discussion2mod4
2
Response1
Whitney Farley
WFarley Discussion 2 - Module 4 Initial Post
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Issue Discussed
The issue of unaffordable childcare and early education programs is one that is in need of change within the field of early childhood education. This change would provide greater access to early learning opportunities which will lead to healthy development and increased academic outcomes for young children. To address this issue, I believe that there are two strategies that would be most effective during the process of change. The first strategy would be to work towards the goal of closing the gap. The second strategy would be to consider changes to the infrastructure. The two strategies mentioned would be valuable to the change process as stakeholders address the issue of the affordability of childcare and early education programs.
Closing the Gap
The first strategy mentioned is to close the gap. The gap refers to the space between high and low societal constructs (Fullan, 2016). In reference to the issue of unaffordable childcare, the gap is between high- and low-income families. To utilize the strategy of closing the gap would mean a whole-system improvement dedicated to closing the gap between the two to create affordable options for childcare no matter the income level. I believe that the strategy of closing the gap would bring context to how stakeholders should structure their change efforts around the issue. Within the state of Georgia, the cost of childcare continues to increase without significant increases to household income which contributes to the widening of the gap. With this in mind, the strategy of closing the gap would target the issue and provide sustainable change.
Change to the Infrastructure
The second strategy mentioned is to consider changes to the infrastructure. Changes to the infrastructure includes developing changes to the policies, governing agencies, and institutions that affect the issue in order for effective change to be sustainable over time (Fullan, 2016). The issue of the affordability of childcare and early education programs requires a multi-level reform. This type of reform would need to be developed over time with significant structures in place that are aligned with a shared meaning that involves each stakeholder group. Within the state of Georgia, early education programs have increased their tuition costs by 30% (Care Solutions, Inc., 2022). This steady increase is not in line with the majority of household incomes throughout the state of Georgia. This misalignment contributes to a 3% overage of household income that is utilized for childcare for a married family and a 28% overage for single-family household as compared to the average recommended percentage of income (Child Care Aware of America, 2022). If the stakeholders involved move forward with developing changes to the infrastructure, the state of Georgia would see significant changes to the affordability of childcare and early learning programs over time.
References
Care Solutions, Inc. (2022). Georgia Child Care Market Rate Survey 2021. decal.ga.gov/documents/attachments/GAMR2021_Rept_Final_5-9-2022.pdf.
Child Care Aware of America. (2022). Demanding change: Repairing our childcare system. https://www.childcareaware.org/demanding-change-repairing-our-child-care-system/?hsCtaTracking=bec2ce3a-c87b-4298-91ad-aa62f51bef1d%7Ca876b305-a391-4ed8-b8aa-0e4cdaa3c701#Affordability.
Fullan, M. (2016). The new meaning of educational change (5th ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
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Response 2
Lisa Daniels
RE: Discussion 2 - Module 4
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According to Fullan (2016), every stakeholder in educational change is a change agent. There is enormous potential for meaningful change simply by building a coalition with internal and external change agents. As mentioned in the previous post, elementary students in a Northern California urban public K-5 charter school struggle with reading skills development. According to the school’s data, over 58% of the students in grades K-5 are not meeting or exceeding their reading grade level (California Department of Education, 2022). In Grand City, over 50% of students do not meet ELA standards in grades 3-5 (Walden University, 2016). As a literacy intervention specialist and promoter of change, I need to be committed to and skilled in the change process and the change itself (Fullan, 2016).
Two of Fullan’s (2016) strategies address the identified problem of low K-5 literacy levels. The first is collaboration. We will use a cross-specialization team like Grand City’s Educational Task Force, where experts from various sectors collaborate to improve English Language Arts proficiency in K-5 classrooms. Using a collaborative model co-created through academic expertise and practice (Chenowith, 2015), combining educator knowledge and expertise helps teachers provide a curriculum that ensures students learn what they need to and more. The second is establishing and using a combination of individuals and societal agencies. Reaching out and working with meaningful internal and external collaboration can lead to positive community outreach, facilitate deep engagement, and build community regardless of distance (Szempruch, 2022).
The change in the curriculum from traditional to culturally responsive literacy instruction should involve critical assessment, determining if the change is worth it and implementable (Fullan, 2016). The change conditions are reasonably favorable and provide rich opportunities for student and teacher engagement. Students learning with the culturally responsive hybrid curriculum increased their literacy levels to meet or exceed their grade levels. The students loved reading and discussing books with each other, something they had not done before. I hope stakeholders reviewing the quantitative and qualitative data will inform the team of decision-making and take applicable actions by using patterns in the data to improve instruction.
References:
California Department of Education (2022). English language arts/literacy and mathematics smarter balanced summative assessments: Test results at a glance. Retrieved from
Chenoweth, K. (2015). How do we get from here? Educational Leadership, 72(5), 16-20.
Fullan, M. (2016). The new meaning of educational change (5th ed.). Teachers College Press.
Szempruch, J. (2022). Virtual book club: Impactful library programming at a distance through co-curricular collaboration. Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning, 16, 77-89. https://doi.org/10.1080/1533290X.2022.2072047
Walden University (2016). Grand City education and demographic files [PDF]. Author.
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