According
to the European Early Childhood Education Research Association or the EECERA,
current early childhood research focuses on topics such as how do teachers and
children interact during certain times, the differences of ratings between
teachers and caregivers on school readiness, and parental influence on a child’s
ability to engage in storytelling. These
topic papers were included in their most recent journal. The focus of these topics is similar to the
kinds of topics being researched in America.
A new
insight that I gained is the concept of catalytic leadership, in which new
early childhood professionals demonstrate leadership by being innovative and
implementing change. Honestly, I have
never heard of this concept; however, as previous “new professional”, I
remember entering my school setting and trying to change things that I did not
think was working. I also know that it
can be difficult for new professionals to feel that they can be leaders.
I also
learned that the EECERA develops special interest groups comprised of
professionals from different countries that focus on a specific topic. These professionals meet regularly to discuss
research and development about their topic hopefully, to inform and develop
position statements or policies.
Joseph,
ReplyDeletebeing innovative and implementing change is a surprising strategy to me as well for a new early childhood professional to use. I would think this would be best implemented slowly and in degrees to avoid a backlash.
Leadership in early childhood education has many facets, including and not limited to management and administration. The early years in a child’s life are a special and unique time for growth and learning; therefore, they need positive role models in their lives. Unfortunately, research has shown that early childhood educators do not readily identify themselves as leaders as part of their professional role. For this reason, a number of initiatives have implemented new ideas on enacting leadership projects in the field so that early childhood educators can identify the many roles of their profession.
ReplyDeleteMr. Starnes I believe that ECP meeting regularly is a great way to stay current on any new policies and developments. Implementing change while in this field is a great way to keep teachers, administrators and management energetic and influential. This is a strategy I will use in my move next week to a higher position in my career field to hopefully produce knowledgeable staff and parents along with typically developing children. I look forward to researching this website in the future. :)
ReplyDeleteI also looked at the eecera website but didn't get into the leadership piece of it. Thanks for the insight- I will take another look!
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