POLI08006 2022 Implementing Early Learning & Care Policy in Practice

Policy is both text and action, words and deeds, it is what is enacted as well as what has been intended. The gap between rhetoric and reality within the Early Learning & Care sector is often commented upon. All relevant policies in the Early Learning & Care sector must be focussed ultimately on their impact on the welfare and wellbeing of the child within an early years setting. As such, Early Childhood Educators are required to understand the wider social policy development process and apply these policy intentions into child-centred quality practice within their respective ELC organisations.

Building on previous modules in this programme, students will explore the dynamic policy context of the ELC sector.  The overarching aim is to draw together perspectives on policy design, implementation and impact and provide students with the requisite competencies and skills to translate and implement policy into practice.

Implementing Policy into Practice brings the learner through the policy cycle including the key stages of design, implementation and impact and challenges the learner to provide a critique of the key contributing factors to successful execution throughout these individual phases. Key theoretical frameworks discussed in the module include Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems theory, the Policy Cycle, Bardachs Eight-Fold Policy Analysis theory, Implementation theory,  Behavioural Change and Nudge theory.

The emphasis is on the process of developing and implementing policy, providing learners with; a better understanding of policy design and an appreciation of the complexity of the processes involved in implementing and evaluating policy within their workplace.

This fully updated and expanded edition of the bestselling Students Companion to Social Policy charts the latest developments, research, challenges, and controversies in the field in a concise, authoritative format. Provides students with the analytical base from which to investigate and evaluate key concepts, perspectives, policies, and outcomes at national and international levels Features a new section on devolution and social policy in the UK; enhanced discussion of international and comparative issues; and new coverage of nudge-based policies, austerity politics, sustainable welfare, working age conditionality, social movements, policy learning and transfer, and social policy in the BRIC countries Offers essential information for anyone studying social policy, from undergraduates on introductory courses to those pursuing postgraduate or professional programmes Accompanied by updated online resources to support independent learning and skill development with chapter overviews, study questions, guides to key sources and career opportunities, a key term glossary, and more Written by a team of experts working at the forefront of social policy

This provocative Element is on the 'state of the art' of theories that highlight policymaking complexity. It explains complexity in a way that is simple enough to understand and use. The primary audience is policy scholars seeking a single authoritative guide to studies of 'multi-centric policymaking'. It synthesises this literature to build a research agenda on the following questions: 1. How can we best explain the ways in which many policymaking 'centres' interact to produce policy? 2. How should we research multi-centric policymaking? 3. How can we hold policymakers to account in a multi-centric system? 4. How can people engage effectively to influence policy in a multi-centric system? However, by focusing on simple exposition and limiting jargon, Paul Cairney, Tanya Heikkila, Matthew Wood also speak to a far wider audience of practitioners, students, and new researchers seeking a straightforward introduction to policy theory and its practical lessons.

This new fourth edition takes the reader through the complex network of policy development with activities which make a potentially dry subject matter come alive.

How does early years policy impact on practitioners, children, settings and families? What are the implications of current policy for the future? How can early years professionals shape and craft practice in ways that genuinely focus on the needs of children and families, rather than the interests of policy makers? This exciting new text explores the changing context and increasing importance of early years policy. It takes a broad look at policy developments and shows how these have affected children, settings, parents and the early years workforce. Divided into two parts, the first examines theoretical perspectives and sets out the early years policy context, looking at issues surrounding accountability, international influences on policy and the Early Years Foundation Stage. The second half of the book directly shows how policy has influenced practice, and considers: the upskilling of the workforce and the impact of this on practitioners; the development of the learning environment including outdoor provision; sustained shared thinking and its link to high quality learning and teaching; the impact of policy on parents. Offering a fresh perspective on early years policy, this timely textbook will be essential reading for students on undergraduate and postgraduate Early Years and Childhood Studies courses and those working towards Early Years Teacher status.

For all those working in Early Years improving quality experiences for all young children is a priority. By examining issues surrounding quality improvement, the importance of reflective practice and the attributes required in the workplace to effect change and leadership, this book provides a contemporary view of practice. Chapters focus on how settings can improve quality experiences for young children and how to implement strategies that lead to quality improvement.

Geraldine Davis (2012) A documentary analysis of the use of leadership and change theory in changing practice in early years settings, Early Years, 32:3, 266-276, DOI: 10.1080/09575146.2011.638278

Thomas Walsh (2016) Recent Policy Developments in Early Childhood Education (ECE): A jigsaw with too many pieces?  Department of Education, Maynooth University

Anne L. Douglass (2019) Leadership for Quality Early Childhood Education and Care. OECD Education Working Paper No. 211 

Tusla - www.tusla.ie

Ombudsman for Children -  www.oco.ie

Barnardos  - www.barnardos.ie

First Five - www.FirstFive.ie

Aistear  Siolta - www.aistearsiolta.ie

Social Justice Ireland  -  www.socialjustice.ie/ Policy Issues concerning children 

Economic & Social Research Institute, Growing up in Ireland - www.esri.ie/growing-up-in-ireland

Early Childhood Ireland - www.earlychildhoodireland.ie

Dept. of Education

Dept. of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration & Youth.

Dept. of Children & Youth Affairs (2014) Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2014-2020. Dublin; Government of Ireland.

Government of Ireland, 2019. First Five. Dublin: Government of Ireland