Cats Teacher Development Stage 4: Childcare teacher growth from survival to maturity

Cats' teacher development stages are a theory presented by American early childhood educator Lillian Katz in 1972, and explain that early childhood teachers grow through four stages as they build their careers: survival, strengthening, renewal, and maturity. The key point is that the problems teachers worry about and the help they need are different at each stage.

This theory can also explain the concerns of new teachers, such as “Why is it so hard to get through the first year?” For those preparing for childcare teacher theory and early childhood teacher theory assignments, we have summarized step-by-step characteristics and support methods.

What are the 4 stages of Cats?

The timing may vary from teacher to teacher, so it is more accurate to look at the stage based on what kind of concerns the teacher is currently facing rather than the number of years.

What kind of support do you need at each stage?

Cats believed that the method of assistance should also vary depending on the stage. Survival teachers most need on-site support right next to them to encourage them and teach them specific methods. During the reinforcement period, advice from experts and colleagues who can help solve specific problems, such as a specific infant's behavior or parent consultations, is helpful. In the renewal stage, new stimulation is needed, such as field trips to other institutions, training, and participation in academic societies, and in the maturity stage, opportunities to expand expertise such as research, entering graduate school, and mentoring junior teachers are meaningful.

If you look at it this way, you can see that even the same training program is not equally effective for all teachers.

하루 중 집중이 잘 되는 시간에 어려운 과제를 하니까 효율이 좋더라고요. 끝낸 일에 줄 긋는 재미를 느껴 보는 것도 좋을 것 같아요.

How do the interests of childcare teachers vary by experience?

New child care teachers are very interested in tasks that need to be accomplished immediately, such as safety management for infants and toddlers, work management, and responding to parents. As my career progresses, my interest shifts to how to help individual infants and toddlers with their development and behavior problems, and how to expand play. In this process, the teacher actually utilizes concepts such as setting up scaffolding to help the child with tasks that are slightly higher than the child's current level, and the background is Vygotsky zone of proximal development You can see it together in the document. As I gain more experience, my interest grows in a wider range of areas, such as running childcare courses, guiding juniors, and the philosophy of the institution.

So, if the institution gradually assigns roles and responsibilities appropriate to the teacher's career, the teacher can naturally grow to the next level without being burned out.

How to grow into a competent childcare teacher?

A competent childcare teacher is described as someone who has a warm attitude toward infants and toddlers, knowledge of development, skills to support play, and the ability to reflect on one's own practice. Individuals can learn by consistently writing observation records and class reflection journals, sharing cases with colleagues, and participating in training. Institutions must create a working environment that allows room for growth, such as mentoring new teachers, ensuring an appropriate teacher-to-child ratio, and ensuring recess time.

Assignment structure and reference materials

The report can be written in the following order: Meaning of childcare teacher expertise → 4 stages and characteristics of Cats → Interests and needs by experience → Step-by-step support plan → Idea of childcare teacher you want to become. If you add interviews with current teachers, you can vividly show the differences by experience. Katz's stage of teacher interest development, the interests and needs of childcare teachers by experience, and the aspects in which childcare teachers need to develop are summarized on page 6. href="https://campusdown.com/product/Katz%EC%9D%98%EA%B5%90%EC%82%AC%EA%B4%80%EC%8B%AC%EC%82%AC%EB%B 0%9C%EB%8B%AC%EB%8B%A8%EA%B3%84%EB%B3%84%ED%8A%B9%EC%A7%95%EA%B3%BC%EA%B2%BD%EB%A0%A5%EB%B3%84%EB%B3 %B4%EC%9C%A1%EA%B5%90%EC%82%AC%EC%9D%98%EA%B4%80%EC%8B%AC%EB%B0%8F%EC%9A%94%EA%B5%AC,%EB%B3%B4%EC%9C %A1%EA%B5%90%EC%82%AC%EA%B0%80%EB%B0%9C%EB%8B%AC%ED%95%B4%EC%95%BC%ED%95%A0%EC%96%91%EC%83%81-25964" rel="noopener">Campus Down Cats Teacher Development Stage Material can help those preparing for childcare teacher theory or early childhood teacher theory assignments to follow the flow of each stage of the narrative.