Appendix 2.
01A students, a partnership of 26 nationally known businesses and
Student Handout
SkillsNeededtoWorkwithYoungChildren accountability, adaptability, personal productivity, personal
In order to work with small children, you will need basic
employability skills as well as professional skills. Basic
employability skills are those you need to be able to get and
keep a job. Professional skills are the specialized skills that
will be needed in order to excel and advance in this field. Both
types of skills may be sharpened by reading, studying, asking
questions, and taking part in on-the-job experiences. This is
why your internship experience is such a valuable part of this
course.
What are the skills that you must have to be successful in
working with young children? Although it is true that different
writers present different lists, the essential skills that are
included in this study are ones that are widely recognized.
These skills are identified by many authorities in early
childhood education.
Basic Employability Skills
Basic employability skills include basic communication skills,
math skills, thinking skills, and life skills. With these skills,
most people are able to find a job or career in which they can
be successful.
Basic communication skills are those that allow people to
send and receive messages. Some messages are verbal
because they involve words --- for example, speaking,
listening, reading, and writing. Some, such as body language,
are nonverbal because no words are used.
There are several ways in which verbal communications are
exchanged in early childhood settings. These include talking
by telephone, sending E-mails, and writing reports of
observations. Each of these requires a specialized set of
skills.
Basic math skills are also essential for success in working
with young children. The basic operations of adding,
subtracting, multiplying, and dividing are used frequently for a
variety of purposes --- everything from dividing paper into
smaller multiples to cut out shapes to adding numbers of
servings from the food groups. Basic math skills are used
every day in early childhood settings.
Thinking skills are very important. A child care professional
is responsible for the well-being of children who are not old
enough to make good judgment calls for themselves. The
child care professional must be able to think critically, make
decisions, and solve problems for them. With the good
thinking skills of teachers and caregivers, children remain safe,
healthy, and happy.
Another set of skills that is considered essential for the 21st
Century is life skills. After extensive research and dialogue
with educators, employers, parents, community members and
agencies identified these life skills as part of their collective
vision for 21st century learning: leadership, ethics,
responsibility, people skills, self-direction, and social
responsibility.
Professional Skills
Professional skills include interpersonal, leadership, resource
management, and professional communication skills. With
these skills, most people are able to advance and excel in their
chosen fields.
Interpersonal skills are essential because, in the early
childhood setting, you will be working on a daily basis with
several different types of people --- the children for whom you
care, their parents, and your co-workers. In 1992, the US
Department of Labor did a study and issued a report called the
SCANS Report Secretarys Commission on Achieving
Necessary Skills. In that report, five interpersonal skills were
listed as necessary skills --- participating as a member of a
team, teaching others, serving clients, exercising leadership,
and working with cultural diversity. It is easy to see the
relevance of all five of these skills to careers in early childhood.
Leadership means the ability to influence others toward
positive action. In order to advance in any field, a person must
be able to have a positive influence on others. Effective
leaders are people who know how to work with other people to
get the job done. Although many skills are associated with
leadership, our focus will be on responsibility, integrity, vision,
perseverance, consideration, and team focus. Note that some
of these qualities are also associated with good character.
Another set of professional skills is resource management
skills. There are many types of resources to be managed in
early childhood settings, and often some of these resources
are in scarce supply. These resources include people,
information, technology, time, energy, money, equipment, and
supplies.
Professional communication skills are important for anyone
in the early childhood profession, but particularly for those who
wish to manage or direct an early childhood program.
Professional communication skills include communicating
goals and philosophy, public relations, family communications,
staff communications, teamwork, and recording information.
As you continue your study of early
childhood education and your work
experiences in early childhood settings,
you will sharpen your skills and prepare
for success as an early childhood
professional. Best wishes!