About
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Asian Interest Forum (AIF) was formed in 2008. The Asian Interest Forum which is being led by volunteer facilitators, was built in response to the growing importance and relevance of the needs of supporting the Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) early childhood education workforce, young children and their families locally and nationally. We built the AIF from the ground up, starting with crafting the Mission Statement, Goals and Activities which were then approved and adopted by the AIF advisory members as well as the NAEYC Governing Board in 2008. AIF is the first of its kind in the history of the United State’s field of early childhood education. Since then, we have constantly been engaging with NAEYC members and practitioners to offer workshops and develop original resources to support their day to day work with the children and families in their communities.
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NAEYC AIF Facilitators: Sandy Baba, Ph.D., Debbie LeeKeenan, MA., Iris Chin Ponte, Ph.D.
NAEYC AIF Social Media and Design Intern: Sophia Ma
Our Mission
The AIF is a forum that brings together early education practitioners to share knowledge, perspectives, and informational resources for educating and providing optimal and culturally responsive early childhood environments for infants and young children of Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) descent around the globe. The members of the Asian Interest Forum share and examine the implications of shifting demographics and the latest research to inform early childhood best practices, public policy, education, and services when serving children and families of Asian descent.
The AIF promotes equity and access and places emphasis on addressing the needs of poor, underserved Asian immigrant families and their children in their communities. The AIF recognizes that Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) are not a monolithic group, and values the extraordinary diversity of the at least 29 different Asian ethnicities, separated by geography, with sharply distinct differences in language, culture, religion, and politics. Establishing a forum for open dialogue among and between international and Asian American groups is a uniquely valuable and distinct feature of this American and international special interest group.
Our Goals
1. Improving professional practice and working conditions in early childhood education as it relates to Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) infants, young children and families by serving as an information and resource clearinghouse and forum for discussion.
2. Supporting early childhood programs by working to achieve a high-quality, inclusive, accessible and affordable system of early childhood education that includes attention to enhancing language-accessible training, education, and professional development for professionals working with AANHPI infants, young children and their families.
Our Activities
Convene a panel of content experts who are conversant on the issues of:
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(1) early education regarding diversity and equity and working with children and families of Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) descent;
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(2) social policy and advocacy;
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(3) immigration and child welfare;
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(4) bilingual and bicultural ECE education;
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(5) professional development in the field of early education with special emphasis on culturally and language appropriate training and education for ECE practitioners.
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(6) child care and long term outcomes of early childhood programs for Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) in the U.S. and abroad, including international comparisons and educational reforms;
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(7) facilitating communication and resource dissemination through the use of technology;
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(8) family child care issues;
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(9) resource and referral; and
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(10) research and data collection.
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(11) Meet and convene AIF members and others at the annual NAEYC conference and state AEYC conferences wherever possible, to present and disseminate AIF information and resources.
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(12) Initiate, spearhead and complete specific projects as identified by the AIF members annually.
“He lei poina Ê»ole ke keiki”
“A child is a lei that never wilts or is forgotten”
A Hawaiʻi proverb