Planning the Program 4 Exactostock/SuperStock Pre-Test 1. In early childhood education, the term program is broadly used to describe all the services provided by a school or center. T/F 2. One of the advantages of using an emergent curriculum is that the administrator has an opportunity to determine the theme of each unit ahead of time. T/F 3. The most effective instructional practices are those that are teacher directed. T/F 4. An antibias curriculum is an approach that actively respects and affirms each child’s identity and each family’s culture. T/F 5. Administrators don’t need to know about classroom management because this is the responsibility of the teachers. T/F Answers can be found at the end of the chapter. Learning Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be able to: 1. Define programming and curriculum in the context of early childhood education. 2. Describe the role of the early childhood administrator in curriculum development, and evaluate the benefits and challenges of using an emergent curriculum as compared to preplanning lessons and activities. 3. Identify examples of effective instructional practices, and explain how an early childhood administrator ensures that teachers implement these practices. 4. Relate the primary goals of an antibias curriculum. Apply these goals to the inclusion of children with special needs. 5. Discuss the importance of classroom management in implementing a high-quality early childhood program, and identify strategies administrators can employ to support teachers’ efforts to manage their classrooms. 89 gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 89 4/2/13 2:30 PM CHAPTER 4Section 4.1 The Basics of a Program A full month after she took on the role of director at the YMCA Child Care Center, Lindsay Miller walks down the hallway, peeking into each classroom along the way. In the Blue Room, the 3-year- olds are gathered on the rug, listening to the story of the “Three Billy Goats Gruff.” The teacher announces, “After we read the story, we’re going to act it out, so try to remember what each billy goat says to the troll.” In the Red Room, the 4-year-olds are painting. They are dipping the wheels of toy cars in a pan of paint and then rolling the cars across a large piece of paper. “What happens when you roll the cars?” the teacher asks. “We’re making a muddy road!” exclaims one of the children. At the end of the hall, in the Yellow Room, Lindsay sees the 5-year-olds measuring the classroom using their bodies instead of a tape measure. The children are lying on the floor, end to end. One of the teachers stands on a chair and takes a picture of the children all in a row. The other teacher announces, “Our classroom is 8 children wide and 10 children long!” Lindsay is pleased that the teachers in every classroom are offering engaging activities for the chil- dren. After all, this is the program the center is providing for families—care and education services for ...

1. Planning the Program 4
Exactostock/SuperStock
Pre-Test
1. In early childhood education, the term program is
broadly used to describe all the services provided
by a school or center. T/F
2. One of the advantages of using an emergent
curriculum is that the administrator has an
opportunity to determine the theme of each unit
ahead of time. T/F
3. The most effective instructional practices are
those that are teacher directed. T/F
4. An antibias curriculum is an approach that
actively respects and affirms each child’s identity
and each family’s culture. T/F
5. Administrators don’t need to know about
classroom management because this is the
responsibility of the teachers. T/F
Answers can be found at the end of the chapter.
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

2. 1. Define programming and curriculum in the context of early
childhood education.
2. Describe the role of the early childhood administrator in
curriculum development, and evaluate the benefits and
challenges of using an emergent curriculum as compared to
preplanning lessons and activities.
3. Identify examples of effective instructional practices, and
explain how an early childhood administrator ensures
that teachers implement these practices.
4. Relate the primary goals of an antibias curriculum. Apply
these goals to the inclusion of children with special
needs.
5. Discuss the importance of classroom management in
implementing a high-quality early childhood program, and
identify strategies administrators can employ to support
teachers’ efforts to manage their classrooms.
89
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 89 4/2/13 2:30 PM
CHAPTER 4Section 4.1 The Basics of a Program
A full month after she took on the role of director at the YMCA
Child Care Center, Lindsay Miller
walks down the hallway, peeking into each classroom along the
way. In the Blue Room, the 3-year-
olds are gathered on the rug, listening to the story of the “Three
Billy Goats Gruff.” The teacher
announces, “After we read the story, we’re going to act it out,

3. so try to remember what each billy
goat says to the troll.” In the Red Room, the 4-year-olds are
painting. They are dipping the wheels of
toy cars in a pan of paint and then rolling the cars across a large
piece of paper. “What happens when
you roll the cars?” the teacher asks. “We’re making a muddy
road!” exclaims one of the children.
At the end of the hall, in the Yellow Room, Lindsay sees the 5-
year-olds measuring the classroom
using their bodies instead of a tape measure. The children are
lying on the floor, end to end. One
of the teachers stands on a chair and takes a picture of the
children all in a row. The other teacher
announces, “Our classroom is 8 children wide and 10 children
long!”
Lindsay is pleased that the teachers in every classroom are
offering engaging activities for the chil-
dren. After all, this is the program the center is providing for
families—care and education services
for young children. She also knows that she has some hard work
ahead of her, because even though
she’s confident that there’s learning going on in every
classroom, in her first few weeks as the direc-
tor she’s discovered that most of the teachers are not
documenting their curriculum plans on paper.
Some teachers use planning forms, some teachers just write up
notes each week, and some teachers
don’t write down their plans at all. One of Lindsay’s goals as
the new administrator is to create a
consistent process for planning and documenting curriculum.
Introduction
In this chapter, we will present an overview of programming,
the actual content of the services

4. provided by an early childhood program. We will examine the
role of the administrator in
choosing, developing, and implementing curricula and in
leading the staff to use engaging and
appropriate instructional practices and classroom management.
4.1 The Basics of a Program
The term program can be used to describe the actual early
childhood center, the organization
that is providing early childhood services, or the facility where
the services take place; but
the term can also be used to describe the learning activities that
take place within the center
or organization. When we speak of “programming” in early
childhood education, we are referring
to the planning of the curriculum, which also includes the
instructional practices, the daily sched-
ule, the routines for caring for children, and the recreational
activities, such as outdoor play.
The early childhood administrator’s role is to ensure that the
children’s program represents best
practice in our field. Administrators must have knowledge and
experience in early childhood cur-
riculum planning, teaching practices, and classroom
management. Directors, administrators, and
other staff leaders are also responsible for staying current in
new research and developments in
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 90 4/2/13 2:30 PM

5. CHAPTER 4Section 4.1 The Basics of a Program
the field. As discussed in Chapter 1, teachers and caregivers
need the leadership of someone who
can keep the “big picture” in mind, someone who understands
the philosophy and mission of the
program and can translate that into practice, someone who has a
vision for where the program is
going, and someone who can inspire the staff and volunteers to
continually improve the quality
of the program.
Programming for Learning and Caring
When we talk about early childhood programming, most often
the conversation is focused on
curriculum—what children will learn and how they will learn it.
But learning takes place in the
context of social relationships. Lev Vygotsy, social learning
theorist, stated, “Every function in the
child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social
level, and later, on the individual
level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside
the child (intrapsychological)”
(Vygotsky, 1978). This means that learning first takes place
during interactions between people
and then, secondarily, within the mind of the child.
This concept is best illustrated
by the ways infants interact
with their caregivers. An adult
hands a bell to a 10-month-
old. Before accepting the item,
the baby looks into the face of
the caregiver. She sees a smile
and hears words of encourage-
ment, “Go on. Take the bell.”

6. The baby opens her hand and
grasps the bell. “Shake it,” says
the caregiver. “Give it a ring.”
The baby, still watching the
caregiver’s face, shakes the bell.
She hears the ring and feels the
bell vibrating in her hand. The
baby is surprised by the sound
and feel of the ringing bell, but
she sees the pleased look on
her caregiver’s face.
The baby has learned something new about sound and music,
but this learning took place in the
context of a caring relationship. When planning and developing
the early childhood program,
administrators must always remember that the best learning
environment is one in which children
feel safe, accepted, and secure.
Questions to Think About
1. How would you define, in your own words, the meaning of
the word program?
2. Why would an early childhood administrator need to know
that learning takes place in
the context of caring relationships?
Hemera/Thinkstock
Most early childhood professionals believe that learning takes
place in the context of caring relationships.
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7. CHAPTER 4Section 4.2 The Administrator’s Role in
Curriculum
4.2 The Administrator’s Role in Curriculum
Everything children learn in an early childhood program is part
of the curriculum, a plan for
learning or a course of study. In early childhood education the
curriculum is usually divided
into content areas, such as language and literacy, math, social
studies, science, and the
creative or visual arts (music, dance, and painting). The
curriculum may also include activities that
focus on social-emotional growth, such as learning to make
friends and get along with others.
Some curricula may even include categories for learning other
languages or about other cultures
or, particularly if they are part of a congregation or religious
organization, religious studies.
To lead the selection or creation of a developmentally
appropriate curriculum, early childhood
administrators are required to have a good working knowledge
of all curriculum content areas.
However, unlike primary and secondary education, when the
school day is usually divided into
discrete subject areas and lessons, an integrated curriculum is
often employed in early childhood
education, meaning that many curriculum activities address
multiple subject areas at once.
Regardless of how the curricu-
lum is organized, administrators
must assure there is a balance

8. of content areas addressed in
the curriculum so that children
develop a broad foundation of
skills and knowledge that will
prepare them for success in kin-
dergarten and beyond.
Every early childhood program
must have a plan for how the
curriculum will be organized and
implemented. An administrator,
such as a center director, leads
this process, either indepen-
dently or in collaboration with
other staff members.
Choosing or Creating the Curriculum
A program’s curriculum should be aligned with the
organization’s core beliefs and goals as
expressed in the philosophy, mission, and vision statements. If,
for example, a preschool’s philoso-
phy and mission emphasizes learning through play, the
curriculum plans probably include many
open-ended activities that will take place during free play,
allowing children to make choices and
use materials such as blocks and clay. In contrast, in a
preschool with a philosophy and mission
focused on providing school-readiness experiences for children
who have been identified as at-
risk for school failure, the curriculum plans probably include
many teacher-directed lessons in
language or counting skills, activities targeted to help prepare
children for the academic demands
of kindergarten and the primary grades.
Jupiterimages/Photos.com/© Getty Images/Thinkstock

9. Language and literacy are core subject areas in any early
childhood curriculum.
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CHAPTER 4Section 4.2 The Administrator’s Role in
Curriculum
Early childhood administrators are responsible for leading and
guiding decisions involving the cur-
riculum. In some programs the administrator makes these
decisions autonomously, while in oth-
ers the administrator is accountable to a board, an owner, or an
agency leader. For example, the
director of a pre-kindergarten program in a public school system
would probably be required to
consult with the superintendent of the school district regarding
major curriculum decisions.
The ongoing development and implementation of the curriculum
should be supervised by some-
one with training and experience in early childhood education.
Usually that person is the early
childhood administrator, such as a center director, who has a
degree in early childhood education.
If the lead administrator of the program does not have training
or credentials in early childhood
education, the oversight of the curriculum may be delegated to
another staff member; in a smaller
program that might be a head teacher, while in a larger program
there may be a specific role for a
curriculum director who works with teachers to develop and

10. implement curriculum plans.
Purchasing Curriculum
When it comes to deciding on a curriculum for use at a given
program, the administrator has two
options: purchase a ready-made curriculum from any of a
number of published plans, or work
with her teachers to create a curriculum that is specific and
appropriate to their mission, philoso-
phy, or community.
Prepared curriculum plans, which are written by early childhood
professionals, are widely avail-
able for purchase and online. They may or may not be standards
based or aligned with develop-
mentally appropriate practice. While many include quite
detailed and specific daily lesson plans,
others are broad conceptual models that describe an organizing
set of structures, ideas, and con-
cepts that educators can tailor and adapt to meet the unique
needs of their own programs.
High Scope and Creative Curriculum are two commonly used
models that provide a framework for
curriculum planning but do not prescribe each activity or
lesson. Both of these models are also
aligned with NAEYC developmentally appropriate practices.
Creating Curriculum
In some early childhood programs, the early childhood
administrator chooses not to purchase any
curriculum publications or subscribe to a specific curriculum
model. In these programs, teachers
and administrators create their own curriculum plans from
scratch, using a variety of resources
and inspirations.

11. One advantage of this approach is that the staff members have
the flexibility to choose themes or
topics that are relevant and interesting to the specific group of
children enrolled in the program.
For example, if one child’s recent trip on an airplane has
triggered an interest in air travel, the
teacher may choose to create a curriculum unit about airplanes.
When teachers use children’s
interests to inform their curriculum planning, they are creating
an emergent curriculum.
Creating an emergent curriculum is a process facilitated by
teachers but led by children’s interests
and questions. One topic is usually explored over a period of
time, anywhere from a few days to a
few weeks. The primary benefit of an emergent curriculum is
that the topics of focus are of great
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 93 4/2/13 2:30 PM
CHAPTER 4Section 4.2 The Administrator’s Role in
Curriculum
interest to children, thus the activities are relevant and
meaningful to their lives in ways that a
purchased curriculum might not be.
Figure 4.1 demonstrates how teachers might brainstorm
different topics and activities related to
a child’s interest in airplanes.
Figure 4.1: Brainstorming Web

12. Reprinted with permission from the National Network for Child
Care - NNCC. Thurman, L. & DeBord, K. (1995-1996).
Preschool Planning Guide. University Extension, University of
Missouri-Columbia.
This planning web demonstrates how teachers might brainstorm
curriculum ideas around the children’s
interest in airplanes.
The process usually looks something like this:
1. Teachers observe children’s interests and then meet with each
other to brainstorm pos-
sible topics of study.
2. Teachers lead activities that reveal what children already
know about the topic (dictating
stories, discussion, etc.).
3. Children brainstorm questions and conduct research using
books and primary sources,
such as field trips or nature walks.
AIRPLANES Movement/
Outdoors
Launch paper
airplanes from
the top of
the slide
What makes
things fly?
Make

13. paper
airplanesSing
“Ten Little
Airplanes”
Sci
en
ce
A
rt
M
usic
Nutrition
Lan
gu
ag
e
Arts
M
ath
Dram
atic
Play/Blocks
What do

14. people eat
on airplanes?
Read airplane
storybooks at
circle time
How big is an airplane?
How far can an airplane go?
Build an
airport in the
block area
How are birds
and airplanes alike?
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 94 4/2/13 2:30 PM
CHAPTER 4Section 4.2 The Administrator’s Role in
Curriculum
4. Children design ways to share their findings, through
drawings, photos, dictation, sculp-
ture, and dramatization.
5. Teachers facilitate children’s reflection and self-evaluation.
Children review the original
questions they asked about the topic and reflect on what they
learned.
A number of respected early childhood educators, including

15. Lillian Katz, Sylvia Chard, (Katz &
Chard, 2000) and Judy Harris Helm (Helm & Katz, 2010), have
written extensively on the topic
of emergent curriculum and how to build projects around
children’s interests. The greatest chal-
lenge teachers often encounter is the amount of time it takes to
brainstorm, collaborate, plan, and
reflect when developing lesson and activity plans around the
children’s interests.
To implement this approach, teachers work with an
administrator who understands the benefits
of responding to children’s interests and is committed to
supporting teachers in their efforts. The
role of an early childhood administrator in developing and
implementing an emergent curriculum
includes creating time and space for teachers to plan and
collaborate, providing guidance and
mentoring to teachers new to the process, and serving as an
enthusiastic ambassador when com-
municating with parents about the benefits of the approach.
Understanding Curriculum Structures
Regardless of which approach the administrator chooses, the
curriculum is usually set out in writ-
ing in a plan that is organized on a monthly, weekly, or even
daily basis. Within each plan there
may be specific activities or lessons designated for each day or
each part of the day. Curriculum
activities are often planned as formal learning times, such as
story time, when books are read
aloud to children, or center time, when small groups of children
participate in planned games
and activities in different areas of the room. However, much
learning also takes place during daily
routines such as snacks and meals.

16. Even programs that serve infants and toddlers often have a
curriculum. The learning activities may
include “floor time,” in which caregivers engage the babies in
turn-taking games such as peek-a-
boo. Songs and story time are also important. An infant-toddler
curriculum plan may also include
physical activities, such as setting soft pillows on the floor for
babies to crawl over.
Theme-Based Curricula
A curriculum plan is often organized around specific themes,
topics, or projects. Emergent curri-
cula will center on a child-generated theme, but topics may also
be selected based on experiences
and ideas that are commonly of interest to young children, such
as pets or trucks. Or they may be
related to the season of the year or events in the community. For
example, the curriculum for the
month of October may be divided into weekly themes related to
the fall season. One week the
theme may be “pumpkins”; another week the theme may be
“falling leaves.” The curriculum plan
would include some activities directly related to the theme, such
as baking pumpkin cake.
A theme-based curriculum could be based on a plan purchased
from a curriculum publisher, or
the plans might be created by the teaching staff. The primary
benefit of choosing these kinds of
common curriculum themes is that teachers are able to plan
lessons and activities ahead of time
and can easily find resources and materials related to the theme.
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17. CHAPTER 4Section 4.2 The Administrator’s Role in
Curriculum
If an early childhood program
uses a theme-based curriculum,
one of the tasks of the admin-
istrator is to coach teachers in
ways to find and develop inter-
esting lessons and activities that
are engaging the children in their
classrooms. Regardless of how
the themes or topics are selected,
the early childhood administra-
tor must continually review and
monitor the curriculum plans that
teachers select or create, making
sure that the curriculum is aligned
with the program’s philosophy, is
structured to meet the program’s
goals, and creates optimal learn-
ing outcomes for children.
Emphasizing Best Practices
The National Association for the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC) partnered with the National
Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments
of Education (NAECS/SDE) in 2003
to create a set of recommendations for best practice in
curriculum. These recommendations
include a list of indicators of effective curriculum. This was a
significant step in the process of
creating consensus among early childhood educators about what
children should be taught from
birth through age eight.

18. According to the NAEYC and NAECS/SDE, indicators of an
effective curriculum include the following:
• Children are active and engaged. An effective curriculum is
meaningful and develop-
mentally appropriate. The activities invite children to develop
positive feelings and
associations about learning.
• Goals are clear and shared by all. Curriculum goals are
discussed among teachers and
administrators and fully communicated to families.
• Curriculum is evidence-based. An effective curriculum is
based on current research
about child development and how young children learn.
• Valued content is learned through investigation and focused,
intentional teaching. An
effective curriculum invites children to actively explore ideas
and concepts through play.
• Curriculum builds on prior learning and experiences. An
effective curriculum takes into
account the child’s background, experience, and cultural
context.
• Curriculum is comprehensive. An effective curriculum
engages children by addressing all
domains of development—cognitive, physical, social, and even
artistic.
• Professional standards validate the curriculum’s subject-
matter content. When lessons
and activities are subject-specific, the content of the curriculum

19. is aligned with best-
practice for that subject area. For example, language and
literacy instruction is consis-
tent with recommendations of the National Council of Teachers
of English (NCTE), math
instruction is consistent with recommendations of the National
Council of Teachers of
Mathematics (NCTM), and science instruction is consistent with
recommendations of
the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA).
Blend Images/SuperStock
When an early childhood curriculum unit is organized around a
theme, such as pumpkins, most but not all classroom activities
will be related to the theme.
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 96 4/2/13 2:30 PM
CHAPTER 4Section 4.2 The Administrator’s Role in
Curriculum
• The curriculum is likely to benefit children. An effective
curriculum takes an approach
that has been demonstrated to create positive outcomes for
children.
(NAEYC & NAECS/SDE, 2003, p. 7)
Regardless of what age group is served, what philosophy is
followed, or what curriculum model
is used, these indicators of effective curriculum are relevant to
any early childhood curriculum.
It is the responsibility of the early childhood administrator to
keep informed about these and

20. other current recommendations when monitoring and evaluating
a program’s curriculum content
and planning process. Many of these curriculum indicators are
incorporated in program evalu-
ation processes, such as accreditation, that involve completing
documentation such as check-
lists, inventories, and observations. In addition, early childhood
administrators are responsible
for developing a good working knowledge of best practice in the
field, through reading, attending
conferences, and participating in other professional
development activities.
Developmentally Appropriate Practice
In the field of early childhood education, most experts and
leaders agree that the foundation of
best practices is developmentally appropriate practice (DAP).
The term was coined by the NAEYC
to describe the concepts that early childhood professionals use
to guide their work as they teach
and care for infants and young children.
As an early childhood administrator, the concept of DAP is one
of the most important decision-
making tools at your disposal. DAP includes five key areas of
practice that, in combination, are
relevant to almost every decision and plan an early childhood
administrator will face regarding
curriculum and programming. The first key concept of DAP has
to do with creating a caring com-
munity among staff members, children, families. DAP suggests
that children will best develop
and learn when they are part of a community of learners. The
early childhood administrator sets
the tone for this by putting structures in place—such as a daily
schedule that allows children to

21. develop a consistent relationship with just one or two primary
caregivers—that will help ensure
consistent, positive, caring relationships between the adults and
children, among children, among
teachers, and between teachers and families.
The second key area of DAP is focused on teaching practices
that enhance development and learn-
ing. Developmentally appropriate teaching practices are those
that provide a balance between
adult-guided and child-guided experiences (which we’ll discuss
in more detail later in the chapter).
When the balance is off in either direction—either because the
adults, the teachers or caregivers,
are too directive with the children or because the adults are too
passive and not actively engaged
with the children—children will not thrive. Early childhood
administrators support curriculum
structures and teaching practices that help teachers maintain
this balance when they train teachers
to create and use curriculum materials that are aligned with
developmentally appropriate practice.
The next key area of DAP is related to planning curriculum to
achieve important goals. In devel-
opmentally appropriate practice, the curriculum provides
learning experiences that incorporate a
variety of structures such as play, small group lessons, large
group activities, and rotation through
interest centers. The early childhood administrator leads the
staff in using what is known about
young children in general and about the particular children in
their classroom to create a curricu-
lum that is consistent with the program’s goals for children. The
broad goals for children’s learning
are often articulated in a program’s philosophy statement or

22. based on learning standards.
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CHAPTER 4Section 4.2 The Administrator’s Role in
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The fourth key area of DAP is about
assessing children’s development
and learning. In developmentally
appropriate practice, practitio-
ners are intentional about using
learning goals to create curricu-
lum and about using those learn-
ing goals to guide assessment.
The early childhood administrator
oversees and monitors the cur-
riculum to ensure that it is linked
to the assessment practices. For
example, if the program’s child
assessment plan includes docu-
menting children’s progress in
learning to write their names, the
curriculum should include plans
for teachers to instruct children
in how to write the letters in their
names and opportunities for chil-
dren to practice these skills.
The final key area of DAP is related to establishing reciprocal
relationships with families. Develop-
mentally appropriate practices suggest that the younger the
child, the more important it is that
practitioners partner with parents and families to learn as much

23. as possible about the unique
characteristics and needs of each child. Early childhood
administrators can create and oversee
systems of communication that support these relationships
between families and the early child-
hood program. For example, the administrator might create plan
to schedule an extra teacher to
work in a classroom where a new child has just enrolled, so the
lead teacher might be free to talk
with the parents one-on-one at the beginning and end of the
school day.
Employing Standards-Based Curriculum
In the field of early childhood education today, there is a trend
toward aligning curriculum with early
learning standards, a set of benchmarks or requirements used to
measure progress or growth.
Early learning standards are usually aligned with developmental
milestones that describe when
children should first be able to demonstrate important skills,
such as riding a tricycle or identifying
colors. In Chapter 3 we discussed program standards that
measure the quality of the overall pro-
gram. In the field of education, there are also content standards
that measure what a child should
be able to do or know in any given area of curriculum. Over the
last decade, legislative initiatives
such as the federal No Child Left Behind Act and, more
recently, Race to the Top have increased
the pressure and the incentives for documenting specific
curriculum standards and child outcomes.
Currently there is no one single set of early learning standards
for early childhood education. Rather,
early learning standards are usually created or recommended by
individual states, or specialized

24. groups, such as the National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics. For example, pre-kindergarten
programs funded through state block grants are often mandated
to use state early learning stan-
dards. In these cases, the program’s curriculum model must
support the state standards, and the
assessment of children’s growth and progress is measured using
benchmarks that are aligned with
the early learning standards (Table 4.1).
San Diego County of Education
Early childhood programs that endorse developmentally
appropriate practice know the value of developing strong
partnerships with parents through ongoing communication,
both verbally, through conversations between teachers and
parents, and in writing, through newsletters and notes.
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 98 4/2/13 2:31 PM
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/
http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml
http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/index.html
CHAPTER 4Section 4.2 The Administrator’s Role in
Curriculum
Table 4.1: Examples of Early Learning Standards and
Benchmarks
State Reading Standards for Literature Math: Counting and
Cardinality
Ohio Key ideas and details
1. With prompting and support, ask and

25. answer questions about key details in a
text.
2. With prompting and support, retell
familiar stories, including key details.
3. With prompting and support, identify
characters and major events in a story.
Craft and structure
4. Ask and answer questions about un-
known words in a text.
5. Begin to demonstrate an understanding
of the differences between fantasy and
reality (e.g., talking flowers and ani-
mals).
6. With prompting and support, name the
author and illustrator of a story, and de-
fine the role of each in telling the story.
Know number names and the count sequence
1. Count to 10 by ones.
2. Count forward beginning from a given
number within the known sequence
(instead of having to begin at 1).
3. Identify and name numerals 1–9.
Count to tell the number of objects
4. Subitize to determine how many: im-
mediate recognition of small quantities

26. up to 6.
5. Understand the relationship between
numbers and quantities; connect count-
ing to cardinality.
a. When counting objects, say the
number names in the standard
order, pairing each object with one
and only one number name and
each number name with one and
only one object.
b. Understand that the last number
name spoken tells the number of ob-
jects counted up to 10. The number
of objects is the same regardless of
their arrangement or the order in
which they are counted.
Utah RL1 CCR Anchor Standard
Read closely to determine what the text
says explicitly and to make logical inferences
from it; cite specific textual evidence when
writing or speaking to support conclusions
drawn from the text.
Preschool Foundational Standard: With
prompting and support, state some details
of a text.
RL2 CCR Anchor Standard Determine
central ideas or themes of a text and
analyze their development; summarize the
key supporting details and ideas.
Preschool Foundational Standard: Listen
attentively to stories being read; retell
simple stories.

27. RL3 CCR Anchor Standard Analyze how and
why individuals, events, and ideas develop
and interact over the course of a text.
Preschool Foundational Standard: Answer
questions about simple stories using
sequencing format (e.g., what happened
first, next, and last).
Cluster: Know number names and the
count sequence.
Preschool Foundational Standard:
1. Begin to recite numbers in order from
1–10 (rote counting).
2. Recognize the difference between let-
ters, numbers, and other symbols.
Sources: Ohio Department of Education; Utah State Office of
Education
Utah’s Early Childhood Core Standards Utah State Office of
Education
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 99 4/2/13 2:31 PM
CHAPTER 4Section 4.3 Guiding Instructional Practices
Accreditation standards that specifically address curriculum,
such as those created by NAEYC, are
sometimes used voluntarily by program administrators to assess
and monitor the quality of the
curriculum used in their programs. Using educational standards
helps administrators ensure that
the content and quality of the program curriculum is consistent

28. with best practice in the field and
across the country. When administrators can use standards as a
tool when training teachers, they
help teachers understand what knowledge and skills the children
will need to develop in order to
successfully prepare for kindergarten and the primary grades.
A new trend in using standards to shape and assess curriculum
is the movement toward a “com-
mon core” curriculum that states can use to define a national set
of standards and eliminate the
need for individual state standards (Rose, 2012). In 2010, a
group called the Common Core State
Standards Initiative, sponsored by the National Governors
Association (NGA) and the Council of
Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), released K–12 standards
for math and English language arts.
There is some debate in the field around how these standards
relate to our work with young chil-
dren. Samuel J. Meisels, former president of the Erikson
Institute, has criticized the Common Core
Standards because they were constructed “top down,” beginning
at the end of the chronological
range. “By the time the authors came to K–3, there was little
room for flexibility. Some things that
belong were omitted, and some that don’t were included”
(Meisels, 2011). Other critics have
suggested that insisting that all teachers follow a single set of
standards may stifle creativity and
individuality (Tampio, 2012).
Questions to Think About
1. Why might an administrator choose to purchase a curriculum
from a publisher, rather

29. than create an emergent curriculum from scratch?
2. What are the benefits of aligning curriculum plans with state
or Common Core standards?
4.3 Guiding Instructional Practices
The greatest curriculum in the world can’t be successfully
implemented if the teachers don’t
use effective instructional practices. In other words, quality
programming is not just what
you teach, it’s how you teach it. One of the important roles of
an administrator is to ensure
that the early childhood teachers are using appropriate and
effective instructional practices.
Balancing Teacher-Directed With Child-Initiated Activities
As mentioned, an important concept in developmentally
appropriate practice is the balance of
teacher-directed and child-initiated learning experiences.
Reading a storybook aloud to a group of children is an example
of a teacher-directed activity. Any
time a teacher takes the lead, especially when children are
required to sit and listen, is considered
a teacher-directed experience.
Suppose a preschool class is learning about hibernation as part
of a curriculum unit on bears.
The teacher gathers the class together and, using a display of
photographs of bears, explains the
concept of hibernation and how and why some bears sleep in the
winter. This type of lecture-style
activity is called direct instruction, because the teacher is
conveying the information directly to
the children.

30. gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 100 4/2/13 2:31 PM
CHAPTER 4Section 4.3 Guiding Instructional Practices
Direct instruction is an important and useful teaching practice.
Without it, the children would not
have been introduced to the term hibernation and its definition.
But considering the short atten-
tion span of young children and their developmental need for
constructive, hands-on learning
experiences, teacher-directed activities should be limited and
balanced with child-initiated activi-
ties, such as dramatic play. A child-directed activity that would
extend children’s learning about
hibernation would be a dramatic play session in which children
build a bear den out of pillows and
pretend to be bears, hibernating in the winter and then waking
up in the spring.
The Administrator’s Role in Instructional Practices
Early childhood administrators guide instructional practices
through a variety of methods and
strategies. One of the key ways administrators can ensure the
program staff members are able
to successfully implement an effective curriculum is by hiring
teachers and caregivers who have
studied curriculum and instruction and have earned early
childhood credentials. But even the
most highly trained teachers need ongoing support and
supervision from an administrator who
will challenge them to continually improve and grow.
Administrators can lead their programs to implement effective

31. instructional practices through
techniques like modeling and demonstration, encouraging
classroom conversation, and grouping
children for optimal learning, as well as making appropriate use
of technology.
Modeling and Demonstration
As a leader, the early childhood administrator serves as a role
model for the staff. One way admin-
istrators can help guide and support teachers and caregivers is
by visiting their classrooms and
modeling or demonstrating effective instructional practices.
This can be done both formally and
informally.
In a formal modeling or demon-
stration session, the administra-
tor would schedule a classroom
visit ahead of time, letting the
teacher know the purpose of the
session, such as demonstrating
how to assign roles when chil-
dren are dramatizing a story.
In a more informal demonstra-
tion, the administrator might
model appropriate interactions
between adults and children
each time she drops by the class-
room, greeting them warmly
and asking them questions that
stimulate animated conversa-
tions. Modeling and demonstra-
tion have an added power in
that they are parallel processes;
the administrator is using these

32. age fotostock/SuperStock
One way an administrator can train teachers is by
demonstrating effective instructional practices, such as reading
stories aloud and inviting children to comment on what they
heard, while teachers observe.
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 101 4/2/13 2:31 PM
CHAPTER 4Section 4.3 Guiding Instructional Practices
techniques to instruct and guide teachers, and the teachers, in
turn, use modeling and demonstra-
tion to instruct and guide the children.
Modeling and demonstration also allow the children to actively
participate in the learning pro-
cess. For example, when teaching the children the words to a
new song, the teacher may model
how the song goes by singing the opening line of the song, then
pause and give the children a turn
to sing, too.
Encouraging Classroom Conversations
During group staff meetings and individual supervision
meetings the administrator can stress
the importance of asking children open-ended questions to
stimulate learning and conversation.
Learning to ask open-ended questions is a valued instructional
strategy that can lead children to
think creatively and independently.
Unlike “closed” questions that have just one right answer (e.g.,
“How many blocks did you use

33. to make your house?”), “open-ended” questions (e.g., “What do
you think might happen if you
added more blocks on the top?”) can provoke a variety of
responses. They tend to encourage
more detailed and complex answers.
Asking open-ended questions is an effective instructional
strategy because it encourages children
to actively participate in discussions and in the learning
process. Administrators can reinforce
these teaching practices by observing teachers and caregivers
and offering positive feedback and
praise for the open-ended questions they use in the classroom.
Grouping Children for Optimal Learning
Instructional practices are often influenced by the way children
are grouped in the classroom.
Leading a large group of children in a song or story requires
teacher-directed instruction and guid-
ance. When working with smaller groups, pairs, or even
individual children, teachers are able to
invite more participation and direction from children. The
administrator’s role is to monitor the
balance of curriculum activities in each classroom, helping
teachers plan for a mix of large group,
small group, and pairs, and individual learning experiences for
the children in the program.
When reviewing written curriculum plans, administrators
monitor in advance how many activi-
ties or lessons will lend themselves well to different groupings
and advise teachers accordingly,
encouraging balance. Administrators can also give teachers
feedback, based on formal or informal
observations, about how well the grouping patterns are working
in the classroom.

34. Size is not the only factor that determines how children are
grouped during curriculum activities.
Other considerations might be age, developmental level,
interests, and personality traits. Admin-
istrators can encourage and guide teachers to be intentional
about the way children will learn
from each other by facilitating how children are paired or
grouped together. Decisions about the
composition of a group should be made to balance both the
needs of the group, for safe supervi-
sion and classroom management, and the individual needs of
each child. Whether small or large,
the two most common types of groups are mixed age groups and
ability groups.
A growing body of evidence shows that children benefit from
learning in mixed age groups. The
younger children, who are usually less mature cognitively or
developmentally than older children,
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 102 4/2/13 2:31 PM
CHAPTER 4Section 4.3 Guiding Instructional Practices
gain from the exposure to older or more advanced children
because the older children serve as
role models. Studies suggest that the diversity of ability and
knowledge in a mixed age group cre-
ates a rich and complex learning experience for all the children
(Katz, 1995a; Gaustad, 1997).
Ability grouping, on the other hand, involves grouping children
together who are at a similar level

35. in development, knowledge, or skills. Grouping children within
a classroom according to ability
can be beneficial, as long as the group membership is flexible.
Flexibility means the group assign-
ments are temporary and that children are continually assessed
and reassigned to groups as their
abilities develop.
For example, suppose a teacher divides her preschool class into
three groups according to chil-
dren’s ability to write their names. The green group includes
children who are able to write their
names independently. The orange group consists of children
who are able to write one or two
letters in their names, while the children in the blue group are
just starting to learn to write their
names. If the group assignments remain static over time, the
children in the blue group (and their
parents) may begin to develop a sense that they are behind, and
all the children will lose the
opportunities to learn from each other in a diverse learning
community.
Children may benefit from being part of a group, triad, or pair
that is formed based on other fac-
tors besides ability, such as shared interests, learning styles,
and similar or complimentary tem-
perament or personalities.
Focus On: Differentiating the Curriculum
Ensuring that the program’s curriculum is effective and
engaging
requires that administrators lead teachers in differentiating the
curriculum. While most curriculum plans describe the activities
of a whole group or class, an engaging and successful curricu-
lum plan also includes some opportunities for differentiation,

36. the adaptation of experiences, materials, or teaching practices
to meet the individual needs of the children.
Most early childhood professionals know that every child devel-
ops at a different pace. We are accustomed to differentiating,
or individualizing, in our conversations and care of children.
For
example, some preschool children need help putting on their
mittens and others do not.
Many early childhood teachers, however, are not trained or
experienced in incorporating differentiation strategies into cur-
riculum planning, teaching practices, and preparing the class-
room environment. The most common curriculum planning
process among early childhood teachers is
to create one curriculum plan for the whole class. These plans
are usually not differentiated. Teachers
may need support from administrators and supervisors in
finding ways to differentiate to meet the
needs of the children who are struggling and those who are
advanced and have already learned most
of the content of the lesson. Administrators may need to model
how to write differentiated lesson
plans or work with teachers to revise their plans to include
differentiation.
iStockphoto/Thinkstock
In any early childhood classroom
there will be a broad range of ability
levels. Differentiation is necessary
to ensure that the curriculum is
responsive to each child’s individual
learning needs.
(continued)

37. gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 103 4/2/13 2:31 PM
CHAPTER 4Section 4.3 Guiding Instructional Practices
Technology
Every day there are new applications and ideas for the way
early childhood teachers can use
not just computers but also cameras, projectors, audio and video
recorders, Smart boards, iPads,
phones and mobile devices in their classrooms. Technology can
play a key role in teacher planning
and preparation, for example, when teachers use the Internet to
gather resources and informa-
tion for curriculum plans and then use email to send drafts of
their plans to the administrator for
feedback.
Tablets like the iPad might be used in classroom instruction
with applications that allow children
to draw circles and other shapes with their fingers. Technology
can also play a key role in assess-
ment, as when samples of digital audio files are used to measure
growth in one child’s language
development over time.
Leaders of early childhood programs should research these
options carefully, using professional
organizations like NAEYC to help determine where these new
technologies fit in developmen-
tally appropriate practice. Further, any decisions about the use
of technology with young children
should also be aligned with the individual’s program’s mission,
vision, and philosophy.

38. In 2012, NAEYC teamed with the Fred Rogers Center for Early
Learning and Children’s Media at
Saint Vincent College to create a new position statement on
Technology and Interactive Media
as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from
Birth through Age 8. The statement
acknowledges that there is conflicting evidence on the value of
technology in the lives of young
children and in the early childhood classroom. According to the
statement, developmentally
appropriate uses of technology would be those that are
empowering to children, giving them
control, and are used as just one of many options to support
children’s learning. So, for example,
when a teacher uses a Smart board to project images of trees
and forests on a classroom wall and
invites children to pretend they are bears and other forest
animals, casting shadows on the wall
behind them as they play, the technology is enhancing the
children’s play while the children are
still taking an active, kinesthetic role in the experience. When
used intentionally, technology and
interactive media can be effective tools in early childhood
programming (NAEYC, 2012).
Focus On: Differentiating the Curriculum (continued)
For example, suppose a preschool teacher developed a
curriculum plan with the goal of helping chil-
dren learn to write their names. An activity described in the
curriculum plan might be having children
copy their names from name cards onto a lined sheet of paper.
Many of the children in the group
would benefit from this activity, but there will be some who
might struggle to form the shapes of the
letters and others who are already comfortable writing their

39. names, even without using the name
cards.
This curriculum activity could be differentiated for both the
struggling beginners and the advanced
writers. For the struggling beginners, the teachers could write
an example on the lined paper and
invite the children to trace over their letters. The advanced
writers could be invited to learn to write
the names of their friends or family members. These kinds of
adaptations for differentiation are an
important part of any curriculum plan.
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 104 4/2/13 2:31 PM
http://ele.fredrogerscenter.org/
CHAPTER 4Section 4.3 Guiding Instructional Practices
What Would You Do?
Marisha is the director of a child care center serving children
between the ages of two and five. Each
week Marisha leads a curriculum planning meeting with
teachers during nap time. During one of
these meetings, Bonnie, one of the teachers in a class for 3-
year-olds, states that she would like to
make applesauce with the children as part of a curriculum unit
on fruits and vegetables. Bonnie also
mentions that she has found a website with a video that shows
how applesauce is made, and she
would like to show the video to the children before they make
their own. Marisha wonders whether
showing the children the online video is an appropriate use of
technology.

40. If you were in Marisha’s position, what would you do?
a. Tell Bonnie she can’t use any online videos in the class-
room until they have a chance to fully research the bene-
fits and possible drawbacks of using this technology with
3-year-olds.
b. Ask all the parents of the children in the class what they
think of using the video. If most of the parents are in
favor of it, go ahead and show the video.
c. Show the video during free play when children are
allowed to make choices about what they want to do. If
some children are not interested in the video, they don’t
have to watch it.
d. Suggest to Bonnie that instead of watching a video the
class should make their own video. Borrow a video cam-
era from one of the parents, and make a narrated record-
ing of each step in the applesauce-making process.
Explanation: As the administrator, Marisha’s role is to help
Bonnie make informed and reflective
decisions about the use of technology in her classroom. Marisha
might discuss some of the following
questions and issues with Bonnie: How would showing the
video enrich the children’s learning experi-
ence? How well does this practice align with our program’s
philosophy and mission? How might the
children’s parents feel about the use of the video in the
classroom? If we use the video, how can we
introduce it and view it so that it is part of an active, rather than
passive, learning experience for the
children? Whichever path Marisha chooses regarding this
decision, the discussion of these issues with
Bonnie will help guide Bonnie in making wise choices

41. regarding the curriculum and programming.
iStockphoto/Thinkstock
Mobile devices and touch screens
provide opportunities for very young
children to interact with technology.
Early childhood administrators should
be informed and intentional about the
ways their programs allow children to
use technology.
Assessment
Child assessment is the process for evaluating and measuring
the growth and progress of indi-
vidual children. Child assessment practices should be closely
linked with curriculum development.
The process of developing both curriculum and assessment
should be guided by broad questions
such as, “What do we want children to know? How will we
measure if they have learned it?” The
assessment process is often aligned with specific early learning
standards.
The implementation of developmentally appropriate and
authentic assessment practices is key to
any high-quality early childhood curriculum. Authentic
assessment is based on play and behaviors
that occur routinely and spontaneously in an early childhood
classroom, rather than created arti-
ficially through a formal test or evaluation. Teachers can use
classroom observations and artifacts,
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 105 4/2/13 2:31 PM

42. CHAPTER 4Section 4.4 An Inclusive Curriculum
such as children’s artwork, writing samples, and dictated
stories, to provide the most useful infor-
mation for authentic assessment.
Children’s artwork and their experiences in the creative arts can
be used for assessment. For
example, at the beginning of the curriculum unit on apples,
children could be asked to draw a
picture of an apple tree. This activity serves as a preassessment,
a demonstration of what children
already know about the topic. Later, after children have been
studying apples and have visited the
apple orchard, the teachers can compare the children’s
beginning drawings to sketches they made
at the orchard, which are likely to be more detailed and
accurate. The contrast between the first
work of art and the later work of art demonstrates the child’s
progress during the unit in a way
that the child would probably not have been able to express in
words.
In early childhood centers and schools, curriculum is often
planned first, and then assessment
practices are developed to measure progress based on the
curriculum plan. Sometimes, however,
the assessment is created first, and the curriculum is developed
to support the acquisition of skills
and knowledge already identified as important in the assessment
process. When the curriculum
is developed to align with the assessment, this is called
backward design. Educators who use this
begin by asking, “What do we want children to learn?” They
start with a plan for the goals and
outcomes they want to measure and then develop a curriculum

43. that will support those goals and
outcomes. Many educators advocate for backward design as the
most effective way to ensure that
what we are teaching children is essential for their development
and growth.
Questions to Think About
1. In what ways is the administrator’s role in program
development different from the role
of the teacher? In what ways is it similar?
2. If you were just hired as a teacher in a preschool classroom,
what kinds of questions
might you ask about the use of technology in your new
position?
4.4 An Inclusive Curriculum
Among the important considerations for developmentally
appropriate practice is creating
an inclusive community of learners, a place where everyone
feels welcome and included,
regardless of background and ability. Administrators charged
with leading the develop-
ment of a program that fosters this sense of community may
wonder, How can we be sure we
are creating meaningful, relevant, and respectful learning
experiences for every child and family?
One way to begin answering that question is to integrate
concepts of antibias into the program
curriculum.
Antibias Curriculum
Antibias curriculum is a curriculum approach that actively

44. respects and affirms each child’s iden-
tity and each family’s culture. The concepts of respect and
acceptance include factors such as
language, racial identity, gender identity, economic class,
family structures, and different abilities.
Antibias curriculum includes the process of looking at
curriculum, evaluating it for effectiveness in
confronting bias, and the incorporation of specific curriculum
activities that promote the develop-
ment of respect and acceptance of others.
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CHAPTER 4Section 4.4 An Inclusive Curriculum
According to the authors Louise Derman-Sparks and
Julie Olsen Edwards (2010), who helped pioneer the
field of antibias education, four goals comprise an
antibias curriculum:
1. Nurture each child’s sense of identity. In
an antibias curriculum, identity includes
both individual and group identity.
2. Encourage children to learn about how
they are different from other children and
how they are similar. In an antibias cur-
riculum, respect for differences and affir-
mation of our similarities are at the core of
learning to treat people fairly.
3. Help children understand and talk about
situations that are hurtful, inaccurate, or
unfair. This goal emphasizes critical think-

45. ing and discussion.
4. Taking action. In an antibias curriculum,
children learn tools and strategies for stand-
ing up for themselves and others in the face
of bias.
The administrator’s role in implementing an antib-
ias curriculum includes several tasks. One is serving
as a model of inclusive and antibias practices. The
administrator warmly welcomes each family and demonstrates
an interest and an openness to
learn as much as possible about each family, their values,
traditions, and hopes for the future. The
administrator can also model reflection and conversation among
staff members about the chal-
lenges inherent in examining issues of fairness, equity, and
bias.
These discussions can often be difficult for staff, but when led
by an empathic and knowledgeable
administrator, they can also be very fruitful. When antibias
issues arise in curriculum planning
and implementation, such as questions around whether or not
boys should be allowed to wear
dresses in the dramatic play area, the administrator’s role is to
lead a collaborative process that
allows teachers to actively participate and make decisions about
how to respond in the classroom.
Adapting the Curriculum for Children With Special Needs
A discussion of best practice in early childhood programming
would not be complete without con-
sideration of the inclusion of children with special needs, those
who have a physical or mental con-
dition that might require adaptations to the curriculum and the

46. learning environment. Conditions
can range from mild to severe and can include medical
conditions, such as asthma, physical disabili-
ties, such as cerebral palsy, or learning disorders, such as
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
While some early childhood programs are set up to serve only a
specific population of children with
special needs, most early childhood settings serve a general
population, where typically abled chil-
dren learn and are cared for alongside their special needs peers.
One of the important roles of early
childhood administrators is to lead the program in the inclusion
of children with special needs and
Creatas/Thinkstock
Making sure the materials and images
in the classroom reflect the culture of
the children is one way early childhood
administrators can support the goals of an
antibias curriculum.
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CHAPTER 4Section 4.4 An Inclusive Curriculum
ensure that the programming and curriculum serve the best
interest of every child. At times, this may
mean adapting the curriculum, the instructional practices, or the
environment to better meet the
individual needs of a specific child. Administrators, as program
leaders, make decisions about what
accommodations should be made and guide teachers in how to

47. implement the accommodations.
A joint position statement by the Division for Early Childhood
(DEC) and the NAEYC on inclusion of
children with special needs can provide guidance as to how an
administrator can best implement
inclusion practices (DEC/NAEYC, 2009). The statement begins,
Early childhood inclusion embodies the values, policies, and
practices that support
the right of every infant and young child and his or her family,
regardless of ability,
to participate in a broad range of activities and contexts as full
members of fami-
lies, communities, and society. The desired results of inclusive
experiences for chil-
dren with and without disabilities and their families include a
sense of belonging
and membership, positive social relationships and friendships,
and development
and learning to reach their full potential.
The defining features of inclusion that can be used to identify
high quality early
childhood programs and services are access, participation, and
supports.
Excerpted from DEC/NAEYC, “Early childhood inclusion: A
joint position statement of the Division for Early Childhood
(DEC) and the
National Association for the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC),” Position statement, (Chapel Hill: The University of
North Carolina,
2009). Copyright (c) 2009 DEC/NAEYC. Reprinted with
permission. Full text of this position statement is available at
www.naeyc.org/files

48. /naeyc/file/positions/PSDAP.pdf.
The collaboration between DEC and NAEYC resulted in the
following set of core recommendations
to guide how early childhood professionals shape their
programs, curriculum, and practices:
1. Create high expectations for every child, regardless of
ability, to reach his or her full
potential.
2. Develop a program philosophy on inclusion to ensure shared
assumptions and beliefs,
and to identify quality inclusive practices.
3. Establish a system of services and supports that reflects the
needs of children with vary-
ing types of disabilities and learning characteristics, with
inclusion as the driving prin-
ciple and foundation for all of these services and supports.
4. Revise program and professional standards to incorporate key
dimensions of high quality
inclusion.
5. Improve professional development across all sectors of the
early childhood field by
determining the following: who would benefit from professional
development on inclu-
sion; what practitioners need to know and be able to do in
inclusive settings; and what
methods are needed to facilitate learning opportunities related
to inclusion.
6. Revise federal and state accountability systems to reflect
both the need to increase the

49. number of children with disabilities enrolled in inclusive
programs as well as to improve
the quality and outcomes of inclusion.
(DEC/NAEYC, 2009)
The concepts of differentiation and antibias curriculum, as
discussed earlier, are especially rel-
evant to the inclusion of children with special needs. A
curriculum planning process should include
differentiation for children with special needs so teachers are
well prepared to fully include and
challenge all the children in the group. The goals of an antibias
curriculum help address issues of
fairness and respect that naturally arise in an inclusive early
childhood classroom.
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www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSDAP.pdf
www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSDAP.pdf
CHAPTER 4Section 4.5 Classroom Management
Resources for additional information about the inclusion of
children with special needs can be
found at the end of this chapter. Also, a discussion of policies
and practices for welcoming and
serving families of children with special needs is included in
Chapter 8 of this textbook.
Questions to Think About
1. Do you feel the use of an antibias approach to curriculum is
something that should be
optional, or should it be required of every early childhood

50. program? Why or why not?
2. If one of the children in a preschool classroom was hearing
impaired, how might the
staff make changes in curriculum and instructional practices to
accommodate for this
child’s special need?
4.5 Classroom Management
Classroom management is an essential component of effective
early childhood program
management because children need a safe and orderly
environment in which to learn. The
primary components of classroom management include the safe
supervision of children,
the resolution of conflicts between them, the teacher’s
responsiveness to children’s challenging
behaviors, and the establishment of daily routines and
schedules. The director’s role in classroom
management is to train and coach teachers to keep children safe
and to keep their classrooms
running smoothly.
Establishing Safety Policies and Procedures
The safe supervision of children includes the proac-
tive establishment of policies and practices that pro-
tect children’s safety and well-being. As discussed in
Chapter 2, many of these are created to align with
licensing standards and other mandatory codes.
An example of a policy or practice that supports
safe supervision and effective classroom manage-
ment is the establishment of playground rules. The
rules may be divided into rules for children to follow,

51. such as, “Go down the slide, not up,” and guidelines
for safe supervision that teachers must follow, such
as, “When the monkey bars are in use, at least one
teacher must be positioned within five feet of the
structure and provide direct supervision to children
who are climbing.”
Conflict Resolution
After the health and safety of the children, a sec-
ondary consideration in classroom management is
how teachers resolve conflicts between children.
Creatas Images/Thinkstock
The term classroom management refers
to creating a safe and orderly learning
environment, both indoors and out.
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 109 4/2/13 2:32 PM
CHAPTER 4Section 4.5 Classroom Management
Disagreements and conflicts are normal for young children;
developmentally they are still learning
basic skills for getting along with their peers. Teachers and
caregivers are responsible for facilitat-
ing the resolution of these conflicts. They can do this by
organizing materials in ways that reduce
the frequency of conflicts, such as providing multiples of
popular items, by facilitating negotia-
tions and compromise between children who disagree, and by
separating children who might try
to push or hurt each other.

52. For example, when two preschool children both want to play
with the same toy at the same time,
it may be very difficult for them to figure out a way to share the
toy or take turns. Instead, the two
children might both grab for the toy and perhaps even push the
other child away. The teacher’s
role is to keep the children safe by intervening and keeping the
children from hurting each other,
encourage them to use words to explain what they want and how
they feel, and propose possible
solutions for the children to resolve the issue (if the children
are not able to think of their own
solutions, which is often the case for young children), such as
taking turns or finding another simi-
lar toy so they can play together.
One of the roles of the early childhood administrator is to
observe classrooms and take note of
these conflicts. There may be patterns that provide ideas for
reducing the number of conflicts in a
certain area of the room or certain time of day. For example, the
administrator may observe that
in one classroom there are almost daily conflicts over who will
get to play with a particular toy
truck. Perhaps by purchasing an additional truck, or rearranging
the distribution of trucks among
several classrooms, some of the conflicts can be avoided. No
early childhood classroom is ever
completely without conflict, but sometimes these kinds of
solutions help diminish the frequency
of conflicts.
Challenging Behaviors
In early childhood education, the term challenging behaviors is
used to describe many of the
things children do that we wish they wouldn’t—breaking

53. classroom rules, ignoring or defying
the teacher’s instructions, or hurting and teasing other children.
One way to prevent many of the
challenging behaviors is to establish rules that young children
can easily understand. Sometimes
the rules are as simple as, “No hurting: You can’t hurt others
with words or actions. You can’t hurt
yourself by doing something that is not safe. And you can’t hurt
the school by damaging or mis-
treating the toys and materials.”
One of the administrator’s roles in helping to diminish
challenging behaviors is to make sure that
a clear and responsive discipline policy is in place. Some
programs choose to avoid the term disci-
pline because of its punitive connotations and choose to call the
policy by another name, such as
“Expectations for Classroom Behavior.” The policy describes
the classroom rules and how teachers
will respond when a child breaks a rule.
Developmentally appropriate responses to challenging behavior
might include redirecting the
child to another activity or briefly removing the child from the
group (while still keeping the child
in safe supervision). State licensing and other codes may
explicitly require that programs do not
use corporal punishment and do not withhold food as
punishment.
The role of the administrator is to make sure the policies are
complete and current. This process
involves a regular review of policies as documented in staff,
family, and administrative handbooks
to make sure they are consistent with each other and fully
aligned with licensing requirements

54. gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 110 4/2/13 2:32 PM
CHAPTER 4Section 4.5 Classroom Management
and other mandates, such as agency discipline policies.
Administrators are also responsible for
making sure parents and staff are aware of the policies and to
lead the staff in carrying out the
policies consistently.
A regular review of policies at staff meetings and parent
meetings can be helpful. Newsletter
articles can also highlight specific policy questions that parents
may commonly ask, such as, “Do
you use time out when children break classroom rules?”
Working closely with teach-
ers and other staff members to
ensure that children’s challeng-
ing behaviors are addressed con-
sistently and appropriately takes
more time than writing a short
newsletter article. Professional
development activities such as
workshops or seminars on the
topic of challenging behaviors
can provide new insights and
strategies. Sometimes adminis-
trators hire a consultant such as a
psychologist or a master teacher
to visit a program and observe a
classroom where behaviors have
been especially challenging and

55. offer suggestions that are spe-
cific to the needs of that group
of children.
Daily Routines and Schedules
The final piece of classroom management is establishing daily
routines and schedules. Develop-
mentally appropriate practice suggests that young children
benefit from consistent and predict-
able routines. A consistent schedule is important for children’s
social and emotional development.
They feel safe and secure when they know what to expect and
what will happen next. This is why
so many preschool children seem to enjoy singing a cleanup
song when it is time to pick up their
toys—the song is part of their predictable, familiar routine.
The role of the administrator is to help the staff establish these
routines. In a program that serves
more than one group or classroom there is always a coordination
of schedules necessary for
the functioning of the program. Important care routines like
lunch and naps are anchors in the
daily schedule and usually can’t be changed or delayed. If the
outdoor playground space must be
shared between several groups, the administrator will
coordinate a schedule that allows everyone
to have a regular time on the playground.
A typical daily schedule (Figure 4.2) in a full-day preschool or
child care program is organized
around a few important considerations. One is meeting the
physical needs of children for meals,
exercise, and rest. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks are anchors of
the daily schedule that occur at the

56. Comstock/Thinkstock
When a child is having trouble behaving appropriately at
school, the administrator can help facilitate communication
between teachers and parents.
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 111 4/2/13 2:32 PM
CHAPTER 4Section 4.5 Classroom Management
same time each day. Outdoor play, weather permitting, is
another essential. Full-day programs
are also required to include a nap period. Around these basic
needs, administrators must create a
daily schedule that allows opportunities for curriculum
activities.
Figure 4.2: Sample Daily Schedule
This sample daily schedule provides for a balance of active and
quiet play as well as a balance of teacher-
directed and child-directed activities.
While every staff member, from teachers to food service aides
to bus drivers, share the responsi-
bilities for ensuring the daily schedule and routines go smoothly
and that the school or center as a
whole runs a successful program, it is the unique role of the
early childhood administrator to lead
7:30-9:00 a.m. Parents drop off their children
Breakfast available (optional)

57. Puzzle table, dramatic play, and writing table open for
children’s
choice
9:00-9:15 a.m. Morning meeting and calendar time
9:15-10:15 a.m. Center time: Free choice
Curriculum-related activities available in block area, dramatic
play,
science table, art table, and puzzle table
10:15-10:45 a.m. Morning snack
10:45-11:30 a.m. Outdoor play
11:30 am -12:00 p.m. Story time (small groups)
12:00 pm -12:45 p.m. Lunch time
12:45-2:45 p.m. Nap time
2:45-3:00 p.m. Afternoon snack
3:00-3:30 p.m. Story time (small groups)
3:30-4:30 p.m. Outdoor play
4:30-5:30 p.m. Center time: Free choice
Curriculum-related activities available in block area, dramatic
play,
science table, art table, and puzzle table
5:30-6:00 p.m. Parents pick up their children

58. Puzzle table, dramatic play, and writing table open for
children’s
choice
Daily Schedule: Butterfly Room
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 112 4/2/13 2:32 PM
CHAPTER 4Chapter Summary
the process and guide everyone toward the vision of a high-
quality, developmentally appropriate
program. Sometimes a busy early childhood program may seem
like a three-ring circus with so
many different activities going on simultaneously. The
administrator is the ringmaster, overseeing
all aspects of the program, from curriculum to instructional
practices, from technology to daily
schedules. All of these elements make up the program, the
services provided for children and
families.
Questions to Think About
1. How might the classroom management challenges in an
infant/toddler program be dif-
ferent from the challenges in a preschool program? How might
they be similar?
2. Why do you think most administrators choose to create the
daily schedules for the
whole school or center, rather than letting each teaching team
decide their own unique
schedule?

59. Chapter Summary
• The term programming in early childhood education refers to
the curriculum, the
instructional practices, the classroom management, and the
schedules and routines.
• Curriculum is a plan for teaching and learning that is often
organized by the week or
month and describes activities in both academic subjects, such
as language and literacy,
and nonacademic subjects, such as creative arts.
• Early childhood curricula often align with early learning
content standards. These are
produced on a state-by-state basis by school boards and
departments of education;
standards are also often recommended by professional
organizations. Currently, there is
a trend toward the development and use of common core
standards.
• Administrators will be involved in either selecting or creating
a curriculum for their
program, depending on program philosophy and priorities.
Selecting a program usually
involves choosing from among a selection of published
curricula; creating a curriculum is
often a process shaped by children’s emergent interests.
• An important administrative role in early childhood programs
is ensuring that the teach-
ers implement a balanced variety of instructional practices.
Administrators are respon-
sible for training and guiding teachers to use instructional

60. practices like modeling, asking
questions, creating groups, and incorporating technology.
• An antibias curriculum approach is based on a commitment to
help every child and fam-
ily feel welcome and valued.
• The inclusion of children with special needs may involve
differentiating the curriculum or
adjusting instructional practices in order to accommodate for
children’s unique abilities.
• Child assessment practices should be closely linked with
curriculum development. The
process of developing both curriculum and assessment should be
guided by broad ques-
tions such as, “What do we want children to know? How will we
measure if they have
learned it?”
• The primary components of classroom management include the
safe supervision of
children, the resolution of conflicts between children, the
teacher’s responsiveness to
children’s challenging behaviors, and the establishment of daily
routines and schedules.
The director’s role in classroom management is to establish
policies and practices to
train and coach teachers.
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 113 4/2/13 2:32 PM
CHAPTER 4Post-Test

61. Post-Test
1. Which of the following activities is NOT part of early
childhood programming?
a. balancing the budget
b. serving snacks and meals
c. reading stories
d. going on field trips
2. Which of the following is NOT a content area included in an
early childhood curriculum?
a. math and reading language arts
b. art and music
c. science and social studies
d. infants and toddlers
3. When purchasing curriculum materials from a publisher,
administrators should consider
whether the materials are
a. similar to the school calendar.
b. aligned with developmentally appropriate practices.
c. no more than a hundred pages in length.
d. helpful in preventing children’s allergies and medical
conditions.
4. A concern about the Common Core Curriculum standards is
that they
a. tend to vary from state to state.
b. were not created with early childhood in mind.
c. include too much emphasis on art and music.
d. have been in use for more than 20 years.
5. Which of the following is the best example of a child-
directed activity?
a. pretend play
b. story time

62. c. afternoon snack
d. brushing teeth
6. Parallel process means that an interaction between an
administrator and a teacher is
similar to an interaction between
a. teacher and child.
b. teacher and teacher.
c. administrator and board member.
d. child and parent.
7. An inclusive curriculum is one that creates a welcoming
learning environment for all,
regardless of
a. the location of the playground.
b. the center’s tuition rates.
c. the teacher’s training and credentials.
d. a child’s language and culture.
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 114 4/2/13 2:32 PM
CHAPTER 4Answers and Rejoinders to Pre-Test
8. Making accommodations for a child with special needs will
often include
a. closing the center early each day.
b. differentiating the curriculum.
c. eliminating parent meetings.
d. charging additional fees.
9. In their efforts to help teachers develop classroom
management skills, early childhood
administrators may consult experts in
a. school architecture.

63. b. state standards.
c. fiscal management.
d. conflict resolution.
10. The daily schedule for an early childhood program should
include time for
a. outdoor play.
b. parent meetings.
c. accreditation review.
d. staff development.
Answers: 1 (a); 2 (d); 3 (b); 4 (b); 5 (a); 6 (a); 7 (d); 8 (b); 9
(d); 10 (a)
Discussion Questions
1. Do you think an administrator must have teaching experience
in order to effectively lead
the development of curriculum and supervise teachers? Why or
why not?
2. Suppose an administrator decides to make a major change in
how the program develops
and plans curriculum, such as switching from a theme-based
curriculum to an emergent
curriculum. How might the administrator introduce this change
to the teaching staff?
3. What might be some of the benefits and challenges of
implementing an antibias curricu-
lum approach?
Answers and Rejoinders to Pre-Test
1. True. In early childhood education, the term program is
broadly used to describe all the

64. services provided by a school or center.
2. False. One of the advantages of using an emergent curriculum
is that the themes or top-
ics of each project are based in the children’s interests and
questions.
3. False. The most effective instructional practices are those
that balance teacher-directed
and child-directed activities.
4. True. An antibias curriculum is an approach that that actively
respects and affirms each
child’s identity and each family’s culture.
5. False. Administrators need to know about classroom
management, because they are
responsible for supervising and training teachers to manage
their classrooms.
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 115 4/2/13 2:32 PM
CHAPTER 4Key Terms
Additional Resources
Web sites
Assessment in Early Childhood
http://www.getreadytoread.org/screening-tools/supportive-
materials-for-elors/
assessment-in-early-childhood
This resource page for Get Ready to Read!, one of the National
Center for Learning Disabilities’
family of websites, presents a general overview of assessment

65. practices and tools for early child-
hood educators.
Creative Curriculum
http://www.creativecurriculum.net/
Creative Curriculum, published by Teaching Strategies, Inc., is
one of the most widely used cur-
riculum models in the field of early childhood education.
Technology in Early Childhood (TEC) Center of the Erikson
Institute
http://www.teccenter.erikson.edu/
The TEC Center at Erikson Institute supports early childhood
educators in their efforts to make
informed decisions about the appropriate use of technology with
children from birth to age 8.
The website offers resources that help strengthen educators’
ability to intentionally select and
use technology in the classroom.
Further Reading
Derman-Sparks, L., & Olson Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias
education for young children and our-
selves. Washington DC: National Association for the Education
of Young Children.
This book is the successor to Anti-Bias Curriculum, and offers
practical guidance to con-
fronting and eliminating barriers of prejudice, misinformation,
and bias about specific
aspects of personal and social identity.
National Association for the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC) & National Association of Early
Childhood Specialists (NAECS) in State Departments of
Education (SDE). (2003). Early childhood

66. curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an
effective, accountable system in
programs for children birth through age 8 (position statement
with expanded resources).
The full NAEYC and NAECS/SDE 2003 position statement
“Early Childhood Curriculum,
Assessment, and Program Evaluation—Building an Effective,
Accountable System in Pro-
grams for Children Birth Through Age 8” is available to
download from: http://www.naeyc
.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
Key Terms
ability groups Groups of children intention-
ally organized by teachers or administrators
to place children of similar levels of ability
together for the purpose of delivering more
efficient and effective instruction.
antibias curriculum A curriculum approach
that actively respects and affirms each child’s
identity and each family’s culture.
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 116 4/2/13 2:32 PM
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
CHAPTER 4References
References
Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education
for young children and ourselves.

67. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of
Young Children.
Division for Early Childhood (DEC) and National Association
for the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC). (2009). Early childhood inclusion: A joint position
statement. Retrieved Janu-
ary 15, 2013, from
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_
EC_
updatedKS.pdf
Gaustad, J. (1997). Building support for multiage education.
ERIC Digest 114. Retrieved January
15, 2013, from http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED409604.pdf
authentic assessment Assessment based on
play and behaviors that occur routinely and
spontaneously in an early childhood class-
room, rather than created artificially through
a formal test or evaluation.
backward design When the curriculum is
developed last, to align with the assessment
goals and process.
child assessment The process for evaluating
and measuring the growth and progress of
individual children.
children with special needs Children who
have a physical or mental condition that
requires special care or assistance.
content standards The expectations or goals
for what a child should be able to do or know

68. in any given area of curriculum.
curriculum A plan for learning or a course
of study; in early childhood education the
curriculum includes everything a child experi-
ences in the program.
developmentally appropriate practice
(DAP) The concepts, as defined by NAEYC,
that early childhood professionals use to
guide their work as they teach and care for
infants and young children.
differentiation The adaptation of experi-
ences, materials, or teaching practices to
meet the individual needs of the children.
direct instruction An instructional strategy
in which the teacher conveys the information
directly to the children.
early learning standards The benchmarks or
requirements used to measure progress or
growth in early childhood.
emergent curriculum A method of develop-
ing curriculum plans by using children’s cur-
rent interests to determine the topics.
inclusion The practice of including children
with special needs in classrooms that serve a
general population of children.
integrated curriculum The blending of
multiple curriculum subjects into curriculum
activities.

69. mixed age groups Groups of children inten-
tionally organized by teachers or administra-
tors, made up of children of different ages
for the purpose of learning and socializing
together.
program The learning activities that take
place within the center or organization and
may also include the instructional practices,
the daily schedule, the routines for caring for
children, and the recreational activities, such
as outdoor play.
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 117 4/2/13 2:32 PM
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_
EC_updatedKS.pdf
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_
EC_updatedKS.pdf
http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED409604.pdf
CHAPTER 4References
Helm, J. H., & Katz, L. G. (2010). Young investigators: The
project approach. New York, NY: Teach-
ers College Press.
Katz, L. G. (1995a). The benefits of mixed-age grouping. ERIC
Digest. Retrieved January 15, 2013,
from http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED382411.pdf
Katz, L. G., & Chard, S. C. (2000). Engaging children’s minds.
Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Press.

70. Meisels, S. J. (2011, November 29). Common Core standards
pose dilemmas for early childhood.
Washington Post. Retrieved December 20, 2012, from
http://www.washingtonpost
.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/common-core-standards-pose-
dilemmas-for-early-
childhood/2011/11/28/gIQAPs1X6N_blog.html
National Association for the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC) & National Association of
Early Childhood Specialists (NAECS) in State Departments of
Education (SDE). (2003).
Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program
evaluation: Building an effective,
accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8
(position statement
with expanded resources). Retrieved December 21, 2013, from
http://www.naeyc.org
/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
National Association for the Education of Young Children
(NAEYC) and The Fred Rogers Center for
Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College.
(2012). Position statement:
Technology and interactive media as tools in early childhood
programs serving children
from birth through age 8. Retrieved January 10, 2013, from
http://www.naeyc.org/files
/naeyc/file/positions/PS_technology_WEB2.pdf
Ohio Department of Education. (2012). Ohio’s early learning
and development standards.
Retrieved December 28, 2012, from
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages
/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&TopicRelationID=1389&Conten
tID=1629&Cont

71. ent=135483
Rose, S. (2012, March 22). Aligning early childhood education
with the Common Core. Core
Commons: Emerging strategies and issues in implementing the
Common Core. Retrieved
December 10, 2012, from http://www.ecs-
commoncore.org/?p=441
Tampio, N. (2012, May 7). Do we need a Common Core?
Huffington Post. Retrieved January 15,
2013, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicholas-tampio/do-
we-need-a-common-
core_b_1497854.html
Utah State Office of Education. (2012). Early childhood core
standards. Retrieved January 12,
2013, from
http://www.uen.org/core/prek/downloads/EarlyChildhoodStanda
rds2012.pdf
gad85705_04_c04_089-118.indd 118 4/2/13 2:32 PM
http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED382411.pdf
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-
sheet/post/common-core-standards-pose-dilemmas-for-early-
childhood/2011/11/28/gIQAPs1X6N_blog.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-
sheet/post/common-core-standards-pose-dilemmas-for-early-
childhood/2011/11/28/gIQAPs1X6N_blog.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-
sheet/post/common-core-standards-pose-dilemmas-for-early-
childhood/2011/11/28/gIQAPs1X6N_blog.html
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PS_technology_

72. WEB2.pdf
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PS_technology_
WEB2.pdf
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDeta
il.aspx?page=3&TopicRelationID=1389&ContentID=1629&Con
tent=135483
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDeta
il.aspx?page=3&TopicRelationID=1389&ContentID=1629&Con
tent=135483
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDeta
il.aspx?page=3&TopicRelationID=1389&ContentID=1629&Con
tent=135483
http://www.ecs-commoncore.org/?p=441
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicholas-tampio/do-we-need-a-
common-core_b_1497854.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicholas-tampio/do-we-need-a-
common-core_b_1497854.html
http://www.uen.org/core/prek/downloads/EarlyChildhoodStanda
rds2012.pdf
The Business Side of
Early Childhood Education:
Policies, Procedures, Financial
Management, and Marketing
3
Pre-Test
1. The terms policy and procedure are
interchangeable in early childhood programs. T/F
2. Handbooks and manuals are helpful to have but
considered optional for most early childhood

73. programs. T/F
3. During the enrollment process, the primary
responsibility of the early childhood administrator
is to complete the appropriate paperwork. T/F
4. Policies regarding hiring practices, compensation,
and benefits are essential for maintaining an
effective staff. T/F
5. Meals and field trips are often the largest expense
of an early childhood program. T/F
6. Word of mouth is among the most effective
marketing strategies for promoting an early
childhood program. T/F
Answers can be found at the end of the chapter.
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
1. Define the terms policy and procedure, explain the
similarities and differences between the two, and describe
examples of each.
2. Identify and describe the most important components of a
family handbook, an employee handbook, and an
administrative manual.
3. Explain the role that enrollment policies and procedures play
in establishing a positive, trusting relationship
between families and program staff.
4. Describe how early childhood administrators use

74. supplemental documents, such as job descriptions, to imple-
ment and enforce personnel policies.
5. Explain the differences between income and expenses, and
describe the importance of having a balanced budget.
6. Describe multiple strategies for effectively marketing an
early childhood program.
59
Polka Dot RF/Copyright Getty Images/Thinkstock
gad85705_03_c03_059-088.indd 59 4/2/13 2:29 PM
CHAPTER 3Section 3.1 Policies and Procedures in Early
Childhood Programs
Lindsay Miller is now in her second week as the director of a
YMCA child care center. One of the
teachers, Jasmine, stops by Lindsay’s office at the end of the
day.
“Hi, Lindsay,” says Jasmine. “I just wanted to let you know that
I’ll need to take some time off next
month so I can go visit my family out of state. I’ll be gone
about a week.”
“I appreciate your giving me some notice, Jasmine.” Lindsay
reaches for the staff handbook she keeps
in a standing file near her desk. “Since I’m still new, I want to
look at the time-off policy and confirm
exactly how many vacation days each staff member is allowed
to take. Hmm. It looks like full-time

75. staff members can take five vacation days a year.”
Jasmine looks concerned. She says, “Oh, I didn’t know there
was a limit to how many days I could
take off.”
Lindsay is genuinely surprised. “You didn’t? I thought everyone
who worked here had been given a
copy of the staff handbook.”
Jasmine replies, “I guess I have one, but I don’t remember
everything that’s in there.”
Lindsay nods. “It’s a lot of important information. One of my
goals as the new director is to take
some time at each staff meeting to review the policies together,
so we’re all on the same page.”
Jasmine frowns, “But does this mean I can’t take any time off?”
“Well, I know that you’ve worked here for almost a year. I will
check our staff attendance records and
see how many days off you’ve already taken.”
Jasmine says, “I haven’t taken any vacation days at all. Just a
few sick days.”
“Then you should be fine,” says Lindsay. “In the meantime, go
ahead and fill out this time-off form,
and we’ll put a plan in place for a sub for you.”
Introduction
Lindsay’s experience illustrates how early childhood
administrators use policies and proce-
dures to guide their work and structure the various tasks they

76. must accomplish to keep
their programs running smoothly. Policies and procedures
determine, for example, how
children are enrolled, how employees are hired, paid, and
supervised, and how budgets are man-
aged. Though the specific details may vary from program to
program, most programs share many
universal topics, structures, and functions. This chapter will
introduce these important character-
istics of the policies and procedures that administrators use to
manage early childhood programs.
3.1 Policies and Procedures in Early Childhood Programs
When children play games, such as tag, they usually play
according to a set of shared
rules. These rules, such as, “If I touch you, you’re IT,”
determine what the players can
and should do. Policies and procedures are like such rules, in
that they determine how
an early childhood program will be run.
gad85705_03_c03_059-088.indd 60 4/2/13 2:29 PM
CHAPTER 3Section 3.1 Policies and Procedures in Early
Childhood Programs
Establishing policies and procedures is essential to the
administration of an early childhood pro-
gram. Together, they determine the structure and expectations
for almost everything that hap-
pens in the day-to-day operation of the program.

77. Overview
Policies and procedures are very similar concepts but
not exactly the same thing. A policy is a plan, a for-
mal, written description of what the program will do
to meet its goals. For example, an enrollment policy
describes the rules and guidelines a program uses to
enroll children and includes details such as how old
a child must be to enroll and what documentation,
such as an immunization history, is required in order
for the child to begin attending the program. Poli-
cies are often created to make sure that a program
conforms to specific laws or regulations.
A procedure, in contrast, is a description of the
step-by-step process used to accomplish a task.
While a policy describes what will happen, a pro-
cedure describes how it will happen. Further, while
policies are often aligned with specific laws, regula-
tions, or standards, procedures may vary from pro-
gram to program. For example, an enrollment policy
may state that a family must pay the first month
of tuition before the first day of school. The fee col-
lection procedure then describes how families pay
tuition, step by step. The first step may be that they
receive an invoice via email. The second step is the
receipt of the payment itself and involves both logging the
payment in the center’s accounting
records and issuing a receipt of payment for the family.
Policies and procedures may be shaped and influenced by the
program’s specific philosophy
(Cherry, 2001). For example, a program with a philosophy that
emphasizes collaborating with par-
ents may have a very open and inclusive policy regarding parent
volunteers in the classroom,

78. while a program with a philosophy that emphasizes the
development of autonomy and self-help
skills may have a more restrictive policy regarding parent
participation in the classroom.
Benefits of Effective Policies and Procedures
Clearly documented policies and procedures contribute to the
efficiency and quality of early child-
hood services. When all staff members, from the director to the
teachers to the cook to the bus
driver, understand and follow quality policies and procedures,
the tasks and functions of the pro-
gram are more likely to be accomplished consistently.
The benefits of having clearly written policies and procedures
are often most apparent with new
staff members. Imagine that staff members could only be trained
by word of mouth. While verbal
Karl Weatherly/Photodisc/Thinkstock
Policies and procedures ensure the health
and safety of children enrolled in early
childhood programs.
gad85705_03_c03_059-088.indd 61 4/2/13 2:29 PM
CHAPTER 3Section 3.1 Policies and Procedures in Early
Childhood Programs
training can be of great value, particularly on a day-to-day
basis, there would be potential for error
and misunderstanding if important information were only passed
along in this manner. Written

79. documentation helps ensure that information will be
consistently communicated and followed.
Having clearly stated policies and
procedures also helps ensure
that the program conforms to
the laws, regulations, and stan-
dards discussed in Chapter 2.
Establishing and
Changing Policies
and Procedures
Policies and procedures must
be stable and consistent. If
these documents are frequently
changing, staff members and
families may become confused
about expectations and prac-
tices, which could lead to mis-
communication and misunderstandings. At the same time, there
must be a plan in place for
regular updates to respond to changes, such as the growth and
expansion of program services.
For most programs, an annual review to update program policies
and procedures is frequent
enough to keep practices and plans up to date.
When it is time for policies and procedures to be developed or
updated, one important question
is who has the authority to make the changes? The answer will
depend on the organizational
structure of the program. For example, if the director reports to
a governing board, there may be
bylaws that stipulate how policy changes are authorized, and in
some cases the board may have