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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

  • 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.

  • 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!

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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!

Standard 6, Resource Type: Toolkit, Topic: Advocacy, Topic: Early Childhood Policy Kadisha Conteh Standard 6, Resource Type: Toolkit, Topic: Advocacy, Topic: Early Childhood Policy Kadisha Conteh

Building Bipartisan Support for Child Care Toolkit: 2023 Update

Building Bipartisan Support for Child Care Toolkit: 2023 Update | Bipartisan Policy Center

A toolkit designed to help all, despite political leanings, understand the child care landscape, establish new relationships, and build bipartisan solutions for the profession.

Organization/Author: Bipartisan Policy Center

Type of Resource: Toolkit

Publication Date: 2023

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Standard 6, Topic: Advocacy, Resource Type: Article Kadisha Conteh Standard 6, Topic: Advocacy, Resource Type: Article Kadisha Conteh

Rocking and Rolling. Speak Out: Supporting Families in Advocacy

Rocking and Rolling. Speak Out: Supporting Families in Advocacy

This article addresses ways that educators can empower families to become effective advocates.

Organization/Author: Kristen Johnson and Amanda Perez,  Young Children, NAEYC
Type of Resource: Article

Publication Date: 2023

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Standard 6, Topic: Advocacy, Resource Type: Article Kadisha Conteh Standard 6, Topic: Advocacy, Resource Type: Article Kadisha Conteh

The Power in Our Collective Voices: Building Your Skills as an Early Childhood Advocate

The Power in Our Collective Voices: Building Your Skills as an Early Childhood Advocate

In this article, authors share the voices and perspectives of early childhood educators who have been building their skills as effective advocates.Five practical tips to becoming a champion for children and participating in informed advocacy are also included.

Organization/Author: Eric Bucher, Kamaie Clark, and Kelly Ann Larkin,  Young Children, NAEYC  
Type of Resource: Article

Publication Date: 2023

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Standard 6, Topic: Advocacy, Resource Type: Website Kadisha Conteh Standard 6, Topic: Advocacy, Resource Type: Website Kadisha Conteh

Alliance for Early Success Website

Alliance for Early Success Website

The Alliance for Early Success is a national nonprofit that works with early childhood policy advocates at the state level to ensure that every child, birth through eight, has an equal opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed.

Organization/Author: Alliance for Early Success

Type of Resource: Website

Publication Date: unknown

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Standard 6, Topic: Advocacy, Resource Type: Website Kadisha Conteh Standard 6, Topic: Advocacy, Resource Type: Website Kadisha Conteh

Think Babies Website

Think Babies Website

Think Babies is a website created by Zero to Three to advocate for every baby on 5 key policy areas: paid leave, child care, Early Head Start, infant and early childhood mental health, family support, and economic security. The website outlines policy priorities, stories, and ways to take action.

Organization/Author: Think Babies, Zero to Three

Type of Resource: Website

Publication Date: Unknown

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Standard 6, Topic: Advocacy, Resource Type: Website, Topic: Early Childhood Policy Kadisha Conteh Standard 6, Topic: Advocacy, Resource Type: Website, Topic: Early Childhood Policy Kadisha Conteh

Commission for Professional Excellence in Early Childhood Education

Commission for Professional Excellence in Early Childhood Education

The goal of Commission for Professional Excellence in Early Childhood Education is to advancing a unified, diverse, equitable, effective and well-compensated ECE profession. This website includes resources and useful information about the Commission.

Organization/Author: Commission for Professional Excellence in Early Childhood Education

Type of Resource: Website

Publication Date: unknown

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Standard 6, Topic: Advocacy, Resource Type: Report Kadisha Conteh Standard 6, Topic: Advocacy, Resource Type: Report Kadisha Conteh

Unifying Framework for the Early Childhood Education Profession: Executive Summary

Unifying Framework for the Early Childhood Education Profession: Executive Summary

This is an executive summary of the Unifying Framework for the Early Childhood Education Profession.

Organization/Author: Power to the Profession Taskforce

Type of Resource: Report

Publication Date: 2020

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Standard 6, Topic: Advocacy, Resource Type: Podcast Kadisha Conteh Standard 6, Topic: Advocacy, Resource Type: Podcast Kadisha Conteh

ECE Advocacy 101: You’re Either at the Table or on the Menu

ECE Advocacy 101: You’re Either at the Table or on the Menu

There are so many challenges that hinder ECE professionals from successfully advocating for continued support, that many are inclined to simply not participate. However, as one of our guests says, “you’re either at the table or on the menu.” Fortunately, there are new ways to advocate and simple steps that any ECE professional can take to ensure support for the field. These are outlined in this podcast.

Organization/Author: Rae Pica with Suzanne Gellens, Aaron Carrara, Kristen Kerr, Sandra Giarde, NAEYC

Type of Resource: Podcast

Publication Date: unknown

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Standard 6, Topic: Early Childhood Policy, Topic: Advocacy, Topic: Communication Skills, Topic: Ethical and Professional Guidelines, Resource Type: Multimedia Case Studies with Instructor Guides Kadisha Conteh Standard 6, Topic: Early Childhood Policy, Topic: Advocacy, Topic: Communication Skills, Topic: Ethical and Professional Guidelines, Resource Type: Multimedia Case Studies with Instructor Guides Kadisha Conteh

Early Childhood Policy Case Studies

Early Childhood Policy Case Studies

Early childhood policy case studies provide concrete examples of policy efforts, success factors, and ongoing implementation challenges in the field of early childhood. Cases can be used to enhance discussion in early childhood policy courses in higher education and to provide lessons for current policymakers in the field of early childhood. The ECP case studies explore topics including policy goals and outcomes, ECE funding, unintended consequences, implementation challenges, organizational dynamics, and tensions. These cases are based on articles and reports and interviews with diverse stakeholders including researchers, policymakers, implementers, and the beneficiaries of the policies.

Organization/Author: Early EdU Alliance

Type of Resource: Multimedia Case Studies with Instructor Guides

Publication Date: 2022

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Additional Resources

About the Resource Library &

The Professional Standards & Competencies for Early Childhood Educators