Establishing Teacher Competencies in Early Care and Education: A Review of Current Models and Options for California CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF CHILD CARE EMPLOYMENT

In recent years, growing knowledge of the critical importance of early childhood development for lifelong learning and growth had led to increased calls for the professionalism of early educators, including higher standards for teacher training and education. As part of this renewed attention to professional development, more than a dozen states have established a set of teacher competencies for the early care and education (ECE) field, with the goal of assuring that all teachers of young children have the necessary knowledge and skills to meet children's developmental needs. Flowing from an understanding of the "domains " or areas of early learning and development, competencies focus on what teachers need to know and do in order to demonstrate that they are well-rounded and well-prepared to educate and care for young children. While no single set of early childhood teacher competencies has been adopted universally in the United States, broad agreement is emerging. And in California, several policy proposals and legislative efforts have called in the past year for a comprehensive ECE workforce development plan that would include establishing teacher competencies. While the exact process through which this would occur has not yet been determined, it is clear that competencies are increasingly seen as a cornerstone of assuring professionalism and stability for California's ECE workforce. The foremost previous effort in California is represented by the Child Development Permit Matrix, for which the Advancing Careers in Child Development project at Pacific Oaks College developed a brief set of competencies for each of the six Matrix levels (assistant, associate teacher, teacher, master teacher, site supervisor, and program director). This document provides guidelines grouped into five areas: personal and professional behavior; classroom environment; health, safety and nutrition; working with families and communities; and administratio