Understanding Excellent Child Care Activities

FAQs About The Child Care Teacher

23 February 2023

Barry Ward

What should you know about your child's daycare teacher? Whether this is your first experience with child care or your preschooler has a new teacher, take a look at the top questions to ask about the early childhood educator. 

What Are the Licensing Requirements?

Before you start asking questions about individual educators, you may need to learn more about what you can or should expect. Different states have different daycare center licensing requirements. These requirements include a variety of areas, such as the physical environment, the curriculum, and teacher/adult staff member education, training, and background qualifications. 

Contact your state's licensing body, department of public welfare, department of education/early education, or other similar government agency for more information on the local requirements. 

Does the Teacher Have the Required Background Checks?

Background checks help to ensure safety in daycare center programs. According to the U.S. Administration for Children and Families Office of Child Care, federal law requires state-mandated criminal and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) FBI background checks for adults working in daycare centers. These should include fingerprint background checks against the FBI's database.

Along with criminal history and FBI fingerprint checks, daycare center employees should provide proof they are not on a state sex offender registry or child abuse/neglect database. The U.S. Administration for Children and Families information notes that these checks are required upon initial hiring and at least every five years (of employment). 

What Type of Education Does the Teacher Have?

The required type of degree, types of coursework, and number of years of school required to work as a lead teacher, teaching assistant, or other position within an early childhood center may depend on the state's licensing regulations. But the teacher should have some formal education in early childhood, child development, instruction and learning, developmental psychology, or a similar field. 

What Types of Experience Does the Teacher Have?

Some teachers are new to the early childhood field. Even though your child's teacher may have recently graduated, they should still have at least some hands-on experience working in an early learning setting. This could include internships, student teaching (in an associate's, bachelor's, or master's program), or past experience working in a daycare center. 

What Is the Teacher's Educational Philosophy?

Does the teacher take a hands-off, child-centered approach that encourages exploration—or do they have a different educational philosophy? If the center is grounded in a specific approach (such as Montessori or Waldorf), the teacher should accept and use this type of educational strategy. But if the center doesn't have a unified philosophy, the teacher's approaches to education should match up with your expectations and beliefs.

Reach out to a local daycare center for more information.

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