Ethical Responsibilities

NAEYC’s Code of Ethical Conduct

NAEYC. (2005). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved from
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

Ethical Responsibilities to Children

I-1.1—To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and training.

I-1.5—To create and maintain safe and healthy settings that foster children’s social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development and that respect their dignity and their contributions.

I have a passion for learning as well as teaching young children. I am very familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and I am committed to staying abreast new research and developing topics as well as to seeking and obtaining ongoing professional development that is relevant to my work with infants and toddlers as well as their families.

 My leading responsibility as an early childhood educator is to provide each child with care and education in settings that are healthy, safe, responsive, and nurturing. This guides my commitment and goals of providing a safe, high quality, nurturing, and responsive environment for infants to grow and learn, providing fun, challenging yet developmentally appropriate positive learning experiences that meet the needs and interests of children while enhancing brain development, physical development, social/emotional development, and cognitive development including the area of language and literacy. It also guides my goal of effectively and professionally mentoring my co-teacher and the ECCE students that are completing labs or internships in my classroom, and ultimately making a difference in the lives of children and families in my community through early childhood education. I always first consider the health, safety, and well-being in all my work in the ECE field and will continue to do so.

Ethical Responsibilities to Families

I-2.2—To develop relationships of mutual trust and create partnerships with the families we serve.

I-2.4—To listen to families, acknowledge and build upon their strengths and competencies, and learn from families as we support them in their task of nurturing children

Families are of primary importance in children’s development.  I have come to understand that children’s development is best understood and supported in the context of family, culture, community, and society. Since families and I share a common interest in their child’s well-being, I take on the responsibility of  developing  trusting partnerships and bringing about communication, cooperation, and collaboration between the home and early childhood program in ways that enhance the child’s development.  Parents are a valuable resource to us when we listen to what they share. We also have valuable information to share that will offer them support.

Ethical Responsibilities to Colleagues

I-3A.1—To establish and maintain relationships of respect, trust, confidentiality, collaboration, and cooperation with colleagues.

I-3A.2—To share resources with colleagues and collaborating to ensure that the best possible early childhood care and education program is provided.

I strive to build positive relationships with my colleagues. I promote respect, trust, teamwork,  cooperation, and collaboration. We often share resources, ideas, and support each other’s professional development, and encourage each other. This is important in establishing and maintaining settings and relationships that support productive work and meet professional needs, thus ensuring that the best possible early childhood care and education program is provided to the children and families we serve.