A POSITION STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE EDUCATION OF YOUNG CHILDREN | 37
norm, normative—The denition of certain actions, identities,
and outcomes as the standard (“the norm” or “normal”), with
everything else as outside the norm. For example, the terms White
normativity or heteronormative refer to instances in which
Whiteness and heterosexuality are considered normal or preferred.
Such norms wrongly suggest that all other races, ethnicities and
sexual orientations are outside the norm or are less preferable. Art
activities focused on lling out a family tree, with designated spaces
for “mommy,” “daddy,” “grandma,” and “grandpa,” for example, may
assume a two-parent, heterosexual household as the normative
family structure. (While some research-based norms provide
guidance regarding healthy child development and appropriate
educational activities and expectations, these norms have too often
been derived through research that has only or primarily included
nonrepresentative samples of children or has been conducted
primarily by nonrepresentative researchers. Additional research, by a
more representative selection of researchers and theorists, is needed to
develop new norms that will support equitably educating all children.)
pedagogical content knowledge—Knowledge of academic
disciplines and the ability to create meaningful learning
experiences for each child by using eective teaching strategies.
play—A universal, innate, and essential human activity that
children engage in for pleasure, enjoyment, and recreation. Play,
solitary or social, begins during infancy and develops in increasing
complexity through childhood. Play integrates and supports
children’s development and learning across cognitive, physical,
social, and emotional domains, and across curriculum content
areas. Play can lead to inquiry and discovery and facilitate future
learning. While there are multiple and evolving theories about
the types and stages of play, as well as about the teacher’s role in
play, the professions of developmental psychology and of early
childhood education have long recognized play as essential for
young children’s development of symbolic and representational
thinking, construction and organization of mental concepts, social
expression and communication, imagination, and problem-solving.
position statement—Adopted by the Governing Board to state the
NAEYC’s positions on issues related to early childhood education
practice, policy, and/or professional development for which there
are controversial or critical opinions. Position statements are
developed through a consensus-building approach that seeks to
convene diverse perspectives and areas of expertise related to the
issue and provide opportunities for members and others to provide
input and feedback. (NAEYC, About Position Statements, NAEYC.
org/resources/position-statements/about-position-statements).
professional development—A continuum of learning and
support opportunities designed to prepare individuals with the
knowledge, skills, practices, and dispositions needed in a specic
profession. Professional development for early childhood educators
includes both professional preparation and ongoing professional
development; training, education, and technical assistance;
university/college credit-bearing coursework, preservice and
in-service training sessions; observation with feedback from
a colleague and peer learning communities; and mentoring,
coaching, and other forms of job-related technical assistance.
professional judgement—The application of professional
knowledge, professional experience, and ethical standards in context
with understanding, analysis, and reection. Early childhood educators
exercise professional judgement to make intentional, informed
decisions about appropriate practice in specic circumstances.
professional preparation program—A program that
culminates in a degree, certicate, or credential that provides
candidates with the appropriate level of mastery of the agreed-upon
standards and competencies. Early childhood educator professional
preparation programs are responsible for preparing educators
serving children birth through age 8 across settings.
race—A social construct that categorizes and ranks groups of
people on the basis of skin color and other physical features. The
scientic consensus is that using the social construct of race to divide
people into distinct and dierent groups has no biological basis.
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reciprocal relationships—In reciprocal relationships
between practitioners and families, there is a mutual
respect, cooperation, shared responsibilities, and negotiation
of conicts to achieve shared goals for children.
standards—The national standards formally adopted by a
profession to dene the essentials of high-quality practice
for all members of the profession. They may be applied in the
development of national accreditation, state program approval,
individual licensing, and other aspects of professional development
systems. They provide the unifying framework for core as well
as specialized or advanced knowledge and competencies.
structural inequities—The systemic disadvantage of one or
more social groups compared to systemic advantage for other
groups with which they coexist. The term encompasses policy, law,
governance, and culture and refers to race, ethnicity, gender or
gender identity, class, sexual orientation, and other domains.
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technology—Broadly dened as anything human-made that is
used to solve a problem or fulll a desire. Technology can be an
object, a system, or a process that results in the modication of
the natural world to meet human needs and wants. Additionally,
technology includes digital tools like computers, tablets, apps,
e-readers, smartphones, TVs, DVDs and music players, handheld
games, cameras, digital microscopes, interactive whiteboards,
electronic toys, non-screen-based tangible technology, and simple
robots. Familiar analog tools found in early childhood classrooms
include audio recorders, VHS and cassette players, record players,
headphones, crayons and pencils, scissors, rulers, blocks, and
magnifying glasses. Social media, email, video conferencing,
cloud collaboration tools, e-portfolios, blogs, pod casts, and other
methods of communication are used by young children.
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tiered intervention approaches—“also called response-to-
intervention models, have been used to stimulate the learning of
children in the areas of reading, mathematics, and socioemotional
development. These approaches make use of ongoing formative
assessment to determine which children have mastered specic
skills or knowledge and which might benet from additional,
more intensive instruction and learning opportunities.”
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Universal Design—A concept that can be used to support access
to environments in many dierent types of settings through the
removal of physical and structural barriers. Universal Design
for Learning (UDL) reects practices that provide multiple and
varied formats for instruction and learning. UDL principles and
practices help to ensure that every young child has access to
learning environments, to typical home or educational routines
and activities, and to the general education curriculum.
young children—Refers to children in the period of early
childhood development, from birth through approximately age
8. Although developmental periods do not rigidly correspond
to chronological age, early childhood is generally dened
as including all children from birth through age 8.