Adminfo - and Vice Principals

Enhancing every child’s life chances
Educator and proud grandpa,
the BCPVPA’s executive director, Ted Whiteland,
on the research about early childhood development.
In this edition of Adminfo, an article
by Leslie Dyson entitled Preparing
Early caused me to reflect to the December
2007 issue of Adminfo where
I stated that one must understand the
underlying research of early child development
(ECD) to appreciate both
where we are versus where we could
be with implementation initiatives.
I must also confess that as a grandfather
to 14-month old Keanna, I
marvel at the developmental milestones
that she is able to meet. I also
admire the work that our daughter,
the mommy, does to better understand
Keanna’s needs in every dimension
of her growth.
It would be easy to believe that research
and programs related to effective
ECD reside solely in Canada. In
fact, there are many models of such
effective interventions throughout
the world, many of which have been
in the mainstream for decades. There
is much to be learned from these initiatives
and the American Head Start
program is but one example.
As noted in the October 2007
ASCD issue of Educational Leadership,
Dr. Edward Zigler has, since
1970, championed the Head Start
program where he held the position
of the first director of the Office of
Child Development, which administered
the fledging Head Start program.
In a far ranging interview, Dr.
Zigler identified the frustration of
competing goals for Head Start. The
desire to identify a quick fix literacyskills
program based on cognitive development
competed with the “whole
child approach” which viewed the
brain as an integrated instrument and
therefore capable of mediating emotional
and social development along
with increased intelligence.
Dr. Zigler also identified two great
achievements of the design of the
Head Start program. Foremost, the
program emphasized social and emotional
development with an emphasis
on the provision of health, social and
comprehensive services to families. To
this was added parental participation.
Research has identified that parental
behavior is the most important single
determinant of a child’s growth. Succinctly
put, the research identifies the
positive correlation between involved
parents in the education of their children
and the child’s education and
BCPVPA
performance.
When asked what is the best age
at which to provide support for preschool
children, Dr. Zigler is clear:
conception, not birth, is when development
starts and that when mothers
are pregnant they’re extremely
interested in both information and
instruction.
It is within this context that I found
Leslie Dyson’s description of Strong-
Start programs in the Nechako Lakes
school district so inspirational. Integrating
what has been learned from
research with local resources and
coupling these with expanding partnerships
has established a dynamic
which makes everything possible for
enhancing a child’s life chances.
And isn’t this what it is all about
Ted Whiteland
Executive Director twhiteland@bcpvpa.bc.ca
Sharon Cutcliffe
Legal and Contractual Services, Student Leadership sharon@bcpvpa.bc.ca
Gaila Erickson
Professional Programs gaila@bcpvpa.bc.ca
Ian Kennedy
Legal and Contractual Services ian@bcpvpa.bc.ca
Carol Powell
Finance carol@bcpvpa.bc.ca
Richard Williams
Communications rwlliams@bcpvpa.bc.ca
February 08 • Adminfo • 19