The professional development program identifies seven key competencies for implementing at the early childhood level. People use these competencies to live, learn, work and contribute as active members of their communities. More complex than skills, the competencies draw on knowledge, attitudes and values in ways that lead to action. They are not separate or stand alone. They are they key to learning in every learning area. They are more related to teacher formation rather than the concept of teacher training. The trainees have to acquire these competencies in order to be able to transfer them to students at the early childhood level. The development of competencies is both an end in itself (a goal)and the means by which other ends are achieved. Successful learners make use of the competencies in combination with all the other resources available to them. These include personal goals, other people, community knowledge and values, cultural tools (language, symbols and texts) and the knowledge and skills found in different learning areas. As they develop competencies, successful learners are also motivated to use them, recognizing when and how to do so and why. Opportunities to develop competencies occur in social contexts. People adopt and adapt practices that they see used and valued by those closest to them and they make these practices part of their own identity and expertise. The competencies continue to develop over time, shaped by interactions with people, places, ideas and things. Students need to be challenged and supported to develop them in contexts that are increasingly wide-ranging and complex.