Power, Conflict and Learning in Turbulent ECEC Systems Domains

John W. Gasko, Ph.D.Children’s Learning Institute

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Origin of the Concepts• Collaboration: A necessary response to turbulence in inter-

organizational domains (Emery & Trist, 1965)

• Domain: Defined meta-problem that concerns many different stakeholders

• Turbulence: Confluence of external pressures that individual organizations can not control unilaterally

• Collaboration is a collective response by domain stakeholders that enables them to tackle the problem and stabilize the domain

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The Nature of Problem Domains

• Meta-problems

• Whose problems are they?

• Who is affected by them?• Who is responsible for them?

• How to identify/disentangle causes?• Needs Assessment

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Problem Domain: The School Readiness of Young Children

• Problem domain is complex, volatile and critical.• A pressing societal problem with social, ethical and economic

implications: the precipitous increase in early achievement gaps and overall wellness

• What can we learn about the dynamics of such processes and how to manage them successfully?

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Microsystem

Mesosystem

Exosystem

MacrosystemChronosystem

Child Care

Public School Pre-K

HeadStart

Home

Extended Family

Health-based Services

SocialServices

Community-basedOrganizations

CCRRA

TWCTEA

SCECD

HHSC

DFPS

ESCs

Texas Legislature

Advocacy Organizations

Business /TechnologyVendors

ProfessionalOrganizations

Religious Organizations

Federal Legislature

Court Systems

Ideologies SocialRegularities Laws,

Statutes,Rules

Economic Drivers

Neighborhood

DevelopingChild

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Texas State Advisory Councilon Early Childhood Education and Care

Guiding Principles for Turbulent Times

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A Sense of Urgency

• Unlimited Demand, Limited Resources• Parallel Structures, Rules and Priorities: The Challenge of Institutional Density

• Systems Versus Families and Children• Mixed-Age Populations (Birth to 5)• Need for Innovation, & Results Driven Solutions: Not all programs produce desired child outcomes

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Diagnosing School Readiness

• What We Know• According to recent grade failure data from TEA, 12,500 kindergarten students were retained as were 23,200 1st graders•According to recent projections from the Children’s Defense Fund, 500 pre-k and kindergarten students have received DAEP referrals as have 3,000 1st graders•Some estimates suggest that only 55% of entering kindergarten students are developed in literacy (across income levels)•Up to 7 out of every 1000 4 year –olds are expelled from pre-k settings (highest of which are child care settings) in Texas = 2,800 children

• What We Don’t Know•The work of the SAC = Start with what we know + determine what we don’t know 8

Federal Legislation Background

Texas State Advisory Councilon Early Childhood Education and Care

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The Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 (Head Start Act

2007)• Governor of each State to designate or establish a council

• Overall responsibility to facilitate the development or enhancement of high quality systems for ECEC to improve school readiness (birth to school entry)

• Wide range of programs and services – child care, Head Start, IDEA Part B & Part C, Pre-k

Texas State Advisory Councilon Early Childhood Education and Care

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Texas State Advisory Councilon Early Childhood Education and Care

The Responsibilities of The State

Advisory Council11

Texas State Advisory Councilon Early Childhood Education and Care

(I)conduct a periodic statewide needs assessment concerning the quality and availability of early childhood education and development programs and services for children from birth to school entry

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Texas State Advisory Councilon Early Childhood Education and Care

(II) identify opportunities for, and barriers to, collaboration and coordination among Federally-funded and State-funded child development, child care, and early childhood education programs and services, including collaboration and coordination among State agencies responsible for administering such programs; 13

Texas State Advisory Councilon Early Childhood Education and Care

(III) develop recommendations for increasing the overall participation of children in existing Federal, State, and local child care and early childhood education programs, including outreach to underrepresented and special populations; 14

Texas State Advisory Councilon Early Childhood Education and Care

(IV) develop recommendations regarding the establishment of a unified data collection system for public early childhood education and development programs and services throughout the State;

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Texas State Advisory Councilon Early Childhood Education and Care

(V) develop recommendations regarding statewide professional development and career advancement plans for early childhood educators in the State;

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Texas State Advisory Councilon Early Childhood Education and Care

(VI) assess the capacity and effectiveness of 2- and 4-year public and private institutions of higher education in the State toward supporting the development of early childhood educators,

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Texas State Advisory Councilon Early Childhood Education and Care

(VII) make recommendations for improvements in State early learning standards and undertake efforts to develop high-quality comprehensive early learning standards, as appropriate.

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Texas State Advisory Councilon Early Childhood Education and Care

Funding Eligibility30% Federal Grant - $11,274,474 (one time 3 year start up funds)

70% Matching Funds Needed (current investments in EC can be in-kind or cash) - $37,581,580

Nov. 2009 – Governor Named Council

Aug. 1, 2010 – Federal Grant Due

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Conceptual Framework

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Operational Framework

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Process Framework

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Follow the SAC’s Progress

Next Meeting: April 7, 2010 Texas Education Agency, Rm. 1-100, Austin, Texas

http://www.childrenslearninginstitute.org/our-programs/program-overview/state-advisory-council/

Chair, John W. Gasko, Ph.D.713-500-3575

John.W.Gasko@uth.tmc.edu

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