Describe what curriculum is and what it includes.

Introduction

Imagine yourself interviewing for your first early childhood teaching position. You know you will need to dress professionally and to have a resume that highlights your strengths and experiences. You can assume that interviewers will ask questions about your education and experience with children and what kind of teacher you hope to be. But what else might you share with this prospective employer to establish confidence in your knowledge and ability to plan and implement curriculum effectively?

As an early childhood educator, you will be expected to make many decisions about curriculum that demonstrate your awareness of how children develop and learn, and you will need to select materials and apply these resources to meet the needs of a diverse group of children. Therefore an important theme of this text is decision making. Each of the six modules is guided by an important question that relates to a dimension of your role as a curriculum decision maker.

In this chapter, we explore the basics that will allow you to develop a full understanding of curriculum: what curriculum is, how it reflects a long history of thinking about children, how developmentally appropriate practice provides a framework for curriculum, and how to think about your work as an early childhood educator.