- Section 2: From the text, we know that a center’s core values grow from the personal core values of its program director, who plays a key role in the culture and practices of a program. Imagine that you are in a position of leadership at this organization that you have chosen to work with for this course.
- Reflect on what you believe the sources of the program’s core values are or what you think those sources should be, and draft a new or updated Core Values Statement for the entire program that you would hypothetically use as a foundation if you were the program director. You may need to refer to Chapter 2 of the text and/or the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct(2011).
- Section 3: Using the hypothetical Core Values Statement and
referring to your weekly assignments (Evaluation of Program Manuals,
Environment Evaluation, Supporting Developmentally Appropriate
Practices, and/or Part 1 Commitment to Professionalism Assignment),
create two goals that you would be able to use to support a strategic
plan. State each goal and then explain the following:
- How will this goal support the growth of quality for the program?
- What are the benefits of reaching the goal?
- How will you measure if you have reached the goal?
- How is this goal achievable? Have you got the resources to achieve this goal? If not, how will you acquire them?
- Why is this goal significant to the quality of the program and its core values statement?
- How long would it (hypothetically) take to meet this goal?
- Who are the people you might need to organize for action to meet this goal?
- What is one potential obstacle to reaching this goal and what are two potential solutions to this obstacle?
- Section 4: Create a definition of leadership for yourself as the last step of this course. This definition should be able to serve as a basis for your work as a leader. This definition can be simple and may evolve over the course of graduate school and then your career.
- Referring to you Core Values Statement, define how your core values shape the expectations you have of personnel and programs, your philosophy for promoting quality and effective early education, as well as your overall leadership approach.
The Final Summative Assignment
