DOUBLE TAP TO ZOOM WITH PHONE OR TABLET LEADERSHIP / PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT The question isn’t if early childhood education will change, but rather who will lead the change. Early childhood education has struggled to fulfill its promise as a field of practice. Professionalizing Early Childhood Education As a Field of Practice is an invitation to participate in conversations with intent. These conversations encourage participants to explore structuring ECE as a professional field of practice. This is a defining moment for ECE. Creating a different future for the field requires addressing thorny issues and working through challenging choices. The next step is yours to take— join the conversation! “The field should embrace it and begin the work to ‘change from inside out’ and become a true profession.” —Laura Bornfreund, Deputy Director, Early Education Initiative at New America “Stacie Goffin makes a strong case to confront the hard questions that divide the early childhood field of practice. She’s right.” —Matthew E. Melmed, Executive Director, ZERO TO THREE “Few can any longer deny that ECE’s fragmentation is hurtful to children and to ECE as a field of practice. Fulfilling the aspirations of ECE, though, requires that we enter into the conversations Goffin proposes. Kudos to her for preparing this guide for our journey.” —Pamela Winton, PhD, Senior Scientist and Director of Outreach, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill STACIE G. GOFFIN is a widely recognized authority in early childhood education with a passion for raising the competence of ECE as a field of practice. Goffin currently serves as the Principal of the Goffin Strategies Group, where she uses her extensive experience to improve the effectiveness of programs and services for young children through leadership, capacity, and systems development. She is also the author of Early Childhood Education for a New Era: Leading for Our Profession. ISBN 978-1-60554-434-2 www.naeyc.org 1313 L Street NW, Suite 500 Washington, DC 20005-4101 www.naeyc.org NAEYC Item #7232 COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL $21.95