Early Childhood Education

Defining the Field

The broadest definition of ‘early childhood education’ is the care and education of children from birth through age eight, and includes serving their families. More specific definitions include:

1. Child care, birth through age eight, occurs in various settings, including licensed child care centers, certified group homes, the home of a child or caregiver, public/private/charter schools, and public arenas such as gyms. Surrogate care replaces parental supervision by temporarily providing a safe, healthy and developmentally appropriate environment for children. Families, corporations, and sometimes state tax monies support such care of young children.

2. Compensatory early education programs for disadvantaged pre-kindergarten aged children are based on an identified need for services. Need is often defined as an identified disability or chronic health condition. It may also be determined by the low income and/or resource level of a family or community. Much compensatory early childhood education, serving infants through five year olds and their families, is supported by district, state and federal funds, includes comprehensive, family-oriented services, and occurs in integrated settings. Examples of compensatory early childhood programs include Head Start and Early Head Start Programs, Early Childhood Block Grant Preschools, and family literacy programs.

3. Enrichment programs for children birth through age eight and their families vary enormously in time, setting, purpose and cost. They include part day preschools, exercise classes, library groups, specialty lessons in swimming, music, computers, dance, and so forth. Most often such programs are chosen and paid for by parents.

4. The term “early childhood education” is also used to refer to kindergarten through the third grade of the compulsory elementary school years. Developmental research and traditional educational practice support the idea that students from 5 to 8 years old learn in particular ways related to their chronological age, and that classrooms and curriculum should be reflective of that developmental level.

Most often, early childhood programs and services fit into more than one category, frequently collaborating across programs to meet family needs. Typical examples are:

• Within a child care setting, a child is provided daily high quality learning experiences and a speech therapist visits the center classroom twice a week during afternoon play.
• Infants and toddlers receive home visits weekly and attend family literacy sessions at their public library once a month.
• A Head Start child receives extended day services through a partnership with a local child care center while his or her parents are at work.
• Once a week in a daily preschool classroom, a specially trained teacher provides developmentally appropriate music activities.
• Kindergarten through third graders attend a before and after school program at their school site to accommodate the work schedules of their parents.

Requirements

The qualifications of adults who provide early care and education are often related to the above categories. The purpose, setting, employer, state regulatory bodies, and consumers of early childhood education influence and/or determine the range of required teacher/caregiver qualifications for work within the early childhood field. It is important to note that the expertise of early childhood professionals is judged and related to one’s years of experience with children, formal educational level, specific training in the field and individual personality characteristics.

1. Surrogate care of children (or child care) may be provided by entry level workers who have achieved a high school diploma or GED, or by more experienced individuals with a degree in early childhood. Caregiver is the term most often used to describe such early childhood educators. As independent providers or as employees in group settings and centers, caregivers often increase their competence through community training, college courses and achieving certificates, credentials and degrees; those employed in a licensed facility must meet annual training requirements. In the state of Arizona, child care is provided by individuals, licensed centers (proprietary and private) and religious organizations.

• The Department of Health Services (DHS), Office of Child Care Licensing regulates and monitors all licensed child care facilities and certified child care group homes by establishing appropriate rules, monitoring for compliance, offering technical assistance and training to caregivers, and providing consumer education. As a group, these are known as DHS Licensed Child Care Centers. With some exceptions, providers who care for more than 4 children for compensation must be licensed or certified by DHS. DHS licensed child care centers may contract with DES to care for children whose families receive DES assistance to pay for child care. • DHS Rules for Child Care Facilities define requirements for employment within a licensed facility.

• DHS Rules for Child Care Group Homes define requirements for certified group homes.

• The Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) regulates and monitors some residential providers, called DES Certified Family Child Care Homes. Certified Family Child Care providers can care for no more than 4 children for compensation, no more than 6 including their own children, and no more than 2 children under one year of age. DES certified providers may receive public subsidy for children whose families receive DES assistance to pay for child care.

• Providers who care for children in the child's home are called In-Home Child Care Providers. Arizona does not require in-home providers to be regulated. They may, however, be certified through DES. These providers are known as DES Certified In-Home Providers.

• Registered Child Care Homes are listed on a voluntary registry for child care providers who may care for no more than four children for compensation. To be included in the registry, providers are required to submit a statement indicating that they have met specific safety standards. Providers may not, however, be monitored by any state agency. Upon acceptance into the registry, providers will receive referrals to their child care program as well as full access to the other services offered by Child Care Resource and Referral.

• Unregulated Child Care Homes may care for no more than four children for compensation. These homes are not regulated or monitored by any state agency.

• Providers in Head Start or Early Head Start Programs (if the Local Education Agency is not a delegate agency) must have qualifications as stated in Section 648A of the Head Start Act.

• In the state of Arizona, teachers in compensatory early childhood education programs in public schools serving birth through pre-kindergarten (such as early childhood block grant pre-schools, family literacy programs or Head Start/Early Head Start Programs for which the LEA is the delegate agency), are required to obtain an Early Childhood Education Certificate or Endorsement by July 1, 2009. See additional information in #4 below.

• Often compensatory early childhood education involves collaboration with a variety of professionals and therapists (for example, social workers, speech therapists, occupational therapists and so on) who provide additional services to children and their families. Specialized service providers will have training, certification or degrees relevant to their area of expertise (usually at a Bachelors or Masters Degree level).

• Currently, teachers in elementary schools must have an Elementary School or Special Education certification. By July 1, 2009, the new Early Childhood Education Teacher Certification or Endorsement will be required of all individuals teaching in public school early childhood programs serving children birth through kindergarten. The Early Childhood Education certificate or endorsement is optional, but recommended, for individuals teaching first through third grade in a public school.

• The Arizona Department of Education requires all potential teachers who plan to teach in public schools to pass the Arizona Educators Proficiency AssessmenT(AEPA). The Early Childhood Education AEPA is now available. See additional information in the ‘Testing’ section below.

• The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires all instructional paraprofessionals in Title I programs to be “highly qualified” by having completed two years of study at an institute of higher education, obtained an Associate’s Degree (or higher), and demonstrated through a formal state or local assessment, knowledge of and ability to assist in instructing reading, writing and mathematics. For the purposes of Title I, Part A, a paraprofessional is an employee of a Local Education Agency (LEA) who provides instructional support in a program supported with Title I, Part A funds.

Programs

Many colleges and universities offer courses, certificates and degrees to help people working with young children develop broad knowledge and quality skills about children from birth through age eight. Courses cover a wide variety of topics from child development to classroom management to owning and operating a child care center. Due to the diversity of the field, community college early childhood programs may be housed in Early Childhood Development, Child and Family Studies, Education or other divisions.

Community colleges around the state offer early childhood courses, certificates of completion and/or Associate Degrees. Degree or certificate options at community colleges may include an AAS in Child Development/Early Childhood Development or Child Care Administration, a Child Development Associate (CDA), and Certificates of Completion in Early Childhood Development/Education, Infant/Toddler Development, Child Care and Instructional Assistance. Most community colleges also offer partnerships with universities for students to seamlessly complete a bachelor’s degree program.Universities offer both lower division and upper division courses that lead to a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education or Early Childhood Special Education.

Visit the website of the Community College or University closest to you.

Testing

The Arizona Department of Education requires all potential teachers of public school PreK-3 students to pass the Arizona Educator Proficiency Assessment in order to become certified. The AEPA test objectives are broad, conceptual statements written in language that reflects the skills, knowledge, and understanding that an entry-level educator needs to practice effectively in Arizona schools, and are based on Arizona’s Professional Teacher Standards (pdf).

The AEPA consists of a subject knowledge test and a professional knowledge test. The subject knowledge portion tests the potential candidate’s competency in the content area he or she may teach. The professional knowledge portion tests the potential candidates competencies in the professional skills required to be a teacher.

Teacher education candidates who plan to teach first through third grades can elect to take the Elementary AEPA. The Early Childhood Education certificate or endorsement is optional, but recommended, for those same individuals.

Certification and Credentials

Four-Year Degrees

Arizona Early Childhood Education Certificate
Arizona Elementary Teaching Certificate
Arizona Early Childhood Special Education Certificate

Two-Year Degrees, Community Colleges

Associate of Applied Science (AAS)
Associate’s Degree (with early childhood coursework)
Associate in Transfer Partnership (ATP)

Varied Credit Certificates

Certificates of Completion, Community Colleges

Child Development Associate (CDA)
Credential Certificates and Credentials from other organizations

Career Registry

S*CCEEDS ( Statewide Child Care and Early Education Development System) is a career development registry for child care and early education professionals in Arizona, and a tool designed to assist practitioners to track their education and training. S*CCEEDS:

• is an Arizona career development registry for child care and early education professionals.
• is a tool designed to assist child care and early education practitioners to track their professional growth.
• lists training and educational resources throughout the state. Those who participate in S*CCEEDS are recognized statewide for their accomplishments.
• developed a set of core knowledge elements and competencies for child care workers based on a level system tied to practitioner career levels. Higher career levels are reached by completing additional training and education.
• maintains career levels that assist and recognize practitioners’ advancement within the field.