Leadership Competencies in Early Childhood Education, Thesis of Accounting

Download Leadership Competencies in Early Childhood Education and more Thesis Accounting in PDF only on Docsity! 1 Leadership Journal: Leadership Competencies ECE 642 Quality Curriculum in Early Childhood Education Part 1: Content/Course Reflection As a leader at my center, my primary goal to the families, their children, and the teachers are to furnish a healthy environment that will promote a positive learning experience. This 2 healthy environment will be provided utilizing "Gardener's Five Minds for the Future" (Gardener, 2018).  A disciplined mind: o Families—They should know that they are cared for and valued. They should know that they are a big part of the child's development. They are their child's first teacher and should be recognized as that. Their insight is valuable and needed. I will inform the families that they are essential, and by us keeping them on the same page, the children have a better chance of success. The families need to know that they are just as important as the teachers. o Staff—They should know that they are a piece to the child's puzzle of success. The child's puzzle cannot be complete without their insight, knowledge, and loving and caring heart. As a leader, the teachers need to know and understand their importance so they will be valued and appreciated. o Children—Need to know that they are loved, cared for, and appreciated. They need to know that while they are different, they are valued as individuals. They will be guided through their development and shown healthy ways to control emotions. They will be taught self-regulation, which in turn will help their self- discipline skills. When children see that the people in their life genuinely care for them, that is when they blossom the most.  A synthesizing mind: o Families—Communication to the families should be maintained at all times. Families should be given information that pertains to their child's development and any classroom events that are occurring. The information provided should be 5 o Families—They will be shown and taught what the expectations are that pertains to the school. The families will know that maintaining an ethical mind is essential to a successful learning experience. o Staff—Upon starting employment, the teachers will have a contract that they read and sign. The papers will state what their expectations are. By modeling an ethical mind, the staff, families, and children will follow. The teachers will understand that to teach children right from wrong, and they need to model that behavior. The classroom will be constructed in a way where disruptive behavior is minimal and designed in a way where children and staff can remain calm. o Children—They will be taught what is right and what is wrong. They will be shown proper examples. Children will be encouraged to show emotions healthily. They will be guided through the process. There will be appropriate places where the children can freely express emotions or wind down when they are overwhelmed.  I would not add a 6th competency because the five I have listed cover everything I feel should be covered. Gardener's Five Minds for the Future was well constructed and covered everything. Part 2: Program/Personal Reflection While reading this paper, I found that the article's introduction was not an introduction to what he was going to be talking about, and in fact, I found the beginning a little boring. It was not until I got further into the paper where my interest came back. Before reading this article, I was unaware of the knowledge I had, despite the extensive experience, and how much I implement these. 6 Each competency is vital, and each of them coincides with one another, which creates a great mind. Each competency influences me as a leader because I am setting an example for the children, families, and teachers. Being a role model is essential in this field, and to become a great role model, one needs to understand each competency and how it coincides with each other. When I think of a disciplined mind, I think of having control over emotions, self- regulation, setting boundaries and expectations. When I think of a respectful mind and an ethical mind, I think of how they are related to each other and a synthesizing mind; I think of relaying information to individuals in a way that they can comprehend and methods where it would benefit them the most. Being respectful is about being kind to others. The ethical mind, to me, is about right from wrong. To me, a creative mind is about allowing your imagination to soar and flow with ideas. Take yourself someplace where you are inspired to let the creativity flow. Being creative is about not being afraid to stand out. While I have already implemented the five competencies in my leadership at my current center, however, after reading this article, it has come to my attention how vital the five competencies really are. As we advance in technology more and more, leaders and educators need to remain innovative when communicating to families. Some families work so much that they do not have time to chat in person, and other families do not read emails as often and would prefer to set a time to talk in person or over the phone. Keeping each families' communication preferences is crucial. Additionally, following through with the promises that you have given the families and staff is vital. The information provided in the article is beneficial and will be implemented more throughout my time as a leader. Furthermore, I now plan to check in with my teachers more to see what materials they need to encourage creativity with their students. Creativity is essential, so I want to be sure that this will be provided. 7 References Gardener, H. (2008, January). Five Minds for the Future. Ecolint Meeting., Geneva.