Updated Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators

In response to national trends and the evolving needs of the early childhood workforce, Michigan is proud to announce the adoption of a brand-new set of Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators!

This exciting shift positions Michigan at the forefront of a nationwide movement to unify and elevate the early childhood education profession.

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Adoption of new Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators

In response to national trends and the evolving needs of the early childhood workforce, Michigan is proud to announce the adoption of a brand-new set of Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators!

These standards will replace our current standards [the Michigan Core Knowledge and Core Competencies (CKCCs) for the Early Care and Education Workforce] that all courses in the MiRegistry Statewide Training Calendar are aligned to. The Michigan CKCCs were launched in 2014 and updates were needed. Since introducing our state CKCCs, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) released a body of Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators.

The Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement and Potential (MiLEAP) worked closely with the Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children (Michigan AEYC) to review our existing CKCCs and the NAEYC Professional Standards and Competencies for alignment and potential gaps. As a result of this review, the State of Michigan decided to adopt the six NAEYC Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators and add three additional Standards and Competencies to support the specific needs of Michigan's Early Care and Education Workforce for a total of nine.

You might notice the new Professional Standards and Competencies are set up similarly to the existing CKCCs with an overarching standard or content area, followed by competency statements, and then broken down into three levels. In our current CKCCs, those three levels are developing, achieving, and extending. In the new standards, the three levels align to the NAEYC professional designations - Early Childhood Educator I, II and III.

Frequently Asked Questions


Resources

Michigan ECE Professional Standards & Competencies

Updated Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators

Standards & Competencies Crosswalk

See how the old standards align with the new standards.