| Formation | 1892 |
|---|---|
| Type | 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit |
| Website | ceinternational1892 |
Formerly called | Association for Childhood Education International |
Childhood Education International (formerly, Association for Childhood Education International; International Kindergarten Union), a nonprofit organization with membership, is a global community of educators and advocates who advocate for desirable conditions, programs, and practices affecting children, infancy through adult.
Childhood Education International members include teachers, teacher educators, students, child care center directors and staff, and other organizations.
Childhood Education International was established as the International Kindergarten Union (IKU) in 1892, by educators concerned with the professional preparation of kindergarten teachers. In 1931, the National Council of Primary Education joined with the IKU to form the Association for Childhood Education (ACE). Many ACE members were professionals with an international focus, and so ACE added “International” to its name in 1946, becoming the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI).
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, members worked in immigrant communities in the United States to improve conditions for children living in slums and other types of settlement communities. Association members worked on behalf of children worldwide who were living in conditions of poverty or facing other challenging circumstances, such as discrimination, war, and hunger.
After World War I, ACEI offered support for kindergarten units that were organized to help refugee children in France. During the Great Depression in the United States, ACEI was hired by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to publish materials for nursery school teachers. During World War II, ACEI sent books, toys, and curriculum materials to teachers and children in Austria, Yugoslavia, Greece, and Italy.
In 1949, ACEI denied requests from three state associations to have separate associations for black and white educators. In 1950, ACEI revised its Guide for Groups Wishing to Extend Invitations to ACEI to state that African American members would have equal access to hotels, restaurants, and public transportation.
In the mid-1960s, ACEI supported U.S. efforts to prepare young children living in poverty for school, and partnered with organizations to develop training kits for Project Head Start training centers throughout the country.
In February 2019, ACEI officially changed its name to Childhood Education International.
Childhood Education International's vision is that every child in every nation will have access to a quality education. This education will prepare children to become responsible and engaged citizens, ready for life in a changing world.
The Constitution was approved by the membership on March 20, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois, and can be accessed at www.acei.org. Childhood Education International has a Constitution which outlines the governance structure of the organization and was approved by the membership. ACEI Bylaws, developed by the Childhood Education International Board of Director, serve as policies and procedures of the Board.
Childhood Education International has members throughout the world. Members of the Board of Directors hold two- to three-year terms; the Executive Director serves as an ex officio member. An International Advisory Council provides additional guidance.
ACEI’s flagship publication is Childhood Education: Innovations, first published in 1924. Childhood Education: Innovations is published six times a year. Each issue includes articles that describe organizations, practices, or projects that are taking truly innovative approaches to education, or present new perspectives on an existing practice that results in an innovative approach.
The Journal of Research in Childhood Education is a quarterly publication featuring peer-reviewed articles that advance knowledge and theory of the education of children, infancy through early adolescence. Issues provide reports of empirical research, theoretical articles, ethnographic and case studies, participant observation studies, and studies deriving data collected from naturalistic settings.
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th century in Germany, Bavaria and Alsace to serve children whose parents both worked outside home. The term was coined by German pedagogue Friedrich Fröbel, whose approach globally influenced early-years education. Today, the term is used in many countries to describe a variety of educational institutions and learning spaces for children ranging from two to six years of age, based on a variety of teaching methods.
A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school. It may be publicly or privately operated, and may be subsidized from public funds.
Early childhood education (ECE), also known as nursery education, is a branch of education theory that relates to the teaching of children from birth up to the age of eight. Traditionally, this is up to the equivalent of third grade. ECE is described as an important period in child development.
Bank Street College of Education is a private school and graduate school in New York City. It consists of a graduate-only teacher training college and an independent nursery-through-8th-grade school. In 2020 the graduate school had about 65 full-time teaching staff and approximately 850 students, of which 87% were female.
The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is a United States professional organization dedicated to "improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education. Since 1911, NCTE has provided a forum for the profession, an array of opportunities for teachers to continue their professional growth throughout their careers, and a framework for cooperation to deal with issues that affect the teaching of English." In addition, the NCTE describes its mission as follows:
The Council promotes the development of literacy, the use of language to construct personal and public worlds and to achieve full participation in society, through the learning and teaching of English and the related arts and sciences of language.
Pre-kindergarten is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece. It may be delivered through a preschool or within a reception year in elementary school. Pre-kindergartens play an important role in early childhood education. They have existed in the US since 1922, normally run by private organizations. The U.S. Head Start program, the country's first federally funded pre-kindergarten program, was founded in 1967. This attempts to prepare children to succeed in school.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a large nonprofit association in the United States representing early childhood education teachers, para-educators, center directors, trainers, college educators, families of young children, policy makers, and advocates. NAEYC is focused on improving the well-being of young children, with particular emphasis on the quality of educational and developmental services for children from birth through age 8.
The International Literacy Association (ILA), formerly the International Reading Association (IRA), is an international global advocacy and member professional organization that was created in 1956 to improve reading instruction, facilitate dialogue about research on reading, and encourage the habit of reading across the globe.
The National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) is a private, professional educational membership association of over 150,000 educators in Catholic schools, universities, and religious education programs. It is the largest such organization in the world.
Anne Walsh Mitchell is an American educator. She is a consultant in the early childhood education field and President of Early Childhood Policy Research in Climax, New York, and is the immediate past president of the Board of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. She is also the co-founder, with Louise Stoney, of the Alliance on Early Childhood Finance.
Mary Gordon, C.M., B.A., is a Canadian educator, social entrepreneur, child advocate and parenting expert. She is the founder and president of both Roots of Empathy and Seeds of Empathy, non-profit evidence-based programs dedicated to promoting emotional literacy and empathy among children.
James David Kirylo is professor of education at the University of South Carolina who teaches courses that examine concepts associated with critical pedagogy, curriculum theorizing, teacher leadership, diversity and literacy. Among other books, he is author of Teaching with Purpose: An Inquiry into the Who, Why, and How We Teach, A Turning Point in Teacher Education: A Time for Resistance, Reflection and Change, and Paulo Freire: The Man from Recife, which is one of the most comprehensive texts in English on the life and thought of Paulo Freire, significantly contributing to Freirean scholarship.
Ayelet Giladi is an Israeli educational sociologist. Her field of expertise is the early Childhood (ECED). Giladi is a pioneer and a recognized expert on the abuse of young children in Israel.
She is the founder and the director of the Voice of the Child (VOC) Association for the Prevention of Sexual abuse among Young Children.
Dr. Giladi is a counselor and a pioneer for the prevention of sexual harassment among young children. She teaches worldwide courses that focus on equipping young children with tools to prevent sexual harassment.
Curricula in early childhood care and education (ECCE) or early childhood curriculum address the role and importance of curricula in the education of young children, and is the driving force behind any ECCE programme. It is ‘an integral part of the engine that, together with the energy and motivation of staff, provides the momentum that makes programmes live’. It follows therefore that the quality of a programme is greatly influenced by the quality of its curriculum. In early childhood, these may be programmes for children or parents, including health and nutrition interventions and prenatal programmes, as well as centre-based programmes for children.
Child care indicators are sets of standards that act as indicators of quality child care. These standards are developed by governments, child care experts, pediatricians, and parent advocacy groups. This information is useful for parents who are seeking quality child care and for directors and staff working in child care settings for ensuring quality settings and programs.
Joan Fry, was an educator and a leading political advocate of early childhood education in Australia.
Early childhood education in the United States relates to the teaching of children from birth up to the age of eight. The education services are delivered via preschools and kindergartens.
The Survey of Teachers in Pre-Primary Education (STEPP) is the first international survey for low-and-middle-income countries designed to collect information that is known to affect the quality of pre-primary education from pre-primary teachers and centre heads. The collected information concerns training and professional development, pedagogical and professional practices, working conditions and job satisfaction, and characteristics of pre-primary personnel and the settings in which they work.
The International Association of Paediatric Dentistry (IAPD) is a non-profit organization.
International Kindergarten Union (I.K.U.) was an American organization established at Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1892, in the interests of concerted action among the supporters of the kindergarten cause. in 1924, the organization was reorganized as Childhood Education International.
