Picture # 5: post-secondary education for caregivers
The reason why I chose a picture of graduate students is that post-secondary education is a very important element of quality of childcare. Post-secondary education is essential to establish better quality child care. “Childcare staffs with specific education in early childhood education are more responsive and provide more developmentally appropriate care. Children in the care of trained staff exhibit more cooperative behavior, higher levels of language skills and general knowledge, and greater task persistence”. (http://childcarecanada.org/sites/default/files/fs2.pdf/ what does research tells us about quality in child care)
The training and education of teachers affect the quality of the care through the knowledge, skills, and competencies which implemented and encouraged by them. Research shows that the skills and staff knowledge are essential in bringing high-quality care and outcomes. “Staff training in early childhood education is one of the most important predictors of quality of child care. Research shows that there is a strong relationship between high quality and staff with postsecondary training in early childhood education". (http://findingqualitychildcare.ca/high-quality-child-care/factors-that-set-the-stage-for-quality). Ability to develop a professional learning environment and a good understanding of child development, be responsive to children are important skills of trained caregivers. Good vocabulary and ability to understand children's ideas, problem-solving and development of targeted lesson plans and leadership skills also play a big role in maintaining a quality childcare program. It is believed that high-quality pedagogy is the result of a qualified staff. Better quality leads to a better learning experience. “More specialized staff education and training on ECEC are strongly associated with stable, sensitive and stimulating interactions. Other elements of high staff quality include staff’s content (curriculum) knowledge and their ability to create a multi-disciplinary learning environment”. http://www.oecd.org/education/school/49322232.pdf/research brief: Qualifications, Education, and professional development matters
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The state of early childhood profession has rapidly been changing because of the current trends, policies and movements in the rapidly changing 21st century world. This report articulates the key issues of diversity of the early childhood settings, a number of models of early childhood education and care, diversity among people, the status of early childhood profession, the belief that the profession suits female than male, the poor status of the profession and less pay than other professions associate with the early childhood profession The study consisted of analysing the strengths and challenges of the early childhood profession. The study methods of analyses include the National Quality Framework, The National Quality Standards, Assessments
The Government is committed to promoting the welfare and development of all our young children. Good quality care and education in the early years raise educational standards and opportunities, and enhance children’s social development.
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
Striving to provide high quality childcare provisions that support children’s development to reach their potential.
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.
When educators in a childcare centre can examine their written documentation on each child, they are able to realize which methods and programs are a success and the ones that need improvement. Through this, the centre can offer the best possible programs and teaching methods to fit their children's needs and circumstances. Without proper record keeping, the centre would have no way to re-examine its actions.
Service quality: care giving and educational programs provided by degreed and certified educators, child care
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
While regulation and standard are the keys to the success of a childcare facility, there are factors that I believe are equally important to be successful in an early childcare program. So, I looked for a highly qualified teacher with good communication skills. Saint Mary Academy Inc. displayed these factors upon entry to the facility. I saw degrees of teacher and directors ranging from masters to bachelor degrees specialized for the profession display behind the desk of the director for the day.
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
One of the most important quality indicators for child care centers is the number of children compared to the number of staff — its staff to child ratio. The fewer children served by each staff member is critical to higher quality care.
First, the environment of childcare is based on psychology research.Understanding of the role of the quality of early child care requires consideration of the interplay among child care, family, workplace, and society, and it suggests directions for future research and practice too. As a preschool teacher, I appreciate the result from all psychology research because what researchers currently know about the role of the quality of early child care in children’s lives quality has been measured in a variety of ways across different studies and the research connect with the overview of Measures of child-care quality including the child:staff ratio (the number of children per teacher or provider), the group size (number of children in the setting), and the education and specialized training of teachers, providers, or
While there are “people” around the world working in childcare centers that serve as poor role models whom are only there for the paycheck, there are amazing human service workers that serve as teachers that have a significant impact as a role model to provide appropriate skills needed for social and cognitive development to last a lifetime. In an article from the Early Childhood Education Journal (2013) the author states that “Quality teacher-child interactions in early childhood classrooms have repeatedly been paired with positive, emotional, behavioral and cognitive outcomes for children” (Thomason & La Paro, 2013). Indeed, a caregiver whom has a sincere, warm, and understanding heart will be more effective in teaching and will have more of an impact on how and what
Think about your early childhood education (or your child’s early education), was it flexible to suit individual learning experiences or were children required to conform to the teacher’s methods of teaching? If you answered the latter, do you think the former would improve the quality of education? The initial years of education are crucial to learning, development and growth, during these first years children’s experiences shape their learning methods and they are able to learn rapidly, for this, early childhood educators must use teaching methods that are suitable for each child. Teachers must consider the attitude they bring to the classroom; how it affects children’s learning and the value, of the information and knowledge that