Core beliefs
Several core beliefs exist at the heart of these competencies. These core beliefs serve as a foundation and guide for all efforts to support New York’s children and families and its early childhood education workforce.
Children are born ready to learn.
Every human being is a unique individual with diverse modes of learning and expression, as well as interests and strengths.
Children are worthy of the same respect as adults.
Children’s needs for shelter and for physical, intellectual, emotional, and social nourishment must be met for them to grow, develop, and learn to their fullest potential.
Children have the right to secure, trusting relationships with adults and to safe, nurturing environments.
Children learn through play.
Children construct their own knowledge based on their curiosity and driven by their interests. This active construction is facilitated by interaction with adults and with other children.
Children’s learning is active and follows a recurring path: awareness, exploration, inquiry, and application.
Children learn best when exposed to and engaged in high-quality environments, interactions, and relationships.
Children learn best when the adults in their lives work in partnership with one another.
All children and their families, regardless of their ethnic origins, value systems, faiths, customs, languages, and compositions, must be equally respected.
Families and children have the right to support systems that foster their growth and development.
Teaching and learning are dynamic, integrated, and reciprocal processes.