Self Reflective Practice Essay -- Childcare Directors, Early Childhood

This motif will look the role of the director in modeling thoughtful practice as a wight to move a schedule towards programmatic duty. Childcargon directors be closely connected to all told aspects of the childc be program they supervise and restrain the teachers and staff and they work with the children and families. They are responsible for the program administration. They are the program manager and the center leader. This paper will suggest ways to take more reflective practice into our programs at Kennedy Heights Community Center. The literary works on self-reflective practice will be explored and analyzed to support the papers thesis of reflective practice as a tool on the path to excellence. The limitations and weaknesses of reflective practice will also be explored.Reflection- Literature ReviewIn her article, Becoming a Self Mentor, tip states, The capacity to reflect and engage in candid introspection is at the core of achieving self-awareness. Reflective pract itioners think creatively, imaginatively, and at times self-critically about what they are doing. Individuals who use a variety of reflective practices have a meliorate understanding of themselves (pg. 55). If we value continuous programmatic improvements then practitioners must know themselves to efficaciously change and improve themselves. Teachers and directors cannot adjust or improve their attitudes or behaviors if they are unable to honestly acknowledge and own their actions. Reflection can function to close the gap between espoused theories and theories in action (Bloom, 2007). The shell scripted handbooks and program manuals are meaningless if teachers and directors do not implement the school of thought and vision of the program as written. If centers talk... ...d care and education to know what excellence looks like, but also knowledge of adult education to get all the teachers to the pursuit of excellence. While reflective practice is a critical activate of profe ssional development, the program administrator must continuously move a program towards excellence and have a deep understanding of best practices and what quality childcare looks like to effectively model and facilitate reflective practice that leads to sustainable change. While some aspects of quality are concrete and stable many aspects of quality childcare reflect the needs of the children and their families and are constantly changing. It takes management skills to maintain consistency and leadership skills to facilitate the changing program needs to maintain quality. The director serves both roles and therefore serves as the gatekeeper to program quality.