A certificate in Early Childhood Education and Development will ensure that you are competent in both the subject matter and the general practice of teaching young children. Every year many teachers enroll in TRC’s ECED Programme and in this month’s Ilm o Amal, TRC staff explores why this may be the qualification you have been looking for to give your teaching career a boost in the right direction.
Every year, thousands of people earn their teaching degree and fulfill their dreams of making a difference and shaping the minds of the next generation. If you want to become an Early Childhood Education teacher, but are unsure whether a teaching certification programme is right for you, read on.

1. ECE Teachers will always be in demand
According to the ASER (Annual State of Education Report) there are nearly 1.4 million teachers working in both the public and private sector in Pakistan. With an increase in awareness about the importance of education in general and Early Childhood Education (ECE) in particular, the demand for ECE teachers and their likelihood of finding a job is expected to grow. Qualified teachers will remain in demand for years to come.

2. You Need the Right Teaching Qualification to become a Certified Teacher
You need technical knowledge of children’s developmental milestones and children’s brain development to be able to to be able to work effectively with children during their first few years of life.  The first five years of a child’s life are critical to their long-term success—and as an ECE teacher you can be an important part of it.
 
3. Proper Certification Programmes will Help You Think Like a Teacher
Many teachers forgo teaching certification and instead choose to study a specialty subject. However, as a teacher many of them feel the need for further trainings and teaching certification. The time a person spends in learning to be a teacher in a quality certification programme, for instance managing a classroom, assessing student success will give him or her  the practice required to teach with confidence right from the beginning.

4. You’ll Learn from Experienced Faculty
One benefit of going for an ECE teaching certification is that you will be immersing yourself in the world of education right from the start. You will also have the opportunity to learn from a faculty who has extensive teaching experience to share.

5. You’ll Get Hands-On Teaching Experience
Hands-on teaching experience is a requirement for TRC’s ECED (Early Childhood Education and Development) Programme. This offers you an opportunity to put into practice what you have learned and also get feedback for your teaching skills. This aspect of the programme literally throws you into the deep end so you learn what teaching is actually like. With this crucial real-life experience you can make a difference in a classroom of your own.

6. You Will Adapt Quicker to the Classroom Environment
An ECED teaching certification from TRC will put you to work in the field and you will end up working with actual students. You will be in a classroom full of children gaining real experience. On the other hand, if you opt to get a degree or a certification in a specialized subject, you will have spent valuable time discussing ideas in the classroom with your peers. Once you enter a pre-primary or primary classroom, you will quickly have to adapt to the level of the school. This can often be a challenge.

If you want to become a teacher it is unlikely that you are doing it for the money. Your top motivation is probably to help young people make a difference in their lives. A teaching certification will help you prepare you for an exciting career journey ahead as you reach for the noble goal of contributing to the quality of education of the next generation.

November 2018