Verified Document

Effective Communication Skills For Early Childhood Educators Essay

¶ … Effective Communication Skills for Early Childhood Educators In any organizational setting, there is an overarching need for effective communication, making the need for effective communication skills an important asset in virtually any workplace setting. Consequently, some practitioners maintain that effective communication skills are the most essential skill for early childhood educators as well. To determine the accuracy of this assertion, this paper provides a review of the relevant peer-reviewed and scholarly literature concerning the importance of effective communication skills for early childhood educators, followed by a summary of the research and important findings in the conclusion.

Review and Discussion

Because all organizations are comprised of people, the need for effective communication skills is clear but this need is even more acute for early childhood educators. In her text, Leadership in Early Childhood, Rodd (2006, p. 70) reports that, "Effective communication skills are the tools that underpin the ability to act in an emotionally intelligent and competent manner." The concept of emotional intelligence relates to the ability of early childhood educators to ask appropriate questions, listen effectively and respond in meaningful ways (Rodd 2006). For early childhood educators, then, the importance of possessing effective communication skills involves successfully engaging others, irrespective of their age and abilities, in meaningful and timely ways (Storch & Whitehurst 2002). For young learners, oral communication skills appear to be especially salient in promoting improved academic outcomes, with the type of learning environment that is provided being operative (Kaufman & Ring 2011). For instance, Aldridge (2005, p. 177) reports that, "Oral language is crucial to a child's literacy development, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. While the culture of the child influences the patterns of language, the school environment can enable children to refine its use." The importance of effective communication...

In this regard, Aldridge (2005, p. 178) adds that, "As children enter school, they bring diverse levels of language acquisition to the learning process. Therefore, teachers face the challenge of meeting the individual needs of each language learner, as well as discerning which methods work most effectively in enhancing language development." Likewise, Wilson (2003) emphasizes the need for individualized communication educational offerings in early childhood settings. According to Wilson (2003, p. 70), "Children with speech/language disabilities should be identified as early as possible and receive appropriate intervention services while they are still quite young, as it is unlikely that individuals are apt to fulfill their potential unless efforts to maximize their communication skills are taken."
As with any organization, the extent to which these attributes are aligned with organizational goals will likely be the extent to which the enterprise is successful. This assertion is supported by the observation by Rodd (2006, p. 70) that, "The collective capacity of early childhood settings to achieve their goals successfully depends on having an emotionally intelligent leader who in turn nurtures and values emotional intelligence of staff, thereby enhancing the capacity to work in emotionally intelligent ways." In fact, according to Curtis and O'Hagan (2003), the importance of effective communication skills for early childhood educators is readily apparent, with the need for such skills extended to all of the stakeholders that are involved in the administration of an early childhood resource. For instance, Curtis and O'Hagan (2003, p. 130) report that, "Managing an early years setting requires effective communication skills with parents, children and staff. It also necessitates communicating with a variety of outside agencies such as social services, psychologists, play therapists, health visitors,…

Sources used in this document:
References

Beck, I., & McKeown, M. 2001. 'Text talk: Capturing the benefits of read-aloud experiences for young children.' The Reading Teacher, vol. 55, no. 1, pp. 10-20.

Curtis, A. & O'Hagan, M. 2003. Care and Education in Early Childhood: A Student's Guide to Theory and Practice. London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Harms, L. 2007. Working with people: Communication skills for reflective practice. Melbourne,

Vic.: Oxford University Press.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Effective Communication Skills Are the Most Essential
Words: 1222 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Effective communication skills are the most essential skill for early childhood educators. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Effective communication skills have been shown to be the most critical tool for early childhood educators. This is because it allows them to establish open channels of communication between: the student, parents and administrators. Once this takes place, is when everyone will work together in helping the individual overcome the challenges

Early Childhood Education in the
Words: 6109 Length: 22 Document Type: Term Paper

".. other living species,... also with the total environment in which we live." They explain the human ecosystem to include three fundamental organizing conceptions: the human environed unit (HEU); the natural environment (NE); the human constructed environment (HCE). The following diagram portrays "The Human Ecosystem": Bubolz, Eicher, and Sontag (1979, p. 29) The human environed unit (HEU) displayed in the center is located in a specific space in time and can be a

Gap: Early Childhood Intervention and the Development
Words: 6336 Length: 20 Document Type: Term Paper

Gap: Early Childhood Intervention and the Development of the Disabled Child Children with special needs include those who have disabilities, developmental delays, are gifted/talented, and are at risk of future developmental problems. Early intervention consists of the provision of services for such children and their families for the purpose of lessening the effects of their condition. Early intervention may focus on the child alone or on the child and the

Teaching Communication Skills for Students With Autism
Words: 6440 Length: 15 Document Type: Term Paper

Teaching Communication Skills for Students With Autism The conditions for diagnosis for autism that are presently prevalent within the U.S. are those mentioned in the American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistic Manual for Mental Disorders," Fourth Edition, which is generally pinpointed as 'DSM-IV." Autism is taken into account by the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual (4th Ed, DSM-IV, American Psychiatric Association, 1994) as an existent development disorder (PDD) that is impacted by

Parents Involvement in Early Childhood
Words: 10115 Length: 40 Document Type: Research Proposal

The research of Wofendale (1991) demonstrated the effectiveness of parents who provided support for the learning process of their child and holds that involvement in schools by parents is likely the primary indicator of performance of the child in school. The Michigan Department of Education reports that the "most consistent predictors of children's academic achievement and social adjustment are parent expectations of the child's academic attainment and satisfaction with

American and Japanese Early Childhood
Words: 14069 Length: 50 Document Type: Term Paper

Generally, it works by either giving a reward for an encouraged behavior, or taking something away for an undesirable behavior. By doing this, the patient often increases the good behaviors and uses the bad behaviors less often, although this conditioning may take awhile if the rewards and removals are not sufficient to entice the patient into doing better. Existentialism is important to discuss here as well, and is often seen

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now