Dan Gartrell, EdD, Dan Gartrell is a former Head Start teacher for the Red Lake Band of Ojibwe in northern Minnesota. During the 1970s, Dan completed his master’s degree at Bemidji State University in northern Minnesota, where he was a CDA (Child Development Associate) credential adviser for the Child Development Training Program. Dan received his EdD from the University of North Dakota in 1977. For 40 years, Dan was director of the Child Development Training Program and professor of early childhood education at Bemidji State University. He is now a professor emeritus.
Dan has written 30 articles that have appeared in Young Children, Teaching Young Children, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Contemporary Early Childhood Education, and Exchange. His column, Guidance Matters, appeared in Young Children from 2004 to 2015.
Dan is the author of seven books, including six editions of his textbook, A Guidance Approach for the Encouraging Classroom, and two NAEYC comprehensive membership selection books: The Power of Guidance: Teaching Social-Emotional Skills in Early Childhood Classrooms (2004) and Education for a Civil Society: How Guidance Teaches Young Children Democratic Life Skills (2012).
His books on guidance in early childhood education and guidance for early childhood leaders were published in 2017 and 2020 by Redleaf Press.
Dan has led over 300 presentations, keynotes, and master classes in 23 states; Washington, DC; Germany; and Mexico. About 20 times Dan has presented at NAEYC annual conferences and professional learning institutes. Dan is a member of two families that include wife, Dr. Julie Jochum, five adult children, and fifteen grandchildren.
