Common Planner
K–12 Standards

Early Childhood Education Careers I (ECEC I)

Other Tennessee CTE sets

Safety and Confidentiality1

  • 1

    Safe Learning Environment: Compile and critique procedures for maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment for children present in a childcare facility. Cite information for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), including but not limited to CPR, First-Aid, and Bloodborne Pathogens, to identify precautionary guidelines to prevent illness, communicable diseases and injuries. Incorporate safety procedures and complete safety test.1.1

  • 2

    Signs of Abuse: Recognize the signs of child abuse, and research the legal requirements for reporting suspected abuse. Describe types of abuse, including signs and symptoms to look for, and outline the reporting requirements and procedures. 1.2

  • 3

    Confidentiality: Research state and national childcare confidentiality laws. Describe and demonstrate the importance of confidentiality. Use case studies and practicum experiences to recognize and report situations that warrant a breach of confidentiality. 1.3

Foundations of Early Childhood Services2

  • 1

    Care Services: Compare and contrast various types of early childhood care services. Include information about relevant regulations and licensure requirements. Example programs/providers include, but are not limited to:2.1

    1. a

      Childcare centers2.1.a

    2. b

      Head Start 2.1.b

    3. c

      Kindergarten-4th grade 2.1.c

    4. d

      Laboratory schools2.1.d

    5. e

      Montessori 2.1.e

    6. f

      Preschool 2.1.f

    7. g

      Nannies2.1.g

  • 2

    Stages of Human Development: Illustrate the stages of human development from birth through age eight and the corresponding activities that support physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development at each stage. 2.2

  • 3

    Influence of Educational Theorists: Research and summarize the influences of major educational theorists’ philosophies and how the theory supports the need for early childhood services. Evaluate the extent to which the reasoning and evidence presented by the theorists supported their claims. Note the differences in the theoretical philosophies. Examples of theorists include: 2.3

    1. a

      John Dewey2.3.a

    2. b

      Friedrich Froebel2.3.b

    3. c

      John Locke2.3.c

    4. d

      Abraham Maslow2.3.d

    5. e

      Maria Montessori2.3.e

    6. f

      Jean Piaget 2.3.f

    7. g

      Lev Vygotsky2.3.g

  • 4

    Early Childhood Historical Information: Explore and summarize the development and expansion of early childhood education. Use multiple resources and references, such as, but not limited to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), Head Start, theories of teaching, and foundational philosophies of early childhood education.2.4

Childhood Development Careers3

  • 1

    Career Knowledge and Skills: Use local job postings and national labor and workforce data to identify and describe essential knowledge and skills for careers within the childcare field. Complete one or more career interest surveys and analyze the results with other findings on essential knowledge and skills for childcare providers.3.1

  • 2

    Labor Market Data: Compile and analyze real-time labor market data, including economic and demographic trends, and compare with authentic vacancy announcements on local and national job boards. Use this information to compare and contrast occupations by education requirements, job availability, salaries, and benefits. 3.2

Provider Responsibilities and Aptitudes4

  • 1

    Daily Tasks: Identify daily tasks of child development service careers (e.g., owner, director, assistant director, cook, teacher, substitute teacher, teacher aid, provider, etc.) through observation, first-hand experience, or online research. Describe each of the tasks and estimate the time spent on each category of task. Explore the multiple facets of common early childhood career activities, including but not limited to: 4.1

    1. a

      Planning effective instruction4.1.a

    2. b

      Meeting the physical needs of children4.1.b

    3. c

      Supervising children4.1.c

    4. d

      Non-instructional activities (e.g., parent communication, site maintenance, etc.)4.1.d

  • 2

    Ethical Standards: Research professional ethical standards from recognized professional organizations, such as the National Association for the Education of Young Children  4.2

  • 3

    Characteristics and Aptitudes: Describe personal characteristics and aptitudes, including 21st century skills, needed by childcare providers. Conduct a self-assessment of the following 21st century skills: 4.3

    1. a

      Communicate verbally and nonverbally in a respectful manner with children, parents, and colleagues4.3.a

    2. b

      Work effectively in teams and resolve conflicts when necessary4.3.b

    3. c

      Demonstrate a positive work ethic4.3.c

    4. d

      Understand different cultural perspectives and their impact in the classroom4.3.d

    5. e

      Use instructional technology appropriately 4.3.e

    6. f

      Adapt to changes4.3.f

    7. g

      Manage time and resources wisely4.3.g

  • 4

    Evaluation and Growth Plan: Establish a baseline evaluation of 21st century skills, attitudes, and work habits. Create a growth plan promoting advancement of skills and abilities to place in the career portfolio. 4.4

Introduction to Child Development 5

  • 1

    Brain Development: Describe the parts and functions of the human brain. Create a brain development timeline from birth through age eight. 5.1

  • 2

    Brain Development: Draw conclusions about the most important influences on and relationships among brain development, reasoning capacity, and learning. Define brain plasticity and describe how it changes over the lifespan. Research the brain’s anatomy including: frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes; brain stem, cerebellum, cerebral cortex, and limbic system.5.2

  • 3

    Child Development Theories: Compare and contrast the “ages and stages” identified by influential child development theorists. Formulate a hypothesis about child development. Examples of child development theories include: 5.3

    1. a

      Erikson's psychosocial stage theory 5.3.a

    2. b

      Kohlberg's moral understanding stage theory 5.3.b

    3. c

      Piaget's cognitive development stage theory 5.3.c

    4. d

      Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory5.3.d

  • 4

    Personality: Analyze the factors that contribute to personality and investigate several research-based personality assessment tools. Reflect on the connections among personality, life experience, environment, and brain development. 5.4

  • 5

    Developmental Milestones: Examine the Tennessee Early Childhood Education Early Learning Developmental Standards. Summarize the major developmental milestones and illustrate the continuum of development from birth through age five in these domains:5.5

    1. a

      Speech and Language Development 5.5.a

    2. b

      Early Literacy5.5.b

    3. c

      Math and Science 5.5.c

    4. d

      Social Studies 5.5.d

    5. e

      Creative Arts 5.5.e

    6. f

      Social and Emotional Development 5.5.f

    7. g

      Physical Development 5.5.g

  • 6

    Growth and Development: Research observation and assessment methods used to observe and interpret children’s growth and development. Identify risk factors, delays, or disabilities that may indicate a need for special services. 5.6

Introduction to Learning6

  • 1

    Developmentally Appropriate Practices: Analyze NAEYC’s 12 Principles of Child Development and Learning and additional relevant documents to explain how the principles serve as the foundation for implementing developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) that promote young children’s optimal learning. 6.1

  • 2

    Human Learning Theories: Synthesize academic research to describe and critique major approaches to theories of human learning, including:6.2

    1. a

      Behaviorism6.2.a

    2. b

      Cognitive psychology6.2.b

    3. c

      Social learning theory6.2.c

    4. d

      Constructivism6.2.d

    5. e

      Experiential learning6.2.e

    6. f

      Multiple intelligences6.2.f

  • 3

    Student Self Concept and Learning: Compare and contrast research on the influence of the following factors on student self-concept and learning:6.3

    1. a

      Student experiences, interests, aptitudes6.3.a

    2. b

      Family and culture6.3.b

    3. c

      Teacher/Caregiver behavior and attitudes 6.3.c

    4. d

      Peers6.3.d

Career Investigation 7

  • 1

    Portfolio: Create a course portfolio, using writing and visual elements to connect personal career preparation artifacts to concepts learned in this course.7.1

  • 2

    Career Pathway Plan: Investigate early childhood education career options and create a written or electronic career pathway plan that outlines academic and career achievement goals. Create a timeline for ongoing reflection throughout the program of study coursework.7.2

    1. a

      Identify dual credit courses available within specific programs of study7.2.a

    2. b

      Gather information from postsecondary institution websites and compare community college, Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology, and university education programs that align with secondary programs of study7.2.b

  • 3

    Teaching Philosophy: Drawing upon content in this course, write a clear and coherent definition of a teaching philosophy, argue its significance to student learning, and create a personal teaching philosophy for inclusion in the professional portfolio.7.3

Frequently asked questions

What grade levels do these standards cover?
Grade 9, Grade 10, Grade 11, and Grade 12
Where can I read the official document?
Early Childhood Education Careers I (ECEC I)

Keep exploring

Keep exploring CTE standards

Sibling grade bands, other subjects in this jurisdiction, and the same subject across other states.

More Tennessee CTE sets

CTE