What Do We Know?
The quality of child care is higher when:
- Adult-to-child ratios are more favorable
- Staff members have more general education
- Administrators have experience before coming
to a program
- Teachers have more specialized training in
early childhood
- Teacher wages are higher
Source: Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes in
Child Care Centers:
1995 Public report, Denver: University of Colorado, Economics Department
Caring for young children is about more than teaching.
It is about caring for children and nurturing them; making
children feel safe and secure. But it is about teaching,
too. Sharing ideas and experiences with young children
is a wonderful way to introduce the world around them.
From the research it is easy to see that educators who
increase their education can offer a higher quality of
care and teaching to young children.
State agencies and organizations like the Division of
Health and Human Services, Head Start, the North Carolina
Partnership for Children and the Department of Public Instruction
recognize this and have increased educational requirements
for early childhood teachers. Early Childhood Educators,
however, struggle with finding classes nearby, with understanding
the connections among the professional development opportunities
available, and with overcoming the costs of furthering
their educations.
To help Early Childhood Educators interested in furthering
their education, the Partnership for Children of Cumberland
County, Inc. met with representatives from UNC Pembroke, Fayetteville
State University, Fayetteville Technical Community College,
Cumberland County Schools, and other interested organizations
to develop an early childhood educational continuum of
services. Our hopes are that this continuum of services
will:
- Allow individuals to become more aware of and have
greater access to educational opportunities
- Encourage Community Colleges and State Universities
to enhance their referral processes to share accurate
and consistent information with current and prospective
students
- and encourage Community Colleges and State Universities
to continue to work together to enhance articulation
agreements - making classes transferable
This guide has been developed to provide you with information
and resources as you work towards furthering your education.
For more information please contact
860-2277
