Early Childhood Code of Ethics

Professional Code of Ethics for Early Childhood Education

Under the NAEYC code of ethics there were two of the seven core values that were meaningful to me at this point in my professional career.  The first value is that we recognize that children are best understood and supported in the context of family, culture, community and society.  As we attempt to assist children with their educational journey we must understand the culture, community, and family that they are coming.  I have noticed that teachers that are not from our community tend to have difficulty understanding our children.  The children use words and grammar that are unique or common amongst of our community, but are grammatically incorrect or even unheard of in other communities.  For example the dialect that is spoken in the home is a form of broken English that is common.  We be’s going to the store, for example instead of we were going to the store.  Or I be’s quiet but I still gets in trouble.  I have heard many teachers correcting the students English, which is their professional duty however I believe that we as teachers have to try to understand that the children are using the language they are familiar with and we have to find a less critical way to address their language mishaps that does not sound as if we are criticizing them.  So professionally speaking, I believe that I will carry this core value with me on my professional journey to remind me that before I can make a judgment on a child I should understand the family, culture and community from which they come. 

The second core value that was meaningful to me is directly tied to the previous one.  Respect the dignity, worth and uniqueness of each individual.  This includes not only the child, but their family and our colleagues.  Our first impression of a person is important, however when we are working with young children and their families we need to understand that every person is unique and their dignity and feeling of worth is very important.  If we treat each person we meet like we would like to be treated, then we are doing our job as professionals.  Understanding the context from which a child or parent comes, will help us as professionals to ensure that help our children, parents and colleagues to maintain their dignity and self worth.

Finally, from the DEC Code of Ethics there were two goals that I found compelling.  We shall demonstrate our respect and concern for children, families, colleagues, and others with whom we work, honoring their beliefs, values, customs, languages and cultures.  As I proceed as a professional I understand that not only is it important to encourage and respect the children and their families, but also other professionals that I will come into contact with.  We are each unique and have belief systems that are created by the environments and cultures from which we come.  Therefore, if we are going to be high quality professionals we need to demonstrate our appreciation for diversity and values that are not necessarily our own.

To read the full Code of Ethics for the NAEYC and the DEC please visit the following sites;
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf
http://www.dec-sped.org/