Latest news with #earlychildhoodeducation
Geek Girl Authority
3 days ago
- Health
- Geek Girl Authority
The Path to Certification: How a Degree in Early Childhood Education Prepares You for Teaching
Embarking on a career in early childhood education is a commitment to shaping young minds during their most formative years. A degree in this vital field provides aspiring educators with the knowledge, tools, and skills necessary to support children's learning and development effectively. If you dream of making a difference in the educational journeys of young children, a solid academic foundation is your first step. Keep reading to explore how a degree lays the groundwork for certification and a successful teaching career. Understanding the Core Components of an Early Childhood Education Degree A degree in childhood education is multi-faceted, focusing on the unique learning needs of children from infancy to primary school age. The curriculum for this online program is designed to cover various aspects of teaching, including curriculum development, educational theory, and instructional strategies. Students in the field of early childhood education learn to craft age-appropriate lessons that engage young learners and promote intellectual growth. Another essential component is the emphasis on creating inclusive learning environments. Future educators are trained to recognize and accommodate diverse learning needs, ensuring that every child has access to quality education. This often includes specialized instruction in working with children who have special needs or come from different cultural backgrounds. Assessment strategies also form a critical part of the degree program. Prospective teachers must learn to evaluate children's progress effectively, which involves understanding developmental milestones and implementing various assessment tools. Building a Foundation for Effective Classroom Management A well-managed classroom sets the stage for learning and development. Degree programs in early childhood education spend considerable time honing classroom management skills. Educators learn to create structured yet flexible environments that support children's natural curiosity and engagement. Effective communication is vital to managing a classroom. Future teachers are taught how to convey expectations clearly and listen to children's feedback. They learn to foster a respectful classroom culture where each child feels heard and valued, which in turn reduces behavioral issues and promotes harmony. Problem-solving is another critical aspect of classroom management. Educators face a myriad of challenges on a daily basis, from resolving conflicts among children to adapting lesson plans on the fly. A degree in early childhood education provides the strategies necessary to navigate these issues with grace and expertise. Integrating Developmental Psychology Into Early Childhood Teaching Methods A deep understanding of developmental psychology is essential for early childhood educators. It allows them to create age-appropriate learning experiences that align with children's cognitive, social, and emotional development stages. Degree programs delve into child development theories, shedding light on how children think, feel, and interact with the world around them. Incorporating this knowledge, future teachers are better equipped to recognize typical and atypical developmental patterns. This awareness is crucial for early intervention and support, especially in identifying children who may need additional resources. Educators learn to work closely with parents and specialists to provide holistic support to each child. Harnessing the Power of Play: Strategies for Active Learning Play is the language of childhood, and it is through play that children explore, experiment, and learn. Degrees in early childhood education emphasize the importance of play in promoting active learning. Future educators discover how to design play-based activities that are both enjoyable and educational. Such programs advocate for a balanced approach to instruction that integrates direct teaching with ample opportunities for child-directed play. By observing children in play, educators can gain insights into their interests and learning styles, using these observations to inform their teaching practices. Navigating the Certification Process: Steps After Your Degree Completion After completing a program in early childhood education, the journey to becoming a certified educator begins. The certification process typically requires passing a series of exams that assess teaching knowledge and competency. These tests ensure that educators are prepared to meet the demands of the classroom and provide quality education. Aspiring teachers must also complete a number of supervised teaching hours in a classroom setting. This real-world experience is invaluable in demonstrating one's ability to apply theoretical knowledge in practice. It is also an opportunity to refine teaching techniques under the guidance of experienced educators. In many regions, certification also involves a background check and continuing education requirements. These steps are put in place to protect the welfare of children and uphold the professional standards of the teaching community. Educators are expected to engage in lifelong learning to stay abreast of best practices and emerging educational research. Altogether, an early childhood education degree is a transformative stage in preparing educators to guide and inspire children during their critical early years. Overall, it is a journey that fulfills a noble purpose: molding the minds and hearts of our youngest generation. RELATED: Alexander Skarsgård Goes Rogue in Murderbot Trailer
CTV News
23-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Early childhood educator wages going up in Manitoba
Tracy Schmidt, Manitoba's education and early childhood learning minister, announces a new wage grid for early childhood educators in Manitoba on May 23, 2025. (Jamie Dowsett/CTV News Winnipeg)
CBC
23-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Child-care workers in Manitoba receive up to $5/hour boost to wages
Social Sharing Child-care workers at provincially funded centres in Manitoba are getting what Early Childhood Learning Minister Tracy Schmidt called the largest boost to their wages in the province's history, with some seeing hourly increases as high as $5. A new wage grid, retroactive to April 1, is being supported by an added $60.4 million from the provincial and federal governments ($56.2 million federally and $4.2 million provincially), Schmidt announced Friday in Winnipeg. Licensed and provincially funded early learning and child-care facilities are eligible for the funding. "This historical increase reflects the invaluable work that front-line early childhood educators do for our children and for our province and for our province's economy," Schmidt said. The highest increase will go to front-line early childhood educators' wages, with the amount dependant on their certification level and the size of the child-care centre in which they work. The top of the grid will see wages go from $22.90 to $27.56 an hour. "For the first time, wages will meet the MCCA salary scale for front-line positions and most of the administrator positions," Schmidt said about the wages advocated for by the Manitoba Child Care Association. The new grid also includes an immediate pay increase for child-care assistants in early childhood education training programs, she said. After advocating for significant salary increases for nearly two decades, to see it actually happen "feels surreal," said MCCA executive director Jodie Kehl. "Today is a great day to be an early childhood educator in Manitoba." The announcement was first made Friday morning to more than 900 delegates at the MCCA's annual conference, which erupted in cheers and tears, Kehl said. "Someone said to me she screamed so loud that the girl next to her, her Apple watch thought she'd fallen over, because it was just so noisy in there," she said. "I do think it's going to make a significant difference in many ECEs' lives." Schmidt said the province has been expanding child-care spaces but running up against a lack of people to staff them. The new wages will help recruitment and retention efforts, she said.
CBC
22-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
'Shock' and 'panic' as new daycare operators in Alberta told they won't get funding after all
Albertans in the process of setting up new child-care facilities say they've had the rug pulled out from under them as the Alberta government abruptly informed them last week they would not qualify for grants under the federal-provincial child-care agreement. "I am devastated," said Arshdeep Kaur, who is in the process of renovating a building she purchased in Calgary and planned to open in July as a new daycare named Sparkling Kids. Kaur moved to Canada from India in 2011 and began working in early childhood education the following year. She said she always dreamed of opening a daycare of her own and initially planned to do it once her own children were a little older. But she says her plans changed two years ago when her then two-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. While going through the treatment process, she had lots of time to think. "That's when I decided, no, this is the right time to start my own daycare," Kaur said. Her family back home in India sold their farm to help finance her dream. After hunting for months for a building to lease, she found nothing suitable for a daycare. She ended up purchasing a building, herself, and set about renovating it into a child-care facility. She says she's now sunk hundreds of thousands of dollars into the venture — all on the understanding that she, like most daycare facility operators in Alberta, would be eligible to participate in the federal-provincial funding agreement that's been in place since 2021. But last Thursday, everything changed. That's when she says she received an email from the province saying Alberta was nearing the limit of new, for-profit spaces that can qualify under the five-year agreement it signed with Ottawa, so her daycare would not qualify for the government grants. Without those funds, the price parents would have to pay at her daycare could be three to four times higher than the flat rate of $326 per month offered at qualifying child-care facilities. Kaur said that throughout all the back and forth with government officials she's had to get the daycare to this point, amid all the permits and paperwork, it was never even suggested to her that the funding might not be available once she opens. "The government has not ever told me in the past year that it's going to be capped and going to be stopped at some point," she said. "And now I have almost a million-dollar debt on myself." Disappointment, shock, panic Cheryl Montgomery was all set to open a new daycare in the town of Nanton when she got the news that she, too, wouldn't qualify for the government funding. "There was disappointment. There was shock. There was, I guess, a level of panic," she said. "We've invested a lot into this already, including a signed lease for a year." Montgomery's facility, Little Ropers Learning, would have space for 22 children. She was waiting on a final licensing inspection before officially opening and already had a list of would-be staff and parents interested in enrolling their kids. But now, she's not sure how to proceed without having access to the government grants that were a key part of her business plan. She has informed parents that, without those grants, they'd have to pay the full rate of $1,100 per month, per child, and she's not sure she'd have enough clients willing to pay that price. Montgomery said she had no communication with the province that would even suggest she might not qualify for funding until she was suddenly informed last week that she was ineligible. She's been in touch with other operators in similar situations and says some are now worried about bankruptcy. "It's a scary situation to be in," Montgomery said. "Financially, we've all invested so much of our time, of our money. We now have these centres that are pretty much ready to open tomorrow and now we've just all been crushed by the news that we don't qualify." For profit vs. not-for-profit Under the agreement it signed with the federal government in 2021, Alberta pledged to use nearly $4 billion in federal funds to "prioritize not-for-profit" daycare expansion. The text of that agreement reads: "Alberta commits to creating a minimum of 42,500 not-for-profit spaces over the next five years." The terms of the deal also say Alberta "may create up to 26,200 for-profit spaces," for a target of 68,700 new spaces, in total, by the end of the agreement in 2026. Eight provinces and all three territories have signed on to new federal agreements through 2031; Alberta and Saskatchewan have not. As of March, the province says roughly 19,500 for-profit spaces have been created under the federal-provincial program, and approximately 3,000 additional spaces have been allocated to programs with previously approved space-creation grants. Montgomery says the province informed her it will no longer qualify new facilities for funding except in a handful of communities where demand for child care is especially high, which doesn't include Nanton. 'Hang tight, sit by the phone' Demetrios Nicolaides is the new minister responsible for child care in Alberta, after a cabinet shuffle last week. He told reporters Wednesday the province needs to ensure "adequate access to child-care spaces" in areas where there is the highest demand. "We're providing funding to areas where it's needed the most to help alleviate demand," he said. "So it's largely driven by by demand pressure." Nicolaides added that he's new to the role and sorting out these issues will be a top priority for him. "I think I've been minister of child care for maybe about three to four days," he said. "So, one of the first things that I'll be doing very shortly here is reaching out to many of those operators, advocacy organizations, umbrella groups and chatting with them in a little more detail to try and get the best possible understanding of the pain points, challenges, concerns, so that we can work together to address them. So, I would just ask them to hang tight, sit by the phone and we'll be giving them a call shortly and look forward to chatting." Montgomery says she's been trying to get a hold of anyone with the Alberta government since receiving the news last week that she won't qualify for funding and has been met with silence. "I've phoned, I've emailed … and I've received nothing back," she said. "There's zero communication from the government to me, personally." 'It might break us' In a written statement to CBC News, Nicolaides said he understands the situation is "disappointing for those hardworking entrepreneurs opening new programs without the same access to funding as their peers in the sector." "Alberta continues to push for more flexibility, in the current agreement as well as the next, because providers and parents deserve better," he said. "We will continue good-faith negotiations with the federal government for a well-funded early learning and child-care agreement that is free of arbitrary restrictions, treats all providers equitably and targets supports to families most in need." With her Calgary daycare still under construction, Kaur worries she may have to sell her own home to cover her debts if something doesn't change. She doubts anyone will be willing to buy the facility she purchased, now that it's been nearly converted into a daycare facility — especially if new operators continue to be ineligible for government funding. "We have invested everything. Everything we have," she said.
