The Early Childhood Personnel Center

Learners engage with the profession of EI/ECSE by participating in local, regional, national, and/or international activities and professional organizations.

Learners who have mastered this component know and understand:

• Current issues and trends in the EI/ECSE profession
• Professional associations’ missions and professional supports (e.g., CEC, DEC, NAEYC)
• National and state early learning standards, recommended practices, and personnel standards

Learners who have mastered this component are able to:

• Improve knowledge and practice by engaging in professional association activities, accessing resources (e.g., webinars, journals), participating in learning communities with other educators and related service providers
• Use national and state early learning standards, recommended practices, and personnel standards

Learners engage in ongoing reflective practice and access evidence-based information to improve their own practices.

Learners who have mastered this component know and understand:

• Reflective practice
• Professional growth planning

Learners who have mastered this component are able to:

• Participate in evidence-based activities and training to improve professional practices
• Reflect on their professional practice based on demonstration of personnel standards and application of research and recommended practices
• Develop, implement, and evaluate a professional growth plan that includes:
  • Areas for growth
  • Evidence-based activities related to the areas for growth (e.g., conferences, online learning communities, library resources)
  • Mentors and mentorship experiences with opportunities for feedback
• Formative assessment

Learners exhibit leadership skills in advocating for improved outcomes for young children, families, and the profession, including the promotion of and use of evidence-based practices and decision-making.

Learners who have mastered this component know and understand:

• Processes in the development of federal, provincial, state, and local policies
• Central policy issues in EI/ECSE and implications for advocacy and policy change
• Relationship of advocacy to systemic and policy change
• Historical and current systems of marginalization and inequities, including implicit bias
• Professional associations’ policy and advocacy missions

Learners who have mastered this component are able to:

• Advocate for improved outcomes for children, families, and the profession; use of evidence-based practices; and rights of children and families by working with decision-makers to minimize barriers
• Access evidence-based resources to learn about issues around implicit bias and limit the impact of their own biases in interactions with children, families, and other professionals
• Access professional organizations’ activities and resources to support their own advocacy efforts