The social-emotional environment of the early childhood program should provide respect, warmth, nurturance, acceptance, protection, and responsiveness. But those qualities alone are not enough to create a healthy, safe, "growthful" environment; continuity is the final key ingredient. Two obstacles to continuity encountered in the early childhood field are personnel turnover rates and the yearly advancement of children from one classroom to another. Provisions must be made for children with special needs. Several cultural considerations must be taken into mind when planning the social-emotional environment of the early childhood classroom. The first consideration is whether to focus the program on the individual child or the community—or even whether to fashion the program after a family model. Another cultural aspect the early childhood program must take into consideration is the difference in child-rearing philosophies between families who focus on independence and those who value interdependence. The challenge is learning how to respect the home culture while fulfilling the professional responsibilities of the early childhood culture. Because culture continually evolves, the home culture of the families—and even those of staff members—won't remain exactly the same; nor will the culture of early childhood education.
