Professional Standards and Competencies for Early ...

1 Professional Standards and Competencies for Early childhood educators Effective Early childhood educators are critical for realizing the Early childhood profession's vision that each and every young child, birth through age 8, have equitable access to high-quality learning and care environments. As such, there is a core body of knowledge, skills, values, and dispositions Early childhood educators must demonstrate to effectively promote the development, learning, and well-being of all young children. Disponible en Espa ol: A Position Statement Held on Behalf of the Early childhood Education Profession Adopted by the NAEYC National Governing Board November 2019.

2 Professional Standards and Competencies for Early childhood educators 3 Introduction 4 Relationship of Five Foundational Position Statements 6 Purpose 6 The Position 7 Design and Structure 8 Professional Standards and Competencies 9 Summary 11 STANDARD 1: Child Development and Learning in Context 13 STANDARD 2: Family Teacher Partnerships and Community Connections 15 STANDARD 3: Child Observation, Documentation, and Assessment 17 STANDARD 4: Developmentally, Culturally, and Linguistically Appropriate Teaching Practices 20 STANDARD 5: Knowledge, Application, and Integration of Academic Content in the Early childhood Curriculum 24 STANDARD 6: Professionalism as an Early childhood Educator Professional Standards and Competencies for Early childhood educators Copyright 2020 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

3 All rights reserved. Permissions NAEYC accepts requests for limited use of our copyrighted material. For permission to reprint, adapt, translate, or otherwise reuse and repurpose content from the final published document, review our guidelines at 26 Recommendations for Implementation 26 Early childhood Educator Professional Preparation Programs 27 Higher Education Accreditation 27 Early Learning Programs 28 Federal, State, and Local Policies 29 Researchers 30 Appendices 30 APPENDIX A: Leveling of the Professional Standards and Competencies by ECE designation 48 APPENDIX B.

4 Critical Issues and Research Informing the Professional Standards and Competencies for Early childhood educators 51 APPENDIX C: Glossary 58 APPENDIX D: References and Resources 66 APPENDIX E: The History of Standards for Professional Preparation 68 APPENDIX F: Professional Standards and Competencies Workgroup Developing the Professional Standards and Competencies for Early childhood educators In 2017, the Power to the Profession Task Force began an extensive process to review the range of the field's existing Standards and Competencies and establish a process for arriving at a set of agreed-upon Standards and Competencies for the Early childhood education profession, working birth through age 8 across states, settings, and degree levels.

5 This work included a deep look at multiple national Standards and Competencies ; following a deliberative decision-making process, it resulted in the Task Force recommendation that the 2010 NAEYC Standards for Initial and Advanced Early childhood Professional Preparation Programs be explicitly positioned as the foundation for the Standards and Competencies of the unified Early childhood education profession. At the same time, the Task Force set four specific conditions In September 2018, the workgroup released the first public and expectations for the revision of the NAEYC Professional draft of the Professional Standards and Competencies for preparation Standards .

6 These included an expectation Early childhood educators . This was followed by an extensive that the Standards would be reviewed in light of the most public comment period and months of intensive work to recent science, research, and evidence; it gave particular release the second public draft for needed feedback and consideration to potential missing elements identified in guidance from the field, higher education, and others. The the Transforming the Workforce report, including teaching second public draft of the Competencies , which included a first subject-matter specific content, addressing stress and draft of the leveling of the Competencies to ECE I, II, and III, adversity, fostering socio-emotional development, working was open from May to July 2019.

7 With dual language learners, and integrating technology in The second comment period was followed by extensive curricula. To revise the Standards , and respond to these and rewriting, supported by a group of experts drawn from other expectations, including the expectation that the revisions preparation programs at ECE levels I, II, and III. The result would occur in the context of an inclusive and collaborative was a third public draft focused solely on the leveling, which process, a workgroup was convened in January 2018.

8 The was open from October to November 2019. Ultimately, workgroup comprised the Early Learning Systems Committee the Professional Standards and Competencies for Early of the NAEYC Governing Board, Early childhood practitioners, childhood educators , leveled and aligned to ECE Levels I, researchers, faculty, and subject-matter experts, including II, and III, are being released in conjunction with the full individuals representing organizations whose competency Unifying Framework. documents were considered, referenced, and used to inform the revisions.

9 The organizations included the following This excerpt is adapted from the Unifying Framework Task Force members: the Council for Exceptional Children, for the Early childhood Education Profession. Division of Early childhood ; the Council for Professional Recognition; and ZERO TO THREE. 1 | Professional Standards AND Competencies FOR Early childhood educators . Message from the NAEYC Governing Board The NAEYC Governing Board is deeply honored to hold the Professional Standards and Competencies for Early childhood educators ( Professional Standards and Competencies ) on behalf of the Early childhood education profession.

10 In response to the Power to the Profession (P2P) Task While it is the members of the Early childhood education Force's 2018 decision to name the 2010 NAEYC Standards profession who, with support from Professional preparation for Initial and Advanced Early childhood Professional programs, state systems, and others, are responsible for Preparation Programs (a NAEYC position statement) as implementing the Professional Standards and Competencies , the foundation for the Standards and Competencies for the the NAEYC Governing Board commits to uphold its unified Early childhood education profession, the Governing responsibilities as the holder of the Competencies and its Board seriously considered and responded to the attendant intellectual property to ensure that the Competencies are conditions and expectations.