Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/a-paradox-in-child-care-mixed-feelings-between-directors-and-regulators/5007551/
Child care and early education professionals know all about paradox in their daily lives: they dichotomize between caregiving and education, between parental choice and program autonomy, between professional and paraprofessional staff categories, between caregiving and teaching responsibilities, and between private enterprise and government control.An ambiguity of thought is present in the director/regulator relationship that can weaken, or even destroy, the effectiveness of the work that is necessary for the well-being of young children.
Directors and regulators are often faced with conflicted feelings about professional roles and responsibilities and the nature of checks and balances and collegiality. If both groups are charged with the protection, care, and education of young children, why are there differences? Why are there problems? Part of the answer lies in the fact that directors and regulators must address not one set of questions, but two areas of concern. First, there is a set of explicit problems:
_ Viewing each other as critical, suspicious, manipulative, and punitive;
_ Handling the implications of frequent staff turnover in centers and licensing offices; and
_ Dealing with the limited opportunities in which directors and regulators can learn about each other's work.
However, beyond these difficulties are other, less frequently examined issues, ...