When the Model Work Standards were first crafted more than two decades ago, they were built on the premise that quality child care jobs are the cornerstone of high-quality services for children and families. The intent of these standards is to make it possible for those who choose family child care as a career to reasonably and responsibly support…

Background: Services with people with intellectual disabilities (ID) are increasingly structured by regulations, policies and licensing standards by public funding entities. The key responsibility for direct care staff often becomes that of compliance with all the rules and regulations. Method: The impact of an increasing focus on compliance with…

Based on the view that positive changes in infant and toddler caregivers' relationships can help to achieve the shared goal of promoting young children's healthy development, this book provides stories or vignettes about relationships with children and their parents designed to stimulate individual reflection, encourage group discussion, and honor…

In this important new book, Sharon Lynn Kagan and her colleagues focus on the nearly 5 million individuals who have the responsibility of caring for and educating nearly two thirds of the American children under age 5 who spend time in nonparental care. Providing the most thorough synthesis of current research on the early care and education…

This workshop discussion paper addresses the issue of professionalism in school-age care. After explaining that "professionalism" means different things to different people and offering a brief history of professionalism, the paper provides a working definition of a professional: Someone who operates out of a theory base, someone who not…

The goal of NAEYC's National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development is to improve the quality of services provided to young children and their families by enhancing the quality, consistency, and accessibility of early childhood education professional preparation. In this compilation of presentations, key leaders offer their…

This teacher's guide accompanies "Innovations," a comprehensive, interactive curriculum for infants from birth to 18 months. The "Innovations" program is based on the view that curricula for young children should involve thinking and planning for everything that can contribute to child development as well as the teacher's relationship with the…

This self-directed teacher's guide accompanies "Innovations," a comprehensive, interactive curriculum for toddlers from 18 to 36 months. The "Innovations" program is based on the view that curricula for young children should involve thinking and planning for everything that can contribute to child development as well as the teacher's relationship…

In order to successfully implement an early childhood career development system, it is necessary to coordinate funds and training opportunities from many different sources. This action pack is designed to help individuals involved in such statewide efforts learn how to navigate the financing system that currently supports training for early care…

This book is intended to provide early childhood staff members with an understanding and appreciation of the constraints and possibilities of child care settings, and to discuss the knowledge and skills that are needed to be effective professionals. Through short scenarios extracted from the work diaries of Australian early childhood staff, the…

Ethics--in the form of knowledge and skill in making responsible professional decisions--is one of the most fundamental qualities of a competent early childhood educator. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) developed its Code of Ethical Conduct to promote the application of core values, ideals, and principles to…

This document is comprised of a training package to help practitioners strengthen relationships with parents. Designed for use with direct service staff and their supervisors from various programs, the package can be used for group training or in individual training and supervision. The package has three components: (1) a 22-minute videotape with…

Observing and reflecting upon actual interactions between professionals and families in a variety of settings can be a valuable tool in training professionals, who work with young children and their families. This 65-minute videotape presents five 10-minute segments of interactions between professionals and families: (1) occupational therapists…

When it comes to teacher preparation, the support provided to new teachers, and ongoing professional development for working teachers, Grades K-12 and the field of early care and education (ECE) are two very different worlds. While both worlds assume that teachers' classroom skills and behavior can be influenced at multiple points in time (through…

Introduces refocus of "Beginnings Workshop" section to help administrators bring ideas, strategies, resources, and suggestions to their child care and early education professionals. Identifies four goals of the workshop: honor the mission of supporting directors in creating successful child care environments; reach more teachers; support directors…