NAEYC Professional Preparation Standards provide a vision of excellent professional performance in early childhood education. The document is comprised of seven standards that can be efficiently used by the specialists in practice for the improvement of self-efficiency and provision of a high-quality service.
The aim of the paper is the evaluation of NAEYC Standard 5. The level of teachers’ knowledge and compliance with the curriculum program influence the effectiveness of students’ learning. Therefore, the comprehension of standard constructs will help to find ways for the improvement of academic performance.
Standard 5: Using a Content Knowledge to Build Meaningful Curriculum
The effectiveness of the early education curriculum depends on many aspects including teacher’s content knowledge, compliance with age-appropriate standards of teaching, addressing the psychological, cognitive, and emotional needs of the students (NAEYC Standards 2010).
The level of teachers’ competence has a direct effect on educational outcomes. When aware of this cause-and-effect interrelation between content knowledge and students’ achievements, a professional from the side may evaluate the negative academic situation, and identify the roots of the problem easily.
Secondly, it is important to understand that a teacher’s level of competence also depends on his/her ability to comprehend the capabilities and needs of the students (Tarrant, Greenberg, Kagan & Kauerz 2008). By following this principle, a teacher can improve self-efficacy in the development of curriculums. At the same time, comprehension of the standard’s constructs by advocates may significantly facilitate the identification of the issues related to the curriculum development and content knowledge in teachers. In this way, an advocate may become an expert in the evaluation of educational problems, can resolve the controversies between the parties (parents and teachers) through the accurate detection of the problem causes, and suggest the appropriate solutions.
List of Questions
What is the interrelation between content knowledge and students’ academic development?
Children can attain significant positive results in education only if the teaching is efficient. The efficiency of teaching, in its turn, depends on a sufficient level of professional knowledge and effectiveness of the educational program (Barbour & Lash 2008). Only when these basic constructs of teaching efficiency are fulfilled, the children and their caregivers may be considered responsible for adverse academic outcomes.
How to improve content knowledge?
The key elements of competency include the knowledge of disciplines’ content, their core concepts and structures, and early learning standards. The development of content knowledge is essential to professional growth.
What makes the early curriculum good?
The young students have particular emotional and psychological needs that should be considered by the teachers in the development of a program. A teacher needs to be sure that all the needs can be effectively addressed through education that follows the curriculum.
How do content knowledge and curriculum design interrelate?
The profound knowledge of subjects and the interrelations between their main concepts may increase the effectiveness of curriculum design, especially in terms of its consistency.
What are the major goals of early curriculum development?
The main goals are the provision of accessible and powerful education for children with different demographic backgrounds. The curriculum should be aimed to develop students concerning academic performance, social-emotional, and psychological well-being (Colker 2008).
Early Childhood Professional
Nicole Theriault, an Early Childhood Teacher at the Phillips Brooks School.
The purpose of the assignment for Nicole as an experienced professional in early education is the review of the teaching-related issues from the inside perspective. It is expected that Miss Theriault will give her vision of advantages provoked by an extensive content knowledge in the development of curriculums. Through the online interview, she can share her opinion on how a teacher may increase competence and what aspects make an early education curriculum strong.
Conclusion
NAEYC standard addresses the issues of teachers’ professionalism. It provides an ideal vision of a specialist that should be followed to build competence and increase educational efficiency. The understanding of the main rules of professional conduct supports the improvement of students’ academic performance. Thus, NAEYC standards may be considered valuable informational resources for specialists in education.
Reference List
Barbour, N & Lash, M 2008, ‘The professional development of teachers of young children’, in S Feeney, A Galper & C Seefeldt (eds), Continuing issues in early childhood education, Pearson, New York. Web.
Colker, L J 2008, ‘Twelve characteristics of effective early childhood teachers’, YC Young Children, vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 68-73. Web.
NAEYC Standards: for initial and advanced early childhood professional preparation programs 2010. Web.
Tarrant, K, Greenberg, E, Kagan, S & Kauerz, K 2008, ‘The early childhood workforce’, in S Feeney, A Galper & C Seefeldt (eds), Continuing issues in early childhood education, Pearson, New York. Web.