National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators

Awards and Grants

Fall Grant Opportunities

As we do every year, it is time to recognize our colleagues and students who are doing exemplary work in our field and to support the advocacy and research efforts of some outstanding members. Please consider nominating individuals for this year’s NAECTE awards or applying for a NAECTE Foundation Grant or Award.

The deadline for all nominations is July 15, 2024. Please nominate your early childhood colleagues or students for the following sponsored awards, which include a substantial monetary honorarium: Outstanding Early Childhood Teacher Educator Award, Outstanding Early Childhood Practitioner Award, Outstanding Dissertation Award, or the two travel awards for graduate student travel. For the NAECTE Foundation Grants and Awards, consider applying for the Advocacy Award, the NAECTE Foundation Grant Awards for Research on Early Childhood Teacher Education (Early Career Research Grant and Established Career Research Grant), or the NAECTE Foundation Doctoral Scholarship. Our membership is comprised of many deserving professionals in the field; don’t miss the opportunity to recognize the noteworthy contributions of our members!

To nominate someone or to apply for Foundation grants/awards, please fill out the NAECTE Award Nomination/Grant Application form and follow the criteria as outlined below and in the nomination form. Inquiries regarding awards and nominations can be directed to Becky Huss Keeler and Miranda Lin at huss@uhcl.edu and ymlin@ilstu.edu.  Each year at its fall conference, NAECTE presents the awards. The awards are:

  1. The NAECTE/Taylor & Francis Outstanding Early Childhood Teacher Educator Award
  2. The NAECTE/Gryphon House Learning Outstanding Early Childhood Practitioner Award
  3. The NAECTE/Gryphon House Learning Outstanding Dissertation Award
  4. The NAECTE Student Travel Grants, sponsored by Taylor & Francis
  5. The NAECTE Foundation Advocacy Award
  6. The NAECTE Foundation Grant Awards for Research on Early Childhood Teacher Education: a) Early Career Research Grant OR b) Established Career Research Grant
  7. The NAECTE Foundation Doctoral Scholarship
  8. The Taylor & Francis/NAECTE Foundation Outstanding JECTE Journal Article (note: The editor, in cooperation with members of the editorial board, selects the winning article)
Awards Criteria

Summer Grant Opportunities

The NAECTE Board and Foundation are delighted to announce that there are two opportunities for member scholarships to be encouraged and supported. Applications for the Doctoral Student Research Grant, and the Early Childhood Teacher Educator Research Grant are live! Because we have many deserving scholars who identify with our organization, the two additional grants will be offered in addition to the grants and awards for which recipients are awarded in the fall. In Summer 2024, these two grants will be awarded at the NAECTE Summer Conference, which is to be held virtually in June 2024 (date to be announced soon).

The deadline for all nominations is April 15, 2024.

To apply for one of the summer research grants, please fill out the NAECTE Summer Grant Application form, following the criteria outlined below and in the nomination form. Don’t miss this chance to apply for grant funding as you engage in research to advance the field of early childhood teacher education!

Inquiries regarding awards and nominations can be directed to Becky Huss Keeler and Miranda Lin at huss@uhcl.edu and ymlin@ilstu.edu.

Summer Grant Award Criteria

2023 Awards and Recipients

NAECTE 2023 Awards program

  • The Taylor & Francis/NAECTE Foundation Outstanding Early Childhood Teacher Educator
    Jennifer Chen, Ed.D.
  • NAECTE/Gryphon House Outstanding Early Childhood Practitioner Award:
    Angelo Aqulizan, M.A., San Francisco State University
  • The NAECTE Foundation Award for Research on Early Childhood Education: Early Career Research Award
    Rebecca Anne Swartz, Ph.D.University of Southern Illinois
  • The NAECTE Foundation Awards for Research on Early Childhood Teacher Education: Established Career Research Award
    Courtney Beers Dewhirst, Ph.D., University of Oklahoma
  • The NAECTE Foundation Doctoral Scholarship
    • Summer:
      Jameelah R. Wright, Doctoral Fellow Montclair State University
    • Fall:
      Maria Dias, Doctoral Fellow East Tennessee State University
  • The NAECTE Student Travel Grants
    Emily Spivy, University of Oklahoma
    Lyanuoluwa Olalowo, Kent State University
  • The Taylor & Francis/NAECTE Foundation Outstanding JECTE Journal Article
    Kintner-Duffy, V., Scott-Little, C., and Smith, N. (2023). I’m gonna teach them all the same way: teacher beliefs about experiences of, and classroom practices with children of color, Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 43(1), 127-147. DOI: 10.1080/10901027.2021.1902433

2022 Awards and Recipients

NAECTE 2022 Awards program

  • The Gryphon House/NAECTE Foundation Outstanding Dissertation Award
  • David Barry, Ph.D.

  • The Taylor & Francis/NAECTE Foundation Outstanding Early Childhood Teacher Educator
  • Pamela Evanshen, Ed.D.

  • The NAECTE Foundation Award for Research on Early Childhood Education: Early Career Research Award
  • Narges Sareh, Ph.D.

  • The NAECTE Foundation Awards for Research on Early Childhood Teacher Education: Established Career Research Award
  • Allison Wilson, Ph.D.

  • The NAECTE Foundation Doctoral Scholarship
  • Katherine Madison, Ph.D. Candidate
  • The NAECTE Student Travel Grants
  • Chelsea McClure
  • Olufunke Olaleye
  • Kehinde Helen Orimaye

  • The Taylor & Francis/NAECTE Foundation Outstanding JECTE Journal Article
  • Morales-Alexander, Y. (2021) “School is the child’s second home”: Family engagement from a Latino sociocultural perspective, Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 42(4), 455-473, DOI: 10.1080/10901027.2020.1799118

Past Recipients