· Assessment item 1 · Project · Value: 40% · Due date: 06-Apr-2018 · Return date: 30-Apr-2018 · Length:2000 words · Submission method options · EASTS (online) · Task · Consider the development of a...

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Assessment item 1

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Project

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Value:40%

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Due date:06-Apr-2018

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Return date:30-Apr-2018

· Length:2000 words

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Submission method options

· EASTS (online)

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Task

· Consider the development of a project for organisational change in either your current workplace or a workplace in which you have previously undertaken practicum, casual or voluntary work. Decide on an area for change that relates to either social, economic or environmental sustainability. You should start small and not necessarily have a clear outcome/s in mind as the process of change is evolutionary. Some examples of organisational change, based on ideas of sustainability, can be found in Chapters 3 and 4 of the Davis (2015) text where the Sustainable Planet Project is discussed.

· Your Project should be written as a report that includes a discussion based on the following headings:

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• Introduction:(approximately 800 words)
In this section, discuss the importance of issues of global leadership and sustainable futures in ECEC
(as addressed in modules 1- 3).

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• Context for the project:

Briefly describe the workplace context and the community in which the service operates. Discuss the
impetus for the project that includes a discussion of the conditions/events that you consider bring
about a need for change and have subsequently led to the project. For instance, Gibson (as cited in
Davis, 2015, pp. 55-62) identifies conditions for change that led to the Sustainable Planet Project.
Other conditions may include ideas or issues raised by yourself, other staff, parents, children or
community members that relate to the development of a project for sustainability. Draw on the
research literature (the texts and other readings) to identify and discuss key aspects of pedagogical
leadership in the development of your project.

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• Outline of the project:

In this section describe the project, what you hope to achieve and how you
will go about implementing the project using pedagogical leadership or other relevant leadership
approaches from the subject readings. Refer to relevant subject readings to inform and support your
plan and goals for the project.

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• Challenges:

Identify any barriers you may have encountered along the way and explain how you
have managed them. Support your explanations with reference to the subject readings (refer to the
pedagogical leadership literature).

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• Preliminary outcomes of the project:

Discuss the project that you have implemented to date and any practical mini projects that may have
resulted from the project. This could be represented as a diagram if needed. Link your outcomes with
the EYLF and draw on other sources to inform and support your discussion (the sustainability
literature, leadership literature).

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• Future possibilities:

Reflect and evaluate the project to date and provide a brief discussion about future plans for the
continuation of the project, including changes and modification made along the way. Draw on the
subject readings to inform and support your discussion.

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• Reference list

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• Appendix:

Attach a copy of forum posts 1 & 2 (Do this as a screen shot of your posts in the online forum and
insert into your word document).

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• Note:

A guide to Assessment 1 can be found in Resources on the Interact2 subject site. Please refer to this
guide when completing this assessment task.
The Reference list and Appendix are not included in the word count.

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Rationale

· Early childhood teachers are challenged to operate as pedagogical leaders in a context of increasing
globalisation and internationalisation. Reforms in teacher education and in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), at national and international levels, call for an internationalised curriculum which can provide opportunities for ECEC teachers to develop and implement leadership knowledge and skills necessary for children and adults to enact citizenship rights and responsibilities in ethical ways within ECEC settings. However, these reforms recognise that ECEC teachers often operate in a range of communities where structural disadvantage and/or unsustainable social, economic, and environmental practices may prevail. The preparation and development of ECEC teachers as ethical and generative pedagogical leaders, however, can work to ameliorate the adverse effects of these practices. Opportunities for engagement and dialogue around issues of global citizenship, equity, human rights and sustainable futures, for children and adults, can increase teachers’ social and cultural capital and make a sustained difference for good, both locally and globally.

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Learning Outcomes:

o Be aware of the range of skills and knowledge required for effective leadership enactment

o Be able to articulate the relationship between leadership philosophy and authentic management enactment

o Be able to demonstrate appropriate leadership and management strategies to facilitate collaborative teams

o Be able to apply effective leadership skills to lead pedagogical and curriculum development

o Be able to demonstrate effective interpersonal communication skills and relatiohship building strategies to afford effective teams

Marking criteria

Presentation

Submit your written project, (2000) words, via EASTS by the due date, April 6,2018. Attach a screen shot of your compulsory forum posts 1 and 2 as an appendix at the end of the assessment item.
Your assessment task should be:
• Written in standard English. Marks may be deducted for errors in spelling, punctuation or syntax.
• Typed, with one and a half line spacing in 12 point font. For example, Times New Roman and 1.5 line spacing. Avoid fancy fonts.
• Include your name and your student number in the header or footer of every page of the assessment task.
All submitted work will be marked and returned to students as quickly as possible. However, to avoid problems connected with materials in transit, you are advised to:
• keep a copy of submitted assignment
• keep a record of when work was submitted

Requirements

Assessment item 1 must be submitted as well as the compulsory online forum tasks 1 and 2. The
compulsory forum tasks must be shared via the online forums, lossely in line with the Schedule, to demonstrate your engagement with the community of learners. You must provide copies of the completed forum posts by taking a screen shot them and inserting them at the end of the assessment task.

Assessment 1: Project

Include a title page:

Name:

Student number:

Subject title:

Subject code:

Assessment title:

Word count:

Contents page:

The importance of issues of global leadership and sustainable futures...........

Context for the project………………………………………………………………………………….

Project outline...................................................................................................

Challenges.........................................................................................................

Preliminary outcomes of the project................................................................

Future possibilities............................................................................................

References........................................................................................................

Some suggestions for each section:-

Introduction:

In this section, discuss the importance of issues of global leadership and sustainable futures. I would recommend you dedicate at least one paragraph to the introduction of your assignment in which you include a broad discussion of what sustainability is and why it is important. Remember that there are many aspects to the concept of sustainability - environmental, social, economic and political. Module 1, the readings referred to there are helpful for developing your discussion in this section.

You could go on to develop a discussion framed around why sustainability is important for young children, why early childhood is an ideal time to have these discussions and how these issues might be relevant for early childhood educators and their practices.

Context for the project:

In this section outline your workplace context – briefly, describe your service and the community in which your service operates. Discuss the impetus for your project- include a discussion on the process of change – that is, any conditions/events that have led to developing the project. For instance, Area 3 of the National Quality Standards (NQS) focuses on caring for the physical environment. The project could be developed to demonstrate how your service supports environmental sustainability (e.g. re-cycling, re-using materials/equipment, reducing waste, and using natural, re-cycled and found materials). You could draw on the literature to support how pedagogical leadership involves creating a vision and supporting staff curriculum decisions in the development of the project – these are just a few ideas here.

Project Outline:

Describe the project, what you hope to achieve and how you will go about implementing the project using pedagogical leadership or other relevant leadership concepts/approaches from the subject readings. You can link your project goals to the EYLF and to the sustainability literature and support your discussion with reference to these sources.

Challenges:

In this section identify any barriers you encountered along the way and how you managed them. Draw on the pedagogical leadership readings to help you explain and support how you managed the challenges or worked toward overcoming barriers (why you took the approach that you did given what you know about leadership for change). Some possible examples of barriers may include:

• Staff reluctance to engage in the project – possibly due to limited knowledge or little interest in issues of sustainability


• Financial considerations


• Practical issues associated with implementing the project

Preliminary outcomes of the project:

In this section outline how the project is progressing – what aspects of the project have been implemented to date, what goals have been achieved. Remember, the project is likely to be ongoing. This section can be represented as a diagram if needed and can include a discussion of any mini projects that may have resulted from the project. Perhaps there have been other outcomes from the project, such as new or renewed interest in ideas that spring from the project (e.g. renewed interest in re-cycling, re-using materials/equipment, reducing waste, using natural re-cycled and found materials or thinking about how to embed long-term sustainable practices at your service) by staff or children. Perhaps you’ve noticed some changes in the way staff or children think about issues of sustainability – again these are just a few guiding suggestions here. Remember to refer to relevant readings and research to inform and support your discussion. For example, if outcomes or initiatives reflect those from the readings or relate to something you have read about sustainability in ECE and/or leading for organisational change then you can link your experiences in implementing the project with that literature. This strengthens your work.

Future possibilities:

In this section reflect on and evaluate the project to date. Your evaluations may include long-term goals that have been set at your service for implementing sustainable practices that can be embedded in service operations – again these are just suggestions here and you may have other ideas here. Again, as with the other sections of your assignment, you should be looking to inform and support your discussion with reference to relevant readings and research. For example, you may have read ideas in the text or subject readings that could be used in the future given what you have achieved thus far. You may determine that a different leadership approach could be used, or additional strategies, given the challenges faced or what you want to achieve next.

Please be aware this example is a guide and while it can be drawn upon as a basis for your assignment you are not required to follow this example. The examples here tend to focus on environmental sustainability, however, your project may be focused on social sustainability, political or economic sustainability and in this case you will be drawing on the literature relevant to these pillars of sustainability as well as the leadership for organisational change and pedagogical leadership literature.