Curriculum Evaluation of Military-Based Child Development Centers

Abstract

The Department of Defense (DOD) strongly emphasizes early childhood development at their child development centers (CDCs). As part of this commitment, the DOD has selected Teaching Strategies’ The Creative Curriculum as the cornerstone for delivering high-quality education to military children. With a research-based framework that has garnered the endorsement of educators for over 40 years, The Creative Curriculum is highly regarded. However, research is lacking on how it is implemented or utilized within the military child community. To better understand its quality, this report reviewed historical DOD certification inspections and interviewed Training Curriculum Specialists from two local CDC locations near NPS. It is important to note that the limited number of locations observed may not fully capture the diverse nuances of applying The Creative Curriculum. However, the primary focus of the study is on how teaching specialists apply their techniques from the framework and their personal experiences to provide insight into The Creative Curriculum. Therefore, this research has the potential to offer military families a better understanding of the education provided at CDCs, making them feel valued and considered. It may also spur further research to gather more comprehensive curriculum data.