Scholar Practitioners as Program Evaluators

When I think about evaluating and supporting early childhood education, I think about the long term effects for young children’s outcomes. There needs to be constant evaluation, research and support in all areas of the field such as teachers, learning centers, parents, children and the community. Of course the state, local and govern will have a hand in this. I look at what can be done better. I look at what is already working.

I am hoping for this course to impact me in ways of training, supporting and guiding teachers to be successful in classrooms. I want teachers to enjoy what they do. I want teachers to appreciate the experience and roles that they play in families lives as they set the foundation for primary grades. I would like teachers to show effective practices that promotes healthy learning and development for young children.

Questions that arise my curiosity is why aren’t teachers aloud much flexibility in teaching? I get that we have to follow policy and accreditation and curriculum, but does it have to be the way of the book.

In my past experiences, I would do the lesson plan the way it’s asked of us teachers but I would not necessarily follow it because my students were not benefiting from it. I knew my students and how they learned. I knew what worked for them and what did not. My students performed much better when I taught and parents very much so appreciated it. I’m not saying I completely disregarded the lesson plan, however majority of it was taught for the best of the students.

We all can be impacted and impact the process of program evaluation. We are scholar practitioners in this field, so the fact that we are already in this programs say’s we want to do more and we want to be more. We are constantly doing research in this field and most of us work in this field and practice new knowledge. We are advocating for families, we are bringing new program evaluations and support and most of all we are promoting positive social change.