Codes of Ethical Ideals in Early Childhood Education

NAEYC and The Division for Early Childhood (DEC)

 Code of Ethics Ideals

There are various codes and ideals we as early childcare educators need to keep in mind while working with our children and families. Here are some important ones that stand out for me.

NAEYC:

"Respect the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of each individual (child, family member, and colleague)"

It is important that we recognize that everyone is different and we need to connect with people in a manner that suits their individual needs. Each child is going to have their own strengths and challenges and it is our job to recognize this and find techniques that are going to be useful for each child's learning pattern. 

"Recognize that children and adults achieve their full potential in the context of relationships that are based on trust and respect" 

We must be truthful with our families. If a child is struggling with something we need to be honest about it and let their family know so that we can come up with resources to help the child progress and cope with whatever it is they are struggling with.

DEC:

"We shall serve as advocates for children with disabilities and their families and for the professionals who serve them by supporting both policy and programmatic decisions that enhance the quality of their lives."

We need to be there for all members of our community and be knowledgable with resources and tools to help every child no matter their challenges. All children have the right and capability to gain the tools and education needed to be ready for the rest of their schooling careers.

"We shall demonstrate our respect and concern for children, families, colleagues, and others with whom we work, honoring their beliefs, values, customs, languages, and culture. "

We need to teach our children at a young age the importance of diversity and inclusion of all different types of religion, race, language, and any other type of characteristics that makes a human unique.

 

References

NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment.

http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of Ethics. http://www.dec-sped.org/

Helpful Resources for Parents, Caregivers, and Early Childhood Educators

Resources

Here is a list of helpful resources to help discuss diversity in early childhood and how to handle stress and behavior challenges with your children and students.

Diversity in Early Childhood

With everything going on in the world it is important to start teaching children about diversity in their early stages of development. Here are some sources to give you some ideas on how to approach this topic.

Book: 

The Color of Us by Karen Katz

It's Okay to be Different by Todd Parr 

 Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves, Second Edition by Louise Derman-Sparks, Julie Olsen Edwards, and Catherine M. Goins

Articles:
NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural differences. www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/positions/diversity.pdf

Janet Gonzalez-Mena, Dora Pulido-Tobiassen. (2020). Teaching Diversity: A Place to Begin. Scholastic.com. 
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/teaching-diversity-place-begin-0/

NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/position/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf


Behavioral Challenges
There are many stressors in the world. Everyone has their own different means for coping with the way they handle stress. Although we as adults may not think there is much if anything at all for children to be stressed about they are and they have to come up with their own ways of handling their stress. The way children may handle stress or frustration is by acting out here are some resources to help calmly and safely help your child or student with behavior challenges.

First off we need to remember all of our children's rights and not to get too frustrated with them because they are trying to cope and figure things out just like us.

Articles:

UNICEF (n.d). Fact Sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf

Phil Strain. Jaclyn Joseph. Mary Louise Hemmeter. Erin Barton. Lise Fox. (January 2017). Tips for Responding to Challenging Behavior in Young Children. Pyramid Equity Project. 

https://challengingbehavior.cbcs.usf.edu/docs/PEP_Tips-responding-challenging-behavior.pdf

Books:

Teeth are Not For Biting by Elizabeth Verdick

Challenging Behavior in Young Children: Understanding, Preventing and Responding Effectively (4th Edition) by Barbara Kaiser