Establishing Teacher Competencies in Early Care and Education: A Review of Current Models and Options for California

This policy brief discusses the topics that teacher competencies generally cover and presents options for how they might be developed and structured in California. Examples of major efforts by national organizations and other States are included. The National Education Goals Panel has cited the following five domains of development and learning during early childhood: (1) physical well-being and motor development, (2) social and emotional development, (3) approaches to learning, (4) language development, and (5) cognition and general knowledge. The Minnesota Early Learning Standards adds a sixth domain, "creativity and the arts." Just as the definitions of children's developmental domains vary and are not standardized, standards for teachers are defined in various ways by different groups. A chart presents a comparison of categories for national and State early childhood teacher competencies. A case example is appended that presents teacher competencies in the area of child observation and assessment.

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