CAEL, NAYEC Issue Report Supporting CPL Expansion for ECE Higher Ed Programs

Led by Director of Initiatives Dr. Alicia Myrick, CAEL is working with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) to increase credit for prior learning (CPL) opportunities within early childhood education (ECE) programs. The effort is part of a partnership between the two nonprofits in support of higher education systems and state legislatures.

The collaboration will result in a series of webinars and reports. The first report, Credit Where Credit is Due - Expanding Credit for Prior Learning in ECE Higher Education Programs, is now available. 

The report, which explores the CPL landscape in ECE higher education programs, notes that early childhood educators must master complex competencies to succeed in their profession. While credentials are a valuable component to such success, early childhood educators also acquire key competencies through experience and expertise developed outside of traditional academic settings.

Formally recognizing that wealth of experience creates access to more rewarding career pathways for early childhood educators. The report calls for more expansive and efficient CPL models and practices to make CPL opportunities accessible to a greater diversity of current and future early childhood educators. 

The report provides an in-depth explanation of both the sweeping benefits of the CPL concept as well as the opportunities it offers within the ECE field. It also reviews CPL models in use within other sectors while providing examples of CPL implementations within current ECE programs.

Credit Where Credit is Due - Expanding Credit for Prior Learning in ECE Higher Education Programs follows a November webinar of the same title. The webinar features Dr. Myrick and several other experts from NAEYC, Community College of Vermont, and Harry S. Truman College. A recording of the webinar, which includes two examples of CPL programs in use at ECE degree programs, is available at the NAEYC Learning Lab.

CAEL and NAEYC will roll out additional resources through April of 2025. In addition to continuing the webinar series, the partnership will produce a report offering recommendations that can help states enact inclusive CPL policies and procedures to improve access to higher ed.