Code of Ethics and Practices

 

After reading the ethics statements from National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and The Division for Early Childhood (DEC), these are the statements that resonated the most with me and their significance to my professional life.  I encourage anyone in the field of early childhood to closely review both of these documents to better understand the philosophy and practice of early childhood.

 

(NAEYC) I.-1.1. - To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and training.

(NAEYC) I.- 1.3- To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities and potential of each child.

(NAEYC) I.- 2.2- To develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve.

These resonate with me because I have found through my professional life that when we as early educators can educate ourselves and continue our education, we are able to provide the best care and education to the children and families we serve.  So I feel the the first and third ideals that I listed go hand in hand with each other.  The second ideal has always been near and dear to me and important for me to fulfill.  As I grow as a professional, it becomes more and more important for me to be able to understand each child that I teach in order to provide them with the best education and care they deserve.  By recognizing each child's uniqueness, I am also able to determine their emotional, physical and cognitive needs.

 

(DEC) I.-1.- We shall strive for the highest level of personal and professional competence by seeking and using new evidence based information to improve our practices while also responding openly to the suggestions of others.

(DEC) II.-4.- We shall support professional new to the field by mentoring them in the practice of evidence and ethically based services.

(DEC) IV-1.- We shall rely upon research and interventions to inform our practice with children and families in our care.

Again the first one and third one go hand in hand and mirror what NAEYC says.  However these two ideals tend to address more of the professionalism we should have as early childhood educators, especially being able to respond to other's suggestions.  That is something that can be hard to do and I have made that as one of my professional goals.  The second ideal I have listed from the DEC is important to me because I think we as early childhood educators in the field need to be a positve force to those entering the field.  Many times I see people entering the field feeling overwhelmed and I want to continue mentoring others coming into the field so they have a good support system and empower them to be positive impacts in the field of early childhood.

NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from
http://www.dec-sped.org/

Early Childhood Resources from Week 5

 

 

NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap

NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf

NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf

NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf

NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf

NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller

FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~snapshots/snap33.pdf

Note: The following article can be found in the Walden University Library databases.

Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J. Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al. (2010). Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42-53.
Use the Academic Search Complete database, and search using the article's title.

  Global Support for Children's Rights and Well-Being

 

Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf

 

Websites:
 

World Forum Foundation http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the media segment on this webpage

World Organization for Early Childhood Education http://www.omep-usnc.org/
Read about OMEP's mission.

Association for Childhood Education International http://acei.org/
Click on "Mission/Vision" and "Guiding Principles and Beliefs" and read these statements.

Selected Early Childhood Organizations

• National Association for the Education of Young Children http://www.naeyc.org/
  
• The Division for Early Childhood http://www.dec-sped.org/
  
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families http://www.zerotothree.org/
  
• WESTED http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
  
• Harvard Education Letter http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
  
• FPG Child Development Institute http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm
  
• Administration for Children and Families Headstart's National Research Conference http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
  
• HighScope http://www.highscope.org/
  
• Children's Defense Fund http://www.childrensdefense.org/
  
• Center for Child Care Workforce http://www.ccw.org/
  
• Council for Exceptional Children http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
  
• Institute for Women's Policy Research http://www.iwpr.org/
  
• National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
  
• National Child Care Association http://www.nccanet.org/
  
• National Institute for Early Education Research http://nieer.org/
  
• Pre[K]Now http://www.preknow.org/
  
• Voices for America's Children http://www.voices.org/
  
• The Erikson Institute http://www.erikson.edu/

Other Early Childhood Resources I found interesting


Helm, J. H., & Katz, L. (2011).  Young Investigators The Project Approach in the Early Years (2nd ed.).  New York, N.Y.: Teachers College Press & the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

 
PBS Teachers:  Early ChildhoodEducation                             http://www.pbs.org/teachers/earlychildhood/
 
 
Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning http://csefelvanderbilt.edu/