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Below, we have provided a general outline of clustered weeks to guide you in completing this whole process; and then, a sample template is outlined for arranging all the parts of your leader-profile and preparing the contents.
Guideline # 1: Processes and procedures for creating a profile
Starting week 1 to about week 3 or 4
Background information: This assignment is an example of documenting one person’s effective leadership styles and her/his practical application of management roles within context. It is a ‘snapshot’ from another person’s professional life and perspectives. The readings associated with the EDEC324-Topic Notes will assist you with completing this profile and you are encouraged to go beyond the Topics. You are a researcher as you undertake this task (Read: Smales, 2002). It is assumed that this leader is the person you are completing your professional experience (PE) with. Your task is to create a profile of a leader in the early childhood field. This is a professional story about a person; it is not a standard essay [refer to sample template below].
1. Locate and negotiate with a director or coordinator [a positional leader] of an early childhood service or an early childhood manager within a relevant organisation [refer to the EDEC324 Professional Experience Handbook and details in the Unit Orientation part of this unit’s Moodle site]; discuss the process for creating this profile with the person, share the idea of your doing some ‘service learning’ (Butin, 2003; & see Topic 1) with this leader; and also, gain her/his consent for this profile process and your professional experience days. Be sure to ask: Does this person have a three-year University or old CAE Bachelor qualification in early childhood teaching/education (not a TAFE/VET diploma nor advanced diploma)? Next consider: 1) What about your related PE arrangements and paperwork; have you completed the UNE-PEO form, had it signed and emailed or faxed it to the PEO? 2) What about our professional ethics and this experience and story? It is a must that the names of the person and place are not used unless you have consent – so, please clarify confidentiality with your leader from the out-set. Be sure to let the leader know that part of the profile – the setting/context/background – will be shared online… do think ‘ethics’ here!
2. Read about being a leader/manager including leadership styles and management roles. This will help you: 1) identify, define and analyse the leader’s workplace position, key management/administration roles, and her/his manner of interacting (a way of noting leadership styles); and, 2) support specific in-practice examples or field evidence about the leader with relevant literature. Broadly consider: what does this positional leader do (manager, management roles & administrative tasks) AND how does s/he ‘work’ with others, particularly what is her/his interactive manner (being a leader & leadership styles)? Begin by skimming the ‘Contents’ pages of the textbook for this unit of study — Leadership: Contexts and Complexities in Early Childhood (Waniganayake, et al, 2012) — and review the sections of Chapters that you identify as relevant for this starting point for creating a leader’s profile. As you gradually draft and develop this professional profile, continue to refer back to the textbook, the unit Topics, noted readings and other resources that can guide and assist you with this process and end-product/profile.
3. Arrange at least one visit with the leader; here are your first tasks:
observe the leader (later you will shadow and work alongside her/him during your PE days); focus on the leader’s interactions with adults, including: her/his personal/professional manner, forms of communication, relationships and contribution to an emotional atmosphere = part of climate/culture of the setting for ‘organisation’ below; but also note that others contribute to climate/culture as do various environmental features. And, read Geoghegan, et al (2003) and/or other relevant literature to assist here.
and
talk informally about the whole site’s organisation and structure and the adults’ ways of relating, interacting, sharing ideas = this will give you more insights about the setting climate/culture. Some relevant questions might be: What is the management and organisational structure of this service? How are administrative/management decisions made and who is involved? With this service/centre viewed as an organisation, what metaphor-word might best reflect your service/centre’s interpersonal climate/culture or ‘first impression feeling’ [refer to Grady reference in Section 2 of profile template below]? The contextual and organisational structure will include all staff and committee/owner/council/etc. Again, because of the public-online sharing of part of this profile, please inform your leader of this and do consider professional issues of ethics and confidentiality.
Secondly, interview the leader about her/his professional self; be sure to fully document the leader’s various leadership styles and management roles. You may find it useful to take a reference that outlines various styles of leadership, as this will help you and the leader clarify and identify her/his key leadership style plus one or two lesser ones. Interviewing involves the practise being a ‘leader of conversation’ (one example: Healy, Ehrich, Hansford & Stewart, 2001; the full reference appears at the end of all the EDEC324 Topics). Remember to treat this interview as totally confidential. It is the leader’s opinions, perceptions and behaviours [all potential evidence examples] that are important here, not specific names. Do keep notes during your interview; these should be detailed so that you can reconstruct the interview later, plus they form a ‘field evidence’ appendix. The questions below could be starters for beginning your interview; you decide about questions for fleshing-out relevant issues and ideas that will assist you with completing this profile [again, refer to the template below for all the sections and components required within your profile]:
1- Q: What is your position title and your job description? [management & administration roles; collect copy of position description; link with L-POM (McCrea & Ehrich, 1999; Topic 8) and/or competencies (Culkin, 1997; Topics 1 & 3)]
2- Q: How would you describe ‘being a leader’? And, please outline your preferred/key leadership style? Any other styles (1 or 2 only) that are relevant for you? [Note: we acknowledge that there are many styles and situations; combining similar styles and authors’ ideas may assist you and the leader with this task; refer to ‘style’ literature within the Topics and beyond.]
3- Q: How does your personal/professional philosophy of ECE link to your being a leader and your styles or manner of interacting particularly with adults? What about being an advocate for the whole field of early childhood education?
4- Q: What are the most rewarding aspects of being an early childhood leader and manager (maybe administrator) and why? [Refer to Geoghegan et al (2003) or other literature]
Starting about weeks 2 to 4 until about weeks 5 to 8
4. Begin creating and writing a profile of this leader [write in flowing paragraph-style; see profile template below after point 6 for layout of headings/subheadings & various content of sections and sub-sections]. Be sure to compile this ‘working’ draft well before you begin your first day of professional experience. Note: it is important that you write this with sensitivity and knowing that later you will be taking this draft profile to your leader at the professional experience site for reconsideration by you and the leader over your PE days. When you reach this point, the profile is a near-final working-draft.
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