Leadership in Educating Young Children

Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

Course Goals

• To equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to be effective leaders in the field of early childhood education by providing in-depth review of philosophical and research-based information on leadership, project design and management, and reflective practice on lifelong learning goals.

Course Objectives

• To evaluate personal philosophy of leadership and prepare lifelong learning goals. (Graduate Teaching Standards 5.2; NAEYC 6d)

• To evaluate various leadership roles required of early childhood teachers including negotiating and resolving conflict and creating innovative solutions to challenges. (Graduate Teaching Standards 1.1. 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 5.3; NAEYC 6c)

• To construct a plan for a leadership project that demonstrates leadership skills, innovative thinking, and contribution to the community. (Graduate Teaching Standards 1.1, 1.3)

• To apply practices and principles of collaborative leadership when working with a community-based partner to plan a project. (Graduate Teaching Standards 1.1; NAEYC 6d; EI/ECE 3.2)

• To summarize principles of social justice and critique how an educational leader applied the principles. (EI/ECE 6)

• To apply the NAEYC and DEC Code of Ethics to practice with colleagues, families and/or children. (NAEYC 6b; EI/ECSE 7.4)

Conceptual Framework Mission Statement

"The mission of professional education at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro is to ensure “Access to Opportunities through Teaching, Learning and Caring.” This requires excellence in all our programs through alignment to state and national standards; explicit connections between research, theory and practice; candidates’ acquisition of the knowledge, skills and dispositions of their disciplines; detailed evaluation of our candidates’ continual professional growth; collaboration among stakeholders; ongoing self-study; and an overriding commitment to fostering beliefs and actions that promote education for all. Toward these ends, our Unit and programs focus on six areas: leadership, professional knowledge, professional practice, educational environments, data-informed decision making, and professional growth to support the learning of all children in the context of 21st century complexity and dynamic change."

Course Grading Information:

Activity/Performance Measure	Percentage/Points
Synchronous Attendance & Participation	25 points
Asynchronous Class	5 points
Leader Interview Plan	5 points
Leader Interview Analysis Paper	25 points
Internship Proposal Check Points	Satisfactory completion required
Ethics Reflection Paper	25 points
Leadership Story Paper	25 points
Book Club Discussion Leader	20 points
Book Club Discussion Posts	20 points (10 pts x 2)

To earn a passing grade of a B, at a minimum all modules and assignments must be completed. Based on the quality of the work, points will be assigned accordingly. To determine your percentage in the class, divide the points earned by the points possible. Final grades will be converted to percentages and the letter grade assigned accordingly.

A level work (90 – 100% of possible points): Demonstrated comprehension of relevant conceptual knowledge about early childhood leadership, and the ability to critically analyze and synthesize relevant information; strong ability to communicate knowledge; demonstrated ability to organize and apply knowledge to new areas or to expand the information to make new connections within or between theory, research and practice.

B level work (80 – 89% of possible points): Demonstrated comprehension of relevant conceptual knowledge about early childhood leadership, and the ability to critically analyze and synthesize relevant information; strong ability to communicate knowledge.

C level work (70 – 79% of possible points): Demonstrated comprehension of basic conceptual knowledge about early childhood leadership but a failure to show the ability to critically analyze and synthesize relevant information; ability to communicate knowledge is adequate but not strong.

Grading Scale

Percentage	Letter Grade
≥ 93%	A
90% - 92%	A-
87% - 89%	B+
83% - 86%	B
80% - 82%	B-
77% - 79%	C+
73% - 76%	C
70% - 72%	C-

Attendance/Participation:

Attendance is required. Should a situation arise, that may impact attendance, prior notification is required.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

Sykes, M. (2014) Doing the Right Thing for Children: Eight Qualities of Leadership. Red Leaf Press. Also accessible as an e-book from the UNCG library.

Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann with Kristen Joiner.