Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, read Chapter 1 in your textbook. Additionally, review the following websites and web pages that show examples of organizations’ philosophies:
Queen Emma Preschool: Andrew’s School About Us (Links to an external site.)
The School District of Lee County: Early Childhood Learning Center (Links to an external site.)
ABC Preschool Mission and Philosophy (Links to an external site.)
Tender Care Learning Center: Why Tender Care (Links to an external site.)
According to Gadikowski (2013), “The vision and mission statements of an early childhood program often reflect the organization’s philosophy, that is, its beliefs about how children best learn and develop” (Section 1.4).
Imagine you have just been hired as the leader of a new ECE program. Your first task is to develop the philosophy, vision, and mission for the program. To assist you with this task, first evaluate the philosophy, vision, and mission using Table 1.1 “Philosophy, Vision, and Mission as Administrative Tools” in your textbook for the provided schools above. Then, choose two of the schools and complete the following table:
Website 1
(choose from the list above) Website 2
(choose from the list above)
Identify the strengths of this organization’s philosophy, vision and mission.
Discuss areas for improvement of this organization’s philosophy and mission in your opinion.
After completing the table, develop a draft of your philosophy, vision, and mission for your new childcare center. Be sure to include what you have learned from the text and from your evaluations to help shape your ideas. You will build on this later in the course, as well as throughout your degree program. Your discussion post should be at least 300 words in length. Please be sure to cite the two schools you choose within your post and provide corresponding reference entries. If you need assistance with APA formatting for online sources, refer to the Writing Center resource, the APA References (Links to an external site.) Guide.
