What Are Some Patterns in Program Climate and Support?
An early childhood program or department is an organization; like any other organization, its quality may flourish or decline as a function of its organizational climate and support. We examined the overall climate of programs in several ways. First, we looked for evidence of consensus and teamwork. To do this, we asked respondents, as they answered various survey questions about sources of guidance, priorities, and so on, whether other faculty in the program would be likely to answer in the same way. On most issues, respondents believed that most other faculty would either be “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to respond in a similar way. When asked how faculty function when working on program improvement, the majority said faculty “frequently” work together as a team. We also asked respondents which of the following seven possible “modes” (with the accompanying description) best represented the dynamics of their own program’s functioning: • Change mode: “We are responding to new exte
