Preschool and Early Childhood Professionalism

As a professional in the field of early childhood preschool education, I have been a part of a systematic process, conducted by preschool early childhood education professionals, to raise the bar or expectations of professionalism in preschool early childhood education practices. This lifting of the bar equates to increasing the criteria of professionalism for individuals working in early childhood or preschool programs. Some of the areas of early childhood or preschool programming that have seen increased standards include: research-based practices, ongoing child assessment and a commitment to life-long learning.

Early Care and Education Professionalism: Researched-based Practices

Since the 1990's, when the field of medicine started to insist medical interventions be proven effective prior to application, most other fields have jumped on the proven effective or research-based bandwagon. Preschool and early childhood fields made the jump to research-based effective practices right along with other professional disciplines. The impact of this shift is that teachers in preschools or early childhood programs seek out teaching strategies and techniques that have passed the test of effectiveness. Preschool and early childhood program administrators are constantly reading about, and seeking out, curricula that have passed the scientific evaluation that validates them as an effective practice.

Early Care and Education Professionalism: Ongoing Child Assessment

Another aspect of professionalism for early childhood preschool personnel is the consistent application of assessing child development and growth. This process is called ongoing child assessment. It results in preschool and early childhood teaching staff knowing just where a child is in reaching developmental milestones and readiness for school. This information allows teachers to adjust curricular expectations to meet individual child needs. In addition, this information provides teachers with developmental information to share with families and to recommend outside assistance if a child is not meeting developmental expectations.

Early Care and Education Professionalism: Life-long Learning

Life-long learning for preschool and early childhood professionals is a commitment to stay abreast of new knowledge as it comes to light in the field. The field of medicine, with the advances in medical technology, opened up an understanding about a child's brain that was not available prior to the technology. This new information has had significant impact on what we know about young children, brain growth, how they learn, and what impedes learning. There is no reason to expect that technology is through with opening doors and preschool early childhood professionals know they must be life-long learners in order to apply what they learn to improve outcomes for their young students.

Knowledge in the fields of preschool and early childhood education has grown exponentially over the past couple of decades. At the same time, the movement toward research-based practice has led preschool and early childhood professionals to rethink professionalism. These changes mean only that young children will receive enhanced experiences when in preschool and early childhood programs.

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