the role of a teacher in early childhood education essay

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Versatility is the hallmark of an early childhood educator. While working with children is challenging, it also offers regular rewards! Here are just a few of the many roles you'll take on as an ECE teacher.

Des Sinkevich

Sep 20, 2023

Versatility is the hallmark of an early childhood educator . Just as children express many diverse thoughts and emotions, you must be able to adapt to and guide them on their colorful journey through life. The most effective early childhood education teachers are flexible, attentive, and always willing to learn. It’s a challenging role, but one that offers great rewards each day. Here are just a few of the many roles you’ll take on as an ECE teacher.

Early childhood education covers the education – whether formal or informal – of children from birth to about 8 years old. It’s a broad term that can cover daycare, preschool, and kindergarten.

In early childhood education (ECE), teachers and child care professionals focus on providing the basic education that can allow a child to grow and develop at the right pace.

Read more: What is a Child Care Professional?

An early childhood educator can be a daycare teacher, preschool teacher, or assistant teacher who works with kids from infancy to about 6-8 years of age. Primarily, they’ll work in daycares, preschools, child care facilities, and elementary schools. ECE teachers can also work in both private and public education settings, though the rules and requirements to be a teacher can vary in these different environments.

They play different roles in their jobs, and often focus on the following!

The first role you'll have is that of a guide. It's your job to present exciting new paths to children and steer them toward success and away from harm. It's not always easy to keep a child engaged and interested. New teachers may struggle to find new experiences and activities to share with their students. Remember that encouragement leads to achievement. Listen to and observe children's learning and playing styles to uncover activities that resonate with them. Praise their positive accomplishments and keep track of their progress to show them and their parents how far they've come.

Read more: How to Become a Preschool Teacher (6 Things to Know Before You Start)

Early childhood is a significant period of development. Social skills play an enormous role in how children will interact with their peers, parents, teachers, as well as everyone they meet throughout their lives.

It's your role not only to encourage communication, but to listen carefully to a child's words and actions. Movements, facial expressions, and other behaviors hold important clues about a child's needs, learning style, and interests.

Rather than coerce social interaction, early childhood teachers nurture social growth through fun and positive activities. There's no standardized formula for success; each child develops social skills at their own pace and in their own unique way. It's up to you to recognize these qualities and nourish them.

Read more: Benefits of Dramatic Play in Early Childhood Education

As an ECE teacher, you'll communicate not only with children, but with parents, staff, school administrators, and other community members. Many new teachers think they should have all the answers, but this simply isn't possible. Often times parents, relatives, coaches, and other role models hold valuable keys that can help you better understand a child. Don't be afraid to ask questions, seek advice, share your thoughts, and work together with others. Teamwork is especially crucial in finding solutions to developmental delay.

Read more: How to Write a Preschool Lesson Plan

When you're not interacting with children or adults, you'll be managing the classroom and materials. This includes planning lessons, tidying the classroom, keeping track of paperwork, formulating new activity ideas, and investing in new learning materials. It's a tough task, but one that will help children reach their full potential.

Early childhood educators should be compassionate, patient, creative, organized, and have great communication skills. On an average day, they’ll work with many different personalities – both the children they teach and care for, and the children’s parents.

An ECE teacher needs to be able to be both caring and firm, especially with younger children as they learn boundaries and social skills. They should also be enthusiastic and passionate about what they do, with a strong desire to help and nurture children of all ages! Working with kids can be a tough but rewarding job, so loving what you do is a must.

Read more: How to Get the Education to Work with Children

The requirements to be an early childhood teacher can vary based on where you live and what specific job you want in the field. To become a teacher in a daycare, for example, you generally need to have finished high school and passed a federal and criminal background check. Beyond that, if you want to advance in your role, you’ll need to get your Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate .

For some ECE jobs, you may need to have a college degree, such as an ECE associate degree.

If you’d like to become a preschool teacher or work in an elementary school, you’ll likely need at least a bachelor’s degree and pass a state licensing exam. In any job working with kids, you’ll also need to pass a background check, whether you’re working in a daycare, a school, or a play facility.

Read more: How to Become a Preschool Teacher

Early childhood education is filled with challenges, rewards, and memorable moments for both teacher and child. With patience and an open mind, you can help steer the next generation toward a life filled with great accomplishments.

Besides beginning a career you love that allows you to make a difference, the need for trained early childhood teachers is projected to grow 15% by 2031 , much faster than average! With more positions becoming available every day, now is the perfect time to take the next step toward preparing for a job in the field. Want to know more about starting your Early Childhood Education Degree or CDA Certificate online ? Reach out to an Admissions Specialist at Penn Foster today at 1.888.427.6500 !

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2.5: Role of the Teacher - Being Intentional with Children

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Jennifer Paris, Kristin Beeve, & Clint Springer

Jennifer Paris, Kristin Beeve, & Clint Springer
College of the Canyons

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Teachers play a pivotal role in children’s active construction of knowledge. They intentionally provide the environments and experiences that support children in actively building concepts and skills. The role of the teacher who works with young children birth to age five is to support children’s active construction of knowledge. In a sense, early childhood teachers serve as research supports as the children sense, discover, and construct meaning about the world around them. Young children’s natural impulse to learn by investigating (1) what things are like and what they can make them do, and (2) how people create and share meaning shapes the role of the early childhood teacher. The early childhood teacher is responsible for: offering children well-stocked play spaces where they can construct concepts and ideas, preferably in the company of friendly peers; designing daily routines that invite children to be active participants and to use emerging skills and concepts; supporting children’s learning through interactions and conversations that prompt using language and ideas in new ways and that promote sharing meaning with others.

In carrying out those responsibilities, teachers create contexts in which young children can:

Wonder about what things are like and what they do
Investigate a variety of ways of relating one thing to another
Invent problems and solutions with others; construct, transform, and represent with the materials at hand
Create and share meaning, and collaborate in learning
Try new challenges and practice emerging skills
Express their emotions, feel secure to explore, and regulate their emotions and behavior
Advocating for one’s own needs, safety, and feelings
Learning how to connect with their peers in mutually beneficial ways
Learning how to walk away or disengage from their peers when they feel the need to
Learning how to cope with feelings of rejection or exclusion. And in turn, learning how to seek out positive relationships, rather than dwelling on unsatisfying ones.

Early childhood teachers see and support children as scientists and thus design the play environment to serve the children’s inquisitive minds. Teachers also provide the materials children need to construct concepts and ideas and master skills in the natural context of play. Children learn from opportunities to discover materials that they may be seeing for the first time and need time to explore and get to know the properties of these materials. It means offering children materials that they can organize into relationships of size, shape, number, or function and time. Children can investigate what happens when they put these materials together or arrange them in new ways, experiencing the delight of discovering possibilities for building with them, transforming them, or using them to represent an experience.

Early childhood teachers also design the daily routines as rich opportunities for children to participate actively and to use their emerging skills and ideas in meaningful situations. Equally important are the ways in which teachers use interactions and conversations with children to support learning. Many interactions occur spontaneously, with the teacher being responsive to an interest or need that a child expresses. Many other interactions focus on co-creating or co-constructing meaning as the teacher and a child or small group of children focus on a specific topic or activity.

Some interactions may include providing guidance to help children learn to regulate their emotions and behavior or may involve an intervention in which the teacher helps children explore how to negotiate a solution to a conflict.

Other interactions and conversations teachers have with children are more predictable. Teachers anticipate and organize some interactions and conversations as group discussions, in order to prompt children’s thinking and understanding. Sometimes these groups are small, and sometimes, at preschool age, they are somewhat larger. Teachers also guide some activities in a context that allows children to encounter new information and build skills. All interactions are embedded in contexts in which the children are actively engaged in exploring their own developing skills, learning from each other, and acquiring knowledge. [1]

While play occurs naturally, teachers must consider the following responsibilities when facilitating appropriate and purposeful play:

Spaces (See further detail in Chapter 5)

are safe places to explore
reflect the mission and core values of the program
include culturally sensitive materials to explore
include open-ended materials for multi-use
Are consistent and predictable
Provide ample time for unstructured play to occur (recommendation is 45 minutes minimum) If children aren’t provided enough time to become immersed in play, they will be less likely to engage enough to receive the benefit of the activity.

Interactions

Stimulate creativity by asking open-ended questions or reflective observations
Respect individual differences in play and interactions
Encourage Cooperation

The Educators’ Guide to the Framework For School Age Care In Australia elaborates on intentionality:

To be ‘intentional’ is to act purposefully, with a goal in mind and a plan for accomplishing it. Intentional acts arise from careful thought and in consideration of the potential effects. For example, when offering dress-ups, educators provide a wide selection. This is intentional in the following ways:

Not having enough may be challenging to children who find sharing and waiting difficult and could lead to unnecessary conflict over the limited resources.
If only one or two children could dress up, it would limit opportunities to stimulate rich group play.
If the dress-ups were all the same, respect for diversity and choice are not promoted.
Providing variety allows children to mix and match and experiment through varied role play.
Providing variety encourages children to share, collaborate and negotiate.
Providing educators who are able to interact with the children fosters skill development in this area (through scaffolding).

Intentionality is about educators being able to explain what they are doing and why they are doing it. . . Educators purposefully (and perhaps in collaboration with children) establish routines, set up the environment, select resources, and appoint educators to work with the children. This approach reflects the educator’s understanding of the context, individual personalities and group dynamics.

Educators who are deliberate and purposeful in what they do:

Promote children’s learning through worthwhile and challenging experiences and interactions which foster high-level thinking
Seize opportunities during experiences and conversations to extend children’s thinking and learning
Model and demonstrate active listening skills
Utilize varied communication strategies, such as open questions, explanations, speculation and problem-solving
Move flexibly in and out of various roles and draw on different strategies as the context changes
Draw on contemporary theories and research for their knowledge and practices
Monitor children’s wellbeing, life skills and citizenship, and use the information to guide program planning
Monitor children’s needs and interests and incorporate them into program planning
Identify ‘teachable moments’ as they arise and use them to scaffold children’s learning and development.

As educators it is always good to reflect on your own childhood:

What were your favorite play spaces as a child?
What did you enjoy doing?
How might you incorporate some of your childhood play ideas into your setting?
What role did the adults play when you were a child?
What are your beliefs about play?
How do you think play might have changed over the past forty years?
What impact do you think this might have on children and the adults of the future? [2]

Pause to Reflect

“First Day!”

Shortly after completing my ECE degree, I had been hired as Preschool Teacher for a New Corporate Sponsored Early Childhood Education Program. With three weeks to prepare the environment and complete my training, before the children were to start. I spent hours organizing (and reorganizing multiple times) the materials, learning areas and extensively planning for our first day!

The Friday prior to the opening of the program was pretty standard, all of the children’s files were up to date, tours had occurred, environment was set and the lesson plans were carefully examined and neatly posted. Everything was in place-Perfection!

With joyful excitement and a little anxiety we welcomed 8 new children to our program Monday morning. As the children trickled in, one by one, their eyes focused on the newness of the environment. My preconceived ideas and expectations were shattered as I stood and observed the children moving quickly from one area to the next and touching everything in sight. I had erroneously thought they would sit and play with puzzles, paint at the easel that was so aesthetically set up or build with the blocks that were strategically placed on the carpet.

Instead, the children avoided those areas and aimlessly walked around the classroom, looked through the cubbies, examined each shelf loaded with learning materials. One item captured their attention more than any other- a water dispenser with little Dixie cups, placed at their level. Each child was fascinated by the ability to press the button and see water come out.

Much of the day was spent tirelessly cleaning up the water and trying to redirect the children to play with the toys that were out rather than the water dispenser. At the end of the day, when the children left, the teachers sat and reflected on what worked and what didn’t work during the day. In unison, we all said the water was an issue and we should remove it.

Then from across the room, our wise director intervened. He challenged us. It appeared to him that we should focus on the children’s interest in the dispenser. It provided children a new sense of independence (they could access their own water when they were thirsty), and they were practicing important problem solving skills and the concept of cause and effect while at the same time mastering the fine motor skills of pushing the button. The children were learning and mastering their new environment through active exploration and using play as a technique to acquire new knowledge about the water dispenser. The children were most excited to come back the next day and show their parents the water dispenser and how to operate it.

We changed our curriculum to additional activities to enhance this interest such as using measuring cups to fill and dump water using our small water table. After a week, their excitement for the dispenser dwindled and it became routine and the children discovered the easel, the blocks and other materials in their environment. I stop sometimes to recall this day and know that it wasn’t what I taught the children, but rather what the children taught me about how they want to learn.

Consider an experience when you witnessed a child exploring a toy, learning material, or a play space. Was there anything about the observation that surprised you? In which ways, could you consider intentionality in relationship to the observation. What types of play or stage did you witness during the observation?

[1] The Integrated Nature of Learning by the California Department of Education is used with permission (pg. 19-21); Content by Clint Springer is licensed under CC BY 4.0

[2] Australian Government Department of Education (n.d.) Educator My Time, Our Place. Retrieved from files.acecqa.gov.au/files/National-Quality-Framework-Resources-Kit/educators_my_time_our_place.pdf (pg 40-42)

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2.5 Role of the Teacher

In carrying out those responsibilities, teachers create contexts in which young children can:

Wonder about what things are like and what they do
Investigate a variety of ways of relating one thing to another
Invent problems and solutions with others; construct, transform, and represent with the materials at hand
Create and share meaning, and collaborate in learning
Try new challenges and practice emerging skills
Express their emotions, feel secure to explore, and regulate their emotions and behavior
Advocating for one’s own needs, safety, and feelings
Learning how to connect with their peers in mutually beneficial ways
Learning how to walk away or disengage from their peers when they feel the need to
Learning how to cope with feelings of rejection or exclusion. And in turn, learning how to seek out positive relationships, rather than dwelling on unsatisfying ones.

While play occurs naturally, teachers must consider the following responsibilities when facilitating appropriate and purposeful play:

Spaces (See further detail in Chapter 5)

are safe places to explore
reflect the mission and core values of the program
include culturally sensitive materials to explore
include open-ended materials for multi-use
Are consistent and predictable
Provide ample time for unstructured play to occur (recommendation is 45 minutes minimum) If children aren’t provided enough time to become immersed in play, they will be less likely to engage enough to receive the benefit of the activity.

Interactions

Stimulate creativity by asking open-ended questions or reflective observations
Respect individual differences in play and interactions
Encourage Cooperation

The Educators’ Guide to the Framework For School Age Care In Australia elaborates on intentionality:

Not having enough may be challenging to children who find sharing and waiting difficult and could lead to unnecessary conflict over the limited resources.
If only one or two children could dress up, it would limit opportunities to stimulate rich group play.
If the dress-ups were all the same, respect for diversity and choice are not promoted.
Providing variety allows children to mix and match and experiment through varied role play.
Providing variety encourages children to share, collaborate and negotiate.
Providing educators who are able to interact with the children fosters skill development in this area (through scaffolding).

Educators who are deliberate and purposeful in what they do:

Promote children’s learning through worthwhile and challenging experiences and interactions which foster high-level thinking
Seize opportunities during experiences and conversations to extend children’s thinking and learning
Model and demonstrate active listening skills
Utilize varied communication strategies, such as open questions, explanations, speculation and problem-solving
Move flexibly in and out of various roles and draw on different strategies as the context changes
Draw on contemporary theories and research for their knowledge and practices
Monitor children’s wellbeing, life skills and citizenship, and use the information to guide program planning
Monitor children’s needs and interests and incorporate them into program planning
Identify ‘teachable moments’ as they arise and use them to scaffold children’s learning and development.

As educators it is always good to reflect on your own childhood:

What were your favorite play spaces as a child?
What did you enjoy doing?
How might you incorporate some of your childhood play ideas into your setting?
What role did the adults play when you were a child?
What are your beliefs about play?
How do you think play might have changed over the past forty years?
What impact do you think this might have on children and the adults of the future? [2]

Pause to Reflect

“First Day!”

The Integrated Nature of Learning by the California Department of Education is used with permission (pg. 19-21); Content by Clint Springer is licensed under CC BY 4.0 ↵
Australian Government Department of Education (n.d.) Educator My Time, Our Place. Retrieved from files.acecqa.gov.au/files/National-Quality-Framework-Resources-Kit/educators_my_time_our_place.pdf (pg 40-42) ↵

Introduction to Curriculum for Early Childhood Education Copyright © 2022 by Jennifer Paris; Kristin Beeve; and Clint Springer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Why early childhood care and education matters

The right to education begins at birth.

But new UNESCO data shows that 1 out of 4 children aged 5 have never had any form of pre-primary education. This represents 35 million out of 137 million 5-year-old children worldwide. Despite research that proves the benefits of early childhood care and education (ECCE), only half of all countries guarantee free pre-primary education around the world.

UNESCO’s World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education taking place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on 14-16 November 2022 will reaffirm every young child’s right to quality care and education, and call for increased investment in children during the period from birth to eight years.

Here’s what you need to know what early childhood care and education.

Why is early childhood care and education important?

The period from birth to eight years old is one of remarkable brain development for children and represents a crucial window of opportunity for education. When children are healthy, safe and learning well in their early years, they are better able to reach their full developmental potential as adults and participate effectively in economic, social, and civic life. Providing ECCE is regarded as a means of promoting equity and social justice, inclusive economic growth and advancing sustainable development.

A range of research and evidence has converged to support this claim. First, neuroscience has shown that the environment affects the nature of brain architecture – the child’s early experiences can provide either a strong or a fragile foundation for later learning, development and behaviours. Second, the larger economic returns on investment in prior-to-school programmes than in programmes for adolescents and adults has been demonstrated. Third, educational sciences have revealed that participation in early childhood care and education programmes boosts children’s school readiness and reduces the gap between socially advantaged and disadvantaged children at the starting gate of school.

From a human rights perspective, expanding quality early learning is an important means for realizing the right to education within a lifelong learning perspective. ECCE provides a significant preparation to basic education and a lifelong learning journey. In 2021, only 22% of United Nations Member States have made pre-primary education compulsory, and only 45% provide at least one year of free pre-primary education. Only 46 countries have adopted free and compulsory pre-primary education in their laws.

How has access to ECCE evolved?

Overall, there has been significant global progress in achieving inclusive and high-quality ECCE. Globally, the ratio for pre-primary education has increased from 46% in 2010 to 61% in 2020. The global ratio for participation in organized learning one year before the official primary school entry age also increased to reach 75% in 2020. However, in low- and lower-middle-income countries, fewer than two in three children attend organized learning one year before the official primary entry age. Furthermore, the proportion of children receiving a positive and stimulating home environment remains significantly low with only 64% of children having positive and nurturing home environments. Great regional disparities remain the biggest challenges. In sub-Saharan Africa, only 40% of children have experienced a positive and stimulating home learning environment compared to 90% of children in Europe and Northern America.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted ECCE?

The COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effect on ECCE and amplified its crisis. Young children have been deemed the greatest victims of the pandemic, experiencing the impact of on their immediate families, and because of stay-at-home orders of lockdowns, having been deprived of essential services to promote their health, learning and psychosocial well-being. Some children will start basic education without organized learning experiences to the detriment of their readiness for school. It was estimated that the closure of ECCE services has resulted in 19 billion person-days of ECCE instruction lost with 10.75 million children not being able to reach their developmental potential in the first 11 months of the pandemic.

What are the consequences on foundational learning?

ECCE is a pre-requisite for meeting the right to learn and to develop. In particular, access to pre-primary education is a basis for acquiring foundational learning including literacy, numeracy and socio-emotional learning. Yet, according to the recent estimate, about 64% of children in low- and middle-income countries cannot read and understand a simple story at age 10. The roots of this learning poverty start in ECCE and its lack of capacity to make children ready for school.

What is the situation regarding ECCE teachers and care staff?

As the calls grow for higher quality ECCE provision, teacher shortages and quality has received increasing attention. The number of teachers who received at least the minimum pedagogical teacher training, both pre-service and in-service, increased from 68% to 80% between 2010 and 2020. It is estimated that ECCE services need another 9.3 million full-time teachers to achieve the SDG target . Most Member States have established qualification requirements for ECCE teachers, while far less attention has been focused on ECCE teachers’ working conditions and career progression. The low social status, poor salaries and job insecurity of ECCE teachers and care staff tend to have an adverse impact on attracting and retaining suitably qualified early childhood educators.

What are the policies, governance and financing implications?

It is time for societies and governments to implement relevant policies to recover and transform their ECCE systems. ECCE is seen by many countries as a key part of the solution to a myriad of challenges including social inclusion and cohesion, economic growth and to tackle other sustainable development challenges. According to the 2022 Global Education Monitoring Report, 150 out of 209 countries have set targets for pre-primary education participation by 2025 or 2030. The proportion of countries that monitor participation rates in pre-primary education is expected to increase from 75% in 2015 to 92% in 2025 and 95% in 2030. It is expected that the pre-primary participation rate for all regions will exceed 90% by 2030. In Central and South Asia, East and South-East Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, participation rates are expected to be nearly 100%. At the same time, it is projected that participation rates in Northern Africa and Western Asia will be about 77% by 2030.

What are the obstacles to ensuring access to quality ECCE?

Policy fragmentation: In many countries, ECCE policies and services are fragmented and do not leverage whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to addressing the holistic needs and rights of families and their young children. This is particularly challenging for national governments with limited resources, low institutional capacities and weak governance.
Lack of public provision : Non-state provision of ECCE continues to grow in many contexts, and the role of non-state actors in influencing policy development and implementation is evident. Non-state actors provide a large proportion of places in pre-primary education. In 2000, 28.5% of pre-primary aged children were enrolled in private institutions, and this rose to 37% in 2019, a figure higher than for primary (19%) or secondary (27%) education.
Insufficient regulation of the sector : Specific regulations and standards for ECCE are not in place in most countries. Regulations usually do not establish quality assurance mechanisms and those that do, tend not to focus on outcomes.
Chronic underfunding : An average of 6.6% of education budgets at national and subnational levels were allocated to pre-primary education. Low-income countries, on average, invest 2% of education budgets in pre-primary education, which is far below the target of 10% by 2030 suggested by UNICEF. In terms of international aid, pre-primary education remains the least funded sector.

What are the solutions?

Political will and ownership are key to transforming ECCE. UNESCO’s review highlights progress in some countries, giving an indication of what is required to successfully strengthen the capacity of ECCE systems:

Expanding and diversifying access : Increasing investment and establishing a legal framework to expand ECCE services are essential steps. Innovative ECCE delivery mechanisms such as mobile kindergartens with teachers, equipment for learning and play, have been deployed in some countries to reach remote areas and provide children with pre-primary education.
Enhancing quality and relevance : ECCE curriculum frameworks should cover different aspects of early learning and prepare children with essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions to transit smoothly to formal education.
Making ECCE educators and caregivers a transforming force : For the transformation of ECCE to take place, ECCE educators need to be adequately supported and empowered to play their part.
Improving governance and stakeholder participation : Countries have adopted different modes of governance. There are generally two systems that are followed, an integrated system and a split system.
Using funding to steer ECCE development : Strengthening domestic public financing is important for providing affordable ECCE. Since ECCE services are offered by different ministries, there must be a clear demarcation of funding and financing rules for different sectors and different ministries. Innovative financing may include earmarking resources from economic activities and other sources.
Establishing systems for monitoring and assessing whole-of-child development . System-level action in strengthening the availability and reliability of data obtained from assessments enables efficient and timely monitoring of programmes and child developmental milestones.
Galvanize international cooperation and solidarity . The World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education is an opportunity to mobilize existing global, regional, and national networks to increase focus on identifying and sharing innovations, policies and practices.

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Language and Literacy Development: Research-Based, Teacher-Tested Strategies

I have dozens of favorite children’s books, but while working on this cluster about language and literacy development, Ada Twist, Scientist kept coming to mind. Ada is an African American girl who depicts the very essence of what it means to be a scientist. The book is a celebration of children’s curiosity, wonder, and desire to learn.

The more I thought about language and literacy, the more Ada became my model. All children should have books as good as Ada Twist, Scientist read to them. All children should be able to read books like Ada Twist, Scientist by the end of third grade. All children should be encouraged to ask questions about their world and be supported in developing the literacy tools (along with broad knowledge, inquiring minds, and other tools!) to answer those questions. All children should see themselves in books that rejoice in learning.

the role of a teacher in early childhood education essay

Early childhood teachers play a key role as children develop literacy. While this cluster does not cover the basics of reading instruction, it offers classroom-tested ways to make common practices like read alouds and discussions even more effective.

The cluster begins with “ Enhancing Toddlers’ Communication Skills: Partnerships with Speech-Language Pathologists ,” by Janet L. Gooch. In a mutually beneficial partnership, interns from a university communication disorders program supported Early Head Start teachers in learning several effective ways to boost toddlers’ language development, such as modeling the use of new vocabulary and expanding on what toddlers say. (One quirk of Ada Twist, Scientist is that Ada doesn’t speak until she is 3; in real life, that would be cause for significant concern. Having a submission about early speech interventions was pure serendipity.) Focusing on preschoolers, Kathleen M. Horst, Lisa H. Stewart, and Susan True offer a framework for enhancing social, emotional, and academic learning. In “ Joyful Learning with Stories: Making the Most of Read Alouds ,” they explain how to establish emotionally supportive routines that are attentive to each child’s strengths and needs while also increasing group discussions. During three to five read alouds of a book, teachers engage children in building knowledge, vocabulary, phonological awareness, and concepts of print.

Next up, readers go inside the lab school at Stepping Stones Museum for Children. In “ Equalizing Opportunities to Learn: A Collaborative Approach to Language and Literacy Development in Preschool ,” Laura B. Raynolds, Margie B. Gillis, Cristina Matos, and Kate Delli Carpini share the engaging, challenging activities they designed with and for preschoolers growing up in an under-resourced community. Devondre finds out how hard Michelangelo had to work to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and Sayo serves as a guide in the children’s classroom minimuseum— taking visitors to her artwork!

Moving into first grade, Laura Beth Kelly, Meridith K. Ogden, and Lindsey Moses explain how they helped children learn to lead and participate in meaningful discussions of literature. “ Collaborative Conversations: Speaking and Listening in the Primary Grades ” details the children’s progress (and the teacher’s methods) as they developed discussion-related social and academic skills. Although the first graders still required some teacher facilitation at the end of the school year, they made great strides in preparing for conversations, listening to their peers, extending others’ comments, asking questions, and reflecting on discussions.

Rounding out the cluster are two articles on different aspects of learning to read. In “ Sounding It Out Is Just the First Step: Supporting Young Readers ,” Sharon Ruth Gill briefly explains the complexity of the English language and suggests several ways teachers can support children as they learn to decode fluently. Her tips include giving children time to self-correct, helping them use semantic and syntactic cues, and analyzing children’s miscues to decide what to teach next.

In “ Climbing Fry’s Mountain: A Home–School Partnership for Learning Sight Words ,” Lynda M. Valerie and Kathleen A. Simoneau describe a fun program for families. With game-like activities that require only basic household items, children in kindergarten through second grade practice reading 300 sight words. Children feel successful as they begin reading, and teachers reserve instructional time for phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and other essentials of early reading.

At the end of Ada Twist, Scientist , there is a marvelous illustration of Ada’s whole family reading. “They remade their world—now they’re all in the act / of helping young Ada sort fiction from fact.” It reminds me of the power of reading and of the important language and literacy work that early childhood educators do every day.

—Lisa Hansel

We’d love to hear from you!

Send your thoughts on this issue, as well as topics you’d like to read about in future issues of Young Children , to [email protected] .

Would you like to see your children’s artwork featured? For guidance on submitting print-quality photos (as well as details on permissions and licensing), see NAEYC.org/resources/pubs/authors-photographers/photos .

Is your classroom full of children’s artwork? To feature it in Young Children , see the link at the bottom of the page or email [email protected] for details.

Lisa Hansel, EdD, is the editor in chief of NAEYC's peer-reviewed journal, Young Children .

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Developmental Psychology
Early Childhood

Exploring the Roles and Responsibilities of Early Childhood Teachers

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Early Childhood Education Essay

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If you are writing an early childhood education essay, examples can be very useful to aid you in your research. How did this concept develop? What are the current principles of schooling for children? And what is the importance of early childhood education? The essay on this page aims to answer these questions.

Historical development of Early Childhood Education

Current Principles of Early Childhood Education

Professional organizations, technology in early childhood development, improvements, controversial issues.

The following importance of early childhood education essay will tell you about the significance of learning institutions, organizations, and programs. Also, we’ll look at the key aspects that form the foundation of a child’s development. This sample will make it easier for you to cope with writing your own paper. So, you’ll write a “Why Is Early Childhood Education Important Essay” successfully.

Early Childhood Education is the field of practice, research, and study that deals with children’s experiences during their early stages of life. During childhood education, young children receive formal education and are under the care of professionals who may not be family members. Children receive this kind of education outside their homes. The term early childhood is used to refer to children below the age of regular schooling, which, according to many nations, is five years. However, this is not always true. For instance, in the U.S., it includes children below the age of eight years.

The educator should be aware of the physical, social, and cognitive development stages of preschoolers, toddlers, and babies. He/she must also cooperate with their parents to bring the child up in a good way.

According to Blenkin and Kelly (1996), the study of early childhood is important because it is the time during which the body and brain of a child are undergoing rapid development. During this stage, children develop skills and abilities like motor skills, language, psychosocial cognition, and learning.

Exogenous factors like the environment to which children are exposed from birth to eight years are said to affect the psychosocial, cognitive, and learning of the child (Cascio, 2021). Early childhood education builds a strong foundation for academic success in children. Its studies prepare the child for primary school education, contributing to the academic excellence of the child later in life.

Studies have shown that the readiness that children get from early childhood education has positive social and economic impacts during their adult life. Such children have limited chances of engaging in criminal behaviors and attaining good results in schools, which secures them good places in employment, resulting in higher earnings. Based on the significant role that childhood education plays, the content of this paper will emphasize the topic.

Historical Development of Early Childhood Education

The philosophy of early childhood education can be traced from the works of scholars like John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, and John Amos Comenius. Sociologists like Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, and Sigmund Freud concentrated much on the developmental stages of children (Su & Yang, 2022). The scholars approached the discipline in different ways, but they all held the belief that early childhood education played a major role in developing the interests and abilities of children as they grow up.

The first and largest early childhood program was Kindergarten, which was developed in the United States between 1782 and 1852 by Friedrich Froebel. The program was later adopted in Europe and other countries (Cascio, 2021). The movement was accelerated by the Industrial Revolution and the absorption of women in large numbers to work in factories. Between 1870 and 1952, another early childhood program developed by Maria Montessori was also adopted in many countries (Cascio, 2021). However, the role of early education as the first step in the system of education came to the knowledge of many nations after the Second World War.

Blenkin and Kelly argue that Kindergarten was the first training institution to offer training skills for teachers of young children. The first training school was begun in Boston by German kindergarteners Matilda Kriege and her daughter in 1868. The term “kindergartener” was used to refer to children attending school and their teachers.

The kindergartens were started by German immigrants who were running away from the Russian Revolution in which Germany was defeated, and that’s why they were initially German-speaking. Today, the role of early childhood education is recognized worldwide. Public institutions have been established to offer training to these teachers because children at this stage are sensitive, and teachers should know how to deal with them.

To enhance early childhood education, the program is based on various principles aimed at making the system effective for improving the level of education. The program necessitates trained personnel, with teachers acquiring adequate training in early childhood education centers to be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to interact and train young children successfully.

Early childhood education serves not only to assist working parents but also to help children acquire physical, cognitive, social, and emotional experiences away from their homes (Jalongo, 2021). During this period, children learn skills such as counting, playing, interacting, and socializing with others. Parents should understand that the purpose of sending their children to school is to gain the required knowledge and skills. According to Beneke and Helm (2003), the program is based on the principle that all childhood education programs should be licensed, and the teaching methodologies used should align with the interests and developmental needs of children.

Licensing ensures security and addresses the health needs of children. Teachers should ensure that the environment in which children live is secure and healthy, as children learn best when they feel free and secure (Macrides et al., 2021). Therefore, it is important for teachers to ensure that children are comfortable with enhancing their learning. Resources and programs needed in education centers should be coordinated by the government to prepare children for elementary and secondary education. The government should fund these institutions so that they can purchase materials and cover all expenses necessary for the successful learning of children.

Institutions should be provided with reading and writing materials, as well as good feeding programs for children (Redondo et al., 2019). Recreational facilities are also crucial, as playing is vital for young children. Coordination between parents, teachers, and the government is important.

Finally, the system is based on the principle that all children have the opportunity to access early childhood education, and parents are encouraged to enroll their children in the program as it creates a strong academic foundation.

Intensive research has been conducted concerning early childhood education because of its importance. It is argued that if interference in the fundamental development of skills and abilities of a child occurs during the early stages, this is likely to affect their learning potentiality in the future, and the damage may be long-lasting.

Various organizations have been established worldwide advocating the role played by early childhood education. Professional organizations support early childhood professionals by providing them with guidance and resources needed to better educate young children.

Examples of such organizations include The New York City Association for the Education of Young Children (NYCAEYC), the World Organization for Early Childhood Education, and the National Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI), among others (Jalongo, 2021). World Organization for Early Childhood Education is a worldwide non-profit and non-governmental organization operating in more than 60 countries. The organization includes parents, teachers, health officers, activists, researchers, social workers, and students. The goal of the organization is to ensure that children between the ages of zero and eight years access their rights to education in all the member countries.

The NYCAEYC advocates for and promotes the quality of education offered to children below the age of eight years and their larger families, as well as enhancing their well-being by supporting professional development. The ACEI is a global organization whose aim is to support and promote optimal education and children’s development from birth till puberty. In addition, the organization encourages people to train and become professionals who would then bring change to society by passing acquired knowledge to children. The organization sees to it that all children access quality education.

In the modern world, some of the best practices employed by teachers in childhood education centers include play, songs, and dances that form the basic form of entertainment (Macrides et al., 2021). Play is crucial for young children because their brains are not fully developed, so they cannot retain large volumes of information. It is, therefore, essential for the teacher to allocate enough time for children to relax their minds.

Since they cannot concentrate for a long period of time, the teacher should have several breaks in between the classes during which children should go to the field and play. The teacher should accompany them and be in charge. The teacher directs the children during the activity (Su & Yang, 2022). In addition to plays, children can also engage in dances and songs, mainly aimed at refreshing the mind.

Children should be taught how to conduct the songs themselves. Finally, other forms of entertainment, like watching television, can be of great help. The teacher should ensure that the programs enhance the academic work of the children.

In the modern world, people are always striving to find solutions to their problems. Technology is a major problem-solving tool in education, increasing academic skills, reducing the number of school dropouts, and discouraging racial discrimination in schools. Improvements in technology have made it easier for teachers to execute their duties.

Studies have shown that children in the modern world know much more than children of their age some time ago. Current generations are more advanced than the previous ones (Su & Yang, 2022). For instance, children can easily access books of all kinds whenever they need them in libraries, helping in the rapid and easy expansion of knowledge.

The use of computers, tablets, laptops, and smartphones has increased rapidly in childhood education programs. Through technology, the qualities of educational programs have been modified in interesting ways. Computers are used by teachers to teach children and keep records of class performance. Children between the ages of three and eight effectively use computers today. Now that children know how to make use of the above electronics, they have a lot of information at their fingertips. For instance, they only need to “Google” on the computer and search for answers to their questions.

For children whose parents own computers at home, they have a greater advantage because they can access computer services at home. Some mobile phones can also be networked and provide similar services. The media has improved early childhood education. Modern television channels offer more quality programs than traditional ones (Timmons et al., 2021). There are many educational programs displayed on different channels for children to watch. There are so many that children can never watch them all. The radio offers educational programs for children in which children are allowed to answer questions.

For instance, the questions are asked by the radio presenter, and children answer through a phone call. The presenter then says whether the child is right, and if not, he provides the correct answer (Macrides et al., 2021). The knowledge is passed to all children who happen to be listening, making this a way of enhancing education. Other technological advancements that have eased early childhood education include the use of printers, scanners, digital cameras, and video recorders.

Blake and Taylor argue that the application of technology in early childhood education will increase even in the future. However, less fortunate children from poor families will be disadvantaged (Macrides et al., 2021). These electronics are very expensive, and accessing and using them will be difficult for children from poor families. Improvement in technology is likely to increase immorality rates among school children.

The more children know how to operate computers, the more they will get in touch with sites not fit for their stage. Research has shown that many children visit pornographic sites on computers. As much as technology is going to affect early childhood education positively, it will also have its side effects.

There are many challenges that children encounter during their studies, which should be well-known to their teachers and other educational employees who interact with them directly. These individuals are the right people to determine the areas that require improvements. In order for children to learn well, their physical, social, emotional, and learning needs should be met. Failure to satisfy one of these needs makes it hard for the child to study effectively. The performance of children improves when they are encouraged and supported by adults. Teachers should ensure that they make the necessary improvements to help children succeed in their studies whenever they identify points of weakness among students.

Among the challenges facing early childhood education is the lack of enough funds. Early childhood education is mainly offered in the private sector at very high costs. Lack of finance makes it hard for some parents to enroll their children in schools. Accessibility of such institutions may be a challenge. People may have to travel for long distances before getting to the learning institution.

Other challenges include lateness at school, a lot of homework given to children that cannot be completed overnight, competition in class, lack of enough playing grounds, competition with neighboring schools, and lack of enough sleep for children.

The list of controversial issues in early childhood education is long. Some of the debatable issues include whether young children should use computers, whether viewing television leads to violent behavior among children, whether homework improves the performance of children, and finally, the correct age at which young children should join kindergarten, among other issues.

The study of developmental stages of young children is a vital topic. I personally chose the topic because I like interacting with young children and helping them whenever it’s necessary.

My desire is to see children live comfortably and succeed in their studies, and that’s why I have chosen to pursue a course in early childhood education, which will help me understand the concept better. My goal is to see that I help children pursue and succeed in their studies once I become a professional in the field.

Cascio, E. U. (2021). Early childhood education in the united states: What, when, where, who, how, and why . NBER.

Jalongo, M. R. (2021). The effects of COVID-19 on early childhood education and care: Research and resources for children, families, teachers, and teacher educators . Early Childhood Education Journal, 49 .

Macrides, E., Miliou, O., & Angeli, C. (2021). Programming in early childhood education: A systematic review . International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction , 100396.

Redondo, B., Cózar-Gutiérrez, R., González-Calero, J. A., & Sánchez Ruiz, R. (2019). Integration of augmented reality in the teaching of English as a foreign language in early childhood education . Early Childhood Education Journal .

Su, J., & Yang, W. (2022). Artificial intelligence in early childhood education: A scoping review . Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 3 , 100049.

Timmons, K., Cooper, A., Bozek, E., & Braund, H. (2021). The impacts of COVID-19 on early childhood education: Capturing the unique challenges associated with remote teaching and learning in K-2 . Early Childhood Education Journal, 49 (5).

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The Effect of Emotional Labour on Job Dedication Among Early Childhood Teachers in the UAE: The Mediating Role of Teaching Self-Efficacy

Published: 10 June 2024

Cite this article

Qilong Zhang ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1560-1154 1 ,
Ghadah AlMurshidi 1 &
Ke Jiang 2

Emotional labour is an important part of teaching. Teaching self-efficacy and job dedication are important parameters that influence teaching. Mixed findings have been reported on the link between emotional labour, teaching self-efficacy, and job dedication. This study examined the pattern of emotional labour performed by early childhood teachers, the relationship between emotional labour and job dedication, and the mediating effect of teaching self-efficacy on the relationship. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire survey from a convenience sample of 305 teachers from nurseries and kindergartens across the UAE. The mean comparison revealed that surface acting (M = 2.92) was performed significantly less frequently than deep acting (M = 3.90) and expression of naturally felt emotions (M = 4.19). Structural equation modeling with bootstrap mediation analysis revealed that expression of naturally felt emotions had a positive, direct effect on dedication (β = 0.43, p = 0.012) and teaching self-efficacy (β = 0.84, p = 0.002), and that teaching self-efficacy had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between expression of naturally felt emotions and job dedication, with an amount of indirect effect of 0.501 ( p = 0.002) and mediating effect ratio of 54.10%. The implications of the results were discussed.

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This work was supported by the College of Education, United Arab Emirates University.

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Appendix 1. Scales measuring emotional labour, teaching self-efficacy and job dedication

Emotional labour

	1. I put on an act in order to deal with children/parents in an appropriate way.
	2. I fake a good mood when interacting with children/parents.
	3. I put on a ‘show’ or ‘performance’ when interacting with children/parents.
	4. I just pretend to have the emotions I need to acting for my job.
	5. I put on a “mask” in order to acting the emotions I need for the job.
	6. I show feelings to children/parents that are different from what I feel inside.
	7. I fake the emotions I show when dealing with children/parents.

	8. I try to actually experience the emotions that I must show to children/parents.
	9. I make an effort to actually feel the emotions that I need to acting toward others.
	10. I work hard to feel the emotions that I need to show to children/parents.
	11. I work at developing the feelings inside of me that I need to show to children/parents.

	12. The emotions I express to children/parents are genuine.
	13. The emotions I show children/parents come naturally.
	14. The emotions I show children/parents match what I spontaneously feel.
Teaching self-efficacy
	15. I can ask about children’s concerns and respect them.
	16. I show interest in children’s ideas and implement them.
	17. I can be interested in children’s opinions and views and consider them.
	18. I’m able to support children in their autonomous exploration of the environment.
	19. I can show interest as an observer without intervening.
	20. I can tolerate the children approaching things in their own way.
	21. I can provide diverse play areas and materials.
	22. I can awaken children’s curiosity about new experiences.
	23. I can structure the learning environment in such a way that all children in the group find suitable challenges.
Job dedication
	24. I am enthusiastic about my job.
	25. I am proud on the work that I do.
	26. My job inspires me.

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Zhang, Q., AlMurshidi, G. & Jiang, K. The Effect of Emotional Labour on Job Dedication Among Early Childhood Teachers in the UAE: The Mediating Role of Teaching Self-Efficacy. Early Childhood Educ J (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-024-01702-z

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What Is Early Childhood Development? A Guide to the Science (ECD 1.0)

Healthy development in the early years (particularly birth to three) provides the building blocks for educational achievement, economic productivity, responsible citizenship, lifelong health, strong communities, and successful parenting of the next generation. What can we do during this incredibly important period to ensure that children have a strong foundation for future development? The Center on the Developing Child created this Guide to Early Childhood Development (ECD) to help parents, caregivers, practitioners, and policymakers understand the importance of early childhood development and learn how to support children and families during this critical stage.

Visit “ Introducing ECD 2.0 ” for new resources that build on the knowledge presented below.

Step 1: Why Is Early Childhood Important?

This section introduces you to the science that connects early experiences from birth (and even before birth) to future learning capacity, behaviors, and physical and mental health.

This 3-minute video portrays how actions taken by parents, teachers, policymakers, and others can affect life outcomes for both the child and the surrounding community.

InBrief: The Science of Early Childhood Development

This video from the InBrief series addresses basic concepts of early childhood development, established over decades of neuroscience and behavioral research.

InBrief: The science of early childhood development cover thumbnail

This brief explains how the science of early brain development can inform investments in early childhood, and helps to illustrate why child development—particularly from birth to five years—is a foundation for a prosperous and sustainable society.

Step 2: How Does Early Child Development Happen?

Now that you understand the importance of ECD, this section digs deeper into the science, including how early experiences and relationships impact and shape the circuitry of the brain, and how exposure to toxic stress can weaken the architecture of the developing brain.

Three Core Concepts in Early Development

Advances in neuroscience, molecular biology, and genomics now give us a much better understanding of how early experiences are built into our bodies and brains, for better or worse. This three-part video series explains.

8 Things to Remember about Child Development

In this important list, featured in the From Best Practices to Breakthrough Impacts report, the Center on the Developing Child sets the record straight about some aspects of early child development.

InBrief: The Science of Resilience

This brief summarizes the science of resilience and explains why understanding it will help us design policies and programs that enable more children to reach their full potential.

Step 3: What Can We Do to Support Child Development?

Understanding how important early experiences and relationships are to lifelong development is one step in supporting children and families. The next step is to apply that knowledge to current practices and policies. This section provides practical ways that practitioners and policymakers can support ECD and improve outcomes for children and families.

From Best Practices to Breakthrough Impacts

A cover image from the Best Practices to Breakthrough Impacts paper, showing the title and an image of two parents kissing their baby

This report synthesizes 15 years of dramatic advances in the science of early childhood and early brain development and presents a framework for driving science-based innovation in early childhood policy and practice.

Three Principles to Improve Outcomes for Children and Families

Understanding how the experiences children have starting at birth, even prenatally, affect lifelong outcomes—as well as the core capabilities adults need to thrive—provides a strong foundation upon which policymakers and civic leaders can design a shared and more effective agenda.

Early Literacy Certification: Why It’s Important for Teachers

The data is in—in a February 2024 survey conducted by Teaching Strategies, many early childhood educators said they are not very familiar with the science of reading, and even fewer said they feel prepared to use it in their teaching. As educators and leaders who care about children and their developing reading brains, we should feel compelled to make changes. As a trusted leader in early childhood education, Teaching Strategies is responding with urgency to support teachers by introducing a new early literacy certification pathway anchored in the science of reading.

For years, researchers have studied the phenomenal, often unbelievable, process of how humans become readers. More than two decades ago, researchers asserted that for young children, quality instruction can be “the single best weapon against reading failure,” 1 and for good reason: early childhood is an important time for brain development; identity formation; and accelerated growth in knowledge, skills, and abilities. Early childhood teachers should be given early literacy and science of reading professional development that is research-based and provides guidance on making practical application of these theories so that supporting the complex reading process feels achievable.

Five Ways an Early Literacy Certification Benefits Teachers

An early literacy certification prepares early childhood education teachers for incorporating research from the science of reading into their everyday practices. Here are five benefits teachers will gain from an early literacy certification as they engage children in literacy learning and progress in their careers.

Knowledge about how young children learn and develop language skills—the foundation needed for skilled reading to develop later—to empower teachers to create more effective and enjoyable language and literacy learning experiences
Strategies for creating fun and engaging learning environments that center relationships, promote play, and encourages lots of discussion so children associate learning to read with joy
Specialized information and training on using assessment data in a multi-tiered system of support to look for signs that a child may be struggling in a language or emergent literacy area and could benefit from additional support
Up-to-date information on the best strategies to support young, emergent readers, including information on how to partner with families on supporting language and literacy at home in more intentional ways
Opportunities to meet the literacy training and professional development requirements that many states and school districts have adopted

When early childhood teachers are trained in early literacy, program leaders, teachers, families, and children benefit in these significant ways.

Program leaders may see data-based improvements in children’s language and literacy outcomes and can report that information to their key stakeholder groups.
Teachers may finish a certification program with more knowledge and confidence that they have the skills to provide learning experiences that are fun and rigorous to support children’s language and literacy development.
Families may feel better connected to their children’s school experience and feel more assured that their children are receiving high-quality learning experiences.
Children may have more opportunities to refine their language skills and develop their emerging reading and writing skills in the ways they enjoy best—from an adult who cares about them and their success, with their peers, and in environments that are fun.

Overall, providing early childhood teachers with the opportunity to be certified in early literacy creates a supportive, informed, and proactive environment that benefits children’s learning and development, enhances program quality, and fosters strong partnerships with families.

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DOI: 10.3390/educsci14060604
Corpus ID: 270298118

A Systematic Review of the Role of Multimodal Resources for Inclusive STEM Engagement in Early-Childhood Education

S. Kewalramani , George Aranda , +6 authors Bridgette Van Leuven
Published in Education sciences 4 June 2024
Education, Engineering

25 References

Of microscopes and meeting places: a literature review examining barriers to indigenous participation in stem, stem, robotics, mobile apps in early childhood and primary education, the integration of internet of toys in early childhood education, the design and use of a digital tool to support the development of preschool children’s logical reasoning, multimodal creative inquiry: theorising a new approach for children’s science meaning-making in early childhood education, theorising learning in science through integrating multimodal representations, the process is not enough: children and teachers creating multimodal digital stories in kindergarten, science capital or stem capital exploring relationships between science capital and technology, engineering, and maths aspirations and attitudes among young people aged 17/18, digital pop-ups: studying digital pop-ups and theorising digital pop-up pedagogies for preschools, multimodal lifeworlds : pedagogies for play inquiries and explorations, related papers.

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Home › Jobs › Job search results › Job opening

Early childhood teacher / education leader – rural services.

Organisation : Uniting

Location : Australia

Work type : Part-time

Profession : Community Services

Salary type : Other

Application closing date : 11 Jul, 2024

About the organisation

About the role.

60% discount on childcare services.
Part time permanent role plus 10 weeks leave per year.
Increase take-home pay with up to $15,900 salary packaging benefits.

Working across the East Gippsland Shire in our rural services, Orbost, Omeo, Swifts Creek, Buchan and Bruthen, your day to day work will involve mentoring and building capacity for continuous improvement and work with Educators to develop engaging and inspiring learning environments.

Ongoing, part-time role working 25 hours per week during the school term .

This position will be based in East Gippsland and will be required to travel to our rural services in Orbost, Omeo, Swifts Creek, Buchan and Bruthen, where and when required to undertake the duties and responsibilities of the Educational Leader. The role will work directly with children in ratio where required.

What’s on offer

Ongoing part time position working 25 hours per week during the school term which means 10 weeks leave per year under a 46/52 model.

In addition to base salary and superannuation, you’ll also receive 17.5% leave loading and the ability to increase your take-home pay by accessing up to $ 15,900 in salary packaging benefits that can be used on living expenses such as groceries, bills, clothing, streaming services, and much more.

You can access a 60% discount on the childcare subsidy gap fee when using a Uniting Early Learning service.

As an Early Childhood Teacher/Education Leader, you are expected to lead, guide, and support a team which provides high quality early childhood education and care to children. This includes.

Developing strong relationships with children at the service
Developing strong relationships that support and partner with families, and the community.
Complying with the Uniting Early Learning policies and procedures
Working with other staff towards continuous improvement in the service’s operations

You will also have:

Early Childhood Teaching Degree (or equivalent as approved by Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority)
A sound knowledge of and experience in the application of approved learning frameworks
A sound discipline knowledge including the underlying principles of early years gained through experience, education and/or training.
Ability to work in a cooperative, flexible, and professional manner with children, parents, and staff.
Well-developed leadership and self-motivation skills

How to apply

Click APPLY to submit your interest. We’ll be reviewing applications as they come through and conducting interviews prior to applications closing. Please send your application through as a priority as we’re keen to engage with someone.

If you’ve questions about the opportunity, please contact Robyn Zee or Kristin Kenwell on 1800 183 103 or email [email protected] or [email protected] .

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Uniting is also committed to equal opportunity and ensuring the workplace is reflective of the community. We encourage people from different backgrounds to apply, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and people with a disability.

Please quote in application: Early Childhood Teacher / Education Leader – Rural Services via Pro Bono Australia.

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The role of the teacher who works with young children birth to age five is to support children's active construction of knowledge. In a sense, early childhood teachers serve as research supports as the children sense, discover, and construct meaning about the world around them. Young children's natural impulse to learn by investigating (1 ...
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What Is Early Childhood Development? A Guide to the Science (ECD 1.0)

Step 1: Why Is Early Childhood Important?

InBrief: The Science of Early Childhood Development

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