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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
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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.
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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!
Early Childhood Recommended Practice Module 7: Assessment
Early Childhood Recommended Practice Module 7: Assessment
In this module, you will learn effective assessment practices and why assessment is crucial for children with disabilities.
Organization/Author: Early Childhood Recommended Practices Module
Type of Resource: Module
Publication Date: Unknown
Early Childhood Recommended Practice Module 2: Transition
Early Childhood Recommended Practice Module 2: Transition
This module will help you support the transitions of children with disabilities and their families between and among services, supports, and programs.
Organization/Author: Early Childhood Recommended Practices Module
Type of Resource: Module
Publication Date: Unknown
Recommended Practice Module 7: Assessment
Recommended Practice Module 7: Assessment
This free, online module offers content related to supporting children’s learning and development through quality adult-child and child-child interactions. Module 7 explores effective assessment practices. A companion Learning Guide provides additional resources for faculty and professional development providers to use in addressing the content of the module.
Organization/Author: Early Childhood Recommended Practices
Type of Resource: Module
Publication Date: 2023
ECTA: Screening Resources
This is a collection of screening resources that relate to federal requirements, state guidance, and general resources about screening.
Organization/Author: Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA)
Type of Resource: Toolkits
Publication Date: Unknown
Related Services: Common Supports for Students with Disabilities
Related Services: Common Supports for Students with Disabilities
This module offers a description of related services and an overview of the benefits they provide to students with disabilities in the general education classroom. It highlights five commonly used related services (physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology services, social work services, and psychological services) and briefly highlights many of the other related services as identified through IDEA (est. completion time: 1 hour).
Organization/Author: Iris Center, Vanderbilt Peabody College
Type of Resource: Module
Publication Date: Unknown
DEC Position Statement on Ethical Practice
DEC Position Statement on Ethical Practice
The Position Statement on Ethical Practice for the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children is a public statement of principles and practice guidelines supported by the mission of DEC.
Organization/Author: Division for Early Childhood at the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC)
Type of Resource: Position Statement
Publication Date: 2022
DEC Position Statement: The Role of Special Instruction in Early Intervention
DEC Position Statement: The Role of Special Instruction in Early Intervention
The purpose of this position statement is to clarify the role of the service,
Special Instruction, and its providers (referred to as “early intervention educators” in this paper) within the broader field of IDEA (2004) Part C early intervention (EI).
Organization/Author: Division for Early Childhood at the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC)
Type of Resource: Position Statement
Publication Date: 2024
CONNECT Module 3: Communication for Collaboration
CONNECT Module 3: Communication for Collaboration
These modules are designed for faculty and professional development providers to use in their professional development. Instructor Guides, in the form of dashboards, are included. Learn about effective communication practices that can be used to promote collaboration with professionals and families in early care and education, and intervention settings.
Organization/Author: CONNECT: The Center to Mobilize Early Childhood Knowledge and DEC
Type of Resource: Module
Publication Date: Unknown
Integrating Principles of Universal Design into the Early Childhood Curriculum
Integrating Principles of Universal Design into the Early Childhood Curriculum
The authors offer examples and recommendations for how teachers of young children can support each young learner in diverse early learning settings by using Universal Design for Learning.
Organization/Author: Laurie A. Dinnebeil, Mary Boat, and Youlmi Bae, Dimensions of Early Childhood
Type of Resource: Article
Publication Date: 2013
DEC Recommended Practices in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education 2014
DEC Recommended Practices in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education 2014
The DEC Recommended Practices highlight those practices specifically known to promote the outcomes of young children who have or are at risk for developmental delays/disabilities and to support their families in accordance with the DEC/NAEYC (2009) position statement on early childhood inclusion. Universal Design for Learning principles are specifically highlighted as a practice to create accessible environments (E1).
Organization/Author: Division for Early Childhood Education
Type of Resource: Recommended Practices
Publication Date: 2014
Promoting Positive Outcomes for Children with Disabilities: Recommendations for Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation
The Division for Early Childhood developed this document be read and used in conjunction with the NAEYC-NAECS/SDE position statement (Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation: Building an Effective, Accountable System in Programs for Children), which puts forth general recommendations and guidance intended to apply practices for all young children, including those with disabilities. The recommendations in this document are not alternatives, nor do they contradict the NAEYC-NAECS/SDE recommendations. Rather, they extend, more specifically apply, and further explicate the recommendations in the more general position statement. By reading and implementing both sets of recommendations, practitioners and policy makers will have the benefit of complementary perspectives and expertise.
Organization/Author: Division for Early Childhood (DEC)
Type of Resource: Position Statement
Publication Date: 2007
Highly Individualized Teaching and Learning
Highly Individualized Teaching and Learning
This training series focuses on individualizing, including curriculum modifications and embedded learning.
Organization/Author: Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC)
Type of Resource: Training
Publication Date: 2020
Watch Me! Celebrating Milestones and Sharing Concerns
Watch Me! Celebrating Milestones and Sharing Concerns
This FREE, online training course, Watch Me! Celebrating Milestones and Sharing Concerns, helps you fulfill this role by providing tools and best practices for monitoring the development of children in your care and talking about it with their parents.
This 1-hour, 4-module course focuses on:
Why monitoring children’s development is important
Why you have a unique and important role in developmental monitoring
How to easily monitor each child’s developmental milestones
How to talk with parents about their child’s development
Organization/Author: CDC
Type of Resource: Training
Publication Date: 2024
Additional Resources
