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Elevating the Voices of Practitioners
A Meeting Place for Teacher Research, Inquiry, and Growth
Barbara Henderson and Daniel R. Meier
Editors’ Note
Twenty years ago, Voices of Practitioners was introduced to NAEYC members and to the field. The publication is an important part of NAEYC’ s history: It has supported key facets of the organization’ s mission, including elevating educators’ expertise and experiences and supporting their professional growth. It showcases key competencies of early childhood educators who“[ e ] ngage in continuous, collaborative learning to inform practice” and“[ d ] evelop and sustain the habit of reflective and intentional practice in their daily work with young children and as members of the early childhood profession”( NAEYC 2020, 25).
Throughout its history, Voices founders and editors have worked to establish and sustain its ethos: A commitment to nurturing authentic teacher research and ensuring that each piece is deeply human and uplifts the stories and insights of practitioners. In honor of NAEYC’ s centennial, Barbara Henderson and Daniel R. Meier( who helped conceive of the project) and Andrew J. Stremmel( one of their first collaborators) reflect on the origins, evolution, and enduring significance of teacher research within the early childhood education field.
The story of Voices of Practitioners is one of people, partnerships, and core principles that shape its purpose. From the beginning, we understood that teacher research depended on creating conditions where teachers could write, publish, and be recognized as knowledge producers within their own profession. That conviction drew on the teacher-research movement( e. g., Cochran-
Smith & Lytle 1993) and on the influence of an even wider range of scholars who had long argued that authentic inquiry about educating children must begin in early learning settings, not in universities.
In this edition of Voices of Practitioners, we reflect on the publication within the context of NAEYC’ s 100th anniversary. We write from
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