Early childhood education programs play an important role in teacher preparation, “serving as field sites where emerging professionals can develop their knowledge, skills, and dispositions under the mentorship of experienced early childhood educators."
This is an excerpt from the upcoming NAEYC book No Single Story: Amplifying the Voices of Asian American and Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Early Educators, Native Hawaiian by educator Nicol Russell.
NAEYC's Commission on the Accreditation of Early Childhood Higher Education Programs is pleased to announce that it has granted accreditation to early childhood programs during its spring 2026 meeting.
NAEYC promotes high-quality early learning for all children, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children.
In the Summer of 2025, Congress passed H.R. 1 - or “the One Big Beautiful Bill” or the Reconciliation legislation - which included a number of changes to Title IV of the Higher Education Act.
James L. Hymes Jr., a professor of education in New Paltz, New York, wrote the opening excerpt in an article reflecting on the first 25 years of the National Association for Nursery Education, NAEYC’s predecessor.
Nearly forty years ago, attendees at NAEYC’s 1987 Annual Conference were invited to visit Vivian Gussin Paley, the teacher and writer who contemplated children’s stories and fantasy play.
Barbara T. Bowman’s contributions to early childhood education over the course of seven decades have been felt at every level, including teacher education, professional development, public policy, and research.
NAEYC promotes high-quality early learning for all children, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children.
NAEYC promotes high-quality early learning for all children, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children.
Authored by
Authored by:
Blythe F. Hinitz, Ed Greene, Barbara A. Willer, Sue Bredekamp
NAEYC promotes high-quality early learning for all children, birth through age 8, by connecting practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children.
One hundred years ago, Patty Smith Hill and her fellow pioneers in early education joined forces to support and learn from each other and to build a profession devoted to the care and education of young children.
In her last NAEYC Annual Conference as Governing Board president, Tonia Durden reflected on her time on governing board and the future of early childhood education.
Welcome to NAEYC’s podcast, Small Talk: Big Ideas About Little Learners, where we dive into conversations that matter now – to little learners and the big people who show up for them.
As we welcome the Lunar New Year on February 17, 2026, the Year of the Fire Horse, we are reminded that across cultures, the turning of a new year carries universal meaning: hope, renewal, family, and the promise of fresh starts.
