Core competencies for early childhood practitioners clearly articulate the knowledge and skills all types of early childhood practitioners should possess in order to provide responsive, rich experiences.
Core competencies refer to specific, basic concepts, skills, and abilities that early childhood professionals should learn, understand and be able to demonstrate. Throughout the Texas Core Competencies for Early Childhood Practitioners and Administrators training, you will learn about the core competencies found in the Texas Core Competencies for Early Childhood Practitioners and Administrators document, developed by the Texas Head Start State Collaboration Office (THSSCO), in collaboration with the Texas Early Learning Council (TELC). This training was designed for use by early childhood professionals to improve the quality of care and education young children receive. The content and structure of the competencies can be thought of as a framework for assessing knowledge and skills, guiding training and professional development opportunities, and monitoring progress.
About Core CompetenciesTraining ObjectivesWhy Learn About the Core Competencies?
The Core Competencies are very important to the early childhood field of practice. Demonstrating ability and excellence in any profession requires the mastery of different competencies related to the job. There are concepts, practices, and knowledge that early childhood practitioners and administrators must know and be able to demonstrate in order to be effective in facilitating children’s growth and development.
Core competencies are defined as an individual’s demonstrated skills and abilities. The Texas Core Competencies for Early Childhood Practitioners and Administrators document lists observable skills that, when accomplished, demonstrate competency in a particular area of knowledge.
Upon completing this training, you will be able to:
- Identify the core competency areas;
- Identify core concepts of each core competency area;
- Describe select observable competencies under a core competency area sub-category; and
- Identify strengths and development areas for professional growth.
Studies of early learning programs have repeatedly demonstrated that early childhood classroom experiences can improve young children’s academic and social skills upon school entry with many effects sustained through adolescence. These benefits are closely linked with the quality of teacher-child interactions and instructional support children receive while in care. An important step toward enhancing children’s outcomes is increasing the prevalence of high-quality teacher-child interactions in the classroom.
While early learning guidelines tell us what children need to know and be able to do, the core competency framework integrates this information with processes in which children and their families interact with practitioners in the classroom or program context. Core competencies for early childhood practitioners clearly articulate the knowledge and skills all types of early childhood practitioners should possess in order to provide responsive, rich experiences. Competencies can play an instrumental role in the evaluation and improvement plans of local programs by helping decision makers identify the strengths and professional development needs of their staff, and providing a structure for tracking program improvement. These competencies also support change by guiding the development of high quality training and coursework that is grounded in evidence-based practices and adapted to the needs of learners with different levels of knowledge and mastery.
Core Competencies Training Modules
Practitioners
Certificate path will give you access to the same training material provided in the Review path. Additionally, at the end of each lesson you will be prompted to participate in a non-graded knowledge check. When following the certificate path, you will be provided with a certificate upon completing the course. You will have the option to download, save, e-mail, or print your certificate directly from your account at any time. You will also have the opportunity to complete a Professional Development Plan and a survey at the end of the course. This will allow you to use this training to help meet your required number of training hours.
- Clock Hours Completing the training via the certificate path will give you 4 training hours towards the Professionalism and Ethics Core Competency Area.
- Professional Development Plan After completing the training via the certificate path you will be able to create a professional development plan to document your professional goals; areas where you feel further development is needed; and any additional notes based on what you learned in the training. You will have the option to download, save, e-mail, or print your professional development plan.
- Survey After completing the optional professional development plan, you will be presented with the opportunity to complete a survey on the training to help us improve the training over time. Your participation in this survey is appreciated and valued.
Administrators
Certificate path will give you access to the same training material provided in the Review path. Additionally, at the end of each lesson you will be prompted to participate in a non-graded knowledge check. When following the certificate path, you will be provided with a certificate upon completing the course. You will have the option to download, save, e-mail, or print your certificate directly from your account at any time. You will also have the opportunity to complete a Professional Development Plan and a survey at the end of the course. This will allow you to use this training to help meet your required number of training hours.
- Clock Hours Completing the training via the certificate path will give you 3 training hours towards the Professionalism and Ethics Core Competency Area.
- Professional Development Plan After completing the training via the certificate path you will be able to create a professional development plan to document your professional goals; areas where you feel further development is needed; and any additional notes based on what you learned in the training. You will have the option to download, save, e-mail, or print your professional development plan.
- Survey After completing the optional professional development plan, you will be presented with the opportunity to complete a survey on the training to help us improve the training over time. Your participation in this survey is appreciated and valued.
Note: When you click on “Start Training” you will be taken to the CLI Engage registration page, and you will need to sign up for “Public Access” in order to select the “Texas Core Competencies for Early Childhood Practitioners” Training.