ECE415 - Ethics, Professional Practice and Leadership
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| Last revision date | Jan 27, 2025 12:49:45 AM |
| Last review date | Mar 17, 2025 12:15:02 AM |
Subject Title
Ethics, Professional Practice and Leadership
Subject Description
Students will examine what it means to be a professional early childhood educator. Being a Registered Early Childhood Educator has implications that include public and professional expectations and accountability. Students will become knowledgeable in professional ethics, standards of practice, and their role within the spectrum of services for children, families, and communities. Students will further their knowledge and skills in communication, mentorship, and reflective practice in a professional context.
Specifically, students will engage in processes that invite them to amalgamate their philosophical ideals and the realities of ethical obligations and policies through collaboration with colleagues. Students will recognize that all early childhood educators are leaders regardless of their role or position in early years and childcare settings.
Credit Status
ECE 415 is an Early Childhood Education Diploma Program prescribed subject. ECE 415 is a second year, fourth semester subject.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this subject the student will be able to:
SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. Explain academic, personal, and professional integrity and ethics in response to competing perspectives, Truth and Reconciliation, and treaty relationships.
2. Articulate the ways that respectful listening to authentic Indigenous voices enhances pedagogical and professional practice.
3. Apply the College of Early Childhood Educators Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, while responding to ethical dilemmas.
4. Analyze the role of the College of Early Childhood Educators in protecting the public interest as the regulatory body for registered Early Childhood Educators.
5. Articulate the value of reflective practice, mentorship, and continuous professional learning in accordance with the requirements of the College of Early Childhood Educators.
6. Apply effective communication in accordance with College of Early Childhood Educators Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice for building rapport and maintaining responsive relationships within diverse populations of children, families, and colleagues.
7. Investigate the complexity of leadership as it applies to the spectrum of roles in working with children, families, and communities.
ECE VOCATIONAL LEARNING OUTCOMES
This Seneca program has been validated by the Credential Validation Service as an Ontario College Credential as required by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities.
As a graduate, you will be prepared to reliably demonstrate the ability to:
- Create learning contexts to enable, build and maintain caring, responsive relationships in partnerships with children, families and communities that value and respect social, cultural and linguistic diversity including Indigenous peoples' worldviews and Francophone identity.
- Co-create, facilitate and reflect upon inquiry and play-based early years and childcare programs and pedagogical approaches to support children's learning, holistic development and well-being following children's capabilities, interests, ideas and experiences.
- Co-design and maintain inclusive early learning environments to value and support equitable, accessible and meaningful learning opportunities for all children, their families and communities in a range of early years and childcare settings.
- Collaborate with children, families, colleagues, agencies and community partners to create, maintain, evaluate and promote safe and healthy early learning environments to support independence, reasonable risk-taking and healthy development and well-being.
- Use observation strategies to identify children's strengths and challenges and to ascertain when children and families might benefit from additional support or community resources.
- Use professional communication in interactions with children, families, colleagues, employers, the regulatory body, government authorities and children's service agencies to meet legal and ethical standards of the early years sector.
- Act in accordance with relevant legislation, regulations, College of Early Childhood Educators Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, agency policies and procedures and principles of evidence-informed practice and reflect upon their impact on one's own role in early years and childcare settings.
- Identify, report and document when a child is in a situation of perceived risk for, or actual neglect or abuse, in accordance with legislation, the College of Early Childhood Educators Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, policies and procedures.
- Create and engage in partnerships with families, communities, colleagues, inter-disciplinary professionals, authorities and child service agencies to advocate for quality early years and childcare programs and services.
- Engage in reflective practice and continuous professional learning in accordance with principles of lifelong learning, evidence-informed practices in the early years sector and requirements of the College of Early Childhood Educators.
Essential Employability Skills
• Communicate clearly, concisely and correctly in the written, spoken and visual form that fulfils the purpose and meets the needs of the audience.
• Respond to written, spoken, or visual messages in a manner that ensures effective communication.
• Apply a systematic approach to solve problems.
• Use a variety of thinking skills to anticipate and solve problems.
• Analyze, evaluate, and apply relevant information from a variety of sources.
• Show respect for diverse opinions, values, belief systems, and contributions of others.
• Interact with others in groups or teams in ways that contribute to effective working relationships and the achievement of goals.
• Manage the use of time and other resources to complete projects.
• Take responsibility for one's own actions, decisions, and consequences.
Academic Integrity
Seneca upholds a learning community that values academic integrity, honesty, fairness, trust, respect, responsibility and courage. These values enhance Seneca's commitment to deliver high-quality education and teaching excellence, while supporting a positive learning environment. Ensure that you are aware of Seneca's Academic Integrity Policy which can be found at: http://www.senecapolytechnic.ca/about/policies/academic-integrity-policy.html Review section 2 of the policy for details regarding approaches to supporting integrity. Section 2.3 and Appendix B of the policy describe various sanctions that can be applied, if there is suspected academic misconduct (e.g., contract cheating, cheating, falsification, impersonation or plagiarism).
Please visit the Academic Integrity website http://open2.senecac.on.ca/sites/academic-integrity/for-students to understand and learn more about how to prepare and submit work so that it supports academic integrity, and to avoid academic misconduct.
Discrimination/Harassment
All students and employees have the right to study and work in an environment that is free from discrimination and/or harassment. Language or activities that defeat this objective violate the College Policy on Discrimination/Harassment and shall not be tolerated. Information and assistance are available from the Student Conduct Office at student.conduct@senecapolytechnic.ca.
Accommodation for Students with Disabilities
The College will provide reasonable accommodation to students with disabilities in order to promote academic success. If you require accommodation, contact the Counselling and Accessibility Services Office at ext. 22900 to initiate the process for documenting, assessing and implementing your individual accommodation needs.
Camera Use and Recordings - Synchronous (Live) Classes
Synchronous (live) classes may be delivered in person, in a Flexible Learning space, or online through a Seneca web conferencing platform such as MS Teams or Zoom. Flexible Learning spaces are equipped with cameras, microphones, monitors and speakers that capture and stream instructor and student interactions, providing an in-person experience for students choosing to study online.
Students joining a live class online may be required to have a working camera in order to participate, or for certain activities (e.g. group work, assessments), and high-speed broadband access (e.g. Cable, DSL) is highly recommended. In the event students encounter circumstances that impact their ability to join the platform with their camera on, they should reach out to the professor to discuss. Live classes may be recorded and made available to students to support access to course content and promote student learning and success.
By attending live classes, students are consenting to the collection and use of their personal information for the purposes of administering the class and associated coursework. To learn more about Seneca's privacy practices, visit Privacy Notice.
Prerequisite(s)
Module 1,2,3 courses
Current police check from local police agency, Seneca Medical form, First Aid/CPR Level C
Topic Outline
• Professional expectations through the lens of How Does Learning Happen?
• Professionalization, professionalism, and professional practice
• Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario (AECEO)
• Early Childhood Educators Act (2007)
• The College of ECE
• CECE Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice (2017)
• Reflective practice and its importance in ECE
• Educators’ learning through pedagogical documentation
• Continuous Professional Learning
• Mentoring in ECE as a professional responsibility
• ECE’s role in Truth & Reconciliation
• Ethical practice in ECE & moral reasoning
• How values and beliefs affect decisions
• Intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect with children, families, and communities
• Innovation in early education
• Professional communication
Mode of Instruction
Subject content will be covered through various means and the student will be expected to participate in and contribute to the process of learning. The strategies may include lectures, discussions, observations, workshops, audio visual presentations, readings, and on-line materials and activities.
Prescribed Texts
See professor
To find out the cost of books and learning material go here.
Any courses not listed on the bookstore webpage do not require any resources for purchase. All resources will be provided by your instructor.
Reference Material
Students will also be required to join the Association for Early Childhood Educators of Ontario and one further organization of their choice.
Required Supplies
None.
Student Progression and Promotion Policy
http://www.senecapolytechnic.ca/about/policies/student-progression-and-promotion-policy.html
Grading Policyhttp://www.senecapolytechnic.ca/about/policies/grading-policy.html
| A+ | 90% to 100% |
| A | 80% to 89% |
| B+ | 75% to 79% |
| B | 70% to 74% |
| C+ | 65% to 69% |
| C | 60% to 64% |
| D+ | 55% to 59% |
| D | 50% to 54% |
| F | 0% to 49% (Not a Pass) |
| OR | |
| EXC | Excellent |
| SAT | Satisfactory |
| UNSAT | Unsatisfactory |
For further information, see a copy of the Academic Policy, available online (http://www.senecapolytechnic.ca/about/policies/academics-and-student-services.html) or at Seneca's Registrar's Offices. (https://www.senecapolytechnic.ca/registrar.html).
Modes of Evaluation
EVALUATION STRUCTURE:
30% Tests
30% Truth and Reconciliation Commission Assignment
40% In-Class Case Studies
Please note: It is the student’s responsibility to keep copies of materials (assignments, etc.) used for evaluative purposes.
In order to receive a passing grade in each ECE subject, every component of evaluation must be completed at a passing level.
DUE DATES AND EXTENSIONS:
Due dates for the assignments and other evaluation procedures for each subject are set in class.
Requests for extensions must be made to the professor before the due date. Many professors require written requests and approval forms for extensions.
If an assignment is late, one full grade or 10% (whichever is less) may be deducted the first day. 20% may be deducted day 8, etc.
When an assignment grade has been reduced to an "F" because of late submission, the "F" grade will be used to calculate the final subject grade but will not prevent the student from passing the subject.
The last day to submit a late assignment is the last day of classes for that subject.
Unless an extension has already been approved by the professor, assignments received after the final day of a subject will receive "0" marks. The resulting mark in this subject will be an "F".
If you hand in an assignment too late for feedback or revision, and receive an "F" grade for that assignment, you forfeit the right to resubmit that assignment.
ATTENDANCE:
Absence during scheduled tests and presentations require a medical note. Failure to meet these requirements will result in an “F” grade. Students are required to notify the professor before the scheduled test or presentation if they are unable to attend.
Assignments and in-class learning opportunities:
If you fail any assignment, in-class learning opportunity, quiz, test or other component of evaluation, you must rework the material at a passing level.
A "D" grade will be the highest grade in such a situation, regardless of the average attained. You are allowed only 1 (one) rewrite per course.
The individual Professor will clarify re-submission procedures for each subject.
In-Class Presentations and Tests:
Attendance is mandatory for any scheduled in-class presentation or tests. If a student fails to attend on the pre-arranged date, they will receive an "F" grade. In the event of a serious occurrence, where a student can produce official documentation, a make up presentation or test may be granted, after discussion with the professor.
When students are absent it is their responsibility to “catch-up” on missed material, announcements, schedule changes, discussions, etc.
PROFESSIONALISM AND CONFIDENTIALITY:
In cases of cheating or plagiarism, the College Academic Policy will prevail. Please ensure that all assignments and reports are properly documented.
Students are referred to the following website for the Seneca College Library APA Style Guides, Academic Honesty Policy and Copyright guidelines.
http://senecapolytechnic.ca/library
Please retain this subject outline document for future educational and/or employment use.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
As a student at Seneca College, you are expected to read the College Academic Policy, College Student Handbook and the ECE Student Handbook. Please note that this information is very important.
Missed Tests/Late Assignments
Due dates for all evaluations and assessments are posted. Evaluations can include projects, podcasts, videos, assignments, quizzes and/or tests and exams. Students are expected to meet the specified dates and deadlines. It is a best practice for all students to keep a copy of all submitted assignments.
Students who have extenuating circumstances that result in their being unable to meet the stated deadline are encouraged to contact their professor(s). A professor may (or may not) grant an extension to a posted due date. Such extension requests must be discussed prior to the due date, or very closely following. Late submission or completion of any assessments may be subject to a penalty grade deduction. Once feedback is posted and/or discussion of the assessment has taken place, students may not submit that version of the assessment for grading.
Feedback on Assessments
Feedback to students regarding graded assessments can be provided in any of the following ways: posted on LEARN@Seneca, added to Grade Centre comments, taken up synchronously, and/or discussed with students. Students are welcome to discuss feedback on completed and submitted assessments with their professor during a synchronous class, or during posted "virtual" office hours, or by a mutually agreed upon appointment.
Resources to help students succeed as an online learner can be found at Seneca Libraries: https://library.senecapolytechnic.ca/friendly.php?s=learning_online_at_seneca
Seneca College Library Resources
Be sure to begin all research, assignment support and career preparation at the Seneca College libraries website http://library.senecapolytechnic.ca. Students can find information about our services and collections including, print and e-books, databases that will lead to thousands of articles in magazines, newspapers, journals, encyclopedias, carefully selected websites, how-to tutorials, streamed videos and much more.
Citation Style Guidelines: APA/MLA. https://library.senecapolytechnic.ca/citingsources
Please check with your professor on the preferred formatting.
PLEASE KEEP THIS DOCUMENT FOR FUTURE REFERENCE. IT WILL BE REQUIRED IF YOU APPLY TO ANOTHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION AND SEEK ADVANCED STANDING.