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Early
Childhood: Family-Centered Services Instructor: Aumony Dahl, M.Ed. Phone: 509-891-7219 Office Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
PST Monday - Friday Email: aumony_dahl@virtualeduc.com Address: Virtual
Education Software 16201 E Indiana Ave,
Suite 1450 Spokane, WA 99216 Technical
Support: support@virtualeduc.com Introduction Welcome to Early
Childhood: Family-Centered Services, a course that seeks to promote the
development of thoughtful,
knowledgeable, effective educators for a diverse society. The course provides conceptual frameworks
for working with families of children from a variety of backgrounds. Course content places an emphasis on
family-centered practices designed to help early childhood professionals
involve and support families in the care and education of children. This
computer-based instruction course is a self-supporting program that provides
instruction, structured practice, and evaluation all on your home or school
computer. Technical support
information can be found, in the Help section of your course. Course
Materials Title: Early Childhood: Family-Centered Services Instructor: Aumony Dahl, M.Ed. Publisher: Virtual Education Software, inc. 2008, Revised 2012 Academic
Integrity Statement
The structure and format of most distance-learning courses presume a
high level of personal and academic integrity in completion and submission of
coursework. Individuals enrolled in a distance-learning course are expected
to adhere to the following standards of academic conduct.
Academic Work Academic
work submitted by the individual (such as papers, assignments, reports,
tests) shall be the student’s own work or appropriately attributed, in part
or in whole, to its correct source. Submission of commercially prepared (or
group prepared) materials as if they are one’s own work is unacceptable. Aiding Honesty
in Others The
individual will encourage honesty in others by refraining from providing
materials or information to another person with knowledge that these
materials or information will be used improperly. Violations of these academic standards will result
in the assignment of a failing grade and subsequent loss of credit for the
course. Level of Application This course is designed as one part of a five
part series on early childhood education.
Upon completion of all five courses, you will have covered all of the Course
Objectives After
successful completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate: ·
Working knowledge of the major frameworks for
understanding about family systems, transitions, and diversity. ·
Competence in communicating about the role of
families in promoting optimal growth, development, and learning from
pre-birth to age five. ·
Ability to seek out appropriate local, regional
and national resources when working with families facing special challenges
(e.g. children who have teenaged or divorced parents, are newly immigrated, have
experienced abuse/neglect and/or poverty, or have special needs). ·
Skill in designing appropriate professional
practices related to enhancing and assessing positive staff-parent
communication and involvement. Course
Description Family-Centered
Services
is a continuum of services that employ the family-centered practice approach
to promote the primary goals of child welfare: safety, permanency, and well-being. A family-centered practice approach is a
way of organizing and delivering assistance and support to families based on
interconnected beliefs and attitudes that shape the program philosophy and
behavior of personnel as they organize and deliver services to children and
families. Family-centered
service is an approach to service delivery that grew out of family
preservation attempts in the mid-seventies to prevent out-of-home placements
of minors. Since then, family-centered services has expanded from a
particular type of service to an overall philosophy for the delivery of
services to families. FCS currently
includes a wide range of programs from family
support prevention services to family
preservation, for families who are dealing with extremely difficult
situations. Family support is largely
a preventative service that focuses on promoting healthy family relationships
and child development. A family
support model may include programs such as peer support groups, Head Start,
parent training, and home visitation. Family preservation, on the other hand,
is more concerned with preventing family breakdown when serious problems
arise by providing more intensive services that help families resolve
specific issues (Fuller & Wells, 2000). While
there are several similar, yet differing, definitions of family-centered
services that exist in fields such as social services, child welfare, mental
health, and early childhood special education, there is consensus on the
principles and values that characterize family-centered services. Descriptors such as “strengths-based,
consumer driven, family systems, partnerships, empowerment, enhancement,
interdependence, proactive, and collaborative relationships” are all found in
many of these definitions (Pletcher & McBride,
2003). For
the purpose of this class, we will use the terms Family-Centered Services and Family-Centered
Practice interchangeably, to refer to a way of working with families
across service systems to enhance their capacity to care for and protect their
children, and strengthen their ability to manage their own lives. Family-centered services focus on the needs
and welfare of children within the context of their families and communities. These services are accessible and
individualized, and are available to families that may not initially seek
services. Family-centered
service providers reach out to families, conveying the message that all
families can benefit from support, and that families can learn from one
another. Family-centered
practice recognizes the strengths of family relationships and builds on these
strengths to achieve optimal outcomes.
Family is defined broadly to
include birth, blended, kinship, and foster and adoptive families. Family-centered practice includes a range
of strategies, including advocating for improved conditions for families,
supporting them, stabilizing those in crisis, reunifying those who are
separated, building new families, and connecting families to the resources
that will sustain them in the future. Student Expectations
As
a student, you will be expected to:
Course
Overview Chapter 1: Introduction to Family-Centered
Services Chapter
One defines what is meant by Family-Centered Services (FCS) and examines the
important role it plays in Early Childhood Education (ECE). We consider
the philosophy, core values, and essential elements of best practice in
FCS. In addition, we identify several key principles that guide the
delivery of Family-Centered Services and provide practical examples of how to
implement each principle for those providing services to families. Chapter 2: Understanding Families Chapter Two takes a more in-depth look at how we can work
together to connect the ECE profession’s standards of quality to the urgent
needs of families. This chapter discusses the complexity of family dynamics
by examining several factors that contribute to family diversity, such as
ethnicity, race, culture, economic differences, gender role identity,
religiosity, and geographic region. We discuss the practical
implications of such factors and look at family strengths, functions, and
structures. Chapter 3 - Working Together: A Shared Responsibility Chapter Three takes a closer look at several stress factors,
such as family violence, substance abuse, homelessness, disability, serious
illness, and immigration, that many families in crisis may face. We
discuss the impact of such stressors on both family and child, and identify
various ways in which early childhood educators can support and encourage
them in their time of need. Chapter 4 - Building Communities of Care Chapter
Four focuses on the need for Early Childhood Educators and care providers to
provide parents with child-rearing information and support. In order to
do this, we examine the critical processes for child development, discuss how
to develop and implement needs assessments for families with young children,
and describe the dimensions of high-quality parent education programs.
This chapter also identifies critical components of parenting and discusses
methods of parent education. Examinations
At
the end of each course chapter, you will be expected to complete an
examination designed to assess your knowledge. You may take these exams a
total of three times. Your last score will save, not the highest score. After
your third attempt, each examination will lock and not allow further access. The average from your exam scores will be printed on your certificate. However, this is not your final grade since
your required writing assignments have not been reviewed. Exceptionally written or poorly written
required writing assignments, or violation of the academic integrity policy
in the course syllabus, will affect your grade. As this is a self-paced computerized
instruction program, you may review course information as often as necessary.
You will not be able to exit any examinations until you have answered all
questions. If you try to exit the exam before you complete all questions,
your information will be lost. You are expected to complete the entire exam
in one sitting. Writing
Assignments This course has two required writing components. To save your essays: When you select the question or article you
wish to write on, simple text or text edit will automatically be launched. When you are
finished, simply click SAVE. You must SAVE before you
write another essay or move on to another part of the course. 1)
Essay
Requirement: Critical Thinking
Questions There is a Critical Thinking Question for each chapter. You will do research
on the question and write a brief essay relating it to the course content
(and your personal experiences when possible). To view the questions, click on REQUIRED
ESSAY and choose the Critical Thinking Question that you would like to
complete; this will bring up a screen where you may enter your essay. You must write a minimum of 500 words per
essay. You must
SAVE before you write another essay or move on to another part of the course. 2) Essay Requirement: Journal Articles This task requires you to write a review of
three journal articles of your choice on a topic related to this course. You may choose your topic by entering the
Key Words (click on the Key Words button) into a search engine of your choice
(Google, Dogpile, Yahoo, etc.). Choose three
relevant articles and write a 200-word review of each. You may also access
the ERIC system and choose a related topic from a journal listed in that
system. Or you can access www.scholar.google.com
or www.findarticles.com. Write a critical summary of the information given in
each article, explaining how the information relates to, supports, or refutes
information given in this course. Conclude your paper with your thoughts and
impressions. (200 words per journal article minimum, 400 words maximum.) Be
sure to provide the journal name, volume, date, and any other critical
information to allow the instructor to access and review that article. To write your essays, click on REQUIRED
ESSAY and choose the Journal Article that you would like to complete; this
will bring up a screen where you can write your review. When you are ready to
stop, click SAVE. You may go back at any point to edit your
essays. For more information on the
features of this assignment, please consult the HELP menu. You must
SAVE before you write another essay or move on to another part of the course. Instructor Description
Early
Childhood: Family-Centered Services has been developed by Aumony Dahl MS/ED the instructor of record. Aumony received
her Master’s degree in Exceptional Children from Western Washington University. She is certified to teach in K-12 Special
Education with an additional endorsement in Early Childhood Special
Education. Aumony
began her career working as an elementary special education teacher for
several years. She is currently an
instructor in the Special Education Department at Western Washington
University, teaching a variety of classes on topics related to early
childhood special education, students with complex special needs, assessment
and evaluation, and program planning. Aumony is also a supervisor for practicum students who
are training to become teachers. In
addition to this course, Aumony has authored
another course in this Early Childhood series called Early Childhood: Program
Planning. Contacting the Instructor
You may contact the instructor by
emailing Professor Dahl at aumony_dahl@virtualeduc.com or calling her at
509-891-7219, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. PST. Phone messages will
be answered within 24 hours. Phone
conferences will be limited to ten minutes per student, per day, given that
this is a self-paced instructional program. Please do not contact the instructor
about technical problems, course glitches or other issues that involve the
operation of the course. Technical Questions If you have
questions or problems related to the operation of this course, please try
everything twice. If the problem persists please check our support pages for
FAQs and known issues at www.virtualeduc.com and also the Help section of
your course. If you need
personal assistance then email support@virtualeduc.com
or call (509) 891-7219. When
contacting technical support, please know your course version number (it is
located at the bottom left side of the Welcome Screen) and your operating
system, and be seated in front of the computer at the time of your call. Minimum Computer Requirements Please refer to VESi’s
website: www.virtualeduc.com or
contact VESi if you have further questions about the compatibility of your
operating system. Refer to the addendum regarding Grading Criteria, Course
Completion Information, Items to be Submitted and how to submit your
completed information. The addendum will also note any additional course
assignments that you may be required to complete that are not listed in this syllabus. Bibliography
(Suggested
Readings) Arnold,
L. (1980). Preparing young children for science. New York: Schocken. Bredekamp, S., & Copple, C. (1997).
Developmentally appropriate
practice in early childhood programs: Revised
edition. Washington, DC: National
Association for the Education of Young Children. Calkins,
L. (1986). The art of teaching writing.
Exeter, NH: Heinemann. New York:
Longman. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention website: www.cdc.gov Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. (2008). Strategic direction
for child maltreatment prevention: Preventing child maltreatment through the
promotion of safe, stable, and nurturing relationships between children and
caregivers. Atlanta, GA: Author. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pub/CM_factsheet.html Chaille, C., & Britain, L. (1997). The young child as scientist: A
constructivist approach to early childhood science education (2nd
ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Clay,
M. (1998). By different paths to common
outcomes. York, ME: Stenhouse. Colbert,
C. (1997). Visual arts in the developmentally appropriate integrated
curriculum. In C. Hart, D. Burts, & R. Charlesworth
(Eds.), Integrated curriculum and
developmentally appropriate practice. (pp. 201-224). Albany, NY: State
University of New York Press. Edwards, V. J., Anda,
R. F., Dube, S. R., Dong, M., Chapman, D. F., &
Felitti, V. J.
(2005). The wide-ranging health consequences of adverse childhood
experiences. In K. Kendall-Tackett & Sarah Giacomoni
(Eds.), Victimization of children and youth: Patterns of abuse, response
strategies. Kingston, NJ: Civic Research Institute. Edwards, V. J., Holden, G. W., Anda, R. F., & Felitti, V.
J. (2003). Experiencing multiple forms
of childhood maltreatment and adult mental health: Results from the adverse
childhood experiences (ACE) study. American
Journal of Psychiatry, 160(8), 1453-1460. Fang, X., Brown, D. S., Florence, C.,
& Mercy, J. (2012). The economic burden of child maltreatment in the
United States and implications for prevention. Child Abuse and Neglect, 36(2), 156-165. Gabbard, C. (1992). Lifelong motor development. Dubuque,
IA: Brown. Good,
R. (1977). How children learn science.
New York: Macmillan. Jones,
E. (1970). In L. Dittmann (Ed.), Curriculum is what happens. Washington, DC: National Association for
the Education of Young Children. Jones,
E., & Nimmo, J. (1994). Emergent curriculum. Washington, DC: National Association for the
Education of Young Children. Kostelnik, M., Soderman, A., & Whiren, A.
(1999). Developmentally appropriate
curriculum: Best practices in early childhood education. Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Merrill. Kreidler, W. (1984). Creative conflict resolution.
Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman. Krogh,
S., & Slentz, K. (2001). The early childhood curriculum.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Madsen, W. C. (2009). Collaborative
helping: A practice framework for family-centered services. Family
Process, 48, 103-116. McEwen, B. S. (2007). Physiology and
neurobiology of stress and adaptation: Central role of the brain. Physiology Review, 87(3), 873–904. Morrow,
L. (1993). Literacy development in the
early years. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. National
Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (1998). Learning to
read and write: Developmentally appropriate practices for young children. Young Children, 53(4), 30-46. Raths, L., Harmin, M., & Simon, S. (1966). Values and teaching. Columbus, OH: Merrill. Schirrmacher, R. (1998). Art and creative development for young
children. Albany, NY: Delmar. Sunal, C. (1990). Early childhood social studies.
Columbus, OH: Merrill. Taylor,
B. (1999). Science everywhere: Opportunities for very young
children. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Websites Zero
to Three Organization (http://www.zerotothree.org) A
primary site for information on healthy development during the first years of
life. National
Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center
(http://www.nectac.org) NECTAC
is the national early childhood technical assistance center supported by the
U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs. ERIC
Early Childhood Resources and Link (http://ericeece.org/) An
excellent source when you need to research a topic related to Early
Childhood. A large amount of information related to families is
included here. American
Academy of Pediatrics (http://www.aap.org) This
site offers child health information to parents and professionals. Council
for Exceptional Children (http://www.cec.sped.org) A
professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for
people working with and advocating for students with special needs. High/Scope
Educational Research Foundation (http://www.highscope.org) This
foundation is an independent non-profit research, development, training, and
public advocacy organization to promote the learning and development of
children. I
am Your Child (http://www.iamyourchild.org) This
site is primarily for students and families interested in information about
infants and toddlers. The site was created by the Rob Reiner foundation in
order to promote public awareness of the importance of early childhood
development, largely in response to brain development research. The
Foundation has developed a series of videos and CD-Roms
in English and Spanish that can be purchased for $5. This is a valuable
resource for sharing with parents and community members. National
Association for the Education of Young Children (http://naeyc.org) An
organization concerned with the quality of early education for young
children. NAEYC provides a number of Position Statements that are important
for all ECE specialists to familiarize themselves with. Early
Head Start National Resource Center @ Zero to Three (http://www.ehsnrc.org) A
large amount of information related to ECE, with some topics emphasizing
family services. Floor
Time- Stanley Greenspan, M.D.
(http://home.sprintmail.com/~janettevance/floor_time.htm) This site provides an overview of the work
of Stanley Greenspan and is particularly relevant to class discussion of parent/child
interactions in fostering emotional development. Vort Corporation (http://www.vort.com) This
site is a company that publishes Information for Parents and Professionals
working with infants and young children. Course content is updated every three years. Due to this update timeline, some URL links may no longer be active or may have changed. Please type the title of the organization into the command line of any Internet browser search window and you will be able to find whether the URL link is still active or any new link to the corresponding organization's web home page. Updated 7/26/12 JN |
