American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education

53^rd Annual Meeting & Exhibits

Caring, Competent Educators:

A Common Goal, A Shared Responsibility

Hyatt Regency, Dallas, Texas

March 1-4, 2001

PROPOSAL COVER SHEET

2001 AACTE ANNUAL MEETING

Section B: To be completed for a Symposium-Individual Proposal

1. Title of Paper Challenging Early Childhood Educators to Foster Positive Social Values for a Democratic Society

2. Presenter Name _Dr. Colleen Finegan___________ Tel. 937-775-4582

Institution/Address _Wright State University______376 Millett Hall___________

City/State/ZIP ______Dayton, Ohio 45435__________ E-mail______cafinegan@aol.com___________

PROPOSAL COVER SHEET

2001 AACTE ANNUAL MEETING

Section I: Content

A. Statement of the problem:

According to Thomas Jefferson, the purpose of education is to furnish all citizens with the knowledge and training that will enable them to pursue happiness as private persons, i.e. to prepare all citizens to exercise their right to self government. John Goodlad states that the schools possess the responsibility to provide critical enculturation into a political democracy, cultivate (with the family) character and decency, and prepare students for full participation in the human conversation. How can this be accomplished fairly and with equity in the diverse world of the new millenium?

B. Literature review:

John Dewey maintains that democracy occurs not only in voting, but includes a whole range of "associated living" and occurs in the various realms of everyday life and society. A democracy is not a state to be achieved, but rather an idealized set of values that we must live and that must guide our lives as a people. So the question must be asked "What undergirds a democratic society?"

The open flow of ideas regardless of their popularity, that enables people to be as fully informed as possible.
Faith in the individual and collective capacity of people to create possibilities for resolving problems.
Concern for the welfare of others and the "common good".
The use of critical reflection and analysis to evaluate ideas, problems and policies.
Concern for the dignity and rights of individuals and minorities.
The organization of social institutions to promote and extend the democratic way of life.

John Dewey states that living in a democracy requires that

All stakeholders are represented in governance and the other realms of social life
There is a widespread inclusion and sharing of perspectives, and
The objective is the reconstruction of perspective and practice.

How do students experience democratic school communities

In the policies, procedures, interactions and everyday events within the school.
In the policies, procedures, interactions and everyday events of their life outside of the school.
Through the Social Studies Curriculum ongoing struggle toward putting into practice a set of democratic ideals, which stem from the purposes of public education.

The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) provides 10 themes to guide teachers in assisting students to understand living in a democracy: This organization provides a wealth of information, support and suggestions on-line for the teaching of these themes at all levels.

1. Culture & Cultural Diversity 2. Time, Continuity, & Change

3. People, Places, & Environments 4. Individual Development & Identity

5. Individuals, Groups, & Institutions 6. Power, Authority, & Governance

7. Production, Distribution, & Consumption 8. Science, Technology, & Society

9. Global Connections 10. Civic Ideals & Practices

The early years are the ideal time for children to begin to understand democratic norms and values (justice. equality, etc.) in terms of smaller entities (the family, classroom, community). Early Childhood pre-service and in-service educators need to evaluate what their students are learning about a democratic society from what is modeled in their classrooms. In addition, serious thought and planning needs to be done to help young students develop the ability to become good citizens and be empowered to exercise their right to self-government. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) not only supports curriculum content which is designed to achieve long-range goals for children in all domains–social, emotional, cognitive, and physical–and to prepare children to function as fully contributing members of a democratic society

C. Contribution:

Educators often talk in nebulous terms about enculturating young children to be good citizens without giving serious consideration to what that means. A dichotomy exists: Does education involve Schooling for Democracy or Schools as Democracy. This is a serious question. There is not doubt that schools do not run on a democratic basis–so how will students learn to be citizens of a democracy, if they do not experience one until they are out of school?

D. Conclusions:

The early years are the ideal time for children to understand democratic norms and values (justice. equality, etc.) in terms of smaller entities (the family, classroom, community). Early Childhood pre-service and in-service educators need to evaluate what their students are learning about a democratic society from is modeled in their classroom. In addition, serious thought and planning needs to be done to help young students develop the ability to become good citizens and be empowered to exercise their right to self-government.

Section II: Outcomes and Methods

A. Learner/participant outcomes:

At the end of the session, participants will be able to see how NAEYC and NCSS provides guidelines and suggestion to assist early childhood educators teach about democracy in everyday activities and learning experiences in the classroom.

B. Methods

The presenter will encourage participation of audience in sharing ideas about helping young students develop the ability to become good citizens and be empowered to exercise their right to self-government.

I would like to use Powerpoint to enhance my presentation. I can supply my own AV equipment -- bringing a MAC laptop and LCD projector. If internet connectivity would be possible, it would add an important and relevant dimension to my presentation. However, it is not required, because many conferences at which I have presented have not had connectivity, so I have some of the sites that I use downloaded on disks and interfaced with the Powerpoint presentation..
Section D: To Be Completed for All Types of Proposals

1. Subject Descriptors–Using the List of Descriptors found on page 8, please provide up to three descriptors of your proposal for the subject index of the Annual Meeting program.

a. Early Childhood_ b. Social Processes / Development c. Moral Education / Development_

2. Please indicate to which strand you are submitting your proposal and what type of session it is by checking one box only.

Strand: Shared Responsibility for…	Symposium Group Individual Proposal Proposal		Roundtable	Poster Session
Strand 1: The Learning of All Students
Strand 2: Teacher Education Curriculum
Strand 2: Teacher Education Curriculum
Strand 3: Educational Policy and Leadership
Strand 4: Recruiting and Retaining Caring and Competent Teachers
Strand 5: Helping Students Develop Positive Social Values		X

Section E: To Be Completed for a Symposium-Group, Roundtable, or Poster Proposal

Provide a 30-word-or-less description of the proposed session, using complete sentences. Each description will be printed in the Annual Meeting program (AACTE reserves editorial rights).

Early Childhood educators need to give serious thought and planning to help young students develop the ability to become good citizens and be empowered to exercise their right to self-government.

PROPOSAL REVIEW FORM

2001 AACTE ANNUAL MEETING

Proposal ID __________ Session ID __________

(for AACTE use) (for AACTE use)

Title of Session/Paper/Presentation:

Challenging Early Childhood Educators to Foster Positive Social Values for a Democratic Society

Please indicate to which strand you are submitting your proposal and what type of session it is by checking one box only (should be the same as marked in Section D of Proposal Cover Sheet).

Strand: Shared Responsibility for…	Symposium Group Individual Proposal Proposal		Roundtable	Poster Session
Strand 1: The Learning of All Students
Strand 2: Teacher Education Curriculum
Strand 3: Educational Policy and Leadership
Strand 4: Recruiting and Retaining Caring and Competent Teachers
Strand 5: Helping Students Develop Positive Social Values		X