Transformation & change essential in delivering quality ECE
By Akura Brown & Karin Shaw - Professional Development Facilitators, NZCA
Published on Iti Rearea, August 2007
It takes courage and determination to go on a self-review. The possibility of moving out of our comfort zone and changing the way we do things is always intimidating. Two centres went on a self-review journey and discovered how transformation and change have helped them enhance the quality of children's learning outcomes.
Blogs and Interactive Websites
Teachers in Lollipops Rototuna in Hamilton discovered technology as a new way to communicate with parents about their children's education.
"We look at what children are interested in learning. Then we use blogs to inform parents about what we are doing and how they can contribute to this from home,” said Jo Painter, Centre Owner.
Parents' pages on the centre website also showcase children's portfolios, relevant photos and newsletters that document the child's learning. This interactive website supports the busy working lifestyle of parents and connects extended families living overseas to children's learning.
Setting up this website was a result of a self-review process undertaken by the centre with the assistance of PD facilitator Karin Shaw, who played the role of a 'critical friend'.
"Data was gathered from teachers' narratives and reflections, a full situational analysis, parent surveys, and children's portfolios," said Karin.
Analyzing the data was illuminating and one of the things highlighted was that children and parents did not know how or where to access the portfolios. The staff assumed that parents/whanau understood the value of their contribution to the child's learning and knew the importance of documentation.
"There was a clear rationale for change and it had to be transformative. Technology was a clear answer to our needs. Now, parents are more involved in children's education more than ever. They are participating more by writing learning stories," said Jo.
Children are also empowered to make decisions on what is documented in their portfolios. They film their own learning and communicate with children from other centres through webcams.
"It is still a work-in-progress. Nonetheless, this early, we have seen the positive effect on learning outcomes. Parents are highly involved. Staff are providing more robust assessments by including children's and family's voices. We are looking forward to enhancing the other aspects in the way we do things," said Jo.
Strong Centre Philosophy
Gisborne Hospital Childcare and Education Centre discovered that developing a strong centre philosophy is the enabler for change at the centre.
"We included in our philosophy concepts vital to the centre. We adopted a child-led rather than a teacher-led programme," said Sarah Ferguson, Centre Manager.
A snippet from their philosophy reads:
Each child brings with them a ‘community of learners’ – their family, whanau, and wider community. We recognise the importance and value of whanau involvement and the importance of developing responsive and reciprocal relationships which strengthen the connection of whanaungatanga
Display walls and parent evenings are some of the activities which Sarah and her staff use to constantly reinforce the philosophy and build a strong community of learners.
"I learn something new all the time. I like the way new things are displayed on the walls especially educational things," said a father of a child attending the centre.
Sarah noted that staff has developed more confidence in communicating with families and whanau, which increased the level of whanau participation.
"We have learnt that the starting point for any self review is having a strong philosophy. We are infiltrating this philosophy into our policies, processes, teacher appraisal and assessment," said Sarah.
"Change is not simple. Some of the barriers we faced at the beginning were giving up old practices and working through the different levels of experience and knowledge of those involved," said Sarah.
Effective Self Review
Sarah shares some insights on how to achieve effective and successful review:
- Be prepared for resistance to change
- Be realistic with the timeframes
- Consolidate knowledge and ensure that every person involved has a firm foundation and understanding of what assessment is all about
- Manage individual expectations of staff
- For those leading the transformation, be very firm, exude extraordinary passion and inspire others to move forward.
- Excerpts from a workshop paper on Self-Review presented at NZCA Annual Conference 2007