知道

"Learning is like rowing upstream; not to advance is to drop back."- Chinese Proverb

Self-Reflection

Take a moment to jot down a few words or phrases that come to mind when you hear the word "professionalism." Is it knowledge about a field or a set of skills? Is it personal characteristics, qualities, or character traits? What do you expect from a person who is called a professional? You may have responded with reference to some of the many roles you or others you know assume such as demonstrating knowledge and sharing information or about interacting with children, families, and colleagues.全部of your descriptions offer a window into your sense of professionalism.

Consider the following definitions that different dictionaries provide about professionalism: the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines professionalism as "the high standard that you expect from a person who is well trained in a particular job," and "great skill and competence." The Merriam-Webster website defines professionalism as "the skill, good judgment, and polite behavior that is expected from a person who is trained to do a job well" and "the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional person." How do these definitions compare to your own definitions of professionalism?

This course will help you better understand the concept of professionalism and how it relates to your own competence, confidence, commitment, and awareness as a professional. This course will also help you learn how you can develop a sense of professionalism and what that means to you as a direct-care staff member.

What is Professionalism in Child Care and School-Age Programs?

For many years much of the general public has viewed early care and education providers (including those providing care to school-age children) as babysitters. To counter that thinking, the field of early care and education, through several professional organizations, has developed professional standards that describe the competencies needed to be an early care and education professional. These competencies include professionalism. Interacting with children, families, and colleagues must always be done in a professional manner. Whether you are an infant and toddler, preschool, or school-age staff member, it is critical to be knowledgeable about and model professional behavior.

家庭依靠程序人员莫得多re than "babysitters" for their children. In your daily work, you make conscious, intentional decisions about how to interact with children, parents, and colleagues. You may also be faced with difficult ethical situations. Following an ethical code can help with those decisions. You should look to your Service's written code of ethics to help you in decision-making. With the guidance of training and curriculum specialists, program directors, and other mentors, you should strive to set and maintain positive examples of professionalism in your daily interactions with fellow staff, children, and families.

专业组织代表儿童，家庭，照顾者，教师和青年发展工作者创造了指导儿童和青少年专业人士的标准和能力。每个专业组织都包括解决专业行为的标准。专业组织依靠基于研究的原则，并使高度尊重的专家汇集起草并核实该领域的标准和能力。例如，全国幼儿教育协会（NAEYC）是早期护理和教育领域最大的专业组织，已制定了指导专业行为的道德行为准则。Naeyc还开发了一个认证过程，包括用于审查计划在幼儿节目方案中的高质量护理标准的课程的自我研究。幼儿幼儿（DEC）的划分，委员会委员会的分司，是最大的国际专业组织，致力于改善残疾人和/或礼物和才能的人，已制定推荐的做法，指导专业人士和家庭谁与发展延误或残疾的幼儿一起工作。国家越辞协会（NAA）和认证理事会（COA）也为与儿童和青年合作的人制定了专业的能力。

When you review the various organizations' sets of standards and competencies you will find many similarities when it comes to professionalism. This indicates a common understanding that engaging in professional behavior is important for those working with young children, youth, and families.

例子：

For those working with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers:

一个国家专业的承诺可能是found in the Wisconsin Core Competencies for Professionals Working with Young Children & Their Families. The Professionalism section of this document (see p. 15) contains a number of professional competencies derived from a review of the standards and recommended practices of several national professional organizations. You can find these competencies in the Apply section of this lesson. For a complete explanation of the process for choosing the competencies seehttp://www.collaborationPartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/cplinkeddocs/wi_core_competencies_2014_16withlinks.pdf.

For those working with school-age children and youth:

国家越辞协会对专业精神的承诺可以在雇用越野和青年发展专业人士（适应越王岛和青年发展专业人士，华盛顿州儿童和青年发展专业人士，俄亥俄州核心知识核心竞争力与5-12岁及第5-12岁儿童合作的兽医专业人员的能力。本文件的专业开发和领导部分（见第68-74页）包含专业能力的多级描述，再次来自审查几个国家专业组织的标准和建议做法。您可以在本课程的应用部分中找到这些能力。有关选择竞争力的过程的完整解释，请参阅http://naaweb.org/resources/core-competencies

What does it mean to be a Professional Staff Member?

Infant, toddler, preschool, and school-age providers play powerful roles in children's lives, and your encounters with children and their families leave lasting impressions. Children's growth takes place over time, and each experience affects development. Who children become has everything to do with the experiences they have early in their lives; the experiences they have while they are in your care. Outside of their families, you might be the person they spend the most time with during these critical years of development. Optimum development is strengthened when children engage in meaningful interactions with adults who adhere to high- quality professional standards.

As an individual working with children, youth, and families, you engage in numerous activities that require you to maintain high- quality professional standards. Think about some of the experiences you participate in your daily professional life like:

• Interacting with children and youth
• Engaging with family members
• Interacting with supervisors and managers
• Collaborating with fellow staff members
• Interacting with community partners

Establishing and maintaining high- quality professional standards are important to every task you accomplish every day. This process continues to evolve and develop as you encounter new situations.

The work you do with children, youth, and their families lays the foundation for healthy development, growth, and success in school and life. Recognition of the significance of the early years on children's development has strengthened desire to strive for excellence when interacting with children, youth, and families (Feeney, 2012). This course will help you understand how your professionalism contributes to the growth and development of children and families you serve.

作为一名直接护理人员，您可能会遇到来自各种背景和生活经验的儿童，家庭和同事。重要的是，了解始终追求高质量实践的重要性，同时承认多样性和个人差异。当涉及睡眠，厕所培训或独立完成工作等主题时，同事或家庭成员可能不会与您分享相同的价值。作为一名直接护理工作人员，您需要能够提供儿童，青年及其家人，在文化和发展敏感的护理，并帮助他们在课堂上和未来几年中取得成功。

See

It is important to think about your own sense of professionalism. Watch this video to hear staff members share what being professional means to them.

专业: An Introduction

Do

In the field of early childhood education, professionalism encompasses many specific behaviors and skills that address how individuals present themselves to other adults. Take time to review the following traits identified by Gigi Schweikert (2012) as they contribute to professionalism in the field of early care and education:

• How you present yourself to others through your appearance and communication
• 知道ledge of the field of early care and education
• 你的工作质量
• Relationships with others
• Your work ethic
• Your determination and dedication
• Most important, your attitude

By including professional behavior as part of your evaluation, trainers and managers can actively work with you to support your professional growth. By including a focus on professional behaviors (appearance, communication, attitude, interpersonal relationships, etc.) you will enhance the quality of the program for children and families.

完成本课程

有关本课程的预期，专业性的更多信息能力反思, and a list of the accompanying Learn, Explore and Apply resources and activities offered throughout the lessons, visit the Infant & Toddler ProfessionalismCourse Guide。

Please note the References & Resources section at the end of each lesson outlines reference sources and resources to find additional information on the topics covered. As you complete lessons, you are not expected to review all the online references available. However, you are welcome to explore the resources further if you have interest, or at the request of your trainer, coach, or administrator.