More handpicked essays just for you.
The theory and practice of change management
Change management theories, techniques and leadership
Six secrets of change implementation
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The pre-school aims to extend its opening hours from 9am to 12:30pm to a full day operations from 8am to 6:30pm. The planned change will include introducing extracurricular activities and children being provided with meals, rest and sleep periods. The extending of hours will involve substantial change in the way the pre-school operates. New division will be created for food catering and more teachers will be required for the full day pre-school. The changes will affect all the people involved and some may feel insecure or threatened in facing the change. It is natural to feel stressed by the challenge and may resist change. To enable the pre-school to continue to survive and grow the changes are necessary and has to be communicated to the staff in a way that they feel involved, secured and become part of the change process. Change has to be promoted as a positive activity, to be embraced in our post-modernist society (Robins & Callan, 2009). This essay aims to give an in-depth analysis of strategies by applying Kotter’s Eight Stage process framework on how change can be implemented successfully. It will further discuss reactions and resistance to the planned changes that one may encounter from staff and parents. Kotter’s 8- Step Change model (Kotter, 1996) 1. Establish a Sense of Urgency Kotter’s first step is to establish a sense of urgency for the change. This will be done by presenting the current situation of the pre-school, the demand and needs of full time working parents, and the consequences which may occur if the change is not implemented. This presentation would include a snap shot of current revenue and expenses and the effect of increasing cost of operations, on the profit of the pre-school, and show that if the p... ... middle of paper ... ...sion to ensure alignment and the change would be embedded in everyday practice. 1548 – 24 = 1524 Bibliography Aubrey, C. (2011). Leading and Managing in Early Years Settings. London: Sage. Daly, M. Byers, E. and Taylor, W. (2004). Early Years Management in Practice. Oxford: Heinemann. Gill, R. (2011). Theory and Practice of Leadership. London: Sage. Kotter, J.P. (1996). Leading Change. USA: Harvard Business School Press. Kotter, J.P. and Schlesinger, A. (1979) Choosing Strategies for Change. USA: Harvard Business Publishing. Pugh, G. and Duffy, B. (2009). Contemporary Issues in the Early Years. (5th ed). London: Sage. Robins, A. and Callan, S. (2010). Managing Early Years Settings: Supporting and Learning Teams. London: Sage. Whalley, M.E., and Allen, S. (2011). Leading Practice in Early Years Settings (2nd ed). Exeter: Learning Matters.
I am a firm believer that the quality of the child care directly affects the child’s development in the classroom. By eliminating the need for competing preschools to continue to improve their curriculum and to remain relevant in the field of early childhood education, we risk falling into the same trap K-12 education has fallen into. In other words, individual classroom freedom will be lost when teachers are forced to follow the governments blanket and mandatory regulations. I choose this concept because I feel it is important to allow a wide variety of options to families in order for them the find the right fit for their
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) was implemented in England in 2008 and applies to all children aged 0-5. This new curriculum combined existing government ideas regarding the care of under 5s including the 'Every Child Matters' (ECM) policy: children's services have to respond to 5 outcomes for all children from birth to 18: being healthy, being protected from harm and neglect, being enabled to enjoy and achieve, making a positive contribution to society, and contributing to economic well-being. The statutory EYFS document stated a need for a 'coherent and flexible approach to care and learning' (DfES - Department for Education and Skills 2007; cited in Palaiologou, 2010, p.11 ), and ensures a quality experience for children regardless of the pre-school setting. EYFS and its direct predecessors were introduced based on the realisation that quality of teaching and management of schools play a central role in children's quality of learning, not socio-economic and educational background, as was previously thought. Pre-school education was seen as a method of helping children 'break the cycle of deprivation' (Baldock, 2009, p.20). However, research by Potter immediately prior to the inception of the EYFS concluded that due to 'insufficiently rigorous conceptual underpinnings, particularly in the area of language and communicatio...
Tickell, C., 2011. The Early Years: Foundations for life, health and learning. An independent report on the Early Years Foundation Stage to Her Majesty’s Government. London: HMG
The value of preschool is often overlooked as parents consider it for its utilitarian purposes. Although most preschools do function as a daycare, the merits gained from an early education follow children throughout their entire lives. Children at this ripe age are eager to learn, excited about the buzzing world aroun...
This essay will discuss the Key Person approach and its impact on children and their families. It will critically analyse some of the benefits, challenges and barriers that the key person system may have on an early years setting, its provision, the children and their families. It will discuss transitions that children may experience, and how practitioners can help to support them and their families during this process. This will have reference to appropriate theorists such as John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth. Supporting references will be shown throughout this essay to support the writing.
Explain the legal status and principles of the relevant early years frameworks and how national and local guidance materials are used in settings
... to deal with changes. Moreover, preschool teachers also can recommend and visit potential kindergarten with that service to look an opportunities and experiences of the staff. They should go for open day to get information and procedures of the kindergartens to be compared.
The Child Development Center of College of San Mateo provides early care and educational programs for children between the ages of 3 to 5 years old. Children are divided into classrooms with a “master” teacher, a “regular” teacher, and two or three “associate” teachers. Klara attended Classroom, “A,” a stimulating and well-resourced classroom. Klara was observed for two hours on Monday from 9 am to 11 am and for two hours on Wednesday from 9 am to 11 am. During these two hours, classroom activities consisted of “free time,” “story time,” and an outside “play time.” A “master” teacher, a “regular” teacher, and two “associate” teachers were present during observations. Additionally, a total of eighteen children were in attendance during the observed days.
The results of quality preschool programs can be seen early after they begin. Children learn many important life le...
...pmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8 (3rd Ed.). Washington, Dc: NAEYC.
Morrison, G. S. (1976). Chapter 6: Early Childhood Programs APPLYING THEORIES TO PRACTICE. In Early childhood education today (10th ed., pp. 5-31). Columbus, Ohio: Merrill.
Veale, F. (2013). Early years for Level 4 & 5 and the Foundation Degree. London: Hodder Education.
On-going training and development within my setting has supported practitioners to enable them to demonstrate an effective practice by using their knowledge and skills to guarantee the principles are met and the families are supported for their individual needs. Raising the profile of children and recognising how important the early year’s are within our setting has shown outstanding qualities throughout the team, this has been shown through the children outcomes in which we have been praised from all of our parents over the years.
Isenberg, J. P., & Jalongo, M. R. (2000). Exploring your role: A practitioner’s introduction to early childhood education. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Robert-Holmes, G. (2011). It’s the bread and butter of our practice’: experiencing the Early Years Foundation Stage, International Journal, 20(1), pp. 30-42.