Early Childhood Education Essay Example

Early Childhood Education Essay Example Early Childhood Education Essay Early Childhood Education Essay The difference between management and leadership lies in the roles that are carried out by the two in any organization (Bennis, 1989). Management is structure oriented while the latter is relational and focuses on people. Leadership works on developing a new status quo while management is about administration and maintenance of the status quo. This is to imply that a leader will work on the creation of a new direction in an organization while the manager directs the people in an organization based on already set directives (Bennis, 1985). The components of a program determine its unique characteristics. Such components include the suitability of the environment to meet the needs of the learners, the quality that is articulated by the staff, the level of compatibility experienced between the program’s grouping practices and its learners, involvement of the learners’ parents and the ability to maintain a consistent program (Persky Golubchick, 1991). Decisions that are ma de with regard to the structure of the program affect the relationship between the educators, the learners and their parents. Such relationships will make a program standout from the rest and end up defining the uniqueness of a program (Hood, 2011). Early childhood education requires a focus on the areas of language development, social emotional development, cognitive development, literacy development and physical development (Click, 2004). The development of a child’s language is considered the cornerstone of the program’s curriculum, and a build up should be done to necessitate successful language learning in the child. Symbolic representation and sensory motor are considered the two stages in a child’s cognitive development. Teachers should, therefore, ensure that the curriculum enables the child to learn to use both their senses and images in order to ensure development in their thinking capacity. The next step is ensuring that the learners develop their lit eracy. This entails their ability to manipulate words, hold a book and pen, making sense out of stories through following pictures and saying names of letters in patterns. The educator should then be able to incorporate aspects of physical and social emotional development. This is done through the addressing sensory integration skills, performance of physical movement and the child’s ability to develop close and secure relationships (File, Mueller Wisneski, 2012). The licensing requirements for infant or toddler programs have various categories addressing the fundamental objectives of such programs. These categories include staff qualification, child age groups, staff ratio and group size, program curriculum, facility requirements, record keeping and policy requirements (Wortham, 2006). The staff qualification deals with the training and orientation of the educators while the category of child age groups requires that the program stipulate the precise clusters of ages with w hich it deals. The ratio of the staff in regards to the size of the learners concerns the maximum number of children to be handled by a number of educators. The program curriculum must also address the fundamental areas of child development while the records and policies must meet the stipulated criteria (Wittmer Petersen, 2006). Educators and staff in learning programs can be maintained amidst the challenge of high turnover through the issuance of incentives by the director (Gordon Browne, 2011). The director should formulate policies that ensure the program’s staff is constantly motivated through high payment packages. Other than this, the director should also ensure that the goals of the institution are channeled towards the maintenance of high levels of productivity. This will provoke the staff to work towards the achievement of the program’s goal (Isenberg Jalongo, 1997). Budget analysis includes the scrutiny of a program’s goals, its productivity in term s if the achievement of these goals and the capital it uses in running the facility (McCall Craft, 2004). The productivity of the program should warrant its feasibility. This is to imply that the program should be able to spend an amount of money that can be ploughed back and guarantee a surplus (Bartik, 2011). One of the strategies proposed by NAYEC, when helping a child who has experienced natural disasters, is the use of storybooks to calm the child. This will help the child with handling trauma experienced after the disaster (Grace Shores, 2010). They also encourage the involvement of children in post-disaster reconstruction activities (NAYEC, 2005). This includes activities like rebuilding the society after the disaster. In order to create an atmosphere that encourages a child to eat, a caregiver should provide a relaxing and calm atmosphere (Whitney Rolfes, 2011). This can be achieved through discussion of colors, tastes of food and textures. This will also develop cognitive development. Eating can also be encouraged when the caregivers allow the children to feed themselves. This can be achieved by using child-sized utensils. The caregiver should also avoid use of nonverbal cues that are likely to discourage the child, like sighing or frowning, when the child makes a mess (Robertson, 1998). In parent education programs, the parents can talk and sing to the children when carrying out duties like feeding them or giving them a bath (Chen, Klein Paul, 2007). They can also read them stories right before they sleep and engage them in short trips to unfamiliar places where they get to learn different environments. Parents can also help their children by playing with them games that have picture cards, and when coming across signs they can point out the words (Marsh, 2005). The signs of physical abuse in a child include the presence of unexplained marks and injuries in the child’s body (Berner Wachs, 2010). Emotional abuse, on the other hand, can be i dentified by signs of withdrawal exhibited by the child. The child will have a tendency to shy away from peers during socially interactive activities and to some extent may refuse to respond to educators and caregivers (Siebel, Britt, Gillespie, Parlakian, et al). Once a case of abuse has been verified by the teacher, the educator should immediately report to the director who will confront either the parents or authority. Reference Bartik, T. J. (2011). Investing in kids: Early childhood programs and local economic development. Kalamazoo, Mich: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Bennis, W. G. (1989). On becoming a leader. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co. If kids are given adequate orientation at the pre-school and early school degrees such kids are likely to turn up with a clear focal point on countries of involvement something which can assist decide the low literacy and accounting accomplishments apparent amongst high school and primary schools pupils. Teacher preparation will play a really important function in carry throughing the ends of early childhood instruction. Teachers play a critical function in curriculum reading and unless the instructors are able to construe course of study efficaciously attempts to streamline early childhood instruction in Australia are likely to neglect. To counter such challenges there is a demand for the authorities to offer inducements to early childhood instruction instructors for case offering free preparation plans or instead offering authorities sponsored preparation plans ( MacNaughton. A ; Williams. 1998 ) . There lacks proper course of study to steer early childhood instruction and the one in topographic point has been in usage for many decennaries something which clearly indicates that it could hold outlived its usage ( Margetts. 2003 ) . Until stakeholders in early childhood instruction come up with solutions every bit good as recommendations geared towards streamlining early childhood instruction to run into modern educational demands so all attempts geared towards accomplishment of effectual early childhood instruction proviso in Australia are likely to be unsuccessful. In decision. early childhood instruction in Australia is in distressing province. There is a demand for the authorities to include in its educational docket. policies which will see more support directed to early childhood instruction. The authorities must take enterprise and implement the necessary amendments to the instruction act which has non served early childhood instruction decently. There is a demand for integrating of early childhood instruction to primary instruction and secondary instruction for intents of accomplishing passage so that early childhood instruction is non viewed as a base entirely sector in instruction. Mentions MacNaughton. G. A ; Williams. G. ( 1998. 69-79 ) Techniques for Teaching Young Children: Choices in theory and pattern. Addison Wesley Longman Australia Pty Ltd. Frenchs Forest. NSW. Margetts. K. ( 2003. pp. 45-65 ) Child attention agreements. personal. household and school influences on children’s accommodation to the first twelvemonth of schooling . Proceedings of the Australian Early Childhood Association Biennial Conference. Hobart 10–13 July 2003. Australian Early Childhood Association.