NAEYC Standards For Early Childhood Professional Preparation
Position StatementNAEYC Standards for Early ChildhoodProfessional PreparationPosition Statement Approved by theNAEYC Governing Board July 2009A position statement of the National Asssociation for the Education of Young ChildrenIntroductionThe purpose of this positionstatementNAEYC Standards for Early Childhood ProfessionalPreparation Programs represents a sustainedvision for the early childhood field and more specifically for the programs that prepare the professionals working in the field. This 2009 revision ofthe standards is responsive to new knowledge,research and conditions while holding true to corevalues and principles of the founders of the profession. It is designed for use in a variety of ways bydifferent sectors of the field while also supportingspecific and critical policy structures, includingstate and national early childhood teacher credentialing, national accreditation of professional earlychildhood preparation programs, state approval ofearly childhood teacher education programs, andarticulation agreements between various levelsand types of professional development programs.HistoryNAEYC has a long-standing commitment to the development and support of strong early childhood degreeprograms in institutions of higher education. NAEYCstandard setting for degree programs in institutionsof higher education began more than 25 years ago.This document is the third revision to NAEYC‘s EarlyChildhood Teacher Education Guidelines for Fourand Five-Year Programs (1982) and Guidelines forEarly Childhood Education Programs in AssociateDegree Granting Institutions (1985).Development and publication of those firststandards documents was made possible throughthe contributions of family and friends of Rose H.Alschuler, a founding member and first SecretaryTreasurer of NAEYC from 1929-1931. During the1920s, Ms. Alschuler was an early proponent anddirector of the first public nursery schools in theUnited States. During the 1930s she directed WorksProgress Administration (WPA) public nurseryschools in Chicago. During World War II she chairedthe National Commission for Young Children. Herlife and legacy continue today as our field furthersits work to improve both programs for young children and programs that prepare early childhoodprofessionals.Copyright 2009 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children
2The Revisions processThe 1985 guidelines for preparation of early childhood professionals were revised in 1996, 20012003, and again with this revision in 2009. Eachof these sets of guidelines and standards wasdeveloped with input from hundreds of early childhood professionals who participated in conferencesessions, advisory committees, and work groups.While these are position statements of NAEYC,each was developed with invited input from colleagues in related professional associations,including ACCESS—early childhood educators inassociate degree granting institutions, the NationalAssociation of Early Childhood Teacher Educators(NAECTE), the Division for Early Childhood ofthe Council for Exceptional Children (CEC/DEC),and the National Board for Professional TeachingStandards (NBPTS).In January 2008, NAEYC’s Governing Boardappointed a working group to advise staff on thepreparation of a revision of the current PreparingEarly Childhood Professionals: NAEYC’s Standardsfor Programs (2003). This work group was composed of early childhood faculty members fromassociate, baccalaureate, and graduate degreeprograms; representatives of NAEYC, ACCESS, andNAECTE; and faculty who use the standards inthe National Council for Accreditation of TeacherEducation (NCATE) and NAEYC Early ChildhoodAssociate Degree Accreditation (ECADA) systems. Additional input into the standards revision process was gathered during sessions atthe 2007 NAEYC Annual Conference, the 2008NAEYC Public Policy Forum, and the 2008 NAEYCNational Institute for Early Childhood ProfessionalDevelopment. Draft revisions were posted on theNAEYC Web site for public comment in Fall 2008.Final revisions were completed in Spring 2009.What is new?From all of these perspectives, the feedback indicated that the standards remain strong. Revisionscalled for are primarily organizational and reflectinput from those who are actively implementingthe standards in the field. There are two significantrevisions in this 2009 document.1. Standard 4 has been separated into two standards,one focuses on early childhood methods and theother on early childhood content. This increasesthe total number of standards from five to six.2. The language all children is revised to readeither each child or every child to strengthen theintegration of inclusion and diversity as threadsacross all standards. In some cases, the phrase“each child” has been added to a key element ofa standard.Like all NAEYC position statements, the standardsfor early childhood professional preparation areliving documents and as such will be regularlyupdated and revised.Standards as a vision of excellenceWith good reason, many educators have becomewary of standards. At times, standards have constricted learning and have encouraged a one-sizefits-all mentality. But standards can also be visionary and empowering for children and professionalsalike. NAEYC hopes its standards for professionalpreparation can provide something more valuablethan a list of rules for programs to follow.The brief standards statements in this document offer a shared vision of early childhoodprofessional preparation. But to make the visionreal, the details must be constructed uniquely andpersonally, within particular communities of learners. Good early childhood settings may look verydifferent from one another. In the same way, goodprofessional preparation programs may find manypathways to help candidates meet high standards,so that they can effectively support young childrenand their families. (Hyson 2003, p. 28)Unifying themes for the fieldThese standards express a national vision of excellence for early childhood professionals. They aredeliberately written as statements of core knowledge, understanding, and methods used acrossmultiple settings and in multiple professional roles.The key elements of each standard progress froma theoretical knowledge base to more complexunderstanding to the application of knowledge inprofessional practice.These 2009 NAEYC Standards for EarlyChildhood Professional Preparation Programscontinue to promote the unifying themes thatdefine the early childhood profession. These standards are designed for the early childhood education profession as a whole, to be relevant acrossa range of roles and settings. These core NAEYCCopyright 2009 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children
3standards are for use across degree levels, fromassociate to baccalaureate to graduate degree programs. They are used in higher education accreditation systems, in state policy development, andby professional development programs both insideand outside institutions of higher education.These core standards can provide a solid, commonly held foundation of unifying themes fromwhich diverse programs may arise, incorporatingthe wisdom of local communities, families, andpractitioners. These unifying themes includel Shared professional values, including a com-mitment to diversity and inclusion; respectfor family, community, and cultural contexts;respect for evidence as a guide to professionaldecisions; and reliance on guiding principlesof child development and learning.l Inclusion of the broad range of ages andsettings encompassed in early childhoodprofessional preparation. NAEYC defines earlychildhood as the years from birth throughage 8. These standards are meant to supportprofessional preparation across diverse worksettings, including infants and toddlers, primary grades, family child care, early intervention, government and private agencies, highereducation institutions, and organizations thatadvocate on behalf of young children andtheir families.l A shared set of outcomes for early childhoodprofessional preparation. These core standards outline a set of common expectationsfor professional knowledge, skills and dispositions in six core areas. They express whattomorrow’s early childhood professionalsshould know and be able to do.l A multidisciplinary approach with anemphasis on assessment of outcomes andbalanced attention to knowledge, skills, anddispositions.Over time, NAEYC has organized these standards in a variety of ways. In the 1980s, they wereorganized into two position statements, one forassociate degree programs and the other for fourand five-year degree programs. In 1991 one document outlined standards for basic and advanceddegree programs. In 1999–2003, three documentsoutlined standards for associate, initial licensure,and advanced degree programs. In this new position statement, the core standards are presented inone NAEYC position statement that emphasizes theessentials of professional preparation for careersin early childhood education, regardless of role,setting, or degree level. This position statementwill guide the preparation of supporting materialswhen these standards are adopted for use in theNCATE and ECADA accreditation systems.Connecting to accreditationMany higher education institutions choose toseek NAEYC Early Childhood Associate DegreeAccreditation (ECADA) or NAEYC recognitionof baccalaureate and graduate degrees as partof the National Council for Accreditation ofTeacher Education (NCATE) accreditation forprograms leading to initial or advanced teacherlicensure. Both accreditation systems use thesestandards. Note that in these core NAEYC standards, the terms students and candidates are usedinterchangeably to describe the adults who areprepared by early childhood teacher educationprograms.Note that these core standards are studentperformance standards. Meeting these standardsrequires evidence that programs (1) offer learning opportunities aligned with the key elementsof the standards, (2) design key assessments thatmeasure students’ performance on key elementsof the standards, (3) collect and aggregate data onstudent performance related to the standards, and(4) use that data in intentional, responsive ways toimprove the quality of teaching and learning in theprogram.These core standards are used across bothECADA and NCATE accreditation systems andacross associate, baccalaureate, and graduatedegree levels. Specific accreditation expectationsrelated to different degree types and levels arepublished and updated separately for each accreditation system. Indicators of strength in programcontext and structure—the institutional mission,conceptual framework, field experiences, studentcharacteristics and support services, faculty composition and qualifications, program resources andgovernance, support for transfer and articulation—are addressed in the guiding materials for programs seeking ECADA and NCATE accreditation.Copyright 2009 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children
4Defining professionalpreparation in early childhoodeducationEarly childhood educator roles, such as earlychildhood classroom teacher, family child careprovider, Head Start teacher, or paraprofessional inthe public schools;NAEYC continues to use the child developmentresearch and evidence base to define the “earlychildhood” period as spanning the years frombirth through age 8. As in past editions of its standards, NAEYC recognizes that within that range,early childhood professionals—and the programsthat prepare them—may choose to specializewithin the early childhood spectrum (infants/toddlers, preschool/prekindergarten, or early primarygrades).Home-family support roles, such as home visitor,family advocate, child protective services worker,or parent educator; orMultiple professional roles andpathwaysSpecialization can be valuable, but NAEYC believesthat all early childhood professionals should havea broad knowledge of development and learningacross the birth-through-age-8 range; should befamiliar with appropriate curriculum and assessment approaches across that age span; and shouldhave in-depth knowledge and skills in at least twoof the three periods: infants/toddlers, preschool/prekindergarten, and early primary grades.Without knowing about the past and the future (theprecursors to children’s current development andlearning and the trajectory they will follow in lateryears), teachers cannot design effective learningopportunities within their specific professionalassignment.In addition, today’s inclusive early childhoodsettings—those that include young children withdevelopmental delays and disabilities—requireknowledge of an even wider range of developmentand learning than was needed in many classroomsof the past. Without understanding a variety ofprofessional settings and roles, as well as currentand historical issues and trends that shape thosesettings and roles, individuals will find career andleadership opportunities in the field limited.Many early childhood students enter collegewith a limited view of professional options. Whileall early childhood professionals should be wellgrounded in best practices in direct care and education, early childhood degree programs mightalso prepare students for work in the followingroles and settings:Professional support roles, such as early childhood administrator in a child care or Head Startprogram, staff trainer, peer/program mentor, oradvocate at the community, state, or national level.Core values in professional preparation.NAEYC’s standards for professional preparationare derived from the developmental and educational research base found in the resources at theend of this document and in related position statements, including, among others,l Developmentally Appropriate Practice in EarlyChildhood Programs Serving Children fromBirth through Age 8;l Early Learning Standards: Creating Conditionsfor Success;l Early Childhood Mathematics: PromotingGood Beginnings;l Learning to Read and Write: DevelopmentallyAppropriate Practices for Young Children;l Screening and Assessment of Young English-Language Learners;l Promoting Positive Outcomes for Childrenwith Disabilities: Recommendations forCurriculum, Assessment, and ProgramEvaluation;l Responding to Linguistic and CulturalDiversity: Recommendations for EffectiveEarly Childhood Education;l Still Unacceptable Trends in KindergartenEntry and Placement; andl Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment,and Program Evaluation. www.naeyc.org/positionstatementsIn addition to the common research base andemphasis on the centrality of field experiences,these NAEYC standards affirm the value of, forexample: play in children’s lives; reciprocal relationships with families; child development knowl-Copyright 2009 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children
5edge as a foundation for professional practice;practices and curricula that are culturally respectful and responsive; ethical behavior and professional advocacy; and in-depth field experiences inhigh-quality professional preparation.To be an excellent teacher: Professionalpreparation as meaning makingYoung children benefit from well-planned, intentionally implemented, culturally relevant curriculum that both supports and challenges them.Research indicates the kinds of experiences thatare essential to building later competence in suchcritical areas as language and literacy, mathematics, and other academic disciplines, as well as ingross motor development, social skills, emotionalunderstanding, and self-regulation. The knowledgebase also emphasizes the need for close relationships between young children and adults andbetween teachers and children’s families. Suchrelationships and the secure base that they createare investments in children’s later social, emotional, and academic competence.Just as curriculum for young children is morethan a list of skills to be mastered, professionalpreparation for early childhood teachers is morethan a list of competencies to be assessed or acourse list to complete. Early childhood studentsin well-designed programs develop professionalknowledge, skills, and dispositions in a communityof learners making sense of readings, observations,field experiences, and group projects through theirinteractions with others. They make connectionsbetween life experiences and new learning. Theyapply foundational concepts from general education course work to early childhood practice. Theylearn to self-assess and to advocate for themselvesas students and as professionals. They strengthentheir skills in written and verbal communication,learn to identify and use professional resources,and make connections between these “collegeskills” and lifelong professional practice.Just as children learn best from teacherswho use responsive and intentional strategies,adult students learn from instructors who createa caring community of learners, teach to enhancedevelopment and learning, plan curriculum alignedwith important learning outcomes, assess studentgrowth and development related to those outcomes, and build positive relationships with students and other stakeholders in the program.Responding to current challenges,needs, and opportunitiesDiversity, inclusion, and inequityEvery sector of the early childhood education community, including professional preparation programs, faces new challenges. Among them is theincreased diversity of children and families in earlychildhood programs, from infant/toddler child carethrough the primary grades. This increased diversity is seen in the large numbers of children fromculturally and linguistically diverse communities,as well as in the growing numbers of children withdisabilities and other special learning needs whoattend early childhood programs. A related challenge is the need to grow a more diverse teachingworkforce and a more diverse leadership for theprofession as a whole.Another current challenge is the need toaddress the inequities and gaps in early learningthat increase over time, developing into persistent achievement gaps in subgroups of Americanschool children. Differences in academic achievement among ethnic groups, explained largely bysocioeconomic differences, are central to thecurrent “standards/accountability” movement ineducation—from infancy through the early primarygrades and again as instructors of adults in earlychildhood preparation programs. To implementdevelopmentally appropriate practices, earlychildhood professionals must “apply new knowledge to critical issues” facing the field (Copple &Bredekamp 2009).One strategy to address these learning gapsand support children is the growth of publiclyfunded prekindergarten programs. Along with thisstrategy has come a new focus on preK-3 curriculum alignment; more high-quality professionaldevelopment for teachers; partnerships betweenstates, universities, community colleges, qualityrating systems, and schools; and more highly qualified teachers in prekindergarten and early primarygrades—teachers who have completed highereducation degree programs with specialized earlychildhood preparation (Haynes 2009).Preparation across the birth-through-8age rangeProfessional preparation program leaders mustmake difficult decisions as they work with limitedCopyright 2009 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children
6resources to design curriculum, field experiences,and assessment systems to prepare teachers forwork across the full spectrum of the early childhood age range. Teacher licensure complicates thepicture, since states’ definitions of the early childhood age span and its subdivisions vary greatly andare changed frequently. Even programs that emphasize the upper end of the age range may not adequately prepare candidates in the critical contentor subject matter areas needed to build children’sacademic success. Literacy is only one example:National reports (e.g., National Institute of ChildHealth and Human Development 2000) rep
Many early childhood students enter college with a limited view of professional options. While all early childhood professionals should be well grounded in best practices in direct care and edu-cation, early childhood degree programs might also prepa
Ethics and the Early Childhood Educator: Using the NAEYC Code (2005 Code Edition). Washington, DC: NAEYC, 2005. Feeney, Stephanie, Nancy K. Freeman and Eva Moravcik. Teaching the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct (2005 Code Edition). Washington, DC: NAEYC, 2008. Feeney, Stephanie, Nancy K. Freeman and Peter J. Pizzolongo. Ethics and the Early
Caution and Opportunity for Early Childhood Education. 4. concerns of the NAEYC membership and the early childhood education field. As states have adopted the Common Core, there has been growing discussion . within the early childhood community about the "unintended consequences" noted in NAEYC's initial response to the Common Core.
(NAEYC) Standards for Initial & Advanced Early Childhood Professional Preparation Programs, teacher candidates prepared in early childhood degree programs should identify and conduct themselves as members of the profession, know and use ethical guidelines and utilize other professional standards related to early childhood practice (NAEYC, 2012).
d-regulations#eec-laws-Accreditation USES’s Infant, Toddler, and Preschool Programs are accredited by The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). An NAEYC accredited program must meet all NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards. For more information about the .
Students begin to learn about NAEYC’s associate degree standards in EDU 119: Introduction to Early Childhood Education as they begin work on their early childhood professional portfolio which is centered on the NAEYC standards. They synthesize their understanding in EDU 284: Capstone Practicum when they complete their professional
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NAEYC EARLY CHILDHOOD ASSOCIATE DEGREE ACCREDITATION SEPTEMBER 23, 2016 REVISED JANUARY 19, 2017 HAYWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE CLYDE, NC . Early Childhood Center or Family Day Care Home. Summer Semester 1 Lec Lab Clinc Credit EDU-221 Children with Exceptionalities 3 0 0 3 EDU-280 Language and Literacy Experiences 3 0 0 3 .
Understand the importance of early childhood education for 0-6 years Learn the need and scope of early childhood education. 18.2 Importance/ Need for early childhood care and education 18.2.1 Significance of early childhood years i. Early childhood is a period of life not just quantitatively different from that of an adult
