The Global Guidelines for Early Childhood Education and Care in the 21 st Century were developed as a collaborative project between the U. S. National Committee of the World Organization for Early Childhood (OMEP) and of the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI). The project's intent was to provide guidance concerning the fundamental elements that are necessary to create high quality environments for early care and education. This paper presents the history of the development of a related instrument, called the ACEI