Program Development and Te Whariki

Program development is regarded as the foundation of a quality program. Establishing the program vision and mission provides an important focus - the framework of systems to be built upon. I sincerely respect the statement made in our textbook on p. 212 which emphasized what Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) is intended to establish. According to Bredekamp and Copple (1997), "The DAP position statement is not a program-based prescription; rather, it is an assertion that programs for young children should consider (a) present knowledge about child development and learning; (b) what we know about the strengths, needs, and interests of enrolled children, and (c) knowledge about the social and cultural contexts of the local community" (Decker, Decker, Freeman, and Knopf). The statement is critical as a springboard to developing mission and vision statements. It takes all elements into consideration - the child, the family, and the community. In order to begin the process of program development, guidelines in the form of procedures and policies need to be created and adopted. This will drive the program to its potential of meeting outcomes and goals.
Standards...as a director of a Head Start program, I am most familiar with the term "Performance Standards". I have not counted each one individually, however I have been total that Head Start has a total of 1,700 performance standards (perhaps more than that!). Each standard is designed to offer a directive or expectation that the program will adhere to in service delivery. The program standards include various sections: Child Health and Development, Families and Community Partnerships, Program Design and Management, ERSEA (Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, Attendance), Disabilities, Governance, Human Resources, Fiscal, Transportation, and Facilities and Materials. Each area details guidance, providing a statement of expectation. Head Start recognizes that each community and program is unique and different. This is an important element of the Head Start program because resources vary from location to location. Each individual program designs their response to each performance standard based on their ability to be successful in implementing the expectation. In summary, although each Head Start has the same performance standards to follow, the delivery of service or how each standard is designed for compliance differs from one program to another. This offers a sense of flexibility and resourcefulness. I embrace this piece of individuality as being a precious factor of Head Start. The standardized performance standards is the foundation, yet we (the program) has the ability to create what the structures might look like.
What is equally important to the process is that parents, community partners, and staff have a role in creating the structures. Additional to this, if a structure or system is not working (based on ongoing monitoring and evaluation) it can be revised. The performance standard doesn't change, but our response on how we meet the standard can be changed. The level of flexibility allows programs to always strive towards quality, to implement continuous quality improvement, and to acknowledge that there is more than one way to reach a goal.
I sincerely believe in the projects approach. Too often (I'm fully responsible for doing this as a teacher) teachers rush through a theme for one week - concentrating on getting the message across in a hurry to go onto the next theme. The project approach provides time - time to engage into the subject of study, time to analyze, think about, explore, experience, discover, and most importantly learn. Have you ever had to justify the idea that young children can learn IEP (Individual Education Plan for children with special needs) goal in a natural environment to a DOE Sped Teacher that did not have ECE? I see this as a similar discovery as a teacher. Children will learn all the cognitive, motor, social/emotional, and speech/language skills of development naturally as they experience the project approach. We do not need to "teach" the alphabet, colors, numbers, shapes in individual themes - the learning occurs within the contents of the experience. We do not need to offer a special theme of being friends and how to get along, as the project approach encourages working together. I watched a video titled "Rearview Mirror" which was narrated by Lilian Katz. The video documented a teacher's experience of the project approach with the subject study of a car. The project lasted approximately six months. Although some teachers might feel that this is too long for a particular subject, the video offered evidence that children gained a multitude of experiences throughout the journey of discovery.
Inclusion - the option of providing a least restricted environment for children with special needs. I value this option with high regard for several reasons. As a Head Start director, I realize that this is one of two options available for families with a special needs child. That's quite limiting, however better than having only one option - which was true approximately 15 years ago. I have assisted parents to be advocates for their child in regards to placement decisions. Parents are their child's first teachers and they know their child best. In order to make a good decision of placement, parents should have the opportunity to visit both settings prior to selecting placement. Children with speech delays THRIVE in inclusion (or integrated) settings. I have witnessed other children benefit from being with normal developing peers and found the experience to impact both sides (child with and without special needs). Regular developing children gain a sense of empathy, caring for others in ways that come naturally for children. It's impressive to observe - so touching to watch how human instincts intuitively take place without being taught.
All children deserve to have a space that is safe, nurturing, and designed with an intent to provide learning opportunities that impact development of self awareness and skills. As administrators and teachers, we have the responsibility to incorporate this into the environments we create and offer, and into the interactions we engage in with children and families.
The reading of Te Whariki was phenomenal! I found the reading to capture an all-encompassing pedagogy regarding the entire child, the family, and the community. The leaders that created this system of early childhood curriculum took the essential elements of DAP and actually put it into practice. The curriculum factored in the culture and diversity of the people, and implemented their belief system throughout the document. So impressive - something that we in Hawaii can learn from. It leads me to think..."why didn't we come up with a document similar to this?". I'm sure it took a great deal of collaborating among the elders, professionals, and other pertinent individuals in the Ministry Advisory Group to create this curriculum. What strikes me is the level of detail - very simplistically stated, it's easy to read and understand. The values and their approach is presented in a structured way that cannot be misinterpreted. It is most evident that early childhood education is respected as important, as regarding high priority, within the government of New Zealand. Within this factor, you can also extract the priority of individualization, family, regard of responsible adults that impact young children and their education.
Regarding program planning, evaluation, and assessment, the document states that "There are many ways in which each early childhood service can weave the particular pattern that makes its programme different and distinctive" (Te Wariki, p. 28). This is similar to the Head Start performance standards that I reflected on earlier in my blog. I enjoy reading this method of information delivery so much more than other curriculum documents. The way the information is written - it's like a dance - so lyrical. I believe this is a reflection of the people; of the culture.
I plan to use this information in my work as a director, as it offers me many aspects to reconsider. I can see the overlap, how the information threads into areas familiar to the Head Start program...yet, the way the information is provided is less clinical, less sterile - more loving, more welcoming, more early childhood.