With growing evidence about the critical period of birth to age 5 for child development and learning, the imperative to professionalize the early childhood education workforce has never been greater. In this follow-up to The New Early Childhood Professional: A Step-By-Step Guide to Overcoming Goliath, the authors share lessons learned from their work with thousands of practitioners. They focus on four Guiding Principles to leading change: the need to Respect diverse opinions, to seek Equity, and to acknowledge the field’s Strengths while doing the hard work to enhance Competence. With a strategic emphasis on building professional communities, strengthening professional capital, and working together to craft solutions, Guiding Principles for the New Early Childhood Professional presents a clearer vision of a unified future in early childhood care and education.
