NAEYC’ s Centennial Year: 100 Years of Impact
Barbara Taylor Bowman
Mentor Extraordinaire
Carol Brunson Day
One of the most influential early childhood education mentors of the last 50 years was Barbara Taylor Bowman. In the article that follows, Patricia“ Patsy” M. Cooper examines the thinking, work, and life of this legend. Cooper’ s article first appeared in the Fall 2023 issue of Young Children, which focused on advances in understanding child development and learning through a lens of equity.
It is telling that so much can be written about and revisited in Barbara Bowman’ s work. Indeed, Barbara’ s professional resume is formidable. Her service on prestigious national and international committees and panels; her countless publications about early childhood advocacy, policy, and practice; and the honors she garnered again and again for her extraordinary contributions and service provide testament to the description of her as a pioneer in the field of early education.
What you won’ t see in her resume, however, is who Barbara was as a mentor and role model for her thousands of students, like me, who had the opportunity to know her personally and to learn from her close-up. We carry with us lessons that have influenced our careers and our lives.
First and foremost was Barbara’ s uncompromising insistence on scholarship. She held us to the highest standards of grounding our opinion in facts. One cannot be an early childhood education professional just because one loves children— one must know, understand, and respect developmental theory. She demonstrated that in many ways, not the least of which was the feedback she gave on our papers, but also through her actions.
Spring 2026 Young Children 35