Becoming an ECCE professional

Children under six have their own ways of understanding and their own needs. So anyone who works with them, even parents, gains from scientific knowledge of child development. For example, it teaches us not to make pointless comparisons between children.

An ECCE professional is responsible to children who are not their own, to the children's families, to the institution, and to society.

In pre-school, the teacher spends less effort on physical care and more on giving stimulating experiences: physical, language, social-emotional and creative.

Lev Vygotsky stressed that a child needs a caring, knowledgeable adult who gives tasks that are neither too easy nor too difficult. A puzzle with too few pieces bores a child; one with too many frustrates them.

Skills needed: interest and motivation; knowledge of children's needs; planning creative activities, story-telling and exploration; answering questions; understanding individual differences; energy; arts skills (music, dance, voice); flexibility (young children have short attention spans); cultural awareness; and keeping records.

Training: a degree that includes child or human development, or a one-year diploma, an Open University course, or Nursery Teacher Training. Know the child; plan, but stay flexible.