National
Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators
http://www.naecte.org/
(Newsletter: http://www.naecte.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14&Itemid=29 )
http://www.naecte.org/
(Newsletter: http://www.naecte.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14&Itemid=29 )
I chose the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher
Educators because I think it most closely aligns with my future goals. This is
a fairly new group, with a membership just under 400, based out of Wright State
University. Their focus is on the training of early childhood educators. Their
position statement says: “Teachers qualified to meet the unique developmental
and educational needs of children between the ages of 3 and 8 are knowledgeable
about the developmental and learning characteristics of these children and use
this knowledge to inform appropriate teaching techniques and assessments. Since
teacher preparation and certification should be relevant to the teacher’s
position, NAECTE recommends that state certification agencies and school
districts adopt the following policies:
•
Require an early childhood certificate and/or endorsement for those teaching in
classrooms for children five years old and younger in state funded
pre-kindergarten and in kindergarten programs. • Give priority in hiring and
placement to teachers with an early childhood certificate and/or endorsement
for public school classrooms for six, seven, and eight-year-olds (1st, 2nd, and
3rd grades).
• Require that early childhood certification
and/or endorsement be based on completion of teacher preparation programs that
meet professional preparation standards consistent with those established by
the National Association for the Education of Young Children (www.naecte.org).”
One of the topics discussed in their
most recent journal was about how to guide new teachers when it comes to guided
play. This subject intrigued me; unfortunately, because I am not currently a
member, I was only able to read the first of a twenty page article. I began to
research the cost of the article/journal and that of a membership, I discovered
that it would cost $40.00 to purchase the article, $180.00 to purchase the
entire journal (yikes!), or $75.00 for a membership – which included the
journal. Obviously, it would make the most sense to pay the membership fee, but
I’m not sure if I’m ready to do that at this point. It seems as though I may
need to move on to another a group’s site for assignments for my class.
Anita,
ReplyDeleteGuided Play is something that I am learning more about after starting this program. I may have to research this, to find out some more info about it.
Anita
ReplyDeleteLove this web resource. This is exactly what we need teachers qualified to meet the unique developmental and educational needs of children of all ages. This has been one of my issues with inclusion children not having teachers qualified or just don't care about our children's education.
Hi Anita,
ReplyDeleteThank you for you sharing this week. I am on the side of NAECTE emphasize that for teachers who educate in ‘the unique developmental and educational needs of children between the ages of 3 and 8’ should be required to be certified. I remember from the last course study, there was an argument about the pros and cons on whether early childhood teacher should be holding a certificate. Professionally I vote for certificate, however, in some of the developing countries and/or regions, practically to hire the certified early childhood teachers are not as so easy. It depends on the extent of the region’s economic development, and also on the social views on people who work for early childhood jobs. Another issue you mentioned about paying the membership for the website to get the journal, I think many of educational websites encourage people to access as a group, like by school, so that more people can share the resources and relieve the cost for individuals.