Early Childhood Education Preschool Teacher Career Starter

Begin Your Career in Early Childhood Education Today! The care and education that children receive in their earliest years may be the most important for their future development. The recognition of this fact by researchers, the government, and parents means that now is one of the most exciting times to start a career as an early childhood educator. Whether you want to work as a nursery school teacher, a daycare worker, or an in-home nanny, the opportunities in and respect for this important profession have never been greater. The rewards of working with young children-the joy of watching them grasp new skills, the spirit and energy that they bring to learning, and knowing that your nurturing plays an important part in their development-have always been tremendous. This comprehensive guide gives you all the information you need to get started on the path to teaching children from infancy to age five.

Preschool Teachers’ Lives and Work focuses on preschool teachers as people, what they do, and how they are affected by what they do. Highly politicized and hotly debated, preschool today is increasingly focused on comparatively narrow views of school readiness and academic outcomes which are generally in opposition to the broader view of readiness proposed by NAEYC. This powerful book, based around interviews and data drawn primarily from Head Start programs, illustrates the profound humanity of this profession and underscores the pressing and insistent need for greater investments in teachers’ well-being.

Early Childhood Education: Becoming a Professional is an inspiring introduction to the world of early childhood education, preparing the teachers of tomorrow to reach their full potential in their schools and communities. Written by a diverse and experienced author team (Kimberly A. Gordon Biddle, Ana Garcia-Nevarez, Wanda J. Roundtree-Henderson, and Alicia Valero-Kerrick), this text engages readers to connect contemporary educational and developmental theory and research to developmentally appropriate practices and applications that are easily implemented in the classroom. In response to today's ever-changing educational environment, the text focuses on both the importance of taking personal and professional responsibility, as well as today's issues in diversity—from supporting children with exceptionalities to supporting children and families in broader cultural contexts.

Early childhood care and education (ECCE) settings offer an opportunity to provide children with a solid beginning in all areas of their development. The quality and efficacy of these settings depend largely on the individuals within the ECCE workforce. Policy makers need a complete picture of ECCE teachers and caregivers in order to tackle the persistent challenges facing this workforce. The IOM and the National Research Council hosted a workshop to describe the ECCE workforce and outline its parameters. Speakers explored issues in defining and describing the workforce, the marketplace of ECCE, the effects of the workforce on children, the contextual factors that shape the workforce, and opportunities for strengthening ECCE as a profession.

Clearly babies come into the world remarkably receptive to its wonders. Their alertness to sights, sounds, and even abstract concepts makes them inquisitive explorersâ€"and learnersâ€"every waking minute. Well before formal schooling begins, children's early experiences lay the foundations for their later social behavior, emotional regulation, and literacy. Yet, for a variety of reasons, far too little attention is given to the quality of these crucial years. Outmoded theories, outdated facts, and undersized budgets all play a part in the uneven quality of early childhood programs throughout our country. What will it take to provide better early education and care for our children between the ages of two and five? Eager to Learn explores this crucial question, synthesizing the newest research findings on how young children learn and the impact of early learning. Key discoveries in how young children learn are reviewed in language accessible to parents as well as educators: findings about the interplay of biology and environment, variations in learning among individuals and children from different social and economic groups, and the importance of health, safety, nutrition and interpersonal warmth to early learning. Perhaps most significant, the book documents how very early in life learning really begins. Valuable conclusions and recommendations are presented in the areas of the teacher-child relationship, the organization and content of curriculum, meeting the needs of those children most at risk of school failure, teacher preparation, assessment of teaching and learning, and more. The book discusses: Evidence for competing theories, models, and approaches in the field and a hard look at some day-to-day practices and activities generally used in preschool. The role of the teacher, the importance of peer interactions, and other relationships in the child's life. Learning needs of minority children, children with disabilities, and other special groups. Approaches to assessing young children's learning for the purposes of policy decisions, diagnosis of educational difficulties, and instructional planning. Preparation and continuing development of teachers. Eager to Learn presents a comprehensive, coherent picture of early childhood learning, along with a clear path toward improving this important stage of life for all children.