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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 Author:
Aumony Dahl, M.Ed. Publisher: Virtual
Education Software, inc. ©2008 Instructor:
Aumony Dahl 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 CBI 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. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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
1. Family
Centered Practices in Early Childhood: Share your perspective (in your own
words) about what this means…this will be your introductory paragraph. 2. Effective
Collaboration With Families: Discuss benefits of a positive
collaborative relationship with families and guiding principles for
facilitating effective communication/collaboration. 3. Parent
Involvement: Include a definition of “parent
involvement” (in your own words) and goals for parent involvement. Explain how you will: A. Provide
information to families. B. Enable
families to influence the program (have meaningful input). C. Foster
continuity of care (‘bridges’) between home and center. D. Empower
families to set and attain goals related to their children. 4. Conflict
Resolution: Please include the following: A. Common issues
that may result in conflict between family and ECE providers B. Positive,
proactive methods for minimizing potential conflicts C. Tips for
effective conflict resolution 5. Evaluating
Staff & Family Collaboration:
Please include the following: A. Your
perspective about evaluating various components of ECE programs. B. Practices for
collecting information/data related to collaboration C. How this
information might be effectively utilized 6. Application of
New Knowledge: In this concluding section, please share
with us at least two key concepts that were introduced or reinforced
by this course that you will try to apply in your work with young children
and their families. Be sure to include your reasons for considering these to
be significant ideas. 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 Certificate Program 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, 9 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. 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. Chaille,
C., & Britain, L. (1997). The young
child as scientist: A constructivist approach to early childhood science
education (2nd ed.). 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. Albany, NY: State University of New York
Press. Gabbard,
C. (1992). Lifelong motor development.
Dubuque, IA: Brown. Good,
R. (1977). How children learn science.
New York: Macmillan. Jones,
E. (1970). In Dittmann, L. (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. 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 time-line, some URL links my
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 2/22/10 JN |
