Planning Your Professional Growth

The start of a new year is a time for resolutions and goal setting, and although the start of this year has bought some challenges, it remains vital that we reflect on our professional practice, attitudes, skills and knowledge, and take the time to plan for growth.

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Reflecting on Where You Are

Before you even begin to set goals for the future, it is important to consider where you are right now. Some questions that you might ask yourself are:

• What have I struggled with recently?
• What do I feel uncomfortable or uncertain talking about with colleagues or families?
• What intrigues or perplexes me about children?

When you ask yourself these questions, you might be surprised by some of the answers. Often we go through our days doing the same things and taking for granted what we know, or don't know, what we can do or not do. There is always room for growth, there is always space to learn new things, discover new ideas and be inspired to work in different ways.

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Setting Goals

You may have set goals or made resolutions before, only to have been side-tracked somewhere in March and to get to the end of the year not having achieved the goals. It's a pretty easy pattern to fall into. So, why set goals? Goals help us determine where we want to focus our energy, they give us something to strive for, and when we achieve them - a sense of satisfaction as well as the reward of whatever the goal is (e.g. improved practice, new knowledge etc)

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Most people will have heard the term SMART when it comes to goals and it really does make a difference.

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• S – Specific (or Significant).
• M – Measurable (or Meaningful).
• A – Attainable (or Action-Oriented).
• R – Relevant (or Rewarding).
• T – Time-bound (or Trackable).

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So, let's look at an example:

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Simon has always worked in the preschool room. This year, he has been moved to the infant room and is feeling unsure about how best to work with this age group. He decides that he wants to improve his knowledge of infant development.

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Standard goal: To become more knowledgeable about infant development

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SMART goal: To undertake three professional development opportunities focused on infant development by 30th April 2022

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Can you see the difference? This goal is specific, it can be measured and it has a time frame affixed to it.

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How Do You Grow as a Professional?

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Professional growth isn't just about attending a workshop or conference, there are numerous ways that you can build your professional practice, skills and knowledge, including:

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• Reading - books, journals, articles, blog posts, forums
• Conversations with colleagues
• Work with a mentor
• Seek support from your educational leader
• Research
• Observation and reflection
• Training, workshops, conferences (online and in person)
• The Learn and Grow Feature on Sprout (Support ongoing development of educators practice in relation to the NQF or EYLF with curated micro-learning. You can view service-level reports to support self-assessment and quality improvement.)

It can also be beneficial, depending on your goals, to look beyond the early childhood sector. You may find valuable resources in areas such as health, culture, occupational therapy, the arts, and many others.

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Where to start?

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You can start by downloading our free professional growth planner HERE. Reflect on where you are now and think about where you want to be and why.

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