4.4 Professionalism and the NAEYC Code of Ethics (Competency Standard VI)

What Professionalism Means for the CDA

Competency Standard VI — "To maintain a commitment to professionalism" — is assessed through Functional Area 13: Professionalism. The Council for Professional Recognition defines a professional as someone who makes decisions based on knowledge of early childhood theory and best practice, behaves ethically, advocates for children and families, pursues ongoing learning, and maintains appropriate boundaries. On the exam, professionalism questions are usually scenarios that pit a convenient choice against an ethical one — and the ethical choice, grounded in the NAEYC Code, is correct.

The NAEYC Code of Ethics

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Code of Ethics for Early Childhood Educators is the early childhood profession's shared framework for ethical decisions. NAEYC adopted this revision in July 2025; older CDA materials cite the earlier Code of Ethical Conduct. The CDA expects you to know its structure. The Code groups educators' responsibilities into four categories of professional relationships:

The profession's core values underpin the Code: appreciating childhood as a unique stage, basing work on child-development knowledge, supporting the bond between child and family, recognizing children develop within family and cultural contexts, and respecting the dignity and worth of each individual.

The First Responsibility: Do Not Harm Children

In the 2025 Code this is responsibility 1.1 (labeled P-1.1 in the earlier Code of Ethical Conduct): "Do not harm children. This means we do not participate in practices that are emotionally damaging, physically harmful, disrespectful, degrading, dangerous, exploitative, or intimidating. This responsibility has precedence over all others in this Code." This is the one rule that takes precedence over all others — over a director's instruction, a family's request, or program convenience. Exam scenarios that ask you to ignore a child's safety to satisfy an adult are testing this principle, and the answer is always to protect the child.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is both an ethical duty (Code responsibilities 1.6 and 2.9) and a program rule. Information about a child or family — health conditions, family circumstances, assessment results, any abuse report — is shared only with people who have a legitimate professional need and, where required, the family's consent.

Discussing a child's behavior with another parent, gossiping in the break room, or posting about a child on social media all violate confidentiality. The narrow, mandatory exception is reporting suspected child abuse or neglect: as a mandated reporter, the duty to report on reasonable suspicion overrides confidentiality.

Ongoing Professional Development

A hallmark of professionalism is treating learning as never finished. The CDA itself requires 45 clock hours of continuing education (or 4.5 CEUs or a three-credit course) to renew the credential every three years, and the broader expectation is continuous growth:

• Attend workshops, conferences, and trainings
• Take college coursework toward a degree or further credential
• Read professional journals and current research
• Join professional organizations (NAEYC, state AEYC affiliates)
• Seek mentoring and engage in reflective practice

Advocacy at Multiple Levels

Professionals speak up for children, families, and the field. The CDA recognizes advocacy at several levels:

Advocacy is professional; pushing a personal partisan agenda on families is not. Telling families which candidate to vote for crosses a boundary, whereas informing them of an issue affecting children does not.

Knowing Licensing and Regulations

Professionals know and follow the rules that govern their setting: state child-care licensing regulations, ratios and group sizes, health and safety codes, and mandated-reporting laws. Compliance is not optional, and 'I didn't know the rule' is not an ethical defense. The CDA Resource Collection even requires candidates to gather their state's regulations and mandated-reporting procedures, reinforcing that regulatory knowledge is part of competence.

Collaborating with Colleagues

Functional Area 13 includes responsibilities to colleagues (Code section 3): communicating openly, sharing resources and observations, handling conflict directly and respectfully, and supporting one another's competent practice. Undermining a co-worker, taking sole credit, or airing disputes in front of children or families all violate the Code.

Worked Example: Your director asks you to skip the required handwashing routine before lunch because the class is running late for a photographer. A co-worker shrugs and says, 'Just this once.' Applying Functional Area 13: NAEYC Code responsibility 1.1 (do not harm children) outranks a director's convenience request, and state health regulations require handwashing. The professional response is to keep the handwashing routine — politely explaining the health requirement — even though it is inconvenient and the director outranks you. Protecting children's health is the non-negotiable priority, which is exactly the judgment the CDA exam rewards.

The NAEYC Code at a Glance — Quick-Reference List

Use this ordered list to anchor ethics questions on the exam:

1. Section 1 — Children: Do not harm children; base practice on child-development knowledge; keep children safe, respected, and included.
2. Section 2 — Families: Build mutual trust; communicate openly and honestly; respect family child-rearing values and privacy.
3. Section 3 — Colleagues and employers: Establish respectful, supportive relationships; share resources; resolve conflict directly and professionally.
4. Section 4 — Community and society: Provide high-quality programs; cooperate with agencies; advocate for children's and families' well-being.

And the rules that override convenience every time:

• Do not harm children comes first (responsibility 1.1) — before any adult's instruction or request.
• Maintain confidentiality, with the single mandatory exception of reporting suspected abuse/neglect.
• Report suspected abuse or neglect on reasonable suspicion — you are a mandated reporter.
• Follow licensing and health regulations; ignorance is not a defense.