Introduction

          This study explains the principles and desired outcomes for kindergarten education, which cater to children in the immediate years before primary schooling.

          Early education services are important to the social and economic development of Queensland. These services support families and employment. They are of critical importance to the social, emotional, physical and intellectual development of young children and contribute to the overall well being of the community.

          The establishment of a framework for a kindergarten curriculum by the Ministry of Education is a significant milestone for Australia. It has been designed to explain our views on what makes for quality kindergarten education. While the framework is not meant to be prescriptive, it nevertheless points the way regarding the type of learning appropriate to children in the kindergarten years, and equally important, how teaching ought to be carried out in the early years of a child’s life.

Organizational Structure

          Understanding the critical elements in the structure and organization of physical settings is a powerful tool for ensuring desirable experiences for the children and families who use the settings, and for the staff who provide the services.

          Maintenance: The principal must ensure that the final day of each semester is used as the preschool equipment maintenance day with no children in attendance. The principal must be informed by the teacher-in-charge of the duties requiring attention.

          Parents and community participation: The literature is increasingly emphasizing the educational necessity for parental and broader community participation in early childhood education especially in kindergarten. Informing family members is seen to be a crucial role for school personnel. The argument is that positive educational change only occurs through changes in teacher attitude combined with a more informed family environment. Within Queensland, government initiatives have emphasized the partnership between school and community and strongly supported the need for increased community involvement in education.

          Early childhood educators commencing employment and undertaking administration at the beginning of their careers require knowledge of personal and professional characteristics, skills and responsibilities which are associated with effective educational practice. Since the range of early childhood employing bodies and associated industrial settings is broad, beginning educators would be advantaged by knowledge of employment processes relating to a variety of early childhood services and by possession of skills in meeting differing requirements for commencing employment. Awareness of current issues and trends in the early childhood field would also enable early childhood professionals to make informed choices in adapting to changing policy environments, undertaking advocacy for young children and families and developing teamwork and leadership skills.

Staff Responsibilities:

1) To value and acknowledge the talents and contributions of others.

2) To treat others with respect and courtesy and to be mindful of the 'duty of care' responsibility to           all students.

3) To treat colleagues and parents in a professional, ethical manner.

4) To be receptive to the opinions of others.

5) To promote respect for the rights of others.

6) To participate as an active member of the school team and Department of Education employee.

7) To be involved in professional and personal development activities.

8) To be informed of current S.D.P. initiatives and departmental policies.

9) To facilitate work practices that are based on the principles of effective learning and teaching.

          According to Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, & Coulter (2000), to provide high quality early education programs, educators need to look beyond any favored model or method of provision (for example, developmentally appropriate practice) and begin to define a set of principles which are fundamental to good practice and which can be responsive to and incorporate cultural patterns and values relevant to individual communities. Such principles include articulation of clear aims and objectives, development of broad child-centered curricula, and commitment to equal opportunity and social justice.

          Resource decision-making at the Faculty level is accompanied by a reconfigured central (Academic Board) committee system which has been rationalized and significantly reduced in size and layers to provide a kindergarten-wide policy framework within which resourced units exercise considerable operational freedom and flexibility. The changes are designed to have the effect of enhancing the Academic Board's role in ensuring effective academic quality control at the school-wide level, while allowing greater operational freedom in the Faculties.

What is kindergarten education all about?

          The role of kindergarten education is to prepare children for the journey of life-long learning. For such a sure start to be realized, a major aim of kindergarten education is to support and foster the holistic development of the child.

          This involves the nurturing and acceptance of young children’s spontaneous, natural and varied responses to the wealth and richness of experiences and opportunities the child is likely to encounter on the learning journey. Adult and peer support are vital to this process as children extend their individual skills and knowledge of the world to more elaborate and complex ways of learning, doing, and understanding.

          Early year’s education has been perceived by some as a preparation for primary school. However, it is not just a preparation for the next stage. It is vitally important in itself. It should not be confused with trying to accelerate learning in the kindergarten years by providing children with a simplified primary school curriculum.

          A child who sees learning as pleasurable and challenging has a head start on the journey of life-long learning and looks forward to the varied opportunities to explore and discover the many facets of our world.

Guide Principles in decision making:

1. Authority should be commensurate with responsibility

2. When in doubt, decisions should be made by people closer to students

3. There is a non-delegable responsibility for ensuring equity and accountability that must be shared           by all.

Management Strategies

Strategy I. Organize schools into small learning communities

          The children achieving agenda is premised upon the creation of effective learning environments. National research, local experience and common sense tell us that the children of this cannot be successfully educated in huge factory-like schools. They require the opposite if they are to progress. Students need to arrive each day at schools where teachers see them as individuals, where the schools have a sense of community beyond the simple sharing of space, and where all staff and students are engaged in serious work and share a clearly defined sense of purpose.

          A key strategy is support of children is ensuring that every student, teacher and parent becomes part of a small learning community. In most schools, there will be more than one small learning community. They will be heterogeneous and committed to enabling all students to achieve rigorous standards. Learning communities will be accountable for student outcomes and will have decision-making authority commensurate with that responsibility. Finally learning communities will be closely connected with parents and with community resources and services.

          Each learning community will consist of the staffs who are assigned to that learning community, a coordinator selected by the learning community, the students and parents/guardians. The learning community will design the coordinator’s role and determine whether released time or additional compensation will be provided from the learning community budget.

Strategy II – Restructure the central office so that it becomes a responsive and accountable to learning communities, schools and clusters.

Accompanying school-level autonomy must be a central office that is responsible for:

1. The definition of system student performance standards

2. The development and/or identification of reliable and valid assessment strategies.

3. A district capacity to provide assistance in choosing and developing curriculum and instructional           strategies

4. A system of incentives and penalties that are tied to performance

5. Access to high quality, responsive professional development

6. An infusion of technology that enhances and supports instruction

7. Community services and supports that address the non-academic barriers to learning

8. A public engagement strategy that encourages public understanding and involvement in the reform           effort

9. Adequate resources to implement the components of this new environment

10. Adequate fiscal controls to ensure the financial and legal integrity of the system.

          Staff closely monitors the progress of individual children, record detailed observational notes and carefully evaluates these data to form judgments about the quality and extent of the gains indicated. Staff plan consultatively and learning programmes are developed from themes and topics that are related to the children's own interests and experiences. Staff evaluates the programme on a continuous, informal basis, to ensure that it is sufficiently flexible to meet children's emerging needs. They also evaluate the programme more formally at designated staff meeting times.

Describe and analyze the processes of strategic, operational and/or financial planning.

          The council has clearly defined the roles of governance and management to clarify the future direction of the Association. The members have looked strategically at where the Association sits within the wider early childhood field and has identified appropriate development goals. Subsequent strategic planning has led the Association to develop a business plan that gives clear direction for the Association over a twelve-month period. This planning has impacted positively on the Association and provided guidance to improve services.

          It is important that council, through management, continues to improve operations and services strategically. Council must continue to clarify and articulate its direction for teachers and committees and involve staff and parents in the decision-making process.

In order to achieve the desired level of excellence, the superintendent and his staff should:

1. Continue to work with the town to update long-range financial projections and develop a balanced           approach to financial pressures.

2. Develop strategies to reduce costs and improve coordination with non-school departments, with           the least adverse impact on delivery of services.

3. Develop a range of strategies for acquiring new revenues. Particular attention should be devoted to           seeking grants, obtaining reimbursement for non-educational services, and supporting           legislative efforts that increase aid and reimbursements for mandated programs.

4. Review all fees to determine whether they should be adjusted. This evaluation should consider the           effects on both revenue and student participation.

5. Plan for the financial impacts of collective bargaining agreements.

          The continued upkeep of buildings and compliance with minimum standards is a major challenge for the Association in a large number of kindergartens. Individual reports highlight those kindergartens where urgent work is required to reach acceptable standards. The Association's ability to maintain standards is reliant on continued sponsorship from outside agencies. The management team has identified, in all kindergartens, required work to meet minimum standards. Some of that work is financed through individual kindergarten fundraising. However, not all committees have the ability to raise the necessary funding. The Association has identified these kindergartens and, as a result, is prioritizing the resources needed to assist them.

OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT

          The School Committee also believes that excellence in operations and management contributes in essential ways to educational excellence. In Accordance with this belief, the School Committee directs the Superintendent to:

1. Assess system needs for additional program space and renovations. Review School Building           Assistance reimbursement where appropriate.

2. Continue to work with the town through the capital plan to schedule appropriate renovations.

3. Continue to improve the flow of information concerning infrastructure from schools to central office.

4. Oversee capital improvements that systematically address program and infrastructure needs (roofs,           boilers, windows, alarms, etc.) and prioritize long-term space needs of the system emphasizing           plans for all schools.

Review ongoing integration of town and school technology plans.

1. Work with the Town to develop long-range collaborative strategies for most effective coordination           and implementation of administrative systems, networking and web presence.

2. Provide sufficient technology resources (hardware, software, and personnel) from both the Capital           and Operating budgets to support the integration of system-wide data management across all           areas of the organization.

3. Make progress towards ensuring technical support employees have the necessary skills to maintain           both instructional and administrative technology.

Health, Safety and the Environment

          The purpose-built kindergarten provides a spacious and attractive environment that is conducive to children's learning.

          The licensee and staff place a very high priority on ensuring a safe environment for children and adults. Any potential hazards to safety are systematically identified, isolated and eliminated. Effective systems are in place for keeping the kindergarten clean and hygienic. Sleep and rest provisions, where required, are safe and appropriate. Medication, immunization and accident documentation is duly kept. First aid supplies are well maintained and qualified staffs are always in attendance. Emergency procedures are well displayed and drills are regularly practiced. (Weinstein, C.S. and David, T.G. 1987)

Leadership

          A word which can refer to any person at any level of an organization, in any field, living or dead, who significantly influences others, for good or ill, is so broad as to be of questionable utility. Consequently, as the patriarch of modern leadership studies, James MacGregor Burns, observes: "Leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth”. Leadership has usually been thought of as a specific attribute of personality, a personality trait, that some persons possess and others do not, or at least that some achieve in high degree and others scarcely at all.
According to Sharpe (1995), there are ten qualities of leadership necessary for the 21st Century. Apart from acquiring professional skills such as obtaining a high level of knowledge and expertise in management and maintaining the focus on the real purpose of the organization, leaders also need to have the qualities of caring for people and setting a personal example for subordinates. They also need to have a belief in the competence and professionalism of their staff and a moral and ethical base for leadership judgment.

Staff Recruitment

          Queensland instituted a campaign aimed at increasing the quality and quantity of teachers available for employment in Queensland schools. Targeted teacher recruitment strategies were implemented, including: First, establishing programs targeting rural and regional areas. Second, distributing a brochure outlining recruitment programs for country schools. Third, increasing to seven the number of districts involved in country recruitment. Fourth, providing salaries in 11 districts through a retraining support scheme in areas of shortage. Fifth, providing training for employable teachers returning to, or beginning their careers. Lastly, establishing a pilot program in two country schools to train para-professionals to become teachers.

Teacher’s Role

          Kindergartens only employ fully trained and registered teachers. Research shows that highly educated qualified teachers are critical for a quality early childhood service. Teachers keep up to date with current research and practices through ongoing professional development. They are specially trained to teach a wide range of skills to help children develop and grow in learning.

Education Queensland policies

          Education Queensland issued a comprehensive Child Protection Policy in April 1998, bringing together several established strategies to ensure that students can enjoy safe and supportive learning environments in schools. The policy mandates the reporting by all employees of instances of suspected child abuse from sources outside the school as well as all instances where official misconduct in relation to students may have occurred. Resource materials to support the policy’s implementation were developed and all school-based employees will be trained in recognition of abuse of children, appropriate preventative strategies and reporting. A training program in investigative skills was set up and by the end of 1998; Education Queensland had completed the introduction of all strategies identified through the national strategy.

Conclusion

          Supporting families, developing a better quality of life, and creating more jobs for Queenslanders are major priorities for the Queensland Government. Early Education makes a valuable contribution towards achieving these outcomes and exploring innovative responses to new demands.
Education Queensland has indicated its commitment to strengthening service quality using the National Standards as a framework and to monitoring outcomes for children and families using this service. The Government recognizes that quality early kindergarten service provides valuable experiences with positive outcomes for children, while at the same time providing for the needs of their families.
          

          The most valuable assets that parents can give to their children are to provide them with the best start in school. Children have less difficulty when they start school at a time when they are developmentally mature enough to handle the rigors and responsibilities they face in school. Parents must take the whole of the child into consideration when deciding whether or not to send their children to school, not just the fact that they are legally old enough to enter into the public school system.

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28. Commonwealth Child Care Advisory Council Website (nd) Commonwealth Child Care Advisory           Council [on line] (cited 22 March 2005) Available at www.cccac.gov.au

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