Program Standard 1 — Relationships

Final Draft Accreditation Performance Criteria

Approved June 15, 2004 by Program Standards/Criteria Commission

Performance Category: Relationships

Program Standard: The program promotes positive relationships among all children and adults to encourage each child’s sense of individual worth and belonging as part of a community, and to foster each child’s ability to contribute as a responsible community member.

Rationale: Positive relationships are essential for the development of personal responsibility, capacity for self-regulation, and for constructive interactions with others. Warm, sensitive, and responsive interactions help children develop a secure, positive sense of self and encourage them to respect and cooperate with others. Children who see themselves as highly valued are more likely to feel secure, thrive physically, get along with others, learn well, and feel part of a community.

Please note: When a state rule/regulation prohibits the performance expectation outlined in the draft criterion, the state rule/regulation takes precedence. When a state rule/regulation exceeds the performance expectation outlined in the criterion, the state rule/regulation again takes precedence. When state rules or regulations differ in other ways, or mandate a lower threshold of performance, NAEYC’s criteria take precedence.

Number	Strand	FINAL DRAFT CRITERIA
Building Positive Relationships
Building Positive Relationships Among Teachers and Families
1.1	U	Teachers work in partnership with families, establishing and maintaining regular, ongoing two-way communication.
1.2	U	Teachers gain information about the ways families define their own race, religion, home language, culture, and family structure.
1.3	U	Teachers communicate with family members on an ongoing basis to learn about children’s individual needs and to assure a smooth transition between home and program.
1.4	U	Teachers are sensitive to and reassure family members who are concerned about leaving children in non-family care.
1.5	U	Teachers share information with families about classroom rules, expectations, and routines at enrollment and as needed throughout the year.
Building Positive Relationships Between Teachers and Children
1.6	U	Teachers foster children's emotional well-being by demonstrating respect for children and creating a positive emotional climate as reflected in behaviors such as frequent social conversations, joint laughter and affection.
1.7	U	Teachers express warmth through behaviors such as physical affection, eye contact, tone of voice, and smiles.
1.8	U	Teachers are consistent and predictable in their physical and emotional care of all children.
1.9	U	Teachers encourage and recognize children’s work and accomplishments.
1.10	U	Teachers function as secure bases for children. They respond promptly and in developmentally appropriate ways to children's positive initiations, negative emotions, and feelings of hurt and fear by providing comfort, support, and assistance.
1.11	U	Teachers encourage children’s appropriate expression of emotions, both positive (e.g., joy, pleasure, excitement) and negative (e.g., anger, frustration, sadness).
1.12	U	Teachers evaluate and change their responses based on individual needs. Teachers vary their interactions to be sensitive and responsive to differing abilities, temperament, activity levels, and cognitive and social development.
1.13	T-P-K	Teachers talk frequently with children. They · listen to children with attention and respect. · respond to children’s questions and requests. · use strategies to communicate effectively and build relationships with every child. · engage regularly in meaningful and extended conversations with each child.
1.14	I	Teachers engage infants in frequent face-to-face social interactions each day. These include both verbal behaviors (e.g., talking, cooing, repeating infant sounds, singing) and nonverbal behaviors (e.g., smiling, touching, and holding).
1.15	I-T	Teachers adjust their interactions to infants’ and toddlers’ state and level of arousal.
1.16	I	Teachers give one-to-one attention to infants when engaging in care giving routines.
1.17	I-T	Teachers quickly respond to infants’ and toddlers’ cries or other signs of distress by providing physical comfort and needed care. Teachers are sensitive to infants’ and toddlers’ signals and learn to read their individual cries.
1.18	U	Teachers support children’s competent and self-reliant exploration and use of classroom materials.
1.19	U	Teachers never use physical punishment such as shaking or hitting. Teachers never use verbal abuse, threats, or derogatory remarks, and do not withhold or withdraw nor threaten to withhold or withdraw food.
Building Positive Relationships Among Peers
1.20	T-P-K	Teachers support children's development of friendships and provide opportunities for children to play with and learn from each other.
1.21	T-P-K	Teachers help children practice social skills and build friendships by helping them enter into, sustain, and enhance play.
1.22	T-P-K	Teachers intervene quickly when children are physically aggressive with one another and help them develop more positive strategies for resolving conflict.
1.23	T-P-K	Teachers help children resolve conflicts by helping them identify feelings, describe problems, and try alternative solutions.
1.24	I	Teachers facilitate an infant's social interaction when he or she is interested in looking at, touching, or vocalizing to others.
1.25	T-P-K	Teachers help children who bully, isolate, or hurt other children to learn and follow the rules of the classroom.
1.26	T-P-K	Teachers facilitate positive peer interaction for children who are victims of bullying or isolation, as well as those who are socially reserved and/or withdrawn.
Creating a Predictable, Consistent, and Harmonious Classroom
1.27	T-P-K	Teachers provide children opportunities to develop the classroom community through participation in decision making about classroom rules, plans, and activities.
1.28	T-P-K	Teachers anticipate and take steps to prevent potential behavior problems.
1.29	U	When children’s behavior exceeds group limits, teachers respond by keeping all children safe, and then provide feedback that builds children’s competence.
1.30	T-P-K	Teachers help children talk about their own and others’ emotions. They provide opportunities for children to explore a wide range of feelings and the different ways that they can be expressed.
1.31	T-P-K	Teachers promote pro-social behavior by · interacting in a respectful manner with all staff and children. · modeling turn taking, sharing, and caring behaviors. · helping children negotiate their interactions with one another, and with shared materials. · engaging children in the care of their classroom. · ensuring that each child has an opportunity to contribute to the group. · encouraging children to listen to one another. · encouraging and helping children to provide comfort when others are sad or distressed. · using narration and description of on-going interactions to identify pro-social behaviors.
1.32	T-P-K	Teachers counter potential bias and discrimination by · treating all children with equal respect and consideration. · initiating activities and discussions that build positive self-identity and teach the valuing of differences. · intervening when children tease or reject others. · countering stereotypical limitations by providing models and visual images of differing adult roles, abilities, and ethnic/cultural backgrounds. · avoiding stereotypes in language usage.
Addressing Challenging Behaviors
1.33	T-P-K	For children with persistent, serious, challenging behavior, teachers, families, and other professionals work as a team to develop and implement an individualized plan that supports the child's inclusion and success.
1.34	T-P-K	Teachers observe children who have challenging behavior. They identify events, activities, interactions, and other contextual factors that predict challenging behavior and may contribute to the child’s use of challenging behavior.
1.35	T-P-K	Teachers identify the purpose of the child’s behavior and how the child’s needs are met through their use of challenging behavior. They then teach social, communication, and emotional regulation skills the child can use in place of challenging behaviors.
1.36	T-P-K	Teachers focus on teaching the child new skills and providing supports for the child’s appropriate behaviors rather than focusing solely on reducing the challenging behavior.
1.37	T-P-K	Teachers use environmental modifications, activity modifications, adult or peer support, and other teaching strategies to support the child’s appropriate behavior and prevent the child’s use of challenging behavior.
1.38	T-P-K	Teachers respond to a child’s challenging behavior in a manner that · provides for the safety of the child and the safety of others in the classroom. · is calm and respectful to the child. · provides the child with information on acceptable behavior.
Promoting Self-Regulation
1.39	T-P-K	Teachers actively teach children social, communication, and emotional regulation skills.
1.40	T-P-K	Teachers help children manage their behavior by guiding and supporting children to · persist when frustrated. · play cooperatively with other children. · use language to communicate needs. · learn turn taking. · gain control of physical impulses. · express negative emotions in ways that do not harm others or themselves. · use problem-solving techniques. · learn about self and others.

© Copyright 2004 National Association for the Education of Young Children. All rights reserved.