2. Teaching to enhance development and learning
Adults are responsible for ensuring children’s healthy develop- ment and learning. From birth, relationships with adults are critical determinants of children’s healthy social and emotional development and serve as well as mediators of language and intellectual development. At the same time, children are active constructors of their own understanding, who benefit from initiating and regulating their own learning activities and interacting with peers. Therefore, early childhood teachers strive to achieve an optimal balance between children’s self-initiated learning and adult guidance or support. Teachers accept responsibility for actively supporting children’s development and provide occasions for children to acquire important knowledge and skills. Teachers use their knowledge of child development and learning to identify the range of activities, materials, and learning experiences that are appropriate for a group or individual child. This knowledge is used in conjunction with knowledge of the context and under- standing about individual children’s growth patterns, strengths, needs, interests, and experiences to design the curriculum and learning environment and guide teachers’ interactions with children. The following guidelines describe aspects of the teachers’ role in making decisions about practice