Leadership in ECSE: Supporting and Coaching Colleagues

Leadership in Early Childhood Special Education: Supporting and Coaching Colleagues 
 
Description: Leadership is multifaceted and can be nurtured in all early childhood special education (ECSE) providers. A sometimes forgotten component is supporting and coaching leaders through formal and informal ways. There are a range of ways to ensure leaders continue to lead through horizontal and vertical assistance. The former is from colleagues providing, for example, feedback on decisions impacting young children. It can also entail focused opportunities for reflection and a resulting action plan. The latter may be more formal and structured and/or tied to state law, requirements from funding agencies and the like. The commonality is to plan and address the need for coaching. Regardless of years of experience in their position, educational attainment etc., leaders need opportunities to reflect and continue to gain knowledge.
 
Leadership is a part of all DEC activities. It is evident across all providers and can be nurtured in daily interactions as well as more formal means. We will provide options for making leadership part of everyday practice at an individual and program level. We will also describe leadership as a process with ways to identify and align ECSE work with leadership and its impact on positive outcomes for young children, families, and providers.
 
Presenters: Deborah Bruns, PhD; Annie George-Puskar, PhD; Elizabeth Beavers, PhD
 
DR. DEBORAH BRUNS is a Professor and program coordinator of the Special Education program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Her focus is best practices in ECSE assessment and instruction as well as leadership.
 
DR. ANNIE GEORGE-PUSKAR is an Assistant Professor in Curriculum and Teaching and chair of the Doctoral Planning Committee at Fordham University. Her foci is preschool transition and leadership in ECSE.
 
DR. ELIZABETH BEAVERS is an Associate Professor of Special Education in the College of Education at the University of Houston Clear Lake. She focuses on reflective practices and leadership in ECSE.
 
 
Objectives: 
Participants will increase knowledge of coaching options
Participants will strategies related to ongoing reflection and action steps
Participants will gain a perspective linking leadership and coaching in ECSE