Professional Development and held the first annual Professional Development Institute conference( later renamed Professional Learning Institute) in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. This work was designed to deepen the skills and knowledge of teacher educators so that they in turn could prepare more effective, reflective practitioners. The Governing Board adopted“ A Conceptual Framework for Early Childhood Professional Development” to guide the work( NAEYC 1993a).
During the early 1990s, NAEYC continued to take positions on issues related to children’ s well-being. For example, in 1993, the Board adopted a position statement against“ Violence in the Lives of Children”( NAEYC 1993b). A major step toward providing high-quality early education for all children was the adoption of the 1995 position statement“ Responding to Linguistic and Cultural Diversity: Recommendations for Effective Early Childhood Education”( NAEYC 1995). The goal of this work was to promote equity and inclusiveness in environments for children and in all the work of the association. It strongly communicated NAEYC’ s values about respecting linguistic and cultural diversity.
1996 – 2005
During the latter half of the 1990s, NAEYC continued its rapid growth in membership and programmatic initiatives. In 1997, the association published a significantly revised edition of Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood( Bredekamp & Copple 1997). This book and the revised foundational position statement emphasized that child development and learning occur within specific social and cultural contexts, requiring responsiveness to social, cultural, and linguistic diversity. The statement also stressed consideration of the strengths, interests, and needs of each child, including children with disabilities. To facilitate the field’ s understanding of these essential changes, NAEYC produced The Leading Edge, a carefully designed training program offered via live satellite to groups convened in conjunction with NAEYC
Affiliates around the country( NAEYC 1999). The next year, NAEYC released a joint position statement with the International Reading Association( now International Literacy Association),“ Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate Practice for Young Children”( NAEYC & IRA 1998). A related book was published by NAEYC in 2000( Neuman et al. 2000).
The organization experienced a change in leadership with the departures of Dr. Smith and Dr. Andrews in December 1998. Dr. Mark R. Ginsberg became the new executive director in 1999. He took the helm at a time when the association had a significantly larger membership and was on the cusp of changes in organizational structure. The Affiliate Council was established as a representative body of state Affiliates to inform organizational decision making. Interest forums provided formal structures to acknowledge member caucuses and bring together members with other areas of common interest.
In 2001, NAEYC celebrated its 75th anniversary with the publication of NAEYC at 75( 1926 – 2001): Reflections on the Past, Challenges for the Future, which outlined how NAEYC has built and maintained a high-performing organization, worked to improve professional practice, and advocated for young children and the early childhood profession( NAEYC 2001).
NAEYC celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2001.
OURPROUDHERITAGE
Spring 2026 Young Children 15