Why is professional development for early childhood educators so important?
Teacher expertise is a crucial ingredient in a high-quality early education program. Children’s cognitive growth and language development are primarily influenced by the daily interactions between children and the adults who are teaching them, caring for them, and guiding their learning opportunities. The curriculum, learning environment, and materials available to children are important elements of quality, but it is the teacher’s ability to implement the curriculum and to use effective instructional approaches that results in a long-term difference for learning. Many preschool teachers and daycare providers do not have formal training in providing explicit instruction or supporting and expanding children’s cognitive and language skills. Some school-based early education programs hire elementary school teachers and, although these teachers traditionally have at least a bachelor’s degree in education, they need additional training in child development, language acquisition, early liter
