MAECEL Virtual Toolbox Tool #5: My Commitment to Social Justice, Leadership, and 21st Century Education in Early Childhood Education

As noted in earlier discussions and assignments, there are several themes you will see throughout the MAECEL program. These themes include social justice, leadership, and 21st Century Learning as they relate to Early Childhood Education. These are topics that have been introduced in this course and will be reinforced in all of the MAECEL courses to continue to build upon the themes and to come to deeper understandings about these concepts.

The purpose of this assignment is to defend the importance of social justice, leadership, and 21st Century Learning in ECE. Additionally, you will assert your own commitment to these concepts and practices in your development as a professional and leader in ECE. Please see this week’s Instructor Guidance for further resources, supports, and examples related to this assignment.

Scenario: Imagine you are in a leadership role in a center or school focusing on early childhood education. You have recently learned about innovative leadership, social justice, and 21st Century Learning in early childhood settings and you want to share these concepts with other ECE leaders and staff in your organization. Construct an inspirational presentation (including both audio and visual elements) that asserts and defends the importance of innovative leadership, social justice, and 21st Century learning in early childhood settings. You may use a choice of tools for your audio and visual presentation: PowerPoint with audio narration.

Content Expectations:
The following content areas are required for this presentation:

• Introduction: Clearly establish the purpose of your presentation
• Leadership: 
  • Defend the importance of quality, innovative leadership in the field of Early Childhood Education.
  • Support your defense with content and examples from the research and literature you have examined in this course.
  • Provide a contextual example for your audience to understand ways this concept could be integrated into your organization.
• Social Justice: 
  • Defend the importance of fostering social justice, equity pedagogies, and culturally relevant teaching in early childhood settings.
  • Support your defense with content and examples from the research and literature you have examined in this course.
  • Provide a contextual example for your audience to understand ways this concept could be integrated into your organization.
• 21st Century Learning: 
  • Defend the importance of 21st Century learning (Links to an external site.) in early childhood settings.
  • Support your defense with content and examples from the research and literature you have examined in this course.
  • Provide a contextual example for your audience to understand ways this concept could be integrated into your organization.
• Connection to Professional Responsibilities:
  • Defend how innovative leadership, social justice, and 21st Century learning are tied to professionalism in the field
  • Support your defense with content and examples from the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct (Links to an external site.) and the NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation.
• Mission Moving Forward:
  • Propose an action oriented mission statement for your organization.

Research and Resource Expectations:

• Source Requirement:
  • At least three credible sources (Links to an external site.) 

Writing and Formatting Expectations:

• Title Slide: Must include a separate title page with the following:
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Academic Voice: Academic voice (Links to an external site.) is used (avoids casual language, limited use of “I”, and it is declarative).
• Organization: Demonstrates logical progression of ideas.
• Syntax and Mechanics: Writing displays meticulous comprehension and organization of syntax and mechanics, such as spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• APA Formatting: Papers are formatted properly and all sources are cited and referenced in APA style as outlined
• Suggested Assignment Length: This assignment should be about 8-10 slides in length (not including title and reference pages).

The purpose of this assignment is to:

• Defend the importance of social justice, leadership, and 21st Century Learning in ECE.
• You will assert your own commitment to these concepts and practices in your development as a professional and leader in ECE.
• As you complete this assignment please make sure to look at the course guide and rubric for all grading details and what is required.

Below are tips to help you further succeed on this assignment: 

• Remember that your assignment should be 8-10 slides in length (not including title and reference pages).
• You are using the following scenario as the context for your presentation: 
  • Imagine you are in a leadership role in a center or school focusing on early childhood education. You have recently learned about innovative leadership, social justice, and 21st century learning in early childhood settings and you want to share these concepts with other ECE leaders and staff in your organization.
• Remember that your presentation must include audio and visual elements (power point with audio narration, or a tool such as Present.me (Links to an external site.))
• You are both explaining and defending the importance of innovative leadership, social justice, and 21st century learning in early childhood settings.  
• Remember that you have the following sections to include in your presentation: 
  • Leadership Section
  • Social Justice Section
  • 21st Century Learning Section
  • Connection to Professional Responsibilities
  • Mission Moving Forward