendations fully and effectively.
Copyright © 2009 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. All rights reserved.
The full NAEYC and NAECS/SDE 2003 position state- ment “Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation—Building an Effective, Account- able System in Programs for Children Birth Through Age 8” is available online at www.naeyc.org/ positionstatements/cape.
