Course Syllabus

Community College of Philadelphia

Department of Psychology, Education, and Human Services

Early Childhood Education- Birth through Grade 4

 

 

ED 275-Director’s Credential

Early Childhood Leadership- *7 weeks -Hybrid Course

Instructor: Dr. Amy Saia

May 16th- June 26th

Class Meetings-  Mondays 6-9pm

Office: W1-15A

asaia@ccp.edu

215-751-8839

 

 

 

Course Description:

 

Early Childhood Professional Leadership:

This course provides an overview of the roles and responsibilities of leaders in the early childhood profession. Topics discussed will be advocacy, organizational structure, team building, transformational leadership, visionary skills, and discussion on a systems building approach to leadership using emotional intelligence.

Required Textbook:

Bruno, H.E. (2012). What You Need To Lead an Early Childhood Program: Emotional Intelligence in Practice. NAEYC. Washington ,DC.

 

Suggested Readings:

 

Bennis, W.and Nanus, B. (1986).Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge

Harper and Row. New York, NY

 

Course Objectives:

  • Recognize the range of services found early childhood programs and the scope of responsibilities that their administrators have to children, families, staff, sponsoring agency, governing boards, licensing and accrediting agencies, and others.
  • Identify the administrative skills associated with facilities management, personnel supervision and development, program finance, program assessment and general program oversight.
  • Identify standards of excellence in early childhood programs as well as the legal, ethical and moral standards of early childhood program operations.
  • Understand the responsibilities associated with early childhood leadership, specifically advocacy for developmental program practices and support of children and their families using emotional intelligence approaches.
  • Understand the significance of nurturing the “whole child” focusing on physical, social, emotional, cognitive and creative areas of individual development and learning. (NAEYC Standard 1.1)
  • Identify and evaluate developmentally appropriate materials, equipment and environments for young children. (NAEYC Standard 2.1.5)
  • Understand the influence of the physical setting, routines and transitions on children and the use of these experiences to promote children’s development and learning (NAEYC standard 2.4.1).
  • Demonstrate sensitivity to differences in family structures and social and cultural backgrounds. NAEYC Standard 3.2)
  • Communicate the principles of appropriate, early experiences for children, parents, family members, colleagues and others. (NAEYC Standards 3.1, 3.2, 3.5)

 

*Learning Objectives:

 

  1. Students will describe the characteristics of effective leaders.
  2. Students will develop a plan for personal development of leadership skills.
  3. Students will describe the parameters of and responsibilities associated with early childhood advocacy.
  4. Students will describe inclusionary practices through the development of an inclusion project portfolio.
  5. Students will identify and discuss legal issues confronting early childhood administrators and leaders.
  6. Students will develop a sample hierarchal structure for an early childhood organization.
  7. Students will develop a plan for professional development.
  8. Students will participate in the completion of a self-evaluation instrument.

 

Student Requirements:

 

*Students will arrive on time and remain for the entire duration of each class. Students with more than two excused absences may have points lowered towards their overall grade. Excessive late arrivals or early departures will have points lowered.

 

*Students are required to complete each reading assignment prior to coming to class.  Active participation (based on course readings) in class discussions/forums is expected.  All written assignments will be turned/emailed in when due and are to be typed unless otherwise requested.

 

 

*Students are responsible for dropping this identified course. It is not the responsibility of the instructor. Students, who are remiss in dropping the course, may receive a grade of “F” on the final grade roster. Please avoid such difficulties and drop the course at the designated drop/add time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS

All written assignments must be prepared in accordance with the summary of the current American Psychological Association (APA) style guidelines that will be provided. It is always advisable that papers be stored to a disk/flash drive.

 

*ATTENDANCE POLICY

Regular attendance is expected of the early childhood education professional. Prompt and regular attendance and participation are important facets of this course, and attendance will be taken in each class.  Active learning experiences will be a frequent aspect our course.  You cannot benefit from class discussions, group activities, presentations, videos, lectures, etc. if you are not in attendance. In addition, points for critiques written in class after review of other groups' presentation of their ECE program modules as well as in-class quizzes/reflection papers can only be earned during class.  They cannot be made up at a later time.  Should you be absent, it is your responsibility to find out from a fellow classmate what was missed. Please select a "buddy" on the first day of class who agrees to collect any handouts and to share notes with you in the event that you must be absent.

 

*Grading:

  • Weekly Chapter Assignments - 10 points
  • Forum Discussion Assignments ( online) - 10 points
  • Transformational Leadership Summary - 10 Points
  • Emotional Intelligence Summary -10 Points
  • E-Portfolio- Annotated Bibliography -  20 Points
  • Midterm Exam – 40 Points

Total: 100 Points

A – 100-90

B – 89-79

C – 78- 68

D – 67- 57

 

 

 

*Accommodations

All students will receive the needed accommodations and assisted strategies to support their success in this course. Students should provide this information at the beginning of the semester, so the instructor can assist them in the most appropriate accommodation possible.

Early Childhood Leadership Course Outline

Date                    Topic                                                                                

Class 1-        NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct

Class 2 -      Chapter 1- Five Essential Leadership Competencies

Class 2-        Chapter 2- Honoring Emotional Intelligence

Class 3-       Chapter 3- The Art and Science of Decision Making

Class 4        Chapter 4- Leading on Purpose

Class 5-      *Midterm -Chapter 5- Getting Started: The Place to Begin

Class 6-       Chapter 6 -Partnering with Change -Chapter 8- Creating a Community of Problem Solvers

Class 7-       Chapter 7- Preventing Legal Issues- Inclusion, IDEA, ADA, Advocacy-Hand-Outs

                     Chapter 9-  Social EQ in Action

*Readings for this class also include the DPW Regulations, Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards, NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, BUILD Research Articles, Research and Current Literature Works.

Course Summary:

Date Details Due