Association for Childhood Education International

The Association for Childhood Education International is an organization of teachers, parents, and other adults interested in promoting good educational practices for children from infancy through early adolescence. Maintaining a staff of thirteen, the Association is headquartered in Wheaton, Maryland, and currently has a membership of 13,000, with thirty-one state groups and 153 local groups. Established in 1892 as the International Kindergarten Union, the Association for Childhood Education International is the oldest professional association of its type in the United States.

On July 15, 1892, a group of kindergarten teachers and other interested persons gathered at the Baptist Church in Saratoga Springs, New York, to form the International Kindergarten Union. The educators sought to consolidate the gains made in early childhood education since the pioneering work of Friedrich Froebel, father of the kindergarten concept, in Germany during the 1820s and 1830s. They also planned collective action to promote kindergarten education at a time when traditional philanthropic support was dwindling while the public education establishment still resisted the concept of the kindergarten. The stated aims of the Union were "to gather and disseminate knowledge of the kindergarten movement throughout the world, to bring into active cooperation all kindergarten interests, to promote the establishment of kindergartens, and to elevate the standard of professional training" for kindergarten teachers. The Union acted to coordinate the efforts of local, regional, and national associations and to "collect, collate, and disseminate the valuable knowledge already attained, and to inspire greater and more intelligent efforts in the future."

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