Assignment 2: Reflective philosophy
Word limit: 1200 (+/- 10%)
This assignment is designed to extend your ability to reflect on the role of a professional. Reflection is a vital skill in knowing and understanding who you are in order to better position yourself within the context of teaching and working within educational settings.
Brookfield (2017, pp. 255–256) defines a philosophy of teaching as:
a set of values, beliefs, insights, and convictions about the essential forms and fundamental purposes of teaching. Embedded in it are criteria for judging how far your practice exhibits features you feel are essential to good teaching and a set of purposes towards which your efforts are geared. When you consciously hold to such a philosophy, you have an organising vision of what you are trying to do, how you are trying to do it, and why doing it is important.
Your philosophy statement will be based on professional knowledge and contemporary practice; however, it should also reflect your personal values and will therefore be unique. Use first-person writing to express your views, and third-person writing to support these views with relevant literature. Your writing should consider your potential audience, including children's families, early childhood education professionals and prospective employers.
Your philosophy of teaching statement should:
• identify and articulate your values and understandings about children, learning and teaching in early childhood education
• address the theories/perspectives/documents that guide your teaching
• explain particular approaches and teaching strategies that underpin your practice and how you aim to continue to learn and contribute to the profession.
This assignment has three parts, which you can submit as one a whole document (Part A, B and C in succession if created in Word) OR as two documents in the same submission point (one being the brochure for Part A - create in Canva or PPT or whatever digital tool you use - and the other being a document containing Part B and Part C). Please, only include one reference list in one document (if submitting two documents, only in the one with Part B and C, include all sources used).
Part A: Philosophy brochure (500 words)
The brochure needs to be designed with clear information for stakeholders:
• You will be writing four to six visionary statements based on your beliefs and values about education and care for each of the various stakeholders of an early childhood education setting including, children, colleagues, families and community (in total 16–24 statements).
• These must be written in a brochure format with your name and a clear heading outlining what the brochure is.
• Make sure each statement is clear and concise and suitable for a wide audience.
• Make use of professional graphics, images and/or design features that support your beliefs.
• Brief referenced quotes, questions, or poetry that align with your philosophy.
• Make sure the philosophy reflects who you are as an early childhood professional; be clear about the personal and professional qualities that define you as an early childhood teacher.
Part B: Philosophy strategy statements (500 words)
The strategy statements are not written for the stakeholder as the brochure is designed as a short, snappy overview for this purpose. This part of the task is designed to assess your ability to put some of your visionary ideas into practice:
• Describe how you will bring your visionary ideas into practice for each of the four stakeholders.
• Give examples of pedagogy and practice that describe how you will implement your ideas
• Include examples/strategies for each stakeholder group that show what each of your philosophical statements looks like in practice.
• Integrate a range of in-text references to support your ideas and pedagogy.
Part C: Reflection statements (200 words)
This part of the task requires you to be self-reflective and to assess your understanding of the unique role of early childhood teachers:
• Reflection demonstrates an insightful understanding and awareness of the unique aspects of the role of early childhood professionals and particular challenges of a teacher.
• Articulate who you are as an ECE professional in a short statement.
You will also need to include an APA reference list, which is not included in the word count.