Abstract:

The concept of child development is very broad, and different factors converge in it. Its definition is complex, and different points of view must be taken into account. In the case of Latin America, Colombia has been one of the countries that has developed early childhood policies; for example in 2013 the integrated early childhood care strategy “From Zero to Ever” stipulates:

"(...) development moves between the singularities of each child; but their different rhythms and styles are related to the characteristics of the process of their peers, and the characteristics offered by the environments where they live their lives: the home, the health environment, the educational environment and the public space". (p.107)

Therefore, it is crucial that childhood educators value and understand child development, because they spend most of their time with children, and their actions have a direct impact on them, their families, caregivers, and the community. This study provided a reflection about the role of the teacher as transforming agent, and his/her daily work in child development.

Question of research and justification:
Child spends many hours a day with his/her teacher and classmates in the kindergarten. According to the 2008 report of the CFWI (Colombian Family Wellness Institute) (ICBF in Spanish): “In accordance with children and their family situation, Day Care Centers work 5 days a week, during the whole day (8 to 9 hours) or part time (4 to 5 hours a day)”. (p.11)
A lot of the child's experiences happen in the school environment, therefore the teacher has a great responsibility in this process to attend in a timely and relevant way to their needs.
The question of research was: Which is the childhood educator role in the assessment childhood development?

Objective:
To identify the childhood educator role in the assessment childhood development.

Methodology:
The study was developed with a mixed approach and descriptive range. Its implementation was divided into three phases: In the first, 10 interviews were carried out to experts in early childhood education issues to know the state of the debate. In the second, the Abbreviated Scale of Development – ASD was applied to 50 children; it is a Colombian assessment instrument of child development that value four areas: fine and gross motor, hearing and language, and social emotional. In the last phase, a pedagogical proposal was designed to improve the lowest area.

Population:
10 experts, and 50 Children between 2 to 4 years old, who attend to the Child Development Centers in the municipalities of Chia and Cajica, Cundinamarca – Colombia.

Results:
Experts agreed that the childhood educator role is decisive as education agent, so that their professional development in this topic is relevant in their daily working activities.

During the ASD implementation, it was evident the lack of quality interactions between teachers and children to improve their emotional ties. For that reason, the name of the pedagogical proposal was Let´s …The name was written this way, because the main objective was to involve the teachers in children activities.

Finally, it was found that the area that presented the most aspects to improve was hearing and language, so a pedagogical proposal was designed, consisting of two primers and two roulette aimed at parents and teachers work.

Keywords:

Child development, childhood educators, Abbreviated Scale of Development, early childhood education, assessment childhood development.