In this blog, ANNE STONEHOUSE reflects on the balance between the personal and the shared; between an early childhood leader’s openness to new ideas and certainty about their own values. At the 2019 ECA National Conference in Hobart, a Box of 48 Leadership Provocations organised around the six Capabilities in ECA’s Leadership Capability Framework was launched. Some […]
In light of Early Childhood Educators’ Day on Wednesday 4 September, we asked ANNE STONEHOUSE to write about the role of educators in the lives and formation of children. Anne talked to a circle of educators who shared rewarding parts of their daily experiences. Their commitment and dedication is obvious, here they are in their own words. You’re wonderful. I wouldn’t […]
Relationships with families have always been considered an important area of early childhood educators’ practice. However, in the past many educators’ interest in relationships with families has focused mainly on problems or challenges: ‘What do I do about this parent who … ?’ Two possible reasons for this problem-oriented focus are: Strong tradition of parent […]
Many discussions about quality in education and care services include at some point—often as a summary statement—the assertion that ‘in the end, it’s all about relationships’. This is likely to occur whether the topic is pedagogy, leadership, community connections, staff relationships, links with other services and professionals or family partnerships. Is this ‘throw-away line’ accurate? […]
Over-attention to documentation continues, often seemingly with more emphasis on quantity than on quality. It would be heartening to hear of a service where practices were rated as outstanding in every respect and at every level, but the National Quality Standards rating was diminished because there wasn’t enough documentation! Many documented observations of children appear […]