This case study is an investigation into the ways a powerful professional education organization, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), historically constructed and promoted pedagogical discourses about social identities, social problems, and social change. The purpose of the study was to critically analyze a dominant early childhood pedagogical discourse that is constituted by public position statements published by the NAEYC between 1991 and 2014. Using a critical, intersectional, and sustainable framework, this study revealed a complex, detailed narrative of the ways the NAEYC position statements constructed images of social identities and social groups in relation to social issues relevant to early childhood education practice and policy, particularly those that the NAEYC identified as eliciting “controversial or critical opinions” for the purposes of “promoting broad-based dialogue on these issues” (naeyc.org). This study worked to reveal the ways that the NAEYC position statements promoted harmful discourses about historically and multiply minoritized social identity groups and supremacist discourses about white and affluent children. This study also emphasized the significance of positionality and reflexivity in educational research about equity, justice, and sustainability for recognizing the potential for both harm and healing throughout the research process. The findings of the study highlight the need for layers of reflexivity at the institutional level, the disruption of deficit narratives in education, and the need for re-mediation of traditional signifiers of quality and professional development in the early childhood profession.

In 2009 the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) released their most recent position statement on developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) for preschool aged children. This foundational document provides a framework widely used within the United States for what is considered developmentally appropriate and inappropriate when applied to educating young children. By utilizing a comparative early childhood educational lens this paper examines preschool education practices around the world in order to support, inform, broaden, or challenge these supposed developmentally appropriate guidelines. / text

本研究以自我評量的觀點，瞭解美國「NAEYC幼兒園課程認證標準」與我國課程品質之評估，包括「幼兒園基礎評鑑指標教保活動課程部分」、「幼兒園課程與教學品質評估表課程與教學規劃部分」、「幼兒園教保活動課程暫行大綱」三議題。進而比較其指標內涵，同時採調查法的方式，便利取樣選取公立幼兒園10所，共11位教師，使用美國「NAEYC幼兒園課程認證標準」，以瞭解其在台灣之適用性，並請現場老師給予相關的回饋與建議。 研究結果如下： 壹、美國NAEYC幼兒園課程認證標準特色有四： 一、課程認證標準具發展合宜實務理論依據。 二、課程認證標準與時俱進。 三、課程認證標準組織架構具體明確且指標具彈性。 四、認證標準確實可提升班級課程品質。 貳、美國「NAEYC幼兒園課程認證標準」與我國幼兒園課程品質評估之比較： 一、美國「NAEYC幼兒園課程認證標準」指標內涵強調幼兒本位。 二、我國「幼兒園基礎評鑑指標教保活動課程部分」強調合法性。 三、我國「幼兒園課程與教學品質評估表課程與教學規劃部分」定義課程原則。 四、我國「幼兒園教保活動課程暫行大綱」是我國目前課程規劃重要依據。 五、美國「NAEYC幼兒園課程認證標準」含括領域指標具體完整值得效法。 参、美國「NAEYC幼兒園課程認證標準」之適用性： 一、現場教師肯定美國「NAEYC幼兒園課程認證標準」，並具以下啟示： (一) 幫助教師課程規劃。 (二) 拓展視野放眼國際。 (三) 瞭解班級課程品質。 二、方案評鑑標準(The program evaluation standards)確定美國「NAEYC 幼兒園課程認證標準」在台灣之適用性。 本研究並根據研究結果提出建議，以「他山之石，可以攻錯」的借鏡觀點，提供對未來台灣幼兒教育發展之建議及後續研究之參考。 關鍵字：美國幼教協會NAEYC、課程認證標準、課程品質評估 / The main purpose of this study is to understand the concept of NAEYC accreditation curriculum standards and the curriculum quality evaluation. Include " Preschool Care-taking Activities of Kindergarten Basic Evaluationin"," Curriculum and Teaching Plan of Kindergarten Curriculum and Teaching Quality Assessment Form",and" Curriculum Outlines for Preschool Care-taking Activities". This study also received to 11 teacher’s interview to understand the applicability of NAEYC accreditation curriculum standards in Taiwan. Here are the results of this study: A.NAEYC accreditation curriculum standards characteristics: 1. Based on Developmentally Appropriate Practice. 2. Change with time. 3. Organization is clear and specific and the indicators are flexible. 4. Indeed improve the curriculum quality of class. B.Compare NAEYC accreditation curriculum standards and the curriculum quality evaluation: 1. NAEYC accreditation curriculum standards emphasize child-centered. 2. Preschool Care-taking Activities of Kindergarten Basic Evaluationin emphasize the legitimacy. 3. Curriculum and Teaching Plan of Kindergarten Curriculum and Teaching Quality Assessment Form define curriculum principle. 4. Curriculum Outlines for Preschool Care-taking Activities is important basis for curriculum planning at present. 5. The fields and indicators of NAEYC accreditation curriculum standards are specific and complete and worth our emulation. C. The applicability of NAEYC accreditation curriculum standards : 1.Teachers affirm NAEYC accreditation curriculum standards and get the following inspirations: a.Help teachers planning curriculum. b. Expand the horizons and looking to international. c.Understand the curriculum quality of class. 2. The program evaluation standards make sure the applicability of NAEYC accreditation curriculum standards in Taiwan. Key words: NAEYC, accreditation curriculum standards, curriculum quality evaluation

The following is a doctoral dissertation that studied administrators’, teachers’, and parents’ perceptions and attitudes related to an early childhood center/preschool accreditation experience. A qualitative case study of one preschool center focused on the influence that the decision to pursue accreditation and implement the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) self-study process had on administrators, teachers, and parents. Interviews with administrators, teachers, and parents explored (a) issues that motivated the pursuit of NAEYC accreditation; (b) the NAEYC guidelines and their experience of the self-study and quality-improvement process; and (c) their perception of outcomes following accreditation. Current NAEYC guidelines are based on key child development theories and research, and require programs to integrate Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) in school curricula and staff training. It was necessary to explore how these NAEYC recommendations regarding DAP were interpreted during the quality-improvement and accreditation process. Key themes and issues around the accreditation experience were revealed through analyses of qualitative data. This case study of NAEYC accreditation illuminated factors in the decision to pursue accreditation and implement quality improvements leading to NAEYC accreditation. This case may serve as a model of a successful accreditation process to encourage early childhood centers to undertake quality improvements and pursue national NAEYC accreditation.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which a preschool program followed the recommendations outlined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in their joint position statement "Early Childhood Mathematics: Promoting Good Beginnings." Six teachers were randomly selected from three of the preschool program's six locations that are situated in an urban city in North Texas. Two parts of this program's approach to mathematics were investigated: the teachers' instructional practices and the program's curricular materials. Data came from observations using the Classroom Observation of Early Mathematics-Environment and Teaching (COEMET) protocol and field notes. Each teacher participated in three interviews over the course of this research. Analyses of these sources provided insights into teachers' instructional practices for mathematics. Reviews of curricular documents and lesson plans for mathematics instruction provided information pertaining to the math curriculum used at this preschool program. All of these data sources were analyzed using the framework presented in NAEYC and NCTM's position statement. Analysis of the data indicated that, although teachers did not have any knowledge of these guidelines, teachers followed some of these recommendations; such as presenting children with daily developmentally appropriate mathematics activities and connecting mathematics to classroom routines. Other practices did not align with NAEYC and NCTM's suggestions, such as offering children few opportunities to engage in problem-solving situations and providing an inconsistent integration of mathematics into meaningful activities related to other content areas. Several possible factors may have influenced teachers' use of these recommendations. Teachers' prior educational opportunities, the program's curriculum materials, and the teachers' prior experiences with mathematics all may have contributed to the teachers' understandings of high quality mathematics instructional practices. Results from this research help to provide the foundation for future investigations of how teachers of young children follow NAEYC and NCTM's recommendations.

The implementation of standardized testing has changed education in the United States resulting in a content ripple effect from the higher grades down to preschool-aged children. To match that ripple effect early childhood education can be evaluated and reformed accordingly by exploring many factors that make up the early childhood education system. This manuscript addressed one factor, early childhood teacher preparation, through a synthesis of literature related to the potential benefits of earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Development and Education, or a BS. The theories of early brain development were explored first and then studies of the social components affecting an Early Childhood Educator's, or ECE's, choice in teacher preparation were reviewed. The review then defined and compared the Child Development Associate or CDA, the Associate of Arts degree, or AA, and the BS. Professional recommendations and standards according to the National Association for Young Children, or NAEYC were included to understand how valuable the BS is to these trend setters of the field. The review then explored how the BS is currently being used nationally in a state-funded program known as VPK, utilizing the National Institute for Early Education Research, or NIEER. This data provided a snapshot of the national demand for the BS in the early childhood field. The pay disparities were then correlated with levels of education and compared with primary and upper grade compensation. The final value explored was research of how the BS directly affected results of the quality in the early childhood classroom and teacher-child interactions. These studies used two quality rating scales, the ECERS and CLASS, which were defined and compared. The findings of the synthesized literature review provided understanding of a young field that is growing and implies where further research and change could happen to match the effects of an evolving education system in the United States of America.

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