Education and Career Options
Number of unique resources found: 35
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McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership
Description: The Center for Early Childhood is dedicated to enhancing the management skills professional orientation and leadership capacity of early childhood administrators. The activities of the Center encompass four activities: training, technical assistance, research, and public awareness.
National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development
Description: The National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development, a division of NAEYC, was established to improve early childhood program quality through the improvement of professional preparation and training provided for individuals who care for and educate children, birth through age eight.
– General Information –
A Study of ECE Pre-Service Teacher Education at Major Universities in 38 Peak States
Author: Johnson, Jim; Sudha Babu; Rick Fiene; Kathleen McKinnon
Description: The ECE teacher preparation programs at 40 Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) were studied
with reference to the PreK movement in public education and to the PreK-3rd approach to school organization. Keying in on 38 states that had state funded Pre-Kindergarten programs (PreK), the study focused upon type and make-up of certification and degree programs that currently serve to prepare teachers of young children.
Building the Workforce Our Youngest Children Deserve
Author: Rhodes, Holly; Aletha Huston
Description: In this report, we build on a report of a workshop held by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council with the goals of defining and describing the ECCE workforce, exploring workforce characteristics that affect children’s development, and considering ways to build ECCE as a profession. One major theme in our discussion is the need for integration of the two policy streams represented by the terms “early education” and “child care.” Both settings provide experiences that affect child development. Both can function well when the personnel are well-trained, sensitive, and skilled, and work in supportive conditions.
One feature of an integrated ECCE system is a unifying definition of the profession, a goal that could be promoted by revision of the federal occupational definitions and fostering federal and state collaborations around data. Policies to promote integration also include developing common goals, administrative systems, quality standards, and professional development activities.
Internet Delivery within Course Content and Learner Satisfaction in Early Childhood Education
Author: Cave, Melissa (1 more by this author); Richard Fiene
Description: This project evaluated the effectiveness of ECE Internet training in terms of learning outcomes, its implementation (specifically, the technological aspects), and the student‟s level of satisfaction with the
course.
Kindergarten Teachers: Public and Private School Teachers of the Kindergarten Class of 1998-99
Author: Germino-Hausken, Elvira; Amy H. Rathbun; Jill Walston
Description: This report describes kindergarten teachers in public and private schools across the United States. The report describes the demographic characteristics and professional qualifications of these teachers according to various characteristics of the schools and classrooms in which they teach. The characteristics of kindergarten teachers working in public schools with different concentrations of lower income children are examines in greater detail. This information comes from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99.
Author: Kauerz, Kristie (3 more by this author); Abby Thorman
Description: This brief summarizes two policy strategies for improving young children's learning and development which have largely operated independently from one another: quality rating and improvement systems and P-3 alignment. The authors make recommendations as to how both early learning reform efforts can be individually strengthened as well as how they can be aligned with one another to build a stronger and more comprehensive system of care for children that is well positioned to close the achievement gap. Recommendations are discussed with respect to the important role that the philanthropic community can play in facilitating alignment between the two reform efforts.
Strengthening the Early Childhood Care and Education Workforce Would Benefit Young Children
Author: Bridgman, Anne (1 more by this author)
Description: This social policy brief for the journal Child Development summarizes a longer report. It includes what the research says about strengthening the early childhood care and education workforce and how to improve its effectiveness, provides facts at a glance, and policy implications.
Author: Schumacher, Rachel (10 more by this author); Greenberg; Kate Irish
Description: States currently have the flexibility to contract directly with providers to make child care available to low-income families. According to this first national study of state child care contracting policies, states are using contracts to increase the supply of child care in certain high-need areas, to provide child care to special populations, and to improve the quality of child care program standards and services.
A summary brief can be found at http://www.buildinitiative.org/files/untappedbrief.pdf.
– Professional Development –
Author: Byington, Teresa (9 more by this author); Shelly Nye
Description: An online survey was designed to collect information on Nevada ECE trainer demographics, teaching techniques and perceived professional development needs. Questions assessed number of trainings conducted per year, training topics taught and resources used to develop training. Trainers rated how often they used different teaching techniques such as icebreakers and small group activities. The professional development skills and interests of ECE trainers were explored and trainers rated their interest levels on receiving training on 15 topics related to teaching adult learners.
Building Integrated Professional Development Systems in Early Childhood: Recommendations for States
Description: This news brief presents recommendations for building an integrated professional development system in early childhood. These 3 recommendations were submitted to the Dept of Education's Listening and Learning about Early Learning Workforce and Professional Development Tour.
Connecticut's Early Care & Education Workforce Report
Description: This report, prepared for the Higher Education and Workforce Advancement Committee by CT Charts-A-Course using data from the Early Childhood Professional Registry, gives you comparison data on the early childhood workforce, as well as Connecticut specific data that will profile the current workforce in our state.
Credentials for the Infant/Toddler Child Care Workforce: A Technical Assistance Tool
Description: The purpose of this paper is to offer a guide to States planning to develop or implement a system for formally recognizing the specialized knowledge and skill sets needed by infant/toddler caregivers. Examples and experiences of existing State infant/toddler credentialing systems are provided, as well as valuable insights gained from their development.
Description: The purpose of this site is to improve early childhood and school-age programs in the state of New York by providing information to professionals and those interested in the profession. The site has a career development resource guide, college and university database, training resource data base, and information on credentialing and licensure.
Author: Bornfreund, Laura (1 more by this author)
Description: The New America Foundation's Early Education Initiative has released a report that highlights problems nationwide with the licensing and preparation of teachers who work with young children in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, first-, second- and third-grade classrooms. The report shows that today's system is not set up to ensure teachers in pre-kindergarten through the third grades are well-prepared to work with young children. The report also points to some promising practices worth a closer look.
Author: Bornfreund, Laura (1 more by this author)
Description: In this report, the Early Education Initiative at the New America Foundation provides a review of the state of preparation among teachers who receive a bachelor’s degree to teach young children in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and the early grades of elementary school. The report shows that today's system is not set up to ensure teachers in pre-kindergarten through the third grades are well-prepared to work with young children.
Losing Ground in Early Childhood Education
Author: Herzenberg, Stephen (1 more by this author); David Bradley; Mark Price
Description: This study by the Economic Policy Institute and the Keystone Research Center analyzes data from 1979-2004 and shows a substantial decline in workforce qualifications in center-based early care and education (ECE) programs and the even lower qualifications in home-based ECE.
Montana Early Childhood Project Career Path
Description: This fact sheet describes the levels on the Montana Early Childhood Project Career Path. The Career Path is intended to promote professional development for early care and education practitioners by providing a framework for recording and recognizing experience, training, and educational accomplishments.
The Career Path covers ten levels of career development based on training, education and experience in the field. Any individual developing a plan for professional growth in early care and education can chart a course on the Career Path.
National Training Institute for Child Care Health Consultants
Description: This is the Web site for the National Training Institute for Child Care Health Consultants. This is a joint project of the Department of Maternal and Child Health and the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Institute trains professionals to become child care health consultants in support of its goal of improved health and safety in child care centers.
Role, Relevance, Reinvention: Higher Education in the Field of Early Care and Education
Author: Washington, Valora
Description: Research has continually shown that in order for children to have exceptional, high quality early care and education, they must have teachers and staff with specialized knowledge, skill, and experience. In a newly released paper, eight national organizations request that every college president address this by asking two questions: What is the current state of our early care and education programs? How can we make them better? The national partners recognize that this is a defining moment to establish public expectations for the care and education of young children, and the qualifications of those who provide early care and education services. Recommendations are included.
- More about "Role, Relevance, Reinvention: Higher Education in the Field of Early Care and Education"
The YCS Institute for Infant and Preschool Mental Health
Description: The website offers information on the Institute, which was established in partnership with Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, and offers various training programs focusing on the assessment and treatment of infants, preschool-aged children and the infant/child-parent relationship.
What Do We Mean by Professional Development in the Early Childhood Field?
Description: Without a shared understanding of what is meant by professional development, it
is difficult, if not impossible, to compare various professional development programs or determine
which components are most effective, for whom, and under what conditions.
This document presents a definition and conceptual framework for professional development in early childhood. Defining what is meant by professional development is intended to guide efforts aimed at ensuring that the early childhood workforce is highly qualified and effective in working with young children (birth through 8) and their families.
– Programming Resource –
Child Care Information Exchange
Description: Child Care Information Exchange is a magazine for child care center directors. Visit their Web site to learn more about the magazine, search their archives, find a conference or product, and sign up for their free e-mail newsletter.
Preparing Culturally Competent Early Childhood Teachers
Author: Lim, C; Able-Boone, H
Description: This news brief discusses how early childhood personnel preparation programs are preparing professionals to develop much-needed cultural competency.
Teacher Education, Wages Key to Outcomes 
Description: This spotlight is a summary of a presentation at the Making Gains conference held at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1999. "Research shows that well educated and compensated teachers and providers are key elements to early childhood program quality and outcomes for children."
– Research –
A Matter of Degrees Preparing Teachers for the Pre-K Classroom
Author: Bueno, Marisa; Linda Darling-Hammond; Danielle Gonzales
Description: This 2010 report reviewed research on training for pre-k teachers and concluded that educators with at least a bachelor’s degree coupled with specialized training in early childhood are best able to foster development of the cognitive, social and emotional skills children need to be ready for kindergarten.
Research indicates that state pre-k programs with higher teacher qualification requirements improve children’s school readiness so states get the most out of their investment in early education.
Better Teachers, Better Preschools: Student Achievement Linked to Teacher Qualifications
Author: Barnett, W. Steven (12 more by this author)
Description: This brief looks at current educational requirements for preschool teachers, reviews the evidence on the importance of professional preparation, and provides key recommendations for policy makers.
Formula for Success: Adding High-Quality Pre-K to State School Funding Formulas
Author: Boylan, Ellen (2 more by this author)
Description: Families, teachers and policy makers increasingly understand that high-quality pre-kindergarten is a critical part of children's educational experience. In 13 states and the District of Columbia, Pre-K programs are financed through the school funding formula.
This report, co-written with the Education Law Center, discusses the benefits and challenges of integrating early education into states’ general education funding structures and explored the different models for employing such a strategy.
Infant Caregiver Mentoring Project
Author: Cave, Melissa (1 more by this author); Rick Fiene
Description: This study focuses on mentoring infant and toddler caregivers in child care programs, as a way to improve the quality of care in South Central Pennsylvania. The mentoring project goal was to improve the quality of the child care environment and specifically the quality of caregiver-child interactions. As most caregivers in Pennsylvania only receive workshop training, the goal of this project was to compare the mentoring approach to the more typical workshop training. Mentoring is being explored because of its targeted intensive one-on-one nature in delivering training to caregivers based upon needs assessments. The data demonstrates that the sites that were mentored improved on the ITERS and the Arnett Caregiver Interaction Scale.
Author: Gayl, Chrisanne (3 more by this author)
Description: This brief informs education advocates and stakeholders about the innovative strategies that states used to include pre-k in their Phase 1 proposals. Pre-K Now reviewed all 41 applications, but this brief focuses on those of the finalists describing the role that pre-k played in each of the policy areas targeted by Race to the Top and highlighting particularly innovative examples. The brief also highlights avenues advocates and stakeholders can use to make pre-k part of their states’ Race to the Top Phase 2 applications.
Pre-K as School Turnaround Strategy
Author: Buenafe, Anthony
Description: This issue brief from Pre-K Now highlights how investing limited funds in proven early education programs can raise student achievement and improve school performance.
Preparing Culturally Competent Early Childhood Teachers
Author: Lim, C; Able-Boone, H
Description: This news brief discusses how early childhood personnel preparation programs are preparing professionals to develop much-needed cultural competency.
Teacher Education, Wages Key to Outcomes
Description: This spotlight is a summary of a presentation at the Making Gains conference held at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1999. "Research shows that well educated and compensated teachers and providers are key elements to early childhood program quality and outcomes for children."
Teacher Programs Surveyed for Special Ed Preparation
Description: The goal of this paper is to describe and understand the extent to which early childhood teacher preparation programs are including early childhood special education/early intervention (ECSE/EI) as part of their core course and practicum requirements.
The Case for Pre-K in Education Reform: A Summary of Program Evaluation Findings
Author: Wat, Albert (2 more by this author)
Description: This brief from highlights findings from evaluations of state-funded Pre-K programs that continue to document gains in key measures of student learning, including early literacy, math and vocabulary; reduced need for special and remedial education; and significantly lower incidences of grade retention. This and other ongoing research once again demonstrates that high-quality early education is the natural first step in effective school reform.
Author: Zaslow, Martha (2 more by this author); Jessica Vick Whittaker; Tamara Halle; Kathryn Tout; Bridget Lavelle
Description: The U.S. Department of Education recently released a review of the literature that is meant to help identify core features of effective professional development for early childhood educators. It includes research findings on: 1) strengthening human or social capital; 2) strengthening practices at institutions or organizations providing professional development; 3) strengthening early educator practices related to specific child outcomes; and, 4) strengthening overall quality in classroom or group settings.
Using Pre-K to Advance Education Reform: Opportunities for State Advisory Councils
Author: Goffin, Stacie
Description: This brief identifies specific steps councils can take to maximize their states’ investments in early education including aligning policy prior to and following Pre-K.