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Degree Programs

by Valora Washington
January/February 2015
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Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/degree-programs/5022108/

As the chief executive officer for the Council for Professional Recognition, which assesses and credentials early childhood professionals through the Child Development Associate™ (CDA) National Credentialing Program, I’m often confronted with the question of whether a bachelor’s degree better prepares an early educator relative to our CDA credential. Many employers openly state that their CDA-credentialed teachers are better prepared for the realities of leading a classroom than newly-minted B.A. staff, but let’s take a deeper look.

Ideally, the CDA is the ‘best first step’ for many early educators, who then move on to obtain more formal education �" and experience �" working with young children and their families. This best first step leads to deeper confidence in people like Magdalena Monroy from Brooklyn, New York, who, after being awarded her CDA credential, went on to earn a bachelor’s degree and later work with the Council as one of our Professional Development (PD) Specialists. As a PD Specialist, she supported other CDA candidates through coaching and mentoring as they pursued their own CDA credential. Her role is vital in our ongoing efforts to professionalize and unify the profession.

The spark ignited through the CDA credentialing process often leads candidates to pursue more education ...

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