ECE4009 Early Childhood Professional

ECE	4009	62906	1, 2007	EXT	Early Childhood Professional	1.00	Toowoomba
Subject	Cat-nbr	Class	Term	Mode	Description	Units	Campus

Academic group:	FOEDU
Academic org:	FOE004
Student contribution band:	National Priority Teaching
ASCED code:	070101

Staffing
Other requisites
Rationale
Synopsis
Objectives
Topics
Texts
Reference materials
Student workload
Assessment details
Important assessment information
Assessment notes
Other requirements
Production date
PDF version

STAFFING

Examiner: Karen Noble
Moderator: Deborah Geoghegan

OTHER REQUISITES

State law in Queensland (Australia) requires that all adults working/undertaking professional experience/researching with children under the age of 18, in the state of Queensland are required to possess a current suitability card (Blue Card). (See "Other Requirements" for further information.) Also see: http://www.childcomm.qld.gov.au/employment/bluecard/informationSheets.html.

RATIONALE

Early childhood educators commencing employment and undertaking administration at the beginning of their careers require knowledge of personal and professional characteristics, skills and responsibilities which are associated with effective educational practice. Since the range of early childhood employing bodies and associated industrial settings is broad, beginning educators would be advantaged by knowledge of employment processes relating to a variety of early childhood services and by possession of skills in meeting differing requirements for commencing employment. Awareness of current issues and trends in the early childhood field would also enable early childhood professionals to make informed choices in adapting to changing policy environments, undertaking advocacy for young children and families and developing teamwork and leadership skills.

SYNOPSIS

This course will introduce beginning early childhood educators to employment and management issues which will be expanded in a subsequent administration course and will offer professional development designed to assist with individual career commencement. It will incorporate practical skills for early childhood educators seeking employment, working with other staff and the community, responding to policy change and maintaining procedures which reflect current legal and ethical requirements. Current issues and trends in the early childhood field will be related to policy directions and the role of the early childhood professional in research, leadership, change management, conflict management, communication, policy development and advocacy. This course will also focus attention on professional self-renewal.

OBJECTIVES

The course objectives define the student learning outcomes for a course. The assessment item(s) that may be used to assess student achievement of an objective are shown in parenthesis. On completion of this course students will be able to:

understand the concepts of management, administration and leadership in early childhood services (Assessment 1)
understand the change process, conflict resolution, ethics and the duty of care (Assessments 1 and 2)
define advocacy and appreciate the professionals' role in advocacy, good communication and policy (Assessments 1 and 2)
understand employment contexts, networks, accreditation processes and the need for professional self renewal. (Assessment 2)

TOPICS

	Description	Weighting (%)
1.	Leadership, change management and conflict management	20.00
2.	Advocacy, communication and policy development	20.00
3.	Duty of care and ethics in early childhood	20.00
4.	Employment, professional networks and accreditation	20.00
5.	Professional self renewal	20.00

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).

Ebbeck, M & Waniganayake, M 2003, Early Childhood professionals leading today and tomorrow, Maclennan & Petty, Sydney.

REFERENCE MATERIALS

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.

Bell, J 2005, Doing your research project: a guide for first time researchers in education and social science, 4th edn, Open University Press, Buckingham, UK.

Henderson, J G 2001, Reflective teaching: professional artistry through inquiry, 3rd edn, Merrill, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Isenberg, J & Jalongo, M 2003, Major trends and issues in early childhood education: challenges, controversies and insights, 2nd edn, Teachers College Press, New York.

Kemmis, S & McTaggart, R 1988, The action research planner, 3rd edn, Deakin University, Melbourne.

Miller, K 1996, The crisis manual for early childhood teachers: Australian edition, Pademelon, Balmain, NSW.

Newman, L & Pollnitz, L 2002, Professional, ethical and legal issues in early childhood, Pearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forest, NSW.

Penn, H (ed) 1999, Early childhood services: theory, policy and practice, Open University Press, Buckingham.

Ramsay, I & Shorten, A 1996, Education and the law, Butterworths, Sydney.

Shoemaker, C C 1999, Leadership and management of programs for young children, 2nd edn, Merrill, Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Taylor, B 2002, Early childhood program management: people and procedures, 4th edn, Merrill, Upper Saddle River.

STUDENT WORKLOAD REQUIREMENTS

ACTIVITY	HOURS
Assessment	40.00
Online Discussion Groups	7.00
Private Study	70.00
Project Work	40.00

ASSESSMENT DETAILS

Description		Marks out of	Wtg(%)	Due date
INDIVIDUAL PROJECT		100.00	100.00	20 Apr 2007

IMPORTANT ASSESSMENT INFORMATION

Attendance requirements:
It is the students' responsibility 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.
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To complete each of the assessment items satisfactorily, students must obtain at least 50% of the marks available for each assessment item and must demonstrate their ability to write clearly, grammatically correctly and with accurate spelling and punctuation.
Penalties for late submission of required work:
If students submit assignments after the due date without prior approval then a penalty of 5% of the total marks available for the assignment will apply for each working day late.
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must complete and submit all of the summative assessment items and achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.
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 marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.
Examination information:
There is no examination in this course.
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
There is no examination in this course.
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

1.	The due date for an assignment is the date by which a student must despatch the assignment to the USQ. The onus is on the student to provide proof of the despatch date, if requested by the examiner.
2.	Students must retain a copy of each item submitted for assessment. This must be produced within twenty-four (24) hours of receipt of request being made by the examiner. The student must retain this copy until the grade for this course has been finalised.
3.	In accordance with the University's assignment extension policy (Regulation 5.6.1), the examiner may grant an extension of the due date of an assignment in extenuating circumstances.
4.	The Faculty will normally only accept assessments that have been written, typed or printed on paper-based media. The Faculty will NOT accept submission of assignments by facsimile. Students who do not have regular access to postal services or who are otherwise disadvantaged by these regulations may be given special consideration. They should contact the examiner of the course to negotiate such special arrangements.
5.	In the event that a due date for an assignment falls on a local public holiday in their area, the due date for the assignment will be the next working day. Students are to note on the assignment cover the date of the public holiday for the examiner's convenience.
6.	Students who have undertaken all of the required assessments in a course but who have failed to meet some of the specified objectives of a course within the normally prescribed time may be awarded the temporary grade: IM (Incomplete - Make up). An IM grade will only be awarded when, in the opinion of the examiner, a student will be able to achieve the remaining objectives of the course after a period of non-directed personal study.
7.	When there is more than one marker for a single item of assessment, the distributed patterns and means for the different markers will be compared and marks adjusted if necessary.
8.	Marking criteria are provided in course material as mark sheets/guides or as part of assignment specifications.
9.	Summative assessment items will receive a numerical score.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

Students will require access to e-mail and Internet access to USQConnect for this course.
Students are to use a recognised referencing system as specified by the examiner.
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.

This version produced 20 Dec 2007.