Course Overview

Welcome to Connecting Deeply for an Inclusive ECE Environment!

In early childhood programs, we work with children, families, colleagues, and our larger community. It is all about relationships. Each person brings unique gifts and wisdom to a relationship. We don’t always see the gifts or the particular wisdom immediately, but by having patience, we can uncover the gift another brings. 

Welcoming families, children, and educators into our programs sets the tone for our continuing relationships. We all know what it is like to be welcomed. Just think of the word which says “your coming is well, is good”. We want everyone to feel welcome when they come through the door. Our decor, our manner, and our tone should invite and welcome. We will explore and reflect on how we can ensure everyone feels welcome and safe. 

As you navigate through this course overview, learning outcomes will be provided, but we will share our intentions with you. 

Learning outcomes suggest that we know what we should learn. We will share information and material with you for reflection and invite you to engage with the material. Each of you will come to this material with your own experience and knowledge. As you read our intentions for the course, think about what you need. Learning is personal and individual.

Together, we will think about what it means to be inclusive. British Columbia has a diverse population and a unique history. By understanding and reflecting on our history, our landscape and our responsibilities as citizens we can engage with children, families  and each other in more thoughtful and caring ways. We will think about how our programs welcome families and children into our early childhood communities. What is your vision of a welcoming program?

We will think about our indoor and outdoor spaces and how they offer support for a diverse population of children. Analyzing your indoor and outdoor space will encourage deeper thinking about the messages our spaces give to families and their children. 

We can reach out to our local community for support for children and families. Knowing what your community has to offer, as well as what is possible province-wide, is essential. We will also explore our connections to the land and our responsibility to care for it since the land, the water, and the air are part of that larger community. 

Reflective Journal

Throughout the course, you will be asked questions to reflect on. You may choose to have conversations with your colleagues or mentors as you reflect, or perhaps you want to keep them private. In either scenario, you are asked to capture your reflections within a personal journal. 

Listening and sharing with the people you work with strengthens your team and helps you provide consistent care and support to children and families. It is important while taking this course that you are in an Early Childhood environment with young children and other ECEs.

We assume that managers have their ECE diploma and that most of the staff, if not all, do as well. The diploma recognizes the skills and knowledge that educators have gained in their post-secondary education. Early Childhood Education is a dynamic field with a history of thinking about education and young children, which is different from parenting.

Before diving into this course, reflect on the living beings in our world. Consider this quote by Murray Garboden:  

"I…like to speak my thanks for non-humans aloud too. When I do this…I like to think 

it puts me in a child’s mind, to see the whole world as alive and caring for me, and it also models my care for the awe-inspiring world, the plants, animals, [and] atmosphere" (Garboden, 2022). 

There are six separate sections within this Moodle site, including: 

1. Welcome, and introductionDescribes the background and purpose of the course and further defines and establishes the resource’s parameters.
2. Module 1: Beginning to Think About Inclusivity Explore your understanding of an inclusive ECE program. 
3. Module 2: How Space, Place and Time Can Support Inclusion Consider how the inside spaces, the outside spaces, and the schedule allow you to support families, children and staff in a caring manner.
4. Module 3: Connections to Community for Inclusion: Accessing Supports and Partnerships in the CommunityModule 3: Connections to Community for Inclusion: Accessing Supports and Partnerships in the Community Create a list of community supports in British Columbia that can benefit educators, children and families and support your professional development. 
5. Course Wrap-upOffers a course summary highlighting key learnings and a curated list of references related to the course content.
6. Assessment Includes the final assignment, which allows you to demonstrate what you’ve learned in the course.   

Accessing the sections and modules in sequence is critical as the materials and activities are designed to be scaffolded to support your success and optimize your learning experience.  

Reference

Garboden, M. (n.d.). Home Page: Carol Garboden Murray, M.Ed. https://www.carolgarbodenmurray.com/

To learn more about OERs at RRU, visit this RRU library resource which provides guidelines for finding, using, and creating Open Educational Resources https://libguides.royalroads.ca/OER

Navigating this Resource

This openly licensed resource is hosted within the Royal Roads University (RRU) open educational resources (OER) Moodle site. There are various instances of Moodle at RRU, and you can learn more about the versions used and how to navigate Moodle by visiting this RRU Moodle OERsite. 

Learning outcomes (LOs) serve as a valuable resource to guide your learning journey and ensure you can maximize your learning experience. The primary purpose of this section is to communicate the intended learning outcomes of the Connecting Deeply for an Inclusive ECE Environment Course. 

By outlining these outcomes, you will have a roadmap of the knowledge, skills, and competencies you will acquire throughout the course. These outcomes are carefully crafted to align with the overall goals and objectives of the course, ensuring that you are equipped with the necessary tools to succeed.

The learning outcomes for this course align with the content, activities, and assessments you will encounter, enabling you to track your growth and identify improvement opportunities. Within each module's section, an overview is provided, including the respective LOs that are relevant to that module. You are encouraged to review the learning outcomes thoroughly and to refer to them throughout your learning journey to support your success in completing all provided activities and assessments.  

Course Learning Outcomes

After completing all activities and assessments (32 total hours) in this open course, participants will:

• Critically reflect on the meaning of inclusion in Early Childhood Education (ECE). 
• Evaluate how the design of physical spaces, daily routines, and relationships to land and place influence a sense of belonging and inclusion for children, families, and educators.
• Identify and engage with community-based supports, partnerships, and advocacy opportunities that strengthen inclusive practices in Early Childhood Education (ECE). 

Activities and Assessments

The activities and assessments within this course are designed to be engaged independently and asynchronously to spark curiosity and support your growth and development as you work towards achieving the learning outcomes. 

There are no formal grades awarded for completing the activities and assessments within this course; instead, embrace this experience as a unique approach to learning that is intended to support you in a more enriching journey of self-reflection and personal growth. You are encouraged to assess your progress and engage in reflective practice as you move through the activities and assessments to foster self-discovery and continual growth toward relational leadership in early childhood education. 

Activities and assessments in this resource are diverse and include:

• Readings 
• Videos and podcasts
• Exploring terminology (glossary terms)
• Case studies & ethical dilemmas 
• Self-assessment checklists
• Guided reflections 
• Personal reflections and journaling 
• Moodle "Lessons" - self guided modules

Specific activities and assessments will be listed within the overview of each respective Module of this course. 

As you progress through this course, you will be invited to engage in daily mindfulness practice. This involves taking moments to return to your breath and centering yourself through a five-minute mindful check-in.  

You are encouraged to capture your visualization in a format that resonates with you. This could include recording your reflections using video or audio, creating a PowerPoint or other visual medium with sound, images, and/or text, composing a song, sculpting, or any other method that supports and represents your reflections on your mindfulness practice.  

You are also encouraged to have a journal and pen handy to answer the reflective questions asked of you in each module. Your journal will be a record of your thoughts and discussions with others, and it will hold some of your ideas to come back to. 

Be aware that many of the reflective questions direct you to have conversations with your colleagues. Listening and sharing with the people you work with strengthens your team and helps you provide consistent care and support to children and families. 

We do assume that ECE leaders have their ECE diplomas and that most of the staff, if not all of them, do as well. The diploma recognizes the skills and knowledge that educators have gained in their post-secondary education. Early Childhood Education is a dynamic field with a history of thinking about education and young children, which differs from parenting.