Socio-Emotional Development Definition There are no federal standards for early childhood education programs, leaving each state to create their own and leaving a wide range of variance between programs and states in terms of requirements (Magnuson & Waldfogel, 2005). High quality early childhood education can be defined using the following benchmarks that were set by the National Institute of Early Education Research (NIEER) and described by Barnett & Frede (2010). The first four benchmarks are dedicated to teacher qualifications. Pre-kindergarten educators ideally have a bachelor’s degree that specialized in early childhood education as well as 15 hours of in-service training per year. Assistant teachers should have at least a Child Development Associate (CDA) or a CDA Equivalent. The next two benchmarks look at the class sizes and student to teacher ratios. Classrooms should have no more than 20 students and with a student-to-teacher ratio of 10:1. Benchmark number seven calls for learning and development standards that should cover children’s physical, social/emotional, motor, and language development as well as approaches to learning, cognition, and general knowledge. Benchmark eight and nine calls for the overall physical and socio-emotional well being of the children. There should be at least one nutritious meal provided per day; vision, hearing, and health screenings should be provided; and parent communication, involvement, and parent education should be
“In December 2009, all Australian governments, through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), agreed to a partnership to establish a National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care (‘National Quality Framework’) for most long day care, preschool/ kindergarten, family day care and outside school hours care services in Australia. The National Quality Standard is a schedule to the National Regulations. The National Quality Standard sets a new national benchmark for the quality of education and care services. It also gives services and families a better understanding of a quality service. This enables families to make informed decisions about the services providing education and care to their child.” (NQF/NQS, 2013) Furthermore, the early childhood educator has the responsibility to guide the children towards the norms and values of the society and discipline. The respect of the existence of a variety of cultural or ethnic groups within the
Chapter two discusses various theorists that helped to mold and shape early childhood education to where it is today. There are several different theorists that contributed to the development of early childhood education. Some of these theorists include Alfred Adler, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and John Dewey. Each theorist developed a unique theory that has caused early childhood guidance and education to flourish like it has today. Without learning and building on these theories, early childhood guidance and education would never develop or change. The chapter explains how some theories may seem strange to the contemporary families, but these theories are the foundation of how early childhood education got to where it is today. The book goes
Early childhood is a time of curiosity, a time for play, and a time of rapid development. Every child is unique and deserving of an early childhood education that facilitates academic, social, and developmental growth through a variety of enjoyable experiences. Differentiated instruction adapts content, products and processes to meet the diverse learning needs and preferences of students (Thousand, Villa, & Nevin, 2007). Friedrich Froebel, the creator of Kindergarten, believed that children grow and learn as they play (Bruno, 2009). Play-based instruction not only enables young learners to have fun, but it also encourages interactive and cooperative learning, passion for discovery, and a foundation for later learning experiences
I thrive on core knowledge base from within our field and evaluate our effectiveness. It gives us a framework within which to work and serves as springboard for improvement. I believe that as Early Childhood Educators we must be able to understand child development and demonstrate the implication of this knowledge in practice; provide an environment that is safe, healthy and nurturing and is trustworthy, consistent and secure for all. We must also plan, implement and evaluate developmentally appropriate curriculum to enhance all areas of children’s learning and development including physical, intellectual, creative, and language, emotional and social. As a Teacher Educator, we are guides for student-teachers , who in turn guides our children and should model and facilitate supportive relationships by utilizing developmentally appropriate techniques. As early childhood educators it is indicative that we support the development of individual children, recognizing that children are best understood in the context of family, culture and
A “high-quality” preschool program is curriculum based with certified teachers and a low child to teacher ratio (Robin, Frede, & Barnett, 2006, p. 1)
Health promotion is very important to early childhood education to improve the well-being of children and parents’ health and behaviours. “It is important for early childhood educators to recognized their essential role as health promotors” (Pimento & Kernested 2015, P. 4). There are 12 social determinants in daily life for childhood programs, however I have identified that social support networks are most important determinants of health. Likewise, educators and families are both mutually directly and indirectly supporting children to improve their healthy development and education (Pimento & Kernested, 2015, P.34). In early childhood, educators have very important role in daycare which is communication. That means, that we need to communicate with family (parent, grandparent), children and coworkers to share the daily basic tasks and any other ideas or information for improving environments and supports. It is especially important that we support mothers who have very limited knowledge about their first-born baby, such as lack of information about breastfeeding, sleeping routine, formula ratios, nutrition, healthy eating habits, or any parental skills. Not only that, we can also help parents to get benefits and support from the government such as financial support, subsidized daycare, and community information resources on healthy nutrition food.
“Early roots of play as a best practice for early learning was documented by Plato, a Greek philosopher, who insisted that play is considered a natural activity of childhood.”(Ingrid Crowther, 2011, Pg. 2) Early Childhood Education is a term that refers to educational programs that are devoted to children from birth to the age of eight. “Children of this age learn by exploring and investigating; therefore, their environment should support and encourage this process.”(Rebecca Isbell and Betty Exelby, 2001, Pg. 11) Early childhood environments should be attractive and exciting. These environments should allow children to work and play using proper resources, materials, and tools.
Saumya Patel is 5 years old. He attends Kindergarten at Sumter County Primary School in the Sumter County School System. Saumya is very intelligent, and is very far ahead of many of the students on his level. He is very independent, and he is very capable of doing many things on his own. Saumya sometimes questions why he sits in a kindergarten classroom with his intelligence. He does not understand why some of his classmates act their age.
I am a student at Florida Atlantic University studying early childhood education. I am enrolled in EEC 3214 class this semester; the class is called designing and implementing a blending curriculum: birth to age eight. I am required to complete a field experience assignment at a preschool. I will observe young children ranging from three to five years old. I assure you that I will keep all information confidential. In addition, I reassure you that I will not share the information collected outside of my course and that no identifying information will be shared. I will respect and follow all the school’s policies and procedures in a professional manner.
This research report presents an analysis of and conclusions drawn from the experiences and perspectives of two educators that work in the early childhood setting. The main objective is to identify key elements and issues in relation to the families, diversity and difference. In particular how an early childhood educator implements, different approaches to honour culture and diversity, and to advocate for social justice in an early childhood settings. As such, it allows an insight into the important role that families and their background plays in the everyday lives of the children and educators within early childhood settings. In today’s ever-changing growing society it is essential for educators to be flexible to the
Early education for children is very crucial as it helps shape up the foundation of their knowledge and behavior development process. Children begin to develop the sense of curiosity from the age of two. And from age 2-8, children go through a very crucial period of mental development, which shapes up their future mindset (Grayson, 2016). Early children education (ECE) has been listed as the number one priority of the National Association of Education. The teachers or educators at nursery and primary level are responsible to for developing young children’s sense of knowledge and education. In this paper, we will assess the roles and skills that are vital for an early childhood educator. Moreover, the paper will also present a
The National Association for the Education of Young Children Standards and Accreditation Criteria was created to enhance the experiences of young children in Early Childhood programs as well encouraging positive outcomes. These standards start from birth through Kindergarten and correlates with developmentally appropriate practice. The standards are separated into 10 Standards according to criteria and specific educational personnel, such as the children, teachers, communities and administrators. The mission of NAEYC is to provide children with the best Early Childhood programs that focus on child development with the right educational resources. Standard 6 focuses on the educational programs employment of teaching staffs that are
Before deciding to pursue my Associates Degree in Business Administration I too was trying to receive my degree in Early Childhood Education and Development. I have a 2 year old daughter so I realized my passion for being a mother and I had decided I wanted to teach preschool. My reason for deciding to change my associate degree was for more opportunities for advancement and income. I find it incredible that you are a nanny, it probably takes tons of patience and also extremely fun.
Thesis Statement: Early childhood education has many benefits and there is the potential for many significant outcomes if universal preschools were put into place.
According to SDN Children’s Services (1905) SDN, a not-for profit organisation is committed in providing quality and inclusive services for children and families in need of early childhood education and care services such as long day care centres and pre-schools within the regions of New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory. In addition to these mainstream services, SDN caters specific programs and early intervention support designed for children with high care needs that require additional assistance and their families of marginalised backgrounds who are undergoing challenges in relation to their cultural background, economical situations or experiencing other exclusive conditions (SDN Children’s Services 1905). A description of