Training caregivers

It is erroneously assumed that anyone can take care of young children, despite the growing wealth of research confirming the importance of teacher training to the quality of the early childhood experience. Moreover, teachers are far too often regarded as custodians and dispensers of knowledge who must follow a centrally controlled curriculum regardless of local conditions or the efficacy of other forms of learning. Instead, teachers should be trained to distinguish aspects of the curriculum that can and should be changed to accommodate local customs from those that cannot be modified without seriously compromising the program's efficacy.