By Stacy Simonyi, Leigh-Ann Leinhauser Brown, Kaitlin Northey, and Heather Duhamel
A Review of NAEYC’s Earliest Writings on Collaboration and Inclusion
Young children need a friend in [their] court. They need someone with the mantle of authority who can be their spokesman. We need someone in every state—professional workers with an adequate staff—concerned with child growth and development and with helping parents—who can be this spokesman for young children.
—James L. Hymes Jr.
James L. Hymes Jr., a professor of education in New Paltz, New York, wrote the opening excerpt in an article reflecting on the first 25 years of the National Association for Nursery Education, NAEYC’s predecessor. Now as then, young children need us, the professionals in the field of early childhood education, to be their advocates. But just as in 1948, we cannot do it by working alone. Collaboration, or the purposeful cooperation between stakeholders to address challenges and achieve common goals (Kinsella-Meier & Gala 2016; Hong et al. 2019; Mitchell et al. 2020), is essential to quality early childhood education (Del Grosso et al. 2014). This includes in advancing equity.
As posited in NAEYC’s position statements, relationships are critical to promoting early learning (NAEYC 2019, 2020, 2025a). From local to state levels, professionals establish relationships to collaboratively ensure that children and families have access to the services they need. This happens in a variety of ways and goes beyond simply working together (Mitchell et al. 2020). Rather, it occurs when educators, families, specialists, agencies, higher education faculty, and others work to achieve common, interdependent, and long-term goals that support innovation and improvement (Hong et al. 2019).
As evidenced throughout the broader literature and 100 years of NAEYC content and reflection, collaboration leads to a more informed, supported, and inclusive workforce that honors the voices of all stakeholders. We (the authors) are a group of faculty in higher education across Vermont who have benefited from our collaboration and relationships. As such, we approached the call for articles for this celebratory issue of Young Children through the lens of collaboration: What did it look like, and how was it reported in the earliest issues of the journal?
To answer this question, we reviewed the first decade (1945–1956) of the publication, then known as the Bulletin of the National Association of Nursery Education (or Bulletin). As we examined each article, announcement, and editor’s note, we looked for collaboration among professionals to support the inclusive development of early childhood educators and children. (See “Rationale for Choosing This Decade and Focusing on Collaboration” below for information about how we approached our work.) In this article, we highlight the Bulletin’s dedication to collaboration from its very first issues and call out the ways in which this collaboration promoted inclusion for children with disabilities and for refugee children. By looking to the past, we can inform current and future practices, maintaining our commitment to collaboration as we work to help all children succeed.
Rationale for Choosing This Decade and Focusing on Collaboration
We are professors representing different Vermont colleges with early childhood teacher preparation programs. We meet quarterly with other faculty and stakeholders to discuss early childhood education in our state, review state legislation, and provide program updates. Collaboration is integral in our work and was on our minds when we met to discuss how we use Young Children (YC) in our practice.
For this article, we chose to review the early history of YC (1945–1956), then known as the Bulletin of the National Association of Nursery Education. During this time, World War II ended, and the Baby Boom era began. The surge in births during this period created an increased need for child care to support working families, especially as more women entered the workforce in the 1950s.
Each author reviewed three to four years of Bulletin issues, with a focus on the evolution of collaboration and collaboration’s impact on inclusion. As we reviewed these early issues, we saw the start of a flourishing organization and the beginning of a resource that would continue to impact the early childhood education field.
A Spirit of Collaboration: Articles from the First Issues
Although the term was not explicitly used, collaboration was a guiding principle throughout the Bulletin’s first decade, with terms like teamwork and interprofessional cooperation appearing often. Articles frequently referenced the multiple participants responsible for advancing early childhood education.
For example, in the Bulletin’s second issue (December 1945), Frances R. Horwich highlighted the diverse roles held by members of the National Association for Nursery Education (NANE). In “Who’s Who in the NANE?”, she wrote:
Do you know that the composition of our membership is one of the most heterogeneous and therefore most challenging of all professional organizations? To know and thereby be reassured that school administrators, principals, college presidents, state education personnel, high school teachers, elementary school teachers, college professors, county superintendents, supervisors, pediatricians, obstetricians, psychiatrists, public health nurses, parents, book publishers, toy manufacturers, mental hygiene personnel, day nursery personnel, police department personnel, and hundreds of nursery school teachers have joined hands for the purpose of exchanging ideas and planning for the guidance and development of the nursery school child in this and other countries is most encouraging. (2)
The Bulletin continued to emphasize collaboration across disciplines during its first decade. Contributors came from a variety of fields, including psychiatry, pediatric medicine, higher education, and early childhood education. Articles, reports, and news updates kept readers apprised of quality practices as well as what was happening in early learning programs locally, nationally, and internationally. This cross-discipline collaboration was evidenced in December 1947 when Hymes (by then NANE’s president) recapped that year’s association conference:
The Conference was noteworthy for the wide variety of professions represented: An anthropologist, a psychiatrist, and a nutritionist were the speakers at the three largest general sessions. Many nurses and public health workers were in the audience and on the panels. Pediatricians played a prominent role. The program itself was a reminder—perhaps one we very much need—that nursery education is a cooperative effort, drawing its basic approaches from many professions and needing the services of many professions if young children are to be well served. (1)
Throughout the decade we examined, writers emphasized the value of diverse professional perspectives, particularly in the Bulletin’s On the Personal Side column (also called On the State Side and On the Personal and State Side in early issues). In addition to highlighting opportunities, successes, and initiatives occurring across the country, this regular feature underscored the importance of professionals working together to educate all children.
For example, in Winter 1954, Rosalie Blau described the establishment of a lecture series in honor of Barbara Greenwood, who started California’s first nursery school and served on NANE’s executive committee. The annual lectureship was intended to bring together a range of professionals in a common undertaking:
Through this cooperative effort, the specialists and representatives of community groups will strengthen capacities to achieve common goals; will develop richer understandings of various points of view; will be challenged to higher purpose as they listen to national leaders who recognize that what happens to young children determines the future of man’s struggle to improve society. (52, emphasis in the original)
Even from its inception, the message in NAEYC’s flagship journal was clear: Collaboration across community members is key to the success of our field and, ultimately, society. All members of the community, especially its leaders, have a role to play in educating each and every child.
Inclusive Attitudes Toward Children: Collaborating to Help All Children Succeed
As we looked through and discussed these early issues, we noted that the Bulletin shared many instances of collaboration among professionals in the field and across disciplines to serve children with disabilities.
According to Kunesh’s (1990) overview of early childhood education, the mid-1940s and 1950s were challenging decades for early childhood educators. As federal funding was withdrawn, early education became increasingly accessible only to wealthier families. Programs relied largely on local governments and private philanthropists to keep their doors open.
Conditions were even more serious for children with disabilities. Public schools offered segregated placements far from children’s homes (Wright & Wright 2006) or ignored their needs entirely. The era was often described as one of stagnation and regression (De Los Santos & Kupczynski 2019). “Good special education programs were rare and difficult to access. For most children with disabilities, special education programs were simply not available” (Wright & Wright 2006, 12).
Despite these challenges, the first decade of the Bulletin shows that early childhood educators advocated for the inclusion of children with disabilities. Articles consistently highlighted ways that the workforce was prepared to collaborate with communities and professionals to support these children and their families. Columns and features informed teachers about effective practices; offered guidance for navigating changing times; explained legislative changes and ways to get involved; and provided encouragement for supporting children. For example,
In “What Makes a Good Nursery School Teacher,” Abigail A. Eliot (1955) shared three qualities of effective teachers for all children: A genuine interest in the field, professional skills and dispositions aligned with the teaching profession, and an educational background that included knowledge of child development.
“The Changing Role of the Nursery School,” by Eveline Omwake (1954), explained how early education programs had become integral places for learning about and observing child development.
In its Let’s Talk Legislation column, the Bulletin consistently offered resources to help readers become informed about legislative efforts at state and national levels (e.g., “Looking for Help on State Legislation?” in 1945).
Noting that children learn from educators’ modeling, Mary Ann Wolman’s “Interpreting the Needs of the ‘Special Child’ to Parents and Children of the ‘Normal Group’ ” (1954) encouraged teachers to create a climate of belonging and acceptance in their classrooms.
This focus on children with disabilities was intriguing, given that it would be more than two decades before landmark cases secured their educational rights (e.g., Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Mills v. Board of Education of the District of Columbia). So too was the attention given to refugees—a topic that continues to dominate political discourse today. A discussion of both of these issues, including how they were addressed in the Bulletin and how they have appeared in Young Children through the years, follows.
Collaboration to Support Children with Disabilities
Early childhood educators have a rich history of supporting all children. We were particularly struck by articles during the Bulletin’s first decade that emphasized the importance of caring for children with diverse abilities. One noteworthy example appeared in Winter 1955’s On the State Side feature, which detailed state-level early childhood initiatives. Rosalie Blau described how the early childhood association in Portland, Oregon, set a goal “to consider the needs of the ‘handicapped’ child and the possibility of integrating him into our standard nurseries” (41). Collaboration was evident in her descriptions of a Kansas preschool that partnered with professionals to support children who were blind and a school that included otologists and social workers to support preschoolers who were deaf.
In the same feature, Blau detailed the joint efforts of the Elliot Park Neighborhood House in Minnesota. “A somewhat unique feature of the program lies in the cooperative picture it presents,” she wrote (39). This experimental preschool served children with severe cognitive disabilities and was made possible through the collaboration of educators, the Minneapolis Association for Retarded Children (now known as The ARC Minnesota), the Women’s Club of Minneapolis, and a community settlement house. Beyond securing funding for a school, the initiative sought to provide hands-on experiences for future educators. Blau described how “projected plans also include the possibility of assigning student nurses and student teachers from the nearby training centers in the school” to gain experience with this population of children (39).
This early commitment to inclusion reflected a progressive stance long before inclusion became a legal requirement. It would take another 30 years before federal law mandated support for children with disabilities through the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975). It was not until 1986 that children ages 3 to 5 were included under the act’s reauthorization, Public Law 99-457. Yet even in its first decade, NAEYC’s flagship journal was highlighting the importance of educating children who were blind, deaf, or had intellectual or developmental disabilities (see “Bulletin Articles About Children with Diverse Abilities” below). These articles underscored the value that early childhood educators placed on collaboration to meet the needs of all children. By working together—across community organizations, advocacy groups, and education programs—they laid the groundwork for inclusive practices that would later be formalized into law.
Young Children continues to provide information and guidance about inclusive practices and the necessary role of collaboration. For example,
In the 1989 article “How Do I Help Jacob?”, author True Heitz discussed helping a student with physical disabilities. Strategies included slowing down, appreciating uniqueness, and listening to families.
Arthur J. Reynolds and colleagues wrote about interagency collaboration, individualized attention to student needs, and family support in the 2000 article “Innovation in Early Intervention for Children in Families with Low Incomes—Lessons from the Chicago Child-Parent Centers.”
In Winter 2021’s “Tearing Down Silos: A Model for Interagency Collaboration,” Alison Mellott highlighted the York/Adams Rapid Response program in Pennsylvania.
Refugee Children and Families
The Bulletin began at the same time that World War II was ending. As such, articles and news reports in its early issues reflected the need to support young children and families who were displaced by the war and seeking refuge in the United States. Authors shared detailed accounts of these post-wartime efforts, explaining how early childhood educators were at the forefront of programs and initiatives to include refugee families.
For example, in the December 1945 feature “What Are You Doing?”, Sarah Foot described her work at the Refugee Shelter at Fort Ontario in Oswego, New York. Nearly 1,000 refugees from across Europe found themselves at the shelter, which included a nursery program. While family backgrounds differed dramatically, Foot reports that a parents’ party lasted until midnight: “We had mothers and fathers and administration guests modeling in clay, painting at the easel, using pastel chalks, doing cutouts, singing and playing nursery games in several languages, and finally just cutting loose and clowning” (5). With a message still relevant today, she adds: “How universal are the needs of all children. What a wealth of international understanding has its beginnings in the nursery school!” (5).
In addition to working with families and learning from them, the Bulletin shared ways to collaboratively learn about refugees and other newcomers to the United States (see “Bulletin Articles About Refugee Children and Families” below). Collaborating to create better early childhood experiences for these children was a key part of NANE’s 1947 conference charge. As Hymes previewed in October 1946:
All efforts will be made to make this a real get-together for people in all parts of the country, one where we can pool what we have learned about young children through our war work, from research during the war years, and where we can lay plans that will mean better living for young children in the years ahead. (1)
Research is clear that children benefit when they learn with peers who come from different backgrounds (Parlakian 2021; Snyder 2025). Collaboration is key to enhancing such inclusive practices (Connor et al. 2025). As seen in Young Children articles throughout the years, early childhood educators can help to build cultural awareness by partnering with families (similar to what Foot did in 1945) and by implementing other welcoming practices.
For example, the 2016 article “Collaborating with Refugee Resettlement Organizations: Providing a Head Start to Young Refugees” (Morland & Levine 2016) offered suggestions for how early childhood programs can collaborate with organizations that are working to support immigrants and refugees. Libnoch and Ridley’s 2020 “Using Picture Books About Refugees: Fostering Diversity and Social Justice in the Elementary School Classroom” highlighted the importance of teaching about diversity and equity—not only for children’s own identity development, but also to inform how they value diversity and others’ differences.
Drawing on the Past to Collaborate for the Future
The past was not without its challenges. Despite strong collaboration among community members, early childhood educators faced ongoing concerns about funding and legislation, which were frequently reported across the Bulletin’s first issues (see Christine M. Heinig’s report in Fall 1949). Throughout the decade, these topics remained central to discussions as did the tension educators faced to fill multiple roles. In her Winter 1954 “Summary Report of the Conference of the National Commission on Teacher Education and Professional Standards,” Lea Cowles Masters quoted the executive dean of the State University of New York, who stated: “Today’s teacher is expected to be a school psychologist, a behavior and learning diagnostician, a measurement expert, a guidance worker, a student of American values, a broadly educated person, and a scholar in his teaching field” (13).
One hundred years after NAEYC’s founding and 80 years after its first journal was published, early childhood educators still face many of these same challenges. Financial deficits and unrealistic expectations concerning teachers’ responsibilities continue to plague our system: Federal budget proposals have recommended funding cuts and policy changes that would impact the accessibility of early childhood and early childhood teacher preparation programs (NAEYC 2025b). Executive orders have limited supports available from the US Department of Education (DeMio & James 2025). Early childhood educators face stressors as they work to support and protect all children and families, including those afraid of detainment and deportation (Carrazana 2025; Swartz 2025). Yet through collaboration and advocacy, the voices and expertise of the early childhood workforce can contribute to advancing equity and supporting children.
While reflecting on the journal’s first decade, one of our most significant takeaways was the way it united the early childhood workforce to establish long-term relationships and increase engagement—two factors critical for successful collaboration (Woodland & Hutton 2012; Kinsella-Meier & Gala 2016). These ideas continue in Young Children today as it remains a resource for quality practices in which members contribute and collaborate to support children with diverse abilities and backgrounds (e.g., Ntoulia 2023; Falkner & Rodriguez 2024; Figueras-Daniel & Vasquez 2024; Lee & Alonzo 2024).
To meet the strengths, interests, and needs of all children, we must continue to bring together diverse professionals to engage in collaboration across agencies and disciplines. As Blau shared in Winter 1954, when specialists and community members work together toward a common goal, each “will develop richer understandings of various points of view [and] will be challenged to higher purpose. . . . [W]hat happens to young children determines the future of man’s struggle to improve society” (52).
About the Authors
Stacy Simonyi, EdD, is an assistant professor of education at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont. Dr. Simonyi has been an educator for 20 years, working with students from infancy through graduate school. ssimonyi@smcvt.edu
Leigh-Ann Leinhauser Brown, PhD, BCBA, is a special education professor at Vermont State University in Castleton, Vermont, with over 20 years of experience in special education. Her research focuses on outdoor education, family experiences, and creating joyful community participation through the principles of ABA. leigh-ann.brown@vermontstate.edu
Kaitlin Northey, PhD, is an associate professor of early childhood at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont. Her scholarship in early childhood teacher preparation, leadership, state governance, and policy implementation documents the complexities within early childhood systems.
Heather Duhamel, MEd, is an assistant professor of early childhood education (online) at Vermont State University in Vermont. heather.duhamel@vermontstate.edu
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