“The most difficult part of my job as Director is trying to get my staff to change certain practices.” Director, Church Preschool Program
“I don't feel comfortable with my role as evaluator; I guess I don't like telling people they're doing something wrong.” Director, Day Care Center
Abstract
Many child care directors inherit their role of supervisor without having had adequate training or experience. Given the wide disparity in the field with respect to staff preparation, child care directors, in their role as supervisors, are called on to develop, train, evaluate, and appraise child care workers on a daily basis. The literature in the field suggests that there are common threads among supervisory models in early childhood and that directors of child care programs can benefit from in-service training that specifically addresses their supervisory functions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bloom, P. J. (1992, Spring). The child care center director.Educational Horizons, 138–145.
Bloom, P. J., & Rafanello, D. (1995). The professional development of early childhood center directors: Key elements of effective training models.Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 16(1), 3–8.
Bloom, P. J., Sheerer, M., & Britz, J. (1991).Blueprint for action: Achieving center-based change through staff development. Lake Bluff, IL: New Horizons.
Carter, M., & Curtis, D. (1994).Training teachers: A harvest of theory and practice. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.
Caruso, J. (1989). New England day care supervisors. Unpublished manuscript.
Caruso, J. (1991). Supervisors in early childhood programs: An emerging profile.Young Children, 46(6), 20–26.
Caruso, J., & Fawcett, M. T. (1986)Supervision in early childhood education. New York: Teachers College Press.
Jorde-Bloom, P. (1989).The Illinois directors study. Evanston: Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
Morgan, G., Azar, S., Costley, J., Genser, A., Goodman, I., Lombardi, J., & McGimsey, B. (1993).Making a career of it: The state of the states' report on career development in early care education. Boston: Wheelock College.
Norton, M., & Abramowitz, S. (1981). Assessing the needs and problems of early childhood administrators/directors. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 2008963)
Phillips, C. B. (1994). The challenge of training and credentialing early childhood educators.Phi Delta Kappan, 76(3), 214–217.
Rodd, J. (1994).Leadership in early childhood: The pathway to professionalism. New York: Teachers College Press.
Sheerer, M., & Bloom, P. J. (in press). Supervision in early childhood education. In G. Firth and E. Pajak (Eds.),Handbook of research on school supervision. New York: Macmillan.
Whitebook, M., Howes, C., & Phillips, D. A. (1989).Who cares? Child care teachers and the quality of care in America: Final report of the National Child Care Staffing Study. Oakland, CA: Child Care Employee Project.
Wilmshurst, A. (1984). A program to improve teacher performance in Head Start classrooms based on a trainer of trainers approach. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 257 588)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sheerer, M.A., Bauer, K.L. Models of supervision in early childhood programs: Implications for training. Early Childhood Educ J 23, 201–206 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02353336
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02353336