Roles of Curriculum Leader in Improving Teaching and Learning in Early Childhood Setting - Literature review Example

Roles of Curriculum leaders in improving teaching and learning in Australia Early Childhood setting Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Role of Middle-Level Curriculum Leaders in Improving Teaching and Learning in Australian Early Childhood Setting 2 1. Defining the Roles - ‘Curriculum Leadership’ 2 1.1 Definition of Curriculum in Early Childhood Setting 2 1.2 Pedagogical Views of Curriculum in Early Childhood Setting 4 1.3 Leadership in General 4 1.4 Roles of Curriculum leaders in Early Childhood Setting 5 2.0 Defining teaching and Learning in early childhood setting 6 3.0 How Does Curriculum Leadership Improve Teaching and Learning 9 3.1 Why Leadership Is Important For Teaching and Learning 9 3.2 Impact of Curriculum Leadership in Improving Teaching 10 3.3 Impact of Curriculum Leadership in Improving Children’s Learning Outcomes 13 3.4 Building-up capacity 16 3.5 Changing Context of Education 17 References 18 Role of Middle-Level Curriculum Leaders in Improving Teaching and Learning in Australian Early Childhood Setting 1. Defining the Roles - ‘Curriculum Leadership’ 1.1 Definition of Curriculum in Early Childhood Setting Curriculum according to DEEWR (2009) involves every experience, occasion, routine and interaction happening in a setting created to promote children’s development as well as learning. Popkewitz (1997) described curriculum as a knowledge created many years ago that inscribes standards and rules where people reflect about the world as well as consider themselves as the world’s productive members. Curriculum is further viewed by Popkewitz (1997) as a technology, which guides how a person is supposed to behave, feel, interact and perceive ‘self’ and the world. Scott and Lawson (2002) defined curriculum as a system and an institution within the national curriculum and school curriculum, respectively. Curriculum is an object, which could be described as a thing that could be learned, taught, conveyed or expedited as an action (week 7 lecture). In my opinion, curriculum in the early childhood setting can be defined as a written plan, which includes: objectives for learning and development of children; how these goals would be achieved through experiences; how parents and teachers would assist the children realise such goals; as well as, the needed materials for supporting the curriculum implementation. A curriculum can also be defined as the academic content that children are taught in the schools. 1.2 Pedagogical Views of Curriculum in Early Childhood Setting Pedagogical view of curriculum is considered as a dynamic process, whereby all participants are engaged, particularly students and teachers (Churchill, et al., 2011). Churchill et al. (2011) discusses that pedagogical view of curriculum is not only about content, but also the cultural and social meanings created by the participants, which includes the teacher. Therefore, it can be described as a social act regarding the participants’ relations and the society’s context as well as content. An aspect of pedagogy according to DEEWR (2009) involves the role played by the teachers in the early childhood settings by means of their curricular emphases, teaching strategies, and expectations while advancing the cognitive repertoire as well as affective skills and attributes needed by children to adopt the larger society and school culture. 1.3 Leadership in General Leadership according to Sharma and Jain (2013) can be defined as a process through which an individual influences other people to achieve the set goal and steers the organisation towards a coherent and cohesive path. Furthermore, leadership can be described as a process through which a person inspires a group of persons to accomplish a common goal. Although leadership can be learned, Sharma and Jain (2013) posit that the knowledge and skills that the leader processes could be influenced by his/hers traits or attributes, like character, ethics, values, and beliefs. Leadership as mentioned by Lewis and Hill (2012) is the process of influencing other people with the objective of making changes that echo a shared purpose and vision. Therefore, leadership is perceived as both a collective and individual ethical responsibility. 1.4 Roles of Curriculum leaders in Early Childhood Setting Without a doubt, curriculum leaders play crucial role in the early childhood setting; for instance, they play the influential role in affirming, motivating, inspiring and extending or challenging the educators’ pedagogy and practice (ACECQA, 2011). In addition, the roles of curriculum leaders normally vary from one setting to another based on the desires, need, and of the early childhood setting. Importantly, a solid vision guiding the pedagogical decisions as well as shared approach regarding how children’s learning outcomes could be best achieved, allows the curriculum leader to successfully unite all the teachers with the aim of working towards a consistent curriculum approach (Cheeseman, 2012). The curriculum leader plays the role of creating a motivating vision for children’s curriculum and learning in a collaborative manner. As pointed out by Cheeseman (2012) a learning vision that is articulated clearly could connect and inspire teachers to work toward collective objectives for the students as well as their learning. In order to promote continuous improvement, the curriculum leaders are expected to determine the strategies which are crucial for improving the early childhood education program. Some of the strategies could include: leading as well as participating in the reflective discussions regarding implementation of the learning framework and mentoring other teachers by demonstrating quality practice (ACECQA, 2011). Besides that, a curriculum leader should deliberate on routines that would make learning experiences more effective. Their role also involves observing teacher and children interactions, and providing some suggestions regarding how intentional teaching and interactions can be improved (ACECQA, 2011). It is the responsibility of the curriculum leader to talk to the children’ parents regarding the educational program as well as collaborate with early childhood specialists and professionals (early childhood professionals’ lecture). More importantly, it is the responsibility of the curriculum leader to determine how the early childhood educational program can be integrated into the community to facilitate collaboration with community groups and services (ACECQA, 2011). Another role played by curriculum leader is coming up with systems across the service with the objective of ensuring that learning continues even after the children go to other services or change room, as well as during school transition (ACECQA, 2011). As mentioned Ho (2011) it is the responsibility of school leaders to help in the documentation of children’s learning and offering guidance to teachers on a day-to-day basis. Occasionally, the curriculum leader is required to make ‘direct interventions’ with the objective of ensuring the learning context is administered smoothly. Ho (2011) groups curriculum leaders’ roles into three: mentor for pedagogy and curriculum, school manager and role model. Taking everything into account, it is evident that curriculum leaders in the early childhood setting play an important role in integrating effective learning and teaching approaches. More importantly, the curriculum leaders’ active support and guidance strengthens intentional practice; thus, improves children outcomes (Ho, 2011). 2.0 Defining teaching and Learning in early childhood setting Play-based learning as pointed out by DEEWR (2009) is a learning context where children organise and decipher their social worlds while actively engaging with people, representations, and objects. In addition, play can be described as a learning approach, which facilitates children to express their individuality and character and improves dispositions like creativity as well as curiosity. According to DEEWR (2009), play-learning allows the children to connect earlier experiences with new learning and facilitates children to develop concepts as well as relationships. Additionally, play-based learning promotes the wellbeing of the children and allows them to actively generate their own understandings as well as make a contribution to other students’ learning (DEEWR, 2009). Play offers the children an opportunity to learn while discovering, constructing, inventing and envisaging. When children are allowed to play, they are able to test their ideas, create social groups, challenge other student’s thinking as well as create new understandings (DEEWR, 2009). In addition, play-based learning offers a supportive setting whereby children are able to solve problems, ask questions and participate in critical thinking (DEEWR, 2009). Fox (1996) asserts that play improves the development of language, thinking skills, creativity, resourcefulness, and social competence. Play is important because it expands the thinking of the children and improves their desire to learn and know. Intentional teaching as described by DEEWR (2009) is a thoughtful and purposeful, whereby learning takes place in social contexts and conversations as well as that interactions are enormously crucial for student’s learning. For this reason, children’s learning is promoted actively using challenging and valuable interactions as well as experiences, which promote high-level thinking skills (DEEWR, 2009). In this case, teachers utilise strategies like demonstrating as well as modelling, guessing, problem solving, ask open-ended questions, clarifying, and taking part in shared thinking with the objective of improving the children’s learning and thinking. As indicated by DEEWR (2009) teachers normally strategize opportunities for building knowledge and intentional teaching by documenting as well as monitoring the children’s learning. In inquiry-based learning, children create their own questions regarding a topic and aspects they desire to learn (Mathis, 2015). Touhill (2012) posits that inquiry-based learning is recognised by the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) as an important component for effective learning in the early childhood setting. Basically, actively participating in learning enables the children to build their inquiry processes, creative thinking and knowledge of concepts, which are crucial for learning (Touhill, 2012). Inquiry-based learning can be promoted when the teacher considers him/herself as a co-learner, whereby he/she works with children while they are learning. This makes the teachers feel more as agents for extending and supporting children’s endeavours towards understanding. Furthermore, engaging and interesting resources or materials could offer the motivation for children’s investigations as well as questions (Touhill, 2012). Therefore, it is imperative for children to make sure that their students gain access to the resources and questions, which they require quickly. In so doing, children can follow their investigations and resource their own learning. According to Touhill (2012), inquiry-based learning offers the teachers a platform to participate in shared as well as sustained conversations with their students. These conversations can enable the teachers to guide and enrich children’s learning and thinking, as well as enable the children to attain new understandings about the topic at hand, the process of learning, and also themselves. Swim (2004) outlines a number of learning theories associated with early childhood learning: Behaviourist Theory, Cognitive-developmental Theory, Biological-maturational Theory, and Sociocultural Theory. According to the behaviourist theory, learning and development is entirely attributed to nurture (the environmental influences). That is to say, children learning and behaviour could be shaped by offering punishment as well as rewards. Cognitive-developmental theory focuses on how the reasoning and thinking of the children qualitatively changes in a given period of time. The theory was developed by Jean Piaget (1936) arguing that children actively take part in their cognitive development by creating their own understandings regarding the world (McLeod, 2009). The biological-maturational theory holds that physiological and genetic changes contribute in the development of the children’s body structures. For instance, the motor capabilities and brain development takes place automatically devoid of instruction or learning (Swim, 2004). Lastly, the sociocultural theory places emphasis on the transmission of culture from one generation to another using tool like social interaction as well as language (Swim, 2004). According to Swim (2004), children should work with adults so as to learn the ways of behaving, knowing and thinking. The sociocultural theory believes that knowledge is constructed socially and actively by interacting with other people (Swim, 2004). 3.0 How Does Curriculum Leadership Improve Teaching and Learning 3.1 Why Leadership Is Important For Teaching and Learning Curriculum leadership is very important for teaching and learning because it helps in shaping the nature of school conditions like classroom conditions, culture, goals and structure as well as the instruction content, classrooms size, and the types of pedagogy utilised by the teachers (Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, & Wahlstrom, 2004). In addition, curriculum leadership is important because it facilitates teachers to contribute a different view on early childhood education, which consequently improves the quality of teaching in addition to the amount learned by the students. As noted by Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, and Wahlstrom (2004) the strength of leadership in the school setting is only surpassed by the classroom instruction. More importantly, leadership is crucial for effectively implementing large-scale reforms in the early childhood setting (Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, & Wahlstrom, 2004). 3.2 Impact of Curriculum Leadership in Improving Teaching In his study, Mulford (2003) observed that a well-supported and skilled curriculum leader can promote a sense of purpose and ownership with regard to how educators approach their work. Therefore, giving teachers autonomy in the work would automatically improve the quality of their teaching. It is very difficult for a school facing troubles to come out of the mess without the influence of a curriculum leadership. Therefore, curriculum leadership influences the teachers to collaborate and work towards achieving the set goals. This can be achieved when the curriculum leader supports the teachers and challenges them to review their own teaching practices as well as secure best practice models. Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, and Wahlstrom (2004) mention that the effective leadership can be achieved through contributions made by various stakeholders, such as parents and teachers. Therefore, curriculum leaders who share their leadership with the educators are more inclined to promote collaborative as well as reflective investigation towards improving teaching. When teachers are made leaders, they are likely to steer change by asking questions associated with the improvement of the school and could feel motivated to assist in finding the answers (Stronge, Richard, & Catano, 2008). Curriculum leaders normally consult with the teachers about issues and generate opportunities for teachers to share teaching practices and collaborate with other teachers and stakeholders (Stronge, Richard, & Catano, 2008). When they share their leadership with teachers, curriculum leaders facilitate collaboration on the evaluation of issues associated with assessment, instruction, and curriculum. In such a collaborative process, Stronge, Richard, and Catano (2008) posit that teacher leaders offer valuable ideas and insight to the curriculum leaders that could help improve the school. Curriculum leaders who tap into their teachers’ expertise while changing their schools and place more emphasis on learning are inclined to be more successful in early childhood setting (Stronge, Richard, & Catano, 2008). Leadership that promotes collaboration is less likely to wear out. Curriculum leadership promotes school success when the teachers are updated about the on-going practice and research and promoting a belief system depicting the school as a community for learning (Stronge, Richard, & Catano, 2008). Stronge, Richard, and Catano (2008) posit that school leaders utilise different tools for staff development with the purpose of centring awareness on research-based approaches, which promote better instructional value. For the instructional know-how to be infused in the whole school, the instructional leader concept must be widened further than improving the children learning. The curriculum leaders have to mobilise the capacities and energy of the teachers by changing the school’s learning cultures. Teaching is improved by curriculum leadership when the leader supports instructional programs and activities by constantly listing instructional concerns and modelling the expected behaviours (Stronge, Richard, & Catano, 2008). This is achieved when they try to become students among the students. In curriculum leadership, participating in assessment, instruction, and curriculum is very important. Effective curriculum leaders are always visible through interaction and contact with teachers; as a result, improving teaching (Stronge, Richard, & Catano, 2008). Curriculum leaders facilitate the development of the teachers; acts as participatory learners together with the teachers; promotes teachers’ development and allow the practice and demonstration of new skills; and often incorporates the teachers’ expertise (Stronge, Richard, & Catano, 2008). Curriculum leaders enable teachers find ways of improving the student achievement through espousal of best pedagogy practices for teaching children highly standardised content. Specifically, curriculum leaders should focus more on the instruction and curriculum. Importantly, curriculum leadership as observed by Mead (2011) drives effective teaching by creating a culture, which stresses and anticipates quality teaching for all children. The leaders work relentlessly and closely with teachers with the objective of ensuring high-quality teaching. Curriculum leaders always visit classrooms to observe the teachers and offer feedback. Mead (2011) posit that successful leaders often examine data together with the teachers and help them in gathering and utilising data with the objective of monitoring the progress of the children and analysing as well as improving teaching approaches. Successful curriculum leaders utilise various strategies for managing human capital so as to promote effective teaching, which includes the teachers’ instructional skills development and firing underachieving teachers (Mead, 2011). Curriculum leadership involves placing interim and formative assessments aligned to curriculum that offers educators with information so as to inform teaching. Curriculum leaders offer professional development, which facilitate the teachers to utilise the student data, assessments, and curriculum so as to improve teaching (Mead, 2011). They also realign resources in the early childhood setting in order to support alignment by preparing regular time for common planning (Mead, 2011). Curriculum leader also distribute resources for to enable teachers make timely interventions, especially to assist struggling children. Curriculum leaders are expected to support and value the teachers, protect them from the mounting external pressures, and ensure school improvement is sustained by building school and teacher capacity (Mead, 2011). Day et al. (2009) point out that because the quality of the teacher is the most crucial in-school factor with regard to the children achievement, the ability of the curriculum leaders to successfully steer teacher effectiveness depicts their leadership capabilities. Therefore, improved teaching can be achieved by promoting professional development, and taking effective actions. 3.3 Impact of Curriculum Leadership in Improving Children’s Learning Outcomes Robinson (2007) asserts that curriculum leadership improves the learning outcomes by ensuring that the teachers focus on the clear learning and academic goals. An early childhood setting is considered an environment where various differing demands could possibly make everything appear similarly imperative; therefore, having established goals enable teachers to direct their efforts on the students. Curriculum leaders who focus more on communicating expectations and goals, notifying the stakeholders about the school’s academic achievements and acknowledging children performing well in the school are inclined to improve the performance and the learning outcomes of the school (Robinson, 2007). Citing a number of earlier studies such as Goldring and Pasternak (1994), Robinson (2007) argue that school goals is what separates high-performing schools from the low-performers. The high-performing schools’ goals are articulated by the curriculum leaders and are integrated into classroom and school procedures as well as routines. According to Vale et al. (2010), the teaching quality is the most influential factor that defines the students’ learning outcomes; therefore, effective curriculum leadership is crucial for supporting the change of school culture and teaching practice in schools that are underperforming. For this reason, authentic curriculum leaders are considered more effective in transforming the lives of people involved in the wider early childhood setting, such as children, teachers and parents. Authentic leaders normally bring a sophisticated meaning and purpose to early childhood education practice by generating circumstances which allow both students and teachers to become responsible in their own learning as well as teaching (Vale, et al., 2010). Vale et al. (2010) maintain that curriculum leaders have to create a sharing culture in the early childhood setting by distributing responsibilities and tasks. For this reason they would be able to create a trusting relationship in the school that support collaboration as well as open communication. Authentic leaders as mentioned by George, Sims, McLean, and Mayer (2007) understand that leadership is about outcomes, rather than individual success or having loyal followers. Additionally, authentic leaders believe that for an organisation to become successful there must be empowered leaders at every organisational level; therefore, effective curriculum leaders are those who empower and motivate teachers and students to step up and lead. Day et al. (2009) mentions that transforming a school sustainably is normally an outcome of effective curriculum leadership. Therefore, effective curriculum leadership can consequently improve the social, psychological and physical conditions for learning as well as teaching. In addition, it can lead to raised aspirations of the students. Mulford (2003) opines that improved learning outcomes and strong curriculum leadership are not directly related, but an effective curriculum leadership results in an environment where learning flourishes, instead of directly motivating children to achieve. Importantly, a shared teacher efficacy is a crucial variable that intervenes between teacher work and curriculum leadership and then the learning outcomes (Mulford, 2003). That is to say, curriculum leadership contributes to shared teacher efficacy, which consequently impact what transpires within the school’s core business (learning and teaching). Curriculum leadership influences how children see how instruction is organised and conducted by the teachers, as well as how the teachers interact with the students. Mulford (2003) asserts that students’ engagement and participation is indirectly and directly associated with academic achievement. When the teachers’ work is perceived positively, it directly stimulates engagement with school, academic self-concept as well as school participation. A number of studies such as Robinson et al. (2009) as cited by Day, Gu, and Sammons (2016) point out that transformational leadership cannot strongly influence students’ outcomes since it focuses more on school’s staff relationships. On the other hand, instructional leadership strongly impacts the learning outcomes because it is centred on the school’s core business in improving effective learning and teaching. In their study, Marks and Printy (2003) as cited by Day, Gu, and Sammons (2016) observed that instructional leadership that is more concentrated had little impact and value to the learning outcomes, especially if the curriculum leaders only respond to the policy-driven and strong external demands of change, performativity as well as accountability. When leaders respond to such external demands using out-dated curriculum leadership conception is irrational; however, using collaborative means to engage the teachers regarding such issues can positively influence the learning outcomes. Still, effective curriculum leaders could influence the student outcomes, such as reducing student suspensions and absences, as well as improving the rates of graduation. Curriculum leaders in underperforming and poor schools are inclined to enormously impact the student outcomes as compared to those at schools facing fewer (Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, & Wahlstrom, 2004). Clearly, curriculum leaders play a crucial role in learning outcomes; for instance, schools led by curriculum leaders who are highly effective are more inclined to outperform those led by an average leader. Furthermore, students’ achievement in a school led by an effective curriculum leader is inclined to increase. Furthermore, student absences are always low in schools having effective curriculum leadership, especially in high-poverty and low- performing schools (Hull, 2012). 3.4 Building-up capacity In order to build a capacity, the curriculum leaders should challenge low expectations as part of their learning vision; that is to say, the learning vision should emphasise learning at every level: the school, teachers and children. Importantly, the learning vision should be made clearer so that every person can learn. Besides that, the curriculum leader should broaden leadership since sustaining as well as coordinating change needs different persons to assume the leadership roles (University of Wolverhampton, 2009). Therefore, curriculum leader should empower stakeholders in the early childhood setting, such as teachers to lead. Therefore, delegating authority to teachers will enable both the teachers and students understand the school culture and what the leader is trying to achieve (University of Wolverhampton, 2009). When a leader delegates authority, he/she will be sharing the responsibility; thus, making every person in the early childhood setting to feel as part of the school and promotes collaboration (Mead, 2011). Another way to build capacity is looking for connectedness given that it is the role of a curriculum leader to make the school appear as a dynamic whole where no one intervention or action is discreet. Creating a culture of information sharing through conversation, deliberations, and learning together would promote learning outcomes (Mulford, 2003). Building capacity can also be achieved by listening, particularly to students since the voices of the children play a crucial role in process of improving a school improvement process since the ultimate objective is improving their learning (University of Wolverhampton, 2009). Additionally, the curriculum leaders should work beyond and between schools; that is to say, the curriculum leader should not only work local community as well as with other schools but should also extend to other sources of resources and support like businesses and participating in inter-agency work (University of Wolverhampton, 2009). 3.5 Changing Context of Education Early childhood education has been changing; for instance, in the last decade there has been an international effort to codify early childhood curriculum. According to Shin (2015), this is because early childhood education is positioned as governments’ economic and social benefit. More recently, some orientation and structuring of children’s educational experiences has been accepted. Still, the tensions between issues and approaches of continuity as well as consistency when children are transiting from early childhood setting to primary school are still existent (Shin, 2015). Furthermore, early childhood education in countries like Australia has been evolving haphazardly because of the changing community needs in the varying socio-political and ideological environments. Although the scope and growth of early childhood education in Australia has remains substantial, it is still falling behind the needs of the Australian community. Still, Australia’s early childhood education future depends on increased shared understandings, networks as well as communication regarding the practice. Shin (2015) posit that this is a curriculum leadership setback which has to be solved, especially in the areas of policy making, the academy, research, and practice in order for early childhood education to become fortified and facilitate collaboration for the benefit of the children, their parents as well as the community in general. As pointed out by Burgess, Robertson, and Patterson (2010) promoting a collaborative learning environment in the early childhood setting is a crucial indicator of successful learning environments, whereby teachers are engaged in meaningful changes. Engagement and participation of both students and teachers remains the key to improved performance in the early education setting. References ACECQA. (2011). The role of the educational leader. Sydney NSW : ACECQA . Burgess, J., Robertson, G., & Patterson, C. (2010). Curriculum implementation: Decisions of early childhood teachers. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 35(3), 51-59. Cheeseman, S. (2012). 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The impact of leadership on student outcomes: Making sense of the evidence. Research Conference, 12-16. Scott, D., & Lawson, H. (2002). Citizenship Education and the Curriculum. ‎Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood Publishing Group. Sharma, M. K., & Jain, S. (2013). Leadership Management: Principles, Models and Theories. Global Journal of Management and Business Studies, 3(3), 309-318. Shin, A. M. (2015). The Australian National Curriculum: an early childhood perspective. Professional Educator, 14(1), 11–13. Stronge, J. H., Richard, H. B., & Catano, N. (2008). Qualities of Effective Principals. Retrieved from ASCD: http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/108003/chapters/Instructional-Leadership@-Supporting-Best-Practice.aspx Swim, T. J. (2004). Theories of Child Development: Building Blocks of Developmentally Appropriate Practices. Early Childhood News, 16(2), 36-45. Touhill, L. (2012). Inquiry-based learning. Early Childhood Australia. Canberra, Australia: NQS PLP . University of Wolverhampton. (2009). Building Capacity Developing your School. Retrieved from University of Wolverhampton: https://www.wlv.ac.uk/media/wlv/pdf/sed-Building-Capacity.pdf Vale, C., Davies, A., Weaven, M., Hooley, N., Davidson, K., & Loton, D. (2010). Leadership to Improve Mathematics Outcomes in Low SES Schools and School Networks. Mathematics Teacher Education and Development, 12(2), 47–71. Week 7 lecture, Curriculum Read More