Introduction
· How I came to write this book
· Why address this topic now?
· A note to college teachers and trainers
CHAPTER 1—What is a Profession?
· Origins of professions
· What do the terms mean?
· Criteria for determining if an occupation is a profession
· A continuum of professions
· How should professionals behave?
· Issues regarding professions
CHAPTER 2—Is Early Childhood Education a Profession?
· Historical influences on the field of ECE
· How does early childhood education meet the criteria for a profession?
· Where do we stand?
· Do we want to be a profession?
· Which way should we go from here?
CHAPTER 3—Personal attributes
· What should early childhood educators be like?
· What you bring into the world
· Who you are as a person
· Who you are as an educator
· Knowing yourself
· Final thoughts
CHAPTER 4—Knowledge and Skills
· Historical influences on knowledge and skills needed to teach young children
· The current landscape
· What should early childhood educators should know and be able to do?
· How do these things come together in practice?
· Final thoughts
CHAPTER 5—Professional Behavior
· Characteristics of professional conduct
· Doing what is right—ethics and advocacy
· Performing the job
· Final thoughts
CHAPTER 6—Aspiring to do your Best
· Looking backward
· Early childhood education as a “calling”
· A developmental perspective
· Basics and beyond
· Looking forward
APPENDICES
A—Self Assessments
B—Professional development plan
C—Recommended reading
D— NAEYC CODE OF ETHICAL CONDUCT
