NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct
Revised April 2005
POSITION STATEMENT
naeyc
Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment
Revised April 2005
A position statement of the National Association for the Education of Young Children
Endorsed by the Association for Childhood Education International
Adopted by the National Association for Family Child Care
Preamble
NAEYC recognizes that those who work with young children face many daily decisions that have moral and ethical implications. The NAEYC Code of Ethical
Conduct offers guidelines for responsible behavior and sets forth a common basis for resolving the principal ethical dilemmas encountered in early childhood care and education. The Statement of Commitment is not part of the Code but is a personal acknowledgement of an individual’s willingness to embrace the distinctive values and moral obligations of the field of early childhood care and education.
The primary focus of the Code is on daily practice with children and their families in programs for children from birth through 8 years of age, such as infant/toddler programs, preschool and prekindergarten programs, child care centers, hospital and child life settings, family child care homes, kindergartens, and primary classrooms.
When the issues involve young children, then these provisions also apply to specialists who do not work directly with children, including program administrators, parent educators, early childhood adult educators, and officials with responsibility for program monitoring and licensing. (Note: See also the “Code of Ethical Conduct:
Supplement for Early Childhood Adult Educators,” online at www.naeyc.org/about/positions/pdf/ethics04.pdf.)
Core values
Standards of ethical behavior in early childhood care and education are based on commitment to the following core values that are deeply rooted in the history of the field of early childhood care and education. We have made a commitment to
• Appreciate childhood as a unique and valuable