The COVID-19 virus has created considerable uncertainty about the remainder of this school year, the next school year, and beyond. Federal, state, and local government responses should be informed by understanding current policies and their history, including the effects of the last major economic crisis, the Great Recession, on America’s state-funded preschool programs.
The COVID-19 crisis has revealed how much our nation relies on early care and education services in order for other workforces to function, yet chronic disregard for early educators’ well-being has essentially rendered their needs invisible. The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment has developed a set of 5 recommendations intended to be undertaken together, that help protect the lives of early educators and their communities and prioritize getting financial relief directly to childcare programs and staff.
Connecticut Voices for Children released a second crisis response report, as part of a series of reports, that outlines what the state can do to support children and families during and after the COVID-19 crisis.
This book describes the ways in which the mentoring terrain in early care and education has changed over the last two decades, and the multiple contexts in which mentoring now occurs. It offers mentors, coaches, and/or technical assistance providers an effective, activity-based way to reflect on, practice, and sharpen skills for working with early childhood practitioners, and it can be adapted to a wide variety of early care and education settings.
This report details the findings of the Early Childhood Higher Education Inventory: Principal Certification Programs [Principal Inventory] (CSCCE, 2016) conducted in the state of New Jersey in 2016. The Principal Inventory is a research tool used to assess the inclusion of course content and field experiences related to early education in preparation programs for educational professionals seeking to become principals. The report outlines an approach to reconceptualizing and strengthening preparation and support for principal candidates and current school leaders.
Understanding the personnel-related opportunities and challenges the early childhood education (ECE) sector faces, as well as how these differ from those encountered in grades K-12, in order to adopt an early learning strategy for the U.S that is capable of improving educational outcomes for young children is of central importance. To that end, this paper begins with the public perception of early childhood teaching, followed by a brief discussion of the history and purpose of education for children of different ages.
The Early Childhood Higher Education Inventory, administered by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at the University of California at Berkeley, assists policymakers and other stakeholders to develop a more coordinated and comprehensive professional preparation and development system for the early care and education workforce. The Inventory is a mechanism to describe the landscape of a state’s early childhood degree program offerings, at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels.
There is broad consensus that high-quality environments for young children depend on teachers who are skilled at nurturing their development and learning, yet low pay and inadequate working conditions routinely hamper teachers in their efforts to apply their skills and knowledge. Yet, the voices of early educators — those working with children from infancy through preschool — are rarely heard, and public awareness of the challenges facing this workforce remains low.
Public policy work is often incremental. Sometimes successes are realized by steady movement along the same path. Sometimes great strides are made by starting over and doing something bold. There is not one single right way to approach policy work. But before any plans are made and actions are taken, it is crucial that all stakeholders are aware of the current policies and contexts.
