When your work is informed by multiple perspectives, you have richer experiences, build stronger relationships, and deepen mutual understandings. Listening to others who have different perspectives can nudge you to reconsider your daily practice and worldview, and recognize and challenge your biases. They can also lead to shared inquiry. Finding areas in which you can collaborate with others is a great way to uncover and experience different perspectives. With CompSAT by your side, you may be inspired to seek the perspectives of the children, families, and colleagues in your program and beyond.
A leader's job is to create opportunities for diverse perspectives to emerge, even as you strive to unite an organization around a shared set of values. Listen to a director and two early intervention teachers talk about the shared vision they had to move to a fully inclusive preschool program.
Over time engage your organization's members in exploring what they believe children, families, and staff deserve in an early childhood program. Probe for comment elements within different ideas. Shape these into statements of agreed upon values. View the sample values statement for an example from one organization. For further exploration read the article, "Looking for Core Values" by Margie Carter.
Use this template to record your observations, thoughts, and feelings. Download the Template
Deepen your understanding of Performance Area 2: Adult and Community Development in the CA ECE Competencies. Scroll to page 95.
Can you find other places in this competency area that address your interests and needs?
Read the article, "Leadership in the Age of Complexity" and consider how to move your leadership from hero to host.
© Copyright 2011-2013 California Department of Education. All rights reserved. Electronic edition 2011, and 2013. Print edition 2012 ISBN:978-0-8011-1719-0. The ECE CompSAT project was produced by Fresno State University for the California Department of Education in 2013.
