The Story of The LOVIT Way
Learning to Observe, Value, Inspire and Transform
The LOVIT Way began in 2016 as a grassroots approach by Aboriginal Head Start Association of British Columbia, in collaboration with AHSUNC programs, to supporting evaluation and planning in Indigenous early years programs.
Existing evaluation tools were not effectively supporting programs:
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Being observed and evaluated by outsiders caused anxiety
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The cultural qualities of the programs were not being reflected
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Program practice was not benefiting from the evaluation process
AHS program leaders began to dream of a way to...
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Make evaluation more accessible and supportive to program staff and involve their community members.
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Observe their programs in a way that captured the ‘family wellness’ aspect of the culturally respectful and holistic AHS principles and guidelines.
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Support their staff and families to be able to witness and value the roles each played in the program, so they would become inspired and share their inspiration with others.
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Support collaborative planning to transform AHS programs into the best they can be for intergenerational healing.
The LOVIT Way philosophy is structured around the Principles and Guidelines, and focuses on holistic programming by guiding reflection on the following areas: Beliefs and Values, Culture and Language, Education, Health Promotion, Nutrition, Social Support, Parental and Family Involvement, Accountability and Management, Leadership and Staffing.
The LOVIT Way was developed by AHSABC to be used from coast to coast to coast to support AHS early years programming to be the best it can be.