Guiding Principles for the New Early Childhood Professional (Paperback)  | Released: 13 Oct 2017

With growing evidence about the critical period of birth to age 5 for child development and learning, the imperative to professionalize the early childhood education workforce has never been greater. In this follow-up to The New Early Childhood Professional: A Step-By-Step Guide to Overcoming Goliath, the authors share lessons learned from their work with thousands of practitioners. They focus on four Guiding Principles for leading change: the need to Respect diverse opinions, to seek Equity, and to acknowledge the field's Strengths while doing the hard work to enhance Competence. This book: Defines each Guiding Principle and examines how it impacts individual practitioners, early childhood programs, public policies, and professional systems. Identifies potential asymmetrical conflicts related to the Principles to demonstrate the imbalances that exist. Presents a diversity of voices from the field of early care and education. Provides a summary with a bottom-line analysis focused on achieving balance. Offers strategies for "facing Goliath" designed to accelerate a new reality for the field. Includes questions for reflection to help readers relate each Principle to their own circumstances. With a strategic emphasis on building professional communities, strengthening professional capital, and working together to craft solutions, Guiding Principles for the New Early Childhood Professional presents a clearer vision of a unified future in early childhood care and education.About the Author: Valora Washington is CEO of the Council for Professional Recognition and the founder of the CAYL Institute in Massachusetts. Brenda Gadson specializes in working with community-based nonprofits and is the principal of BMG Consulting in Florida.