ECE 2109 Educational Partnerships in Early Childhood

STAFFING:

REQUISITES:

RATIONALE:

The work of an early childhood professional requires a belief and strong commitment to the development of partnerships with parents, children and other colleagues. To be an effective early childhood educator, one must fully understand the family, the influences on family, and have the necessary personal and professional skills to establish and maintain true partnerships in the educational process. Early childhood educators must also be able to create environments which challenge children's abilities and develop creativity and problem solving skills.

SYNOPSIS:

This course will provide students with the knowledge to understand the influences on families within early childhood settings. It will focus on building and developing interpersonal and communication skills, which are essential when working with families and other colleagues. This course will also extend the development of observational skills and introduce students into planning for small groups. It focuses on curriculum areas and associated planning and preparation necessary for planning imaginative, creative programs for children birth to eight years. IMPORTANT NOTE: Working with Children: State law in Queensland requires that all adults (including university students, pre-service educators, trainers, vocational teachers, industry educators) working with children under the age of 18, in the State of Queensland*, obtain approval before commencing such work. Many education courses include a practical component (professional experience, project work, research, assessment etc.) that may require engagement with children under the age of 18. It is your responsibility to ensure that you possess a current suitability card (Blue Card) before commencing any practical components of this course. DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN ANY PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE WITH CHILDREN UNDER 18 UNLESS YOU POSSESS A CURRENT 'BLUE CARD'. For further information: http://www.childcomm.qld.gov.au/employment/bluecard/informationSheets.html *If you are undertaking practical experience outside the State of Queensland, Australia you should check local requirements.

OBJECTIVES:

On completion of this course students will be able to:

1. identify the many functions and roles of staff, parents and community as partners in the educative process of young children
2. demonstrate a variety of communication and interpersonal skills appropriate for early childhood education professionals when working with children, parents and colleagues
3. establish, build and maintain effective partnerhsips with children, parents and other colleagues
4. design and analyse parent programs and resources for parent programs and involvement
5. recognise the influence of cultural, societal and personal values on the family
6. recognise and accept the diversity within families
7. discuss, detail and outline current programming styles, curriculum documents and trends in early childhood education
8. develop and extend observational skills
9. plan for individual and small groups in programs for children (birth to eight years)
10. create interesting, responsive and imaginative indoor and outdoor environments for young children
11. select and create, appropriate resources for programs
12. be aware of, and able to use and critique, the current technology available to children in educational settings
13. maintain and store resources for children
14. be familiar with, and abide by, the Australian Early Childhood Code of Ethics for early childhood educators
15. use written communication effectively and appropriately
16. write clearly, grammaticllly correclty and with accurate spelling and punctuation.

TOPICS:

TEXT and MATERIALS required to be PURCHASED or accessed:

ALL textbooks and materials are available for purchase from USQ BOOKSHOP (unless otherwise stated). Orders may be placed via secure internet, free fax 1800642453, phone 07 46312742 (within Australia), or mail. Overseas students should fax +61 7 46311743, or phone +61 7 46312742. For costs, further details, and internet ordering, use the 'Textbook Search' facility at http://bookshop.usq.edu.au click 'Semester', then enter your 'Course Code' (no spaces).

Queensland School Curriculum Council, 1998, Preschool Curriculum Guidelines, Education Queensland Open Access Unit, Brisbane.

Book of readings

REFERENCE MATERIALS:

STUDENT WORKLOAD REQUIREMENTS:

ASSESSMENT DETAILS:

NOTES:

1.

Letter grades will be used in this course and displayed in the notes section. This course will be graded using one of the following letter grades: HD, A, B, C, F, or Incomplete. Plus and minus may be used with each of these letter grades.

IMPORTANT ASSESSMENT INFORMATION

1. Attendance requirements:
   It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. Students should demonstrate a professional attitude and commitment by attendance at and participation in at least 80% of scheduled classes.
2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
   To complete each of the assessment items satisfactorily, students must obtain at least a grade of C- for each assessment item. To complete each of the assessment items satisfactorily, students must demonstrate their ability to write clearly, grammatically correctly and with accurate spelling and punctuation.
3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
   If students submit assignments after the due date without an approved extension time, University penalities may be applied.
4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
   To be assured of a passing grade, students must demonstrate that they have achieved the minimum standards in relation to the objectives of the course by obtaining at a C grade or better of the total weighted marks available for all summative assessment items.
5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
   The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the weighted aggregate of the grades obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.
6. Examination information:
   There is no examination in this course.
7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
   There will be no Deferred or Supplementary examinations in this course.
8. University Regulations:
   Students should read USQ Regulations 5.1 Definitions, 5.6. Assessment, and 5.10 Academic Misconduct for further information and to avoid actions which might contravene University Regulations. These regulations can be found at the URL http://www.usq.edu.au/corporateservices/calendar/part5.htm or in the current USQ Handbook.

ASSESSMENT NOTES

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

1. It is strongly recommeded that students take advantage of the services of OPACS based in S Block, Level 2. This service is provided free to enable all students to improve their academic reading and writing skills.
2. It is also strongly recommended that students take advantage of the services offered by the Library and EML relating to database and journal searching, referencing and resources for professional experience etc. Classes are provided on a regular basis. Please check the Library noticeboards.
3. Referencing for this course is APA as per Library handout - see URL in general information sections. Please note: the reference materials in the course specifications are written in Harvard not APA.
4. All assignments are to be delivered and collected from G Block. Please note:Teaching Assistants will be available betwwen 10:00 am - 12:00 pm. At other times assignments can be placed in the boxes close to this area.
5. A signed USQ cover sheet must be securely attached to the front of all assignments.
6. The second assignment must have an electronic file, either on a floppy disc or CD, submitted with the final hard copy of the assignment.
7. Students will require access to e-mail and Internet access to USQConnect for this course.
8. IMPORTANT NOTE: Working with Children: State law in Queensland requires that all adults (including university students, pre-service educators, trainers, vocational teachers, industry educators) working with children under the age of 18, in the State of Queensland*, obtain approval before commencing such work. Many education courses include a practical component (professional experience, project work, research, assessment etc.) that may require engagement with children under the age of 18. It is your responsibility to ensure that you possess a current suitability card (Blue Card) before commencing any practical components of this course. DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN ANY PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE WITH CHILDREN UNDER 18 UNLESS YOU POSSESS A CURRENT 'BLUE CARD'. For further information: http://www.childcomm.qld.gov.au/employment/bluecard/informationSheets.html *If you are undertaking practical experience outside the State of Queensland, Australia you should check local requirements.