EDE4010 Leadership and Management in Early Childhood

Contents

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

STAFFING

RATIONALE

Early childhood professionals working in contemporary learning communities require an understanding of leadership and management theory in order to develop effective pedagogy and practice in context. Building personal and professional identity amongst staff requires early childhood professionals to be skilled administrators, managers and leaders. In striving to achieve quality it is imperative that early childhood professionals become fully capable in human and resource development.

SYNOPSIS

This course will introduce students to the key elements of leadership, management and administration for early childhood settings; the value and importance of personal and professional critical reflection; and the role of and support provided by community and government agencies to build human capacity with the early childhood workforce. NOTE: Minimum enrolment numbers apply to this offering. Should enrolments not reach the minimum number required for on-campus study, students may be transferred to the EXT or WEB offering and advised of this change before semester commences.

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 successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1.

Describe and analyse the elements of leadership, management and visioning in early childhood settings (Assessment 1)

2.

Critically analyse the cultural, social, economic and political influences and their implications on the provision of early childhood services (Assignment 1 and 2)

3.

Synthesise and analyse the role and process of strategic planning in early childhood contexts (Assignment 2)

4.

Understand and critically analyse organisational systems and structures that support appropriate and ethical management of diverse early years contexts (Assignment 1 and 2)

5.

Apply effective management strategies and implementation processes for the successful operation of diverse early childhood context (Assignment 2)

6.

Demonstrate competence in and appropriate use of language and literacy, including spelling, grammar, punctuation and bibliographic referencing. (All assignments)

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).

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.

Whether you are on, or off campus, the USQ Library is an excellent source of information http://www.usq.edu.au/library. The gateway to education resources is here ... http://www.usq.edu.au/library/faculties/education/default.htm

Arthur,L. Beecher, B. Docket,S. Farmer,S & Death,E. 2008, Programming & Planning in Early Childhood settings, 4th edn, Harcourt Brace, Sydney.

Barbour, C & Barbour, NH 2004, Families, schools and communities: building partnerships for educating children, 3rd edn, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

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

Sullivan, DR 2003, Learning to lead: effective leadership skills for teachers of young children, Redleaf Press, St. Paul, Minn.

STUDENT WORKLOAD REQUIREMENTS

ASSESSMENT DETAILS

NOTES

1.

Note: Assignment 1 will be broken into 3 parts each being weighted equally. These are due throughout the first part of the semester and will be graded as an indication of the level of academic standard. The combination of the marking criteria and the summative total of these grades will then be used to provide an overall mark for Assignment 1. PART A - 400 Words - Early Childhood Organisation and Identity - Due date August 10, 2009 PART B - 400 Words - Human Resources and Leadership - Due date August 31, 2009 PART C - 400 Words - Administration and Emerging Trends - Due date September 11, 2009

IMPORTANT ASSESSMENT INFORMATION

1. Attendance requirements:
   ON-CAMPUS MODE: It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities 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. EXTERNAL AND WEB MODE: There are no attendance requirements for this course. However, it is the students' responsibility to study all material provided to them including discussion fora 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.
2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
   To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks.
3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
   If students submit assignments after the due date without (prior) approval of the examiner then a penalty of 5% of the total marks gained by the student for the assignment may apply for each working day late up to ten working days at which time a mark of zero may be recorded. No assignments will be accepted after model answers have been posted.
4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
   To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.
5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
   The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks 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:
   As there are no examinations in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations.
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

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

1. Students will require access to e-mail and have Internet access to UConnect for this course.

This version produced 11 Dec 2009.