Sharing Web Resources

The resource I chose last week is The National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) website at www.NAEYC.org. I chose this website based on my prior experience reading articles from their scholarly publication Young Children. Browsing through the wealth of resources available I found several important documents and resources.

Here is a little background information:

“Founded in 1926, The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is the world’s largest organization working on behalf of young children with nearly 80,000 members, a national network of more than 300 state and local Affiliates, and a growing global alliance of like-minded organizations” (www.naeyc.org).

Their motto is “Promoting excellence in early childhood education”

The organization works through membership supporting the work and development of the profession. They support the field via publications like Teaching Young Children, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, and Voices of Practitioners: Teacher Research in Early Childhood Education. They also organize yearly conferences and meetings for professional development. The also support the field through advocacy by being government’s advisors regarding public policy in early childhood education.  Lastly, they are the accreditation authority of program quality (http://www.naeyc.org/content/about-naeyc).

To find more information about NAEYC click here.

NAEYC's website provides many resources including access to their official position statements on topics like Developmental Appropriate Practices and School Readiness. Click here to be directed to these documents

Last night, I finally joined NAEYC as a student member. It was a simple process, and the student fee was very reasonable ($40). Joining gave me access to content such as their E-newsletter and other electronic versions of their publications. Browsing through these new resources I came across an article entitled “Using skilled dialogue to transform challenging interactions” by Isaura Barrera and Lucinda Kramer—only available via the E-newsletter. This article alone was worth my subscription fee! I was up late reading on how to communicate effectively to overcome diversity and cultural differences in EC education programs. I really encourage ANY professional regardless of their profession to brush up on their communication skills. Barrera and Kramer make communication appear to be a challenge we can all overcome. Read it, I guarantee it will revolutionize your work!

Click here for more on NAEYC membership.

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