Association of Early Childhood Education Teachers

APEI - Associação de Profissionais de Educação de Infância (Association of Early Childhood Education Professionals) was created in 1981 on the initiative of a group of educators. It is a national association made up of professionals and people who are motivated and interested in learning about Early Childhood Education (0 to 10 years old). According to its Statutes (Article 2), the Association's aims are to: • To promote information and continuous training for Members and Non-Members; • Stimulate innovation in educational practices and research in the field of early childhood education, as well as its dissemination; • To develop joint actions with similar associations working in the field of education, whether national, foreign or international; • To defend the interests of its members, within the scope of their professional activity, excluding issues and demands of a specifically trade union nature. It currently has more than 5,000 members and subscribers to the journals it publishes and carries out its activities with a strong focus on the continuous training of teachers and other professionals working in services for children aged 0 to 10, but also on matters of educational policy, professional ethics and relevant information on Early Childhood Education at national and international level. The ultimate aim of an association of this kind is to establish itself as a space for the professional identity of educators as a whole. To assert itself as an identity reference, it has to work simultaneously on consolidating educators' own knowledge and on drawing up standards of professional conduct (...) APEI must assume itself as a space of reference and debate, ensuring the ruptures and continuities necessary for the evolution of early childhood educators. Our motto is “No teacher left behind - A professional development project at the service of excellent early childhood education”.