Early Childhood - Connecticut State Department of Education

The performance standards are organized within four domains:
• personal and social development;
• physical development;
• cognitive development; and
• creative expression and aesthetic development.
This Guide to Early Childhood Program Development provides direction and support for using the performance
standards. Connecticut’s Preschool Curriculum Framework provides examples to assist in interpreting each
performance standard. And Connecticut’s Preschool Assessment Framework provides methods for monitoring
progress and improving practice. Together, these three resources will support early childhood professionals
in the continual process of planning and implementing challenging and engaging programs that build
strong foundations for Connecticut’s children.
References
Connecticut State Board of Education. The Connecticut Framework: Connecticut’s Preschool Curriculum
Framework. Hartford, CT: Connecticut State Board of Education, 1999 (with reprints in 2005 and 2006).
Connecticut State Board of Education. The Connecticut Preschool Assessment Framework. Hartford, CT:
Connecticut State Board of Education, 2005.
Gobbo, C. and Chi, M. “How Knowledge is Structured and Used by Expert and Novice Children. In
Cognitive Development 1(3): 221-237, 1986.
Howes, C. and Smith, E. W. “Relations Among Child Care Quality, Teacher Behavior, Children’s Play
Activities, Emotional Security and Cognitive Activity in Child Care.” In Early Childhood Research Quarterly
10(4): 381-404, 1995.
Vygotsky, L. S. Mind in Society: The Development of the Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: The
Harvard University Press, 1978. (Originally published in 1930 by Oxford University Press.)
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