Activity 3.3 | Self-actualizing and Interconnectedness

As a child care manager and leader, you are tasked with supporting your community in shifting practices away from dominant narratives toward unknowable futures. 

This role requires that you stay committed to trusting and honest relationships that can weather conflict and dissonance. You will face fears of yourself and others, and there is no guarantee that it will work. That said, we know that the current realities are not working for too many, and in response, we have no choice but to try a new pathway.

As a child care manager and leader, you are the point-person for families and often the first point-of-contact for new families entering your program. You will be the person tasked with articulating your centre’s values, grounding these values in research and the ethical standards set forward by your professional body, the Early Childhood Educators of British Columbia.

While you cannot do this work alone, you might be required to take the first step.

Derman-Sparks, LeeKeenan, & Nimmo (2015) argue that “anti-bias leadership builds on the core principles and best leadership practices if the early childhood care and education field. These include relationships of mutual caring and respect; sharing knowledge; reflective, intentional teaching; and collaboration among the staff and between staff and the program leader”.

As a child care manager and leader, you have a unique responsibility to reimagine what is possible in early care and learning spaces and courageously pursue that goal. Remember the adage that we can go faster alone and further together. 

Read Derman-Sparks et al. (2015) before moving on to the reflective activity on the next page. 

Derman-Sparks, L., LeeKeenan, D., & Nimmo, J. (2015, May) Building Anti-Bias Early Childhood Programs: The Role of the Leader. National Association for the Education of Young Children. https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/may2015/building-anti-bias-programs