Situational Analysis, Project Proposal, and ActionIntroduction

The Early Childhood field aspires to engage our youngest learners in, in-depth and

meaningful experiences that enable growth to the fullest developmental capacity; but we too,

must ensure the learning of educators is cultivated through these same experiences. In order to

foster professional growth that resonates with an educator we must look deep within our

practices, instilling moments within children’s learning and our actions and decisions in relation

to children’s learning in the very moment it occurs so that we are able to reflect within these

lived experiences.

Loris Malaguzzi (1998): “Teachers –like children and everyone else – feel the need to

grow in their competencies; they want to transform experiences into thoughts, thoughts into

reflections, and reflections into new thoughts and new actions” (p. 73).

Growing as a professional within the early year’s field is a process that happens at different rates

and in varying ways. Educators are deserving of ongoing opportunities for professional and

personal growth, not just because they are teachers, but also because we are fundamentally

exploratory, curious, and passionate beings.

I have been engaging in a leadership experience within the Milton Community Resource

Center Summer Program at the Milton Christian School, which has presented opportunities to

look at the current summer program through an alternative lens by working collaboratively with

educators to experience learning as a social process with the opportunity to engage in dialogue

and shared reflection. This opportunity has also led me to experience learning as an active

process that involves rethinking my values and beliefs, and subsequently, demonstrating a

change in action and practice; and finally, to experience learning as a dynamic process that

involves pursuing educators’ and children’s inquiries and seeing where these explorations may

lead. The aim of this report is to analyze the emerging themes through observation and

engagement within the program, and my understanding of them as it relates to the field of early

childhood. The themes of: care as education within the early childhood setting, the importance of

parent-engagement, the importance of relationships between educators and children with the

environment as the third teacher in mind, distributed leadership connecting with communities of

practice, and pedagogical documentation in order to expand knowledge and practice. This report

presents a situational analysis of the factors that influence practice. This is followed by a

proposal of how I may offer support. In addition, to examining how the College of Early

Childhood Educators, ‘Codes of Ethics and Standards of Practice (2011)’ impel my rational for

this leadership experience. Ending with the implications, the underlying literature has on my own

evolving philosophy of education and in turn, how this information influences my current

understandings of the role an early childhood educator has in supporting practices that are in the

best interests of children and families.

Situational Analysis

Milton Community Resource Centre is inspired by the work of the children, parents and

teachers in the schools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. Their approach to early learning is based on a

fundamental view of the child as a competent citizen with full rights and the ability to share what

they know. Relationships are central to this approach, with children, families and educators as

they are continuously working collaboratively together and learning from one another.

Embracing the understanding that complex relationships influence each child’s world enables the

program to honor all aspects of the children ensuring the whole child is nurtured within the

program (See Appendix A).

Seeing care as education. In the context of the continuing distinction made between care and

education, a distinction between play-based and academic models of early education, Caldwell

(1989) attempted to find a balance by coining the term ‘educare’ (See Appendix B). Within the

profession of early childhood, an ethic of care and responsibility develops from an individual's

feeling of interconnectedness with others. It is contextual and arises from experience. It is

characterized by nurturance and an emphasis on responsibilities to others. To move beyond this,

it is necessary to improve our understanding of what it is to be a caring practitioner and to

acknowledge that it goes beyond the notion of ‘gentle smiles and warm hugs’, which obscures

the critical developmental and educational value of early education and the complex intellectual

challenge of working with children during early childhood (See Appendix B).

This shift requires early childhood practitioners to embrace leadership so that “improved

professionalism in early childhood will come about and define themselves as ‘leading

professionals’” (Sullivan, 2003). It is becoming increasingly evident that for the growth of

services provided by specialized early childhood practitioners depend on dynamic, visionary

leadership emerging from within the profession. Within the field of early childhood, it is “most

important to unravel what leadership is and to identify the roles and responsibilities within the

early childhood profession, thus permitting leadership to be exercised at a more grass roots

level” (Rodd, 2006, p.19). Current research and knowledge about professional development

build on two decades of research that urges educators to become “reflective practitioners”

(Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999) (See Appendix B). Contemporary beliefs about professional

development, on the other hand, emphasize locating reflective actions within communities of

practices and aim to facilitate shared reflective inquiry about praxis (Wenger, 1998).

In parts of Canada where early childhood education is becoming integrated with

education, many tensions exist between ideological conceptualizations and public perception of

what early childhood education means and what it is for. Education demonstrates trepidation in

embracing early childhood education for reasons which are tangled with notions of how society

views “women’s” work and its subordinate association with caregiving; and pedagogical

differences between holistic, developmentally appropriate and play-based curriculum versus

siloes subjects and did acetic lesson planning. Early childhood educators are hopeful that

integration with the education system means that early childhood education will gain recognition

and value for how it contributes to life-long learning (See Appendix B).

Distributed Leadership and Communities of Practice. The need is particularly prominent in

Early Childhood Education because despite its complexity, there is a lack of leadership

development programs, which results in a need of educators with both early childhood education

and leadership skills. The profession has to recognize the importance of developing leadership,

aim at a broader conceptualization of leadership and its associated skills, and move beyond

reliance on individual leaders towards the creation of a wide community of diverse leaders

(Rodd, 1998). Successful leadership emerges in professional communities where leaders learn

and develop through daily activity of leading while providing and getting individualized support

as well as intellectual stimulation. “Shared implementation of the curriculum by teachers through

discussions and planning meetings provides opportunities for development of a community of

practice based on common philosophical principles” (Clark-Philips, 2011, p. 15).

Distributed leadership is “about collaboration, on-going learning, negotiating,

networking, sharing a vision, shifting the balance of power and mutual engagement” (Clark-

Philips, 2011, p. 16). In communities of practice, educators take on roles of investigators in order

to raise issues and concerns in varying professional areas, collect data and analyze and interpret

them and negotiate their meaning within the professional community. In this framework

educators can thoughtfully reconsider and critically reflect on their practice, thus evolve their

practice as meaning by “taking part in one group or community of practice to which we belong

and is part of our identity” (Clark-Philips, 2011, p. 17). From socio-cultural perspective, within

communities of practice, people share tasks that construct meaningful knowledge and model

appropriate beliefs, values and actions. Meaning exists through a dynamic process of living in

the world and is possible when ideas are jointly understood and enacted (Fleer, 2003). Moreover,

the notion of community is seen as a state of mind, rather than something tangible; it is an

acknowledgement of involvement, engagement and interdependence. Thus, within a community

of practice, the curriculum’s abstract ideas achieve meaning and substance, as our meaning

“comes through negotiation involving participation and reification” (Clark-Philips, 2011, p. 17).

Among early childhood educators, learning communities remain uncommon.

Parent-engagement. As an early childhood educator, the need to understand the meaning of

parent and educator partnership is to help effectively understand children's culture, tradition and

family values and then understand the child's individual needs. In my opinion, effective parent

and educator partnership is combined work as a team to improve the children's holistic

development, “educators are entering a community to create with parents a shared world on the

ground of the school – a world in which ‘parent knowledge’ and teacher knowledge both form

decision-making, the determination of agendas, and the intended outcomes of their efforts for

children, families, the community and the school” (Pushor, 2007, p. 3). So the reciprocal

relationships between educators and parents are necessary for fostering children's learning and

development. It is important that parents and educators support each other and work as partners

in children's early childhood education. For children, their learning and development will be

fostered if the parents are willing to provide some information to help teachers understand their

children's past experiences and believes/values about their own culture. From this knowledge

teachers can know better about their children and ensure the experiences that we provide are

responsive to the individual children and families. “In a land as diverse as Canada, with a

significant population of Aboriginal peoples and a vast representation of cultural groups, with

rural and urban communities, with a multitude of family structures, and with a portion of our

families living in poverty… It tells us that engaging families in schools has the potential to serve

as one means of reducing the achievement gap between discrepant student populations” (Pushor,

2007, p. 5).

Relationships between educators and children and environment as a third teacher. If adults are

to nurture their relationships with children they should allow for the provision of a learning

environment that supports and extends positive interactions between children and educators. It

encourages the movement away from the more traditional, organizational and/or management

role of the practitioner. It also strengthens the focus on the pedagogical role of the educator,

sometimes absent in more play-based settings. A nurturing pedagogy fosters the processes of

interaction, dialogue and planning leading to the shared construction of knowledge, between

children and educators, within the context of an emerging relationship responsive to the child in

the immediate now.

The environment, and children’s interaction with it, should be challenging and rich in

both language and content. This can be either directly, in terms of the content of social

interactions with an adult or advanced peer, or indirectly, through the carefully considered

provision of materials, objects, activities and opportunities. Educators who value their

relationships with children, and their families, and the community use well-established social

processes to build responsive, respectful relationships, and nurture a sense of belonging. The

physical environment, educators’ conditions of service, and the professional teaching of ethics

support children to join in, and contribute to a community of learners and supports perceptions of

children’s rights to belong as a prerequisite to participating in experiences. The physical

environment should be designed to encourage interactions and engagement to facilitate

children’s participation as active agents of their own experiences. Malaguzzi suggests that it is a

child’s “right to a quality environment, to beauty, [and] to contribute to the construction of that

environment” (cited in Rinaldi, 2006, pp. 77-78). Effective use of educational spaces stems from

“a philosophy, a way of thinking about education, and must be the result of careful, in-depth

dialogue between the pedagogical and architectural languages” (p. 80).

Ecological Thinking/Identity and Sustainability. The current state of how humans relate to each

other, and all the other earthlings we share the land with, requires a massive shift in how we

respond to children and the unique ways they make meaning in the world. If children come into

the world intrinsically connected to nature and biologically designed to form loving attachments

with the world, then what are we doing as adults, and more broadly as a culture, to nurture such

loving connections? Initiatives in ecological literacy, environmental education, and social justice

education are usually geared towards elementary and secondary schools or adults, but the field of

education often neglects the early years as a vital time to support social transformation and

environmental concern. The field of education is also strongly influenced by the interests of

modernity and is being held in the tight grip of neoliberalism. Inspiring care and concern for the

rights of people, the land, and nature is a common thread in critical pedagogy and environmental

education, yet the seeds of how to care are often planted during the early years.

Further to my hopes for early childhood programs to be sites of social transformation,

there also exists a possibility for them to become communities that are inclusive of local flora

and fauna and do justice to the environment. According to Orr (1992), “the ecologically literate

person has the knowledge necessary to comprehend interrelatedness, and an attitude of care or

stewardship” (p. 92). I believe that Environmental Education and Early Childhood Education can

collaborate to foster the critical change that is required to shift education towards social

transformation and ecological justice. To put it simply, Environmental Education teach a lot

about how to create holistic, inclusive, and play-based learning environments that will support

children’s self-esteem and well-being, while educators can learn about the intricate

interconnections that exist in the environment. A systems theorist Capra (2005) explains,

“[b]ecause living systems are rooted in patterns of relationships, understanding the principles of

ecology requires a new way of seeing the world and of thinking – in terms of relationships,

connectedness, and context – that goes against the grain of Western science and education”

(Ibid., p. 20, original emphasis) (See Appendix C).

When outdoors in the pebble pit, the diversity of movement and experiential interactions

children had with their surroundings was very interesting. Children were encouraged to tune into

their own bodies, senses, and experiences to self-determine their own meanings, movement, and

risk in the outdoors. This alternative environment supports a different type of attunement to the

world inviting “simultaneous co-existences or co-expressions of that place, and extensions of

themselves” (Livingston, 1994, p. 113). This experience offers a glimpse of what it could mean

for education to move beyond just-human manifestations of culture, towards encountering the

worlds and cultures of all the others with which we share our local communities and planet.

Further, the possibilities for children to engage with their whole bodies and their senses while

playing outdoors invite a capacity for themselves to engage and learn to take risks. Much of this

reminds me of Ann Pelo (2013) about fostering ecological identity in young children, and now

seeing how possible it is.

Pedagogical Documentation, a way to expand knowledge and practice (See Appendix D).

According to Wien (2008), to be “Reggio-inspired” suggests that:

When we are inspired by what they have accomplished and try out a different

practice (different to us) in our own cultures of schooling, we are not creating the Reggio

approach in schools. We are working with the ideas and philosophies of Reggio Emilia as

catalysts to rethinking our own practices. We are re-creating our own teaching and learning

practices, using their ideas and practices as reference points and creating our own interpretations

of these in our schools (p. 6).

Therefore, working with the Reggio Emilia approach means to interpret how this

approach might add value to our current ways of teaching and learning in early childhood

education. Interpreting the Reggio Emilia approach in our own educational settings is a primary

means to further and deepen our understanding of this approach. A key feature of the Reggio

Emilia approach can be found in the practice of “documentation”, which can guide and enrich

teacher reflection and inquiry. Documentation aims to make visible the otherwise invisible

learning processes by which children and teachers work together (Malaguzzi, 1998; Rinaldi,

2006) (See Appendix D). In Canada and the United States, Dahlberg, Moss & Pence (1999) were

the first to use the phrase “pedagogical documentation” to describe the process of making

pedagogical practice visible.

Making visible children’s thinking enables documentation to become an instrument of

exchange and communication (Rinaldi, 2006). On the surface, pedagogical documentation may

appear to be a display of what children do, thinking and feeling in school (Wien, 2008).

However, a closer look shows that documentation aims to explain and invite critical reflection

and discussion about the documented experience. Often, selections are taken from ongoing

documentation and organized into visible formats such as panels, slide shows, books or videos to

illustrate the process of children’s thinking through “ordinary moments” as well as through long-

term projects (Malaguzzi, 1998). Teachers in Reggio Emilia pay careful attention to the aesthetic

design and display of documentation to invite and make possible a public sharing and discussion

about the pedagogical work.

Reflective inquiry into pedagogical documentation is done both individually and

collaboratively among colleagues (Dahlberg, Moss & Pence, 1999; Malaguzzi, 1998).

Nevertheless, teachers in Reggio Emilia strongly believe that professional growth comes partly

through individual reflection but in a much richer way through open dialogue with others

(Malaguzzi, 1998). Teachers in Reggio Emilia often use the phase “Io chi siamo” (I am who we

are) (Rankin, 1998, p. 219) to express the idea that it is within a community of learners that

teachers can offer their best thinking – stimulating something new and unexpected – for richer

discussion and interpretation. The focus is on collective understanding, which requires constant

comparison, discussion and modification of practice to make possible a quality of learning that is

quite different from individual learning. In this community of practice in Reggio Emilia, teachers

are dedicated to developing and sustaining “interactive collegial relationships” (Rinaldi, 2006).

Significantly, pedagogical documentation inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach offers

a new tool into the arena of shared reflective practice in early childhood education. Especially in

Canada where learning communities among childcare teachers remain uncommon, I wonder

about the potential of pedagogical documentation to cultivate learning communities among

childcare teachers. I also wonder about the processes and complexities of forming learning

communities. To that end, what is the potential impact of pedagogical documentation on teacher

learning and development?

Revised Proposal

Context of Leadership Experience. The professional experience I will be engaging in will take

place at a Summer Camp program located out of the Milton Christian School. The Summer

Program is partnered with the Milton Community Resource Centre (MCRC). They provide for

children for a group of 20 children ages 3.8 to 5.7 years, and continue to work in partnership

with families, schools and the larger community. The program is a play-based program,

following a set daily schedule. The Summer Program goes on field trips once a week and has a

visitor come to the center once a week. The program is perceived as ‘childcare’, but there are

possibilities around the implementation of educational opportunities. MCRC is a Not-for-profit,

multi-service organization that provides services to children and families of Milton and the

surrounding communities. The creative and innovative leadership of MCRC with the Halton

community develop sand delivers services to inspire and support children, their families and

professionals.

I will be investigating pedagogical and professional opportunities centered around

creating more positive interactions among children, educators and parents using the physical

environment and documentation to encourage parent engagement within the Summer Camp

Program. The MCRC community reaches children across six Milton schools: Brookville After

School Program, Bruce Trail Learning and Child Care Centre, Chris Hadfield, Hawthrone

Village, P.L. Robertson, and Tiger Jeet Singh. The MCRC will be providing two separate

licensed Summer Camp programs, one designed for Kindergarten and one to meet the interests

of a School Age group. The program offers children a safe and caring environment where they

can engage with peers, various activities within the room, enjoy the outdoors, go on field trips,

and experience visitors. Children are given the opportunity to investigate the arts, participate in

hands on science, to keep physically fit and to learn new skills that complement the school day.

Licensed Summer Camp Programs are part of Halton’s Quality First initiative.

MCRC is inspired by the work of the children, parents and teachers in the schools of

Reggio Emilia, Italy. The approach to early learning is based on a fundamental view of the child

as a competent citizen with full rights and the ability to share what they know. Relationships are

central to this approach, with children, families and teachers working collaboratively and

learning together. Other key values to this approach include project based work, the environment

as a third teacher, documentation, and the teacher as co-learner. MCRC embraces this approach

and strives to build its programs around it. There is quite a connection between MCRC beliefs

and the “Think, Feel, Act” document as well as “How Does Learning Happen?”

Inquiry. As an Early Childhood Educator who has been employed by the Peel District School

Board, I have been involved in the implementation process of the inquiry based curriculum. With

my hands on experiences as a professional within the FDK program I have gained insights into

the dynamics of how relationships between staff are hindered and/or fostered within the program

and how these relationships, both positive and negative, affect the learning environment and

opportunities that are offered to the children within this program. The positive team relationship

that has developed between my teaching partner and I has sparked an interest of investigation

within my professional experience. In examining relationships between educators, I hope to gain

understanding for myself and others surrounding the dynamics that enable positive relationships

between families, children and educators. In order to investigate the correlation between

relationship and environment I am aiming to explore how collaboration of educators and children

can create positive interactions and relationships, while also encouraging parent engagement.

From this experience, I hope the children will recognize and bring forth the knowledge they

acquire into their daily school experiences. I hope that they share this experience with educators

and it brings them closer as they collaborate in maintaining and using the space.

Inquiry Question: If we re-construct the context of the environment, how does it affect program

engagement within a community?

In order to fully investigate all avenues that emerge within the process of unraveling the

context and relationships within my working environment I will be using critical reflection,

documentation and discussion. These tools will make visible the meanings behind decisions

made and acted upon within the environment. I would like to create documentation of daily

experiences where children and educators would collaborate in the planning and construction of

the environment and have it displayed for parents to encourage conversations and perspectives.

Current Inquiry Question: If we re-construct the context of the physical and social

environment, how does it affect program engagement within a community?

When adding “physical and social” to the question, it made me reflect on how the

environment can act as a third teacher and how it can also influence interactions. The question

has opened new possibilities and ideas, and does not confine me to just one type of

‘environment’.

Collaborators. To gain an in-depth understanding surrounding how learning environments

infused with positive relationship experiences I will be working with Lindsey, Early Childhood

Educator; Melisa, Recreational Leadership; Lucas, History Major; and Anne, Early Childhood

Educator. Megan will be acting as my mentor in this process, helping me to gain deeper

understandings into the how’s, why’s and effects of my findings on current and future practice.

Lindsey, Melisa, Lucas, and Anne will be my co-mentors throughout the process.

Benefits. The collaboration between all the participants will allow for a greater respect for family

needs, skills and perceptions. Through asking provoking questions I hope to inspire distributed

leadership as the educators collaborate through communication with one another. The program

will in turn evolve throughout this inquiry giving all participants a greater level of knowledge

into how positive relationship is fostered and maintained. This exploration may also impact the

greater MCRC learning community as the findings could be offered as an example for other

professionals to use as a resource to further their own understandings surrounding the importance

of relationship in the environment.

Rationale for Inquiry Project

Working in the field of early childhood education requires professionals to think outside

themselves, to think in an altruistic manner, holding their actions and decisions up for analysis in

order to ensure accountability to the children and families they serve. Children are one of

society’s most vulnerable groups and the quality of interactions between an educator and their

student can have positive and or negative impacts on a child’s development. It becomes essential

that educators find ways to minimize any potential for adverse influence to seep into the learning

environment, it is the duty of the educator to ensure principals of ethical practice are interwoven

through all interactions they are involved. “Practitioners must continually challenge and evaluate

professional judgments and practices to ensure that they are based on the best available

information. As the body of knowledge changes so do the concepts of best practice” (Chandler,

2009, p. 147). A profession informed knowledge is dependent upon time and place, as research

expands understandings, altering the course of policy and attention our professional focuses

change. The field of early childhood education is not exempt from this rule and as our field has

gained alternative perspectives in which to view the early years, documentation has been lifted to

the forefront of discussion (Kalliala et al., 2014). As I engage in exploring how I may provide

meaningful learning experiences and support for educators in a way that can inspire their own

professional practice, I am pulled toward critical self-reflection as a way to shape educators’

values, beliefs and actions through further investigation involving the use of documentation as

rich data for critical self-reflection upon educator action and practices. This supports

Malaguzzi’s (1998) view that reflective inquiry facilitates teachers to bring alignment between

teaching values with actual teaching in the early childhood classroom. Rinaldi (2006) asserts that

when teachers carefully select an incident to document, they are daring to see the ambiguities of

teaching and learning. Using documentation as a mirror to teacher practice has implications for

supporting rich, critical reflection upon our teaching of young children (as well as our own

learning with and from children). When educators use pedagogical documentation as the basis to

re-verify, re-interpret, and revise their own practice, teachers can develop a deeper, more critical

understanding of one’s pedagogy (Dahlberg, Moss & Pence, 1999), and propel by my goal to

help enhance my own learning and the learning of my colleagues. Under the ‘responsibilities to

colleagues and to the profession’ section in the College of Early Childhood Educators 2011,

codes of ethics and standards of practice I am required to “commit [myself] to engaging in

continuous professional learning to enhance [my] practice [and to] support those who are new to

the profession and students aspiring to the profession” (CECE, 2011, p. 11).

  Aligned with my beliefs surrounding the importance of relationships, and the impact our

relationships have on our ability to grow, so that we are able to insure the well-being and

learning of every child is placed in the highest regard, my intent throughout this process is to

gain greater insights into how and why critical self-reflection can become meaningful and or

stagnant within ones practice. In gaining deeper understandings of how professionals make

profound connections within their practice I hope to impart experiences that enable educators to

continually grow in their practice. Looking into the depths of how others perceive pedagogical

documentation may be hindered by my own personal bias and the connection I hold to this

means of critical reflection that I am offering. I must be aware of the value I place on

documentation in order to gain a true understanding of how others may perceive this form of

professional growth. In addition, to supporting educators, I am also compelled by the codes of

ethics and standards of practice set out by the College of Early Childhood Educators to ensure

the “ best interests of the child are paramount” (CECE, 2011, p. 15).

As I engage in this leadership experience I am driven by the disposition I hold to

continually seek opportunities to grow, in order to ensure I am able to serve children in ways that

truly suit their needs. With this philosophical stance in mind, my desire to afford educators with

additional opportunities to develop ethical practice through critical reflection is strengthened. I

understand the need to look deep within our daily practice, dissecting moments of our lived

experiences so that we are able to afford children learning opportunities that reflect their personal

needs. It can be surmised that it is only when we form the habit of looking deeper, that we will

be able to see the underlying functions that enhance children’s understandings, as well as our

own professional knowledge.

In my own experience as an Early Childhood Educator working primarily with three to

six year olds, the most significant aspect of my work is supporting children with emotional

expression, forms of communication, and acceptance of the different ways of being that each

child brings to the world. Families often struggle with knowing how to respond to children’s

emerging development and ECEs are trained to offer support and education for families about

how to respond to various early childhood issues. I hope and believe that if all early childhood

education programs work towards the above mentioned interests, then humans may be happier;

be better suited to meet suffering and challenges in the world, and have greater concern for

sustaining life.

Critical Reflection

Historically the early childhood profession has been perceived as a lower status of

occupation, our society has been entrenched in views that have reinforced stereotypes and

prejudices surrounding the child, perceptions that have long oppressed the field of early

childhood education. As such, these views have limited the ability of early childhood

practitioners to see themselves as leaders who hold the power to influence the field in ways that

may push our profession and the views of the child forward. “It is necessary to lay to rest the

assumption that working with children is something that anyone can do. This assumption is the

root cause of the unsatisfactory compensation that characterizes the early education field in

Canada” (Chandler, 2009, p. 147). I feel it is important to share what I value about early

childhood education –particularly from a social and ecological justice position, because there are

misunderstandings regarding how early childhood education can support important change in

education. Some misunderstandings include the perception that childcare is a form of glorified

babysitting or that it is a private matter and should not concern people who do not have children.

From an ideological perspective, Early Childhood Education follows interests that contribute to

women’s rights and reduces child poverty. It follows the notion that, through play, children

explore the world through a range of social, emotional, cognitive, and physical aspects of their

development, and understands that children exist in the context of their family dynamics, cultural

nuances, norms, and language.

Developing relationships and communities in addition to the responsibilities we have to

children through our daily practice takes foresight, the vision to see the impact our relationships

can have on children lives and the perspective of the greater community. Moreover, our ability to

see our actions as influential, having impact outside their direct environment is needed in order

effect positive change in the field (Mac Naughton, 2003 & Rodd, 2006). Leadership is often seen

as a stance that positions one over another, but in the field of early childhood education

leadership is not restricted by a hierarchically role. All practitioners regardless of title or length

of service can be advocates for the field and children, the only instruments need to evoke change

is through our actions and words (Ren-Etta Sullivan, 2010). As an educator who strives to

constantly challenge my current ways of doing and knowing through my desire to expand my

understandings through continuous education and professional growth I have come to understand

the accountability I have to myself and the field to advocate for advancement in all those who

impact the lives of our young. In trying to shift thinking in others towards a disposition that see’s

the necessity in critical reflection to constantly push our professional selves forward for the

betterment of our field, children and families I am aware that meaningful connections must be

made that foster an aptitude for leadership within the field. “A key point of education is to

encourage the making of meaning, the development of communication, and the continuation of

social, emotional, psychic and physical growth” (Khattar et al., 2013, p. 87). Entrenching the

learning opportunities given to pre-service educators with tools that elicit a strong sense of

accountability in endlessly raising the level of professionalism within the field through

provocations that excite and allow leadership to be seen, will ultimately open our profession to

greater heights as the field is perpetually moved forward. “When educators engage in continuous

learning and questioning, exploring new ideas and adjusting practices, they achieve the best

outcomes for children, families, and themselves” (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2014, p. 20).

Conclusion

Learning is a metamorphic process, in order to facilitate transformation we must be open

to build upon our pervious conceptions of self, we must emphasize the gaps within our

knowledge and skill, revise our thinking and open ourselves to new possibilities. As a

mechanism for the deconstruction of current understandings, the use of pedagogical

documentation as a tool for critical reflection can provoke educators to see the child and

themselves in new ways as documentation sheds lights on our experiences allowing learning to

become visible. “Given that the field is dealing with human lives, practitioners must be

accountable- and care about what they do and how they do it” (Chandler, 2009, p. 151). It

becomes imperative that our learning intuitions that prepare per-service educators and the

professional development that is offered to practitioners already immersed within the early year’s

field offer professional growth tools, resources and opportunities that ensure educators seek

understanding of how they project themselves within the environments they work, environments

that impact the development of our youngest learners. “Teaching [is] about decision making, but

the skill [is] not making a decision or in knowing why you made that decision. Rather, the skill

lay in knowing why you did not choose one of the 100 other ways in which it was possible to

act” (Mac Naughton, 2005, p. 167). When we see how our pedagogy is truly enacted in our

interactions with children, we are able to see beneath the surface of our actions allowing for a

deep understanding of who we are and the direction we may need to move ourselves toward in

order to grow within our profession.

Weekly Postings

Session 1 & 2. I believe that leadership in early childhood requires deep human qualities that

include, but go beyond conventional notions of “authentic authority” (Rodd, pp. 16). The

traditional concept of a leader as being an individual at the top of a hierarchy is an incomplete

appreciation of what true leadership must be. I am seeing that there is a positional discourse of

leadership where “the discourse of leadership available to leaders is understood and enacted

through the position of the leader”(Thomas, pp. 35). I am understanding leadership as an

influential process enacted by individuals and teams as one connects with one another, to make

the changes that reflect shared vision and purpose. Within my professional experience, working

together with the educators in the room has begun to lead my process of leadership within the

field of early childhood. When coming together on an idea of changing the physical environment

within the setting, I understand that it takes conversations and perspectives of the why and how. I

am seeing that team building is an important aspect of leadership because it “happens when you

create processes, interactions, and activities that help a group of people become an effective and

efficient team that meets the needs of the children and families” (Sullivan, pp. 73). If there is a

shared vision and influence then there will be “more a result of groups of people who work

together to influence and inspire each other rather than the efforts of one single person who

focuses on getting the job done” (Rodd, pp. 17). Within my professional experience, I see

leadership as both an individual and collective ethical responsibility when thinking about

decision making amongst the people who are involved. “Improved professionalism in early

childhood will come about when early childhood practitioners define themselves as ‘leading

professionals’ who choose to take up the challenge of creating and delivering high-quality

services for children and families” (Rodd, pp. 13). Leadership is about purpose, and for early

childhood professionals that purpose is embodied in pedagogical relationships. While strong

pedagogical relationships underpins the way early childhood professionals operate, it is also

acknowledges that effective leaders do many other things, such as making genuine connections

with children and staff, families, communities and other organizations.

Session 3. After reflecting on the readings, I can identify with the lack of understanding of what

leadership is within the early childhood field. It had been argued, “members of the early

childhood field have been noted for their reluctance to identify with the concept of leadership as

part of their professional role” (Rodd, 1994, p.1). Within my past experiences within the field

and in my professional experience, I have come to notice this ‘uncertainty’ of whether or not

early childhood educators are leaders, not only within the field as a whole, but just even in the

room they work in. My view and understanding of leadership has changed as I now view

leadership as being an ‘activist professional’ (Sachs, 2000). Within my professional experience I

am observing leadership within myself as “active engagement with others, across the boundaries

of professional, parent and community – the active negotiation of difference” (Woodrow &

Busch, 2009, p. 90). The traditional leadership theories have provided me with multiple lenses to

view varying aspects of management and leadership characteristics I use in different situations. It

has contributed to my understanding of management and leadership perspectives, the roles and

the responsibilities of leaders, and to be able to apply theoretical knowledge appropriately in

achieving better outcomes. I am beginning to understand and identify the need for the early

childhood profession to become more active as early childhood professionals when it comes to

leadership skills. Rodd (2006) stresses the importance of leadership development by saying "It is

more important to unravel what leadership is and to identify the roles and responsibilities within

the early childhood profession, thus permitting leadership to be exercised at a more grass roots

level" (p. 19). I believe that early childhood professionals need to see themselves as leaders and

to take the challenges in facilitating high quality early childhood services for children and the

families. I now understand that early childhood leadership focuses on influencing people rather

than using power and authority because “to be a ‘leader’ and ‘do leadership’ are constructed in

relationship with others” (Thomas, p. 42). This makes me think that perhaps the essence of the

term leadership articulates the notion of creating positive change. Through developing

relationships and teamwork it seems to be an enhancing affect for leaders within the early

childhood settings. By having trust, sharing, collaboration and empowerment, I believe these to

be contributing factors in developing leadership in early childhood settings. Relationships are

built and that “happens when you create processes, interactions, and activities that help a group

of people become an effective and efficient team that meets the needs of the children and

families you serve” (Sullivan, 2010, p. 73).

Session 4. Being in the world as a professional is about challenging yourself and seeing change

through your values. Carla Rinaldi’s understanding of professionalism diverges from Chandler’s

understanding simply by how they view/value an individuals attributes. Rinaldi’s understanding

of professionalism is holistic as she sees professional development as self-assessment; it is a way

of reflection and how you see yourself. It is about interacting with others – sharing

documentation, interdependency, and growth – to be transported by others. Unlike Chandler,

who views elements of professionalism as “defining distinct and exclusive body of knowledge

and practice, establishing training and certification processes, and increasing political influence”

(Chandler, 2009). I see more of an alignment of understandings with Chandler and Moss, as their

views are more democratic and geared toward education and knowledge. “An early childhood

professional is one who demonstrated up-to-date knowledge and strategies, reflective practice,

and continual learning about evolving theoretical foundations of early education and care”

(Chandler, 2009).

Reference:

Caldwell, B. (1989), ‘All day kindergarten – assumptions, precautions and over generalisations’

Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Vol. 4, pp. 261 – 269.

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Z. Barlow (Eds.), Ecological literacy: Educating our children for a sustainable world,

(pp. 19-29). San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.

Chandler, K. (2009). Promoting professionalism. Administering for quality : Canadian early

childhood development programs (3rd ed.) (143 – 168). Toronto : Pearson Prentice Hall.

Cochran-Smith, M., Lytle, S.L (1999). Relationships of Knowledge and Practice: Teacher

Learning in Communities. Review of Research in Education, Jan 1999; vol. 24: pp. 249-

305.

Cockburn, T. (2005). Children and the feminist ethic of care. Childhood, 12(1), 71-89.

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2010, from http://collegeofece.on.ca/main.php?page_id=8&main_page=1.

College of Early Childhood Educators. (2011). Codes of ethics and standards of practice

recognizing and honoring our profession. Retrieved from CECE website:

http://www.collegeece.ca/en/Documents/Code_Ethic_English_Web_August_201 3.pdf

Dahlberg, G., Moss, P. & Pence, A. (1999). Beyond quality in early childhood education and

care. Philadelphia, PA: Falmer Press.

Doherty, G., Lero, D. S., Goelman, H., LaGrange, A., & Tougas, J. (2000). You bet I care! A

Canada wide study on wages, working conditions and practices in child care centres.

Guelph, Ontario, Canada: Centre for Families, Work and Wellbeing, University of

Guelph.

Edwards, C., Gandini, L. & Forman, G. (1998). Introduction: Background and starting points. In

C. Edwards, L. Gandini, and G. Forman (Eds.), The hundred languages of children: The

Reggio Emilia Approach- Advanced reflections, second edition, (pp.5-26). Westport, CT:

Ablex Publishing.

Fleer, M. (2003). Early Childhood Education as an Evolving ‘Community of Practice’ or as

Lived ‘Social Reproduction’: Researching the ‘taken-for-granted’ Contemporary Issues

in Early Childhood, 4(1), 64 -79.

Hayes, N. (2003), ‘Play, Care and Learning: Creating an integrated curriculum for early

childhood education in Ireland’ in M. Karlsson-Lohmander I. & Pramling (ed.)

Care, Play and Learning: Curricula for Early Childhood Education Volume 5,

Researching Early pp. 69 – 82.

Jacobs, E. (2000). A national picture of child care options. In L. Prochner & N. Howe (Eds.),

Early childhood care and education in Canada, (pp. 163-207). Vancouver, British

Columbia, Canada: UBC Press.

Kalliala, M. & Samuelsson, I. (2014). Pedagogical documentation. Early Years: An International

Research Journal. 34, (2), 116-118.

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Early Childhood Education. Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies.

10,(2), 70 – 91.

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Key Porter Books Ltd.

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C. Edwards, L. Gandini, and G. Forman (Eds.), The hundred languages of children: The

Reggio Emilia Approach- Advanced reflections, second edition, (pp. 49-98). Westport,

CT: Ablex Publishing.

Mac Naughton, G. (2003). Shaping early childhood: Learners, curriculum, and contexts. New

York: Open University Press.

Mac Naughton, G. M. (2005) Doing foucault in early childhood studies: Applying poststructural

ideas. Milton Park: Routledge.

No Author (n.d.). Milton resource community center: about us, what we do, school age

programs. Retrieved from: http://mcrc.on.ca/

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Ontario Ministry of Education. (2014). How does learning happen? Ontario’ s pedagogy for the

early years. Ontario: Queen’s printer.

Orr, D.W. (1992). Ecological literacy: Education and the transition to a postmodern world.

Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Pelo, A. (2013). The goodness of rain developing an ecological identity in young children (pp.

39-53). Redmond, Washington, DC: Exchange Press Inc.

Pushor, D. (2007). Parent engagement: creating a sharing world. University of Saskatchewan,

Saskatoon, SK.

Rankin, B. (1998). Curriculum development in Reggio Emilia: A long-term curriculum project

about dinosaurs. In Edwards, L. Gandini, and G. Forman (Eds.), The hundred languages

of children: The Reggio Emilia Approach- Advanced reflections, second edition, (pp.

215-238). Westport: Ablex Publishing.

Ren-Etta Sullivan, D. (2010). Learning to lead: Effective leadership skills for teachers of young

children. St. Paul: Redleaf Press.

Rinaldi, C. (2006). In dialogue with Reggio Emilia. London, England: Routeledge.

Robertson, J. (2006). Reconsidering our images of children: What shapes our educational

thinking? In A. Fleet, J. Robertson, & C. Patterson (Eds.), Insights: Behind early

childhood pedagogical documentation, (pp. 37-54). Sydney, Australia: Pademelon

Press.

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Russell, T. (2005). Can reflective practice be taught? Reflective Practice, 6(2), 199–204.

Rodd, J. (2006). Leadership in early childhood: unpacking leardership in the early

childhood context. Allen & Uwin, Sydney.

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teachers of young children (2nd ed.)(pp. 71-81). St. Paul, Minn.: Redleaf Press.

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alternative to 'doing' leadership and 'being' the leader. Principal Research Fellow

Australian Catholic University.

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care in economically advanced countries. Florence, Italy: Innocenti Research Centre.

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Emilia approach in schools. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

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activism. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 16 (1), 83-93.

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Appendix A: Milton Community Resource Center

The Licensed Summer Program is part of Halton’s Quality First initiative. The Quality First is a program of The Halton Resource Connection (THRC). THRC is operated through a collaborative partnership between Milton Community Resource Centre and Halton Region, Children’s Services. Since 2005, Quality First has provided licensed childcare and early learning programs in Halton with an opportunity to participate in quality improvement. The MCRC serves the municipal region of Milton, which encompasses the communities of MCRC Early Learning Centre, Bruce Trail Early Learning and Child Care Centre, White Oaks Plaza, Georgetown and Acton. Deeply rooted in the values of inclusivity to remove all barriers which prevent acceptance and accessibility; collaboration in sharing ideas and working together toward common goals; envisioning a safe, caring community where children and families are valued, grow and succeed; finally with integrity and quality. These governing values that guide the decisions and actions of MCRC reiterate a philosophical stance surrounding unity, as they work in partnership with families and the greater community to infuse their centers with ideologies that foster a love of learning within positive atmospheres to enable children to reach their full potential in all areas of development, as active, contributing and caring members of society.

Appendix B: Seeing Care as Education

The concept of ‘educare’ was intended to bring together care and education as equally important for curriculum development and pedagogy, and was intended to describe an approach to education that offered a developmentally appropriate mixture of education and care; of stimulation and nurture; of work and play (Caldwell, 1989, p. 266). Although the term has not really been taken up in the everyday language of early education, it has forced further debate about how best to consider these two interconnected elements of early education and, in particular, how to reconceptualise ‘care’ so that it ranks equally with education in early educational practice (Hayes, 2003).

Within the profession of early childhood, an ethic of care and responsibility develops from an individual's feeling of interconnectedness with others. It is contextual and arises from experience. It is characterized by nurturance and an emphasis on responsibilities to others. To move beyond this, it is necessary to improve our understanding of what it is to be a caring practitioner and to acknowledge that it goes beyond the notion of ‘gentle smiles and warm hugs’, which obscures the critical developmental and educational value of early education and the complex intellectual challenge of working with children during early childhood. Thus, “the ethic of care can be described as a moral activity, the ‘activity of caring’, rather than a set of principles which can be followed” (Cockburn, 2005, p. 73).

Recent conceptions of professional development suggest that knowledge develops socially through negotiation and co-construction (Vygotsky, 1978). Conventional tools for reflection, such as journals, narratives and other individualized work, locate reflective actions within individuals and aim to facilitate internal thinking.

Yet being an educator in Canada is to also accept inclusion in an occupation that is oppressed with issues of power and unrealized potential for professional empowerment. More than ninety-six percent of educators in Canada are women working with young children (Jacobs, 2000). Historical perceptions of childcare as babysitting or substitute mothering persist and childcare continues to represent an invisible occupation linked to the invisibility of what is perceived as women’s work – low paid, low status, taken-for-granted labour (Doherty et. al., 2000).

Nation-wide initiatives to improve the professional standards, wages, and working conditions of educators are needed (Doherty et. al., 2000; UNICEF, 2008). In Ontario, the College of Early Childhood Educators (CECE) is a recently formed professional self-regulatory organization for early childhood educators to ensure quality and standards in the practice of early childhood education (CECE, 2007). Meanwhile, equally impactful and significant is to offer high-quality professional development that can empower educators to gain confidence in their own professionalism, and to develop the skills and knowledge to grow professionally and challenge perceived images of childcare as solely a provision of basic care.

The “non-professional” image of early childcare educators is further complicated by a varied and relatively low educational attainment among the childcare workforce. Early childhood educators are holders of a two-year credential in early childhood education, but even so, most college training programs are intended to ensure a minimal level of competency and expect that life-long meaningful professional development will occur (Doherty et. al, 2000). Professional development is critical to remedy this lack in education and training among the childcare workforce.

Appendix B: Seeing Care as Education

This integration of early childhood education with kindergarten also meets the divide between the early learning as a publicly accessible system and the market-driven approach to childcare. The emerging possibilities for inter-professional collaboration between education and early childhood education means the early years can be recognized as a time when humans begin their relationships with the world. It is my hope that our socio-political climate can shift education towards creating inclusive spaces that honour childhood and foster concern for the world.

Appendix C: Ecological Thinking/Identity and Sustainability

Environmental education appears to be on a trajectory to shift away from learning about the environment towards learning with the environment. Usually, environmental education is marginalized as a subject area in schools and is typically relegated to a component in the science curriculum. Environmental education is exploring how to make learning about the environment more meaningful for students and discovering the importance of supporting experiential learning of the natural world. Contradictions are evident when environmental education is traditionally offered through text or audio-visual learning experiences and siloes within science class, yet the field of ecology increasingly emphasizes the interconnectedness of ecosystems and their entanglement with humans. Environmental education is also learning that in order to care about the environment, humans must have an affective relationship with the environment, but how does this happen when children spend all their time indoors or when most school grounds are comprised of concrete?

Appendix D: Pedagogical Documentation, a way to expand knowledge and practice

The primary purpose of child care in Canada has been seen politically as the provision of care that supports the family in raising children, generally so that parents can be employed and thereby provide their children with food and shelter. Gradually, this conception of childcare has included a developmental perspective, focusing on fostering children’s physical, social, emotional and cognitive development. Childcare educators in Canada serve one in every three children between birth-to- five years old (Beach et. al., 2008). Given the importance of early learning, and the undeniable presence that childcare educators play in children’s formative years, it is important that the childcare workforce is valued, supported, and growing professionally.

Many childcare teachers in Canada have recently become inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach to educating young children. Emerging from the municipally funded early childhood institutions of Reggio Emilia, Italy, the Reggio Emilia approach is grounded in a holistic, arts- based, social constructivist approach to educating young children. Its philosophical image of the child as a powerful competent protagonist of his or her own learning underpins everything that teachers do in Reggio Emilia (Robertson, 2006a). Over the past fifty years, the early childhood schools of Reggio Emilia have evolved their own distinctive and innovative set of philosophical and pedagogical assumptions to support children and teachers’ inquiries that are the impetus to teaching and learning (Edwards, Gandini & Forman, 1998). As such, “Reggio Emilia” schools can only exist in the municipality of Reggio Emilia. Formal, standardized training on the Reggio Emilia approach does not exist.

Making visible children’s thinking enables documentation to become an instrument of exchange and communication (Rinaldi, 2006). On the surface, pedagogical documentation may appear to be a display of what children do, thinking and feeling in school (Wien, 2008). However, a closer look shows that documentation aims to explain and invite critical reflection and discussion about the documented experience. Often, selections are taken from ongoing documentation and organized into visible formats such as panels, slide shows, books or videos to illustrate the process of children’s thinking through “ordinary moments” as well as through long-term projects (Malaguzzi, 1998). Teachers in Reggio Emilia pay careful attention to the aesthetic design and display of documentation to invite and make possible a public sharing and discussion about the pedagogical work.

It may include collecting and organizing written observations, transcripts of children’s conversations, children’s work, still photographs and video recordings that illustrate a process, all of which can be used to congeal teachers’ interpretations of children’s thinking into a tangible artifact (i.e. documentation). Including a reflective text is also very significant to making visible children’s thinking. For instance, a single drawing by a child would not be considered documentation.

Appendix E: Critique of Proposal

Professional Experience Proposal

Context

The professional experience I will be engaging in will take place within the at a Summer

Camp program at located out of the Milton Christian School. The summer camp program who is

partnered with the Milton Community Resource Centre (MCRC). They and provides childcare

for children for a group of 20 children ages 3.8 to 5.7 years., The MCRC also and continues to

work in partnership with families, schools and the larger community. The MCRC is a Not-for-

profit, multi-service organization that provides services to children and families of Milton and

the surrounding communities. The creative and innovative leadership of MCRC with the Halton

community develops s and delivers services to inspire and support children, their families and

professionals.

I will be investigating pedagogical and professional learning in various inquiry

opportunities centered on around creating more positive interactions among children, educators

and parents through using the physical environment and documentation in hope to encourage

parent engagement within the Summer Camp Program. The MCRC community reaches children

across six Milton 6 schools: Brookville After School Program, Bruce Trail Learning and Child

Care Centre, Chris Hadfield, Hawthrone Village, P.L. Robertson, and Tiger Jeet Singh. The

MCRC will be providing two separate licensed Summer Camp programs, one designed for

Kindergarten and one to meet the needs of a School Age group. The program offers children a

safe and caring environment where they can engage with peers, various activities within the

room, enjoy the outdoors, go on field trips, and experience visitors. Children are given the

opportunity to investigate the arts, participate in hands on science, to keep physically fit and to

learn new skills that complement the school day. Licensed Summer Camp Programs are part of

Halton’s Quality First initiative.

MCRC is inspired by the work of the children, parents and teachers in the schools of

Reggio Emilia, Italy. Their approach to early learning is based on a fundamental view of the

child as a competent citizen with full rights and the ability to share what they know.

Relationships are central to this approach, with children, families and teachers working

collaboratively and learning together. Other key values to this approach include project based

work, the environment as a third teacher, documentation, and the teacher as co-learner. MCRC

Appendix E: Critique of Proposal

embraces this approach and strives to build its programs around it. Connection to Think, Feel,

Act! How Does Learning Happen?

Inquiry

As an Early Childhood Educator who has been employed by the Peel District School

Board, I have been involved in the implementation process of the inquiry based curriculum. With

my hands on experiences as a professional within the FDK program I have been gained insights

into the dynamics of how relationships between education staff, are hindered and/or fostered

within the program and in turn how these relationships, both positive and negative, affect the

learning environment and opportunities that are offered to the children within this program. The

positive team relationship that has developed between my teaching partner and I has sparked an

interest of investigation within my professional experience. In examining our the relationships

between educators, I hope to gain understanding for myself and others surrounding the dynamics

that enable positive relationships to form in the classroom setting for both between families,

children and educators. In order to investigate the correlation between relationship and

environment I am aiming to explore how collaboration of educators and children can create

positive interactions and relationships, while also encouraging parent engagement. From this

experience, I hope the children will recognize and bring forth the knowledge they acquire into

their daily school experiences. I hope that they share this experience with educators and it brings

them closer as they collaborate in maintaining and using the space. Connection: View of the

child, family and educators!

Inquiry Question: If we re-construct the context of the environment, how does it affect program

engagement within a community? LOVE THIS QUESTION!

In order to fully investigate all avenues that emerge within the process of unraveling the context

and relationships within my working environment I will be using critical reflection,

documentation and discussion. These as tools will make visible to find the meanings behind

decisions made and acted upon within the environment. I would like to create documentation of

daily experiences where children and educators would collaborate in the planning and

construction of the environment and have it displayed for parents to encourage conversations and

perspectives. Great idea!

Appendix E: Critique of Proposal

Collaborators

To gain an in-depth understanding surrounding how learning environments infused with positive

relationship experiences I will be working with Lindsey, Early Childhood Educator, Melisa,

Early Childhood Educator, Luca, History Major and Anne, Early Childhood Educator. Megan

will be acting as my mentor in this process, helping me to gain deeper understandings into the

how’s, why’s and effects of my findings on current and future practice. Lindsey, Melisa, Lucas,

and Anne will be my co-mentors throughout the process.

Benefits

The collaboration between all the participants will allow for a greater respect for family needs,

skills and perceptions. How can you encourage shared leadership within your context? The

program will in turn evolve throughout this inquiry giving all participants a greater level of

knowledge into how positive relationship is fostered and maintained. This exploration may also

impact the greater MCRC learning community as the findings could be offered as an example for

other professionals to use as a resource to further their own understandings surrounding the

importance of relationship in the environment. Your legacy

Chay,

I love how you are focusing on the importance of interconnected relationships among children,

families, educators and the environment! I can see how many of the current ministry documents,

children’s rights and leadership align with your thinking.

I am excited to hear about your journey!

Angela