Overlapping Grades and Differing Standards Between National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education-Recognized Programs That Prepare Teachers for Pre-K-3

• In Event: Early Childhood Teacher Preparation and Professional Development

Abstract

Two related questions are investigated. First, to what extent do NCATE-recognized elementary teacher preparation programs include grades that the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) considers part of early childhood education (ECE)? Results indicate extensive overlap: 10% of elementary preparation programs start in preschool (or below), 53% in kindergarten, and 30% in 1st grade. The second investigation compared ACEI’s national standards for elementary teacher preparation with NAEYC’s comparable standards for ECE. A content analysis indicates that NAEYC’s standards include manyfold references to essential aspects of ECE (e.g., “community,” “family,” and “relationship”). The NAEYC mentions play” eight times and “self-regulation” four; the elementary standards mention neither term. These results support calls for stand-alone ECE licensure and PreK-3 alignment.

Author

• R. Clarke Fowler, Salem State University