Published by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, these guidelines are intended for use in early childhood teacher education programs in institutions offering baccalaureate degrees. Developed to establish a standard of excellence for new and existing programs, the guidelines address nine program components (i.e., characteristics of a teacher education program that can be evaluated): curriculum, instructional methods, resources (human and materials), faculty qualifications, professional relationships, cultural diversity, enrollment, administrative structure, and evaluation and constituent responsiveness. Each of the components is discussed in terms of program objectives (i.e., statements about intended effects of a program), and program standards (i.e., indexes used to determine the degree to which program objectives have been achieved). (Author/MP)