chapter 1 Flashcards
Accountability
The process of holding teachers, schools, or programs responsible for meeting a required level of performance.
Accreditation system
NAEYC’s voluntary system for identifying high-quality early childhood centers and schools serving children from birth through kindergarten.
Alignment
Coordination of the curriculum from one level of education to the next in order to build on what children have already learned and to ease transitions for students between schools and school levels.
Child care licensing standards
Minimum requirements, legally established by each state, for a child care program to operate.
Child Development Associate (CDA) credential
National competency-based credential for entry-level early childhood educators.
Common core standards
Rigorous national standards in English language arts and mathematics for kindergarten through grade 12 developed by the Council of Chief State Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association (NGA).
Developmentally appropriate practice
Ways of teaching that engage children’s interests and adapt for their age, experience, and ability, to help them meet challenging and achievable learning goals.
Dual language learners
Children who are learning to speak two languages at the same time – usually their home language and English.
Early childhood education
Education and child care services provided for children from birth through age 8.
Early intervention
Services for infants and toddlers who are at risk of developmental delay and their families.
Early learning standards
Describe what children should know and be able to do before entering kindergarten.
Head Start
Federally funded, national program that promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children ages 3,4, and 5 through providing educational, health, nutritional, social, and other services to the nation’s poorest children and families.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Federal law governing provision of services for children with disabilities and special needs.
Inclusion
Participation and services for children with disabilities and special needs in programs and settings where their typically developing peers are served.
Intentional teachers
Teachers who have a purpose for the decisions they make and can explain that purpose to others.
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
The world’s largest organization of early childhood educators, whose mission is to act on behalf of the needs and interests of children from birth through age 8. NAEYC establishes standards for teacher preparation and accreditation of early childhood programs.
Preschool
Educational programs serving 3-and 4-year-olds delivered under various sponsorships.
School readiness
Children’s competencies related to success in kindergarten, including physical development, health, and well-being; social-emotional development and learning; cognitive development and general knowledge such as mathematics and science; positive approaches to learning such as curiosity and motivation; and language development and early literacy skills.
Structural quality
Features of an early childhood program, such as maximum group sizes, teacher/child ratios, and teacher qualifications, that are relatively easy to quantify and measure.
Family childcare home
Child care in which care-givers provide care in their own homes for a small group of children, often multi-age groups.
Laboratory schools
School operated by colleges and universities that usually serves children of students and faculty and also acts as a model of excellent education for student teachers.
What factors have contributed to the rise in status of early childhood education?
Increasing public recognition, respect, and funding.
How can we attempt to narrow the gap between children from low income families and those from middle or high income families?
Having low-income families put their children in high-quality early childhood programs so that they begin kindergarten with higher achievement.
Primary purpose of prekindergarten
To prepare children for kindergarten by developing their cognitive, social, and emotional skills through activities that focus on early literacy, math concepts, self-regulation, and social interaction
