Welcome to the…
Professional Standards & Competencies Resource Library
The Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators outline the essential knowledge, skills, and practices that are foundational to high-quality early childhood education. These standards define what early childhood educators should know and be able to do in order to support the learning and development of young children from birth through age 8. They serve as a guiding framework for professional development, practice, and evaluation within the field of early childhood education.
Understanding and implementing these standards is crucial for educators as they help ensure the delivery of equitable, inclusive, and high-quality education that promotes the well-being and success of all children. By adhering to these standards, educators also contribute to the profession's commitment to continuous improvement and accountability.
Please note that while the collection of resources has been organized and tagged according to the Professional Standards and Competencies, only the most applicable competencies have been prioritized for searching and tagging purposes.
For NAEYC resources in the library, you can find policies related to reproducing, distributing, or otherwise using content here. For all other resources, please follow appropriate practices for using/citing sources.
Directions for Using the Professional Standards and Competencies Resource Library
Check out the resource library tutorial here!
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The PS&Cs Resource Library allows you to peruse ALL of the many resources available (by default) or you can utilize the provided filter and narrow down your search to target specific resources.
Check out the resource library tutorial for more info.
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By using the filtering categories, you are able to narrow your search to particular professional standards, one or more of the 22 key competencies, various ECE topics, a variety of age ranges, specific types of resources such as articles or videos or even find resources available in languages other than English.
The robust filters even allow you to choose multiple choices across categories or within the same category to further narrow your search!
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Once you have opened the various filter categories provided in the filter tool, you will notice that “all” is highlighted and checked in each category by default. This means the filter tool will not filter out any of those options within that category. If you wish to narrow your search, you simply click on one or more of the other options within the various filtering categories. Clicking will check that option. Checked options will be utilized for your search!
To remove an option, simply click it again to remove the check from the checkbox.
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The search feature is similar to any other search engine on a website. It can be used for a specific key word or phrase. Although the search may be helpful and is provided, the more robust filter tool may ultimately be more helpful in focusing and narrowing your search for resources.
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Naturally, broken links will occur. Sometimes the resource has been moved to a new web address and other times it has been temporarily or permanently removed. We welcome you to report any broken links you find here. We will do our best to replace the link when possible or remove the resource if it is no longer available.
**As of Feb. 2025, certain webpages and resources, particularly from agencies/organizations/projects that receive federal funds, have been at least temporarily removed in order to comply with federal mandates related to the Trump Administration’s Executive Orders. We will continue to monitor these resource links and update them if and when new links are available.
Start Your Search--Resource Library
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Start Your Search--Resource Library *
Sort quickly through the hundreds of available resources by using the filter tool on the left to populate the specific resources you need!
Universal Design for Learning: Meeting the Needs of All Students
Universal Design for Learning: Meeting the Needs of All Students
This site provides an overview of UDL concepts, then shares examples of how UDL approaches are being used to support two specific and different children in their literacy development.
Organization/Author: Patti Ralabate, Reading Rockets
Type of Resource: Blog
Publication Date: 2024
Universal Design for Learning in the Early Childhood Classroom
Universal Design for Learning in the Early Childhood Classroom
This article provides a concise overview of the components of Universal Design for Learning, along with examples.
Organization/Author: Molly Breen, Free Spirit Publishing Blog
Type of Resource: Blog
Publication Date: 2024
How to Improve Teaching and Learning Through Reflective Practice
How to Improve Teaching and Learning Through Reflective Practice
With reflective practice, educators can learn from their past teaching experiences. In this blog post, discover the benefits of reflective practice and how it can vastly improve your creativity, lessons, and child-teacher relationships.
Organization/Author: Brightwheel
Type of Resource: Blog
Publication Date: 2024
Simple and Lasting Mindful Emotional Management Habits for Early Childhood Educators
Simple and Lasting Mindful Emotional Management Habits for Early Childhood Educators
A blog post with mindfulness strategies that can be used throughout the day.
Organization/Author: Brittany Crumley and Sandra Linder, NAEYC
Type of Resource: Blog
Publication Date: 2023
Remember to Take Care of Yourself: Six Ideas for Family Child Care Providers
Remember to Take Care of Yourself: Six Ideas for Family Child Care Providers
Self-care ideas for family child care providers.
Organization/Author: Temesha Ragan, NAEYC
Type of Resource: Blog
Publication Date: 2019
What to Expect in Social Studies
What to Expect in Social Studies
Different learning experiences to bring social studies into the classroom.
Organization/Author: Diana Townsend-Butterworth, Great Schools Blog
Type of Resource: Blog
Publication Date: 2024
Creating Early Childhood Portfolios
Creating Early Childhood Portfolios
A blog post that outlines the importance of child portfolios, including why they are important and what to include.
Organization/Author: Procare
Type of Resource: Blog
Publication Date: 2021
Culturally Responsive Teaching
Culturally Responsive Teaching
A short article that introduces Culturally Responsive Teaching and the work of Zaretta Hammond.
Organization/Author: National Equity Project
Type of Resource: Blog
Publication Date: Unknown
Simple and Lasting Mindful Emotional Management Habits for Early Childhood Educators)
Simple and Lasting Mindful Emotional Management Habits for Early Childhood Educators
This is a short blog post that includes four strategies to support mindfulness practices.
Organization/Author: Brittany Crumley and Sadra Linder, NAEYC
Type of Resource: Blog
Publication Date: 2023
Beyond Twinkle Twinkle: Using Music With Infants and Toddlers
Beyond Twinkle Twinkle: Using Music With Infants and Toddlers
This article discusses the impact of music on various developmental domains and offers suggestions for using music experiences to encourage young children’s learning in these domains.
Organization/Author: Zero to Three
Type of Resource: Blog Post
Publication Date: 2016
Math Talk with Infants and Toddlers
Math Talk with Infants and Toddlers
A simple blog post that describes how to talk math with infants and toddlers.
Organization/Author: Jan Greenberg, NAEYC
Type of Resource: Blog Post
Publication Date: adapted from 2012 article
Additional Resources
