Teachers play an integral role in developing the social, cognitive and emotional development of the child as after the family, schools are the institutions that the child is exposed to early in his or her life. Teachers have to not only be able to present the concepts of Early Childhood Development (ECD) successfully to parents and communities, but to also convince them to integrate ECD into their daily lives.

Teacher development for ECD should be geared towards enhancing their potential to help children grow into healthy, well-adjusted individuals. Teachers therefore are change agents within the classrooms and beyond schools. The teacher also has to prepare an enabling environment for children when they enter the ECD classroom. Children must have the space to explore, manipulate, experiment, question, and find the answers for themselves. Teachers have to create that space that allows all of this to happen.

The following sections will guide you through Early Childhood Development theory and practice as well as locally available resources for the ECD Practitioner.