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6
Workshop Themes
T
he workshop planning committee was asked to plan a workshop
that would provide an adequate description of the early childhood
care and education (ECCE) workforce and outline the parameters
that define the population. To better understand the nature of those char-
acteristics, the workshop they planned examined the research on how the
workforce affects the development of children, as well as how context
shapes the workforce. Presenters examined the challenges and the oppor-
tunities that exist within this context to build ECCE as a profession and
to support the individuals who provide care and education for young
children. This chapter summarizes the main messages from the presenta-
tions and discussion on each of these questions, together with key points
from the final workshop discussion.
DEFINING AND DESCRIBING THE WORKFORCE
Defining and describing the ECCE workforce is challenging in large
part because the purpose and nature of the work, the characteristics of the
individuals who do this work, and the settings in which it is done vary
a great deal, as discussed in Chapter 2. Care and education are provided
in many types of settings, and even those in the field may disagree about
its boundaries.
The data available about the workforce vary by type of program
and from state to state. This variability and the lack of complete data
make it nearly impossible to get a complete picture of the entire ECCE
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workforce. The presentations and discussions suggested these issues are
not only important technical questions pertaining to data collection; they
also reflect a lack of precision in the way the field views and organizes
itself and conveys to policy makers and the public its value to children
and families.
A presenter explored the boundaries within the ECCE workforce,
offering definitions of the occupation (those paid for direct care and edu-
cation of young children), the sector (those in the occupation plus others
employed by the same organizations), and the enterprise (those in the
sector plus others whose paid work may have a direct influence on care -
giving or educational practice). Comments by participants indicated that
the field continues to grapple with how to define its borders in a way that
is practical but also captures the reality of the work.
Despite the gaps in the available data, presentations identified points
that are clear. The workforce is large, accounting for 2.2 million paid
workers who make up 30 percent of the total U.S. instructional work-
force, including those employed in teaching from early education through
higher education (see Chapter 2 and Appendix B). These workers are
predominantly female, but they vary by age, race, ethnicity, linguistic and
cultural background, family income level, and years of experience, as well
as in their expectations and sense of professional identification.
The qualifications these workers bring to the job also vary, and the
majority of them have not earned a college degree. These workers vary
widely in the degree to which they possess the attitudes, orientations, and
skills that have been demonstrated to affect the quality of caregiving and
developmental outcomes for children, presentations showed. Compensa-
tion is low across the educational spectrum: ECCE workers are poorly
compensated in comparison to others with equivalent education.
Several presenters and discussants observed that existing data are
not adequate to answer many important policy questions. Federal data
systems provide much of the available data, in the form of both large and
small one-time studies. Information is also available from registries in
some states. The existing federal datasets have advantages. They are well
established and permit comparisons of the ECCE workforce with others,
and they have produced a valuable body of knowledge. However, deci-
sion makers also want more complete information about trends in the
characteristics of the workforce as a whole, the influence of market and
policy forces on those characteristics, and the relationships between those
characteristics and quality of care and outcomes for children.
Workshop discussion highlighted two primary issues that limit the
usefulness of existing datasets. First, current guidelines for classifying
ECCE workers in federal data systems do not correspond well to the jobs
these workers actually do. Second, federal data systems are not designed
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WORKSHOP THEMES
to capture the detailed information about the workforce that would be
useful to policy makers and researchers who want to evaluate the effec-
tiveness of programs, practices, and policies.
In particular, a number of presenters and participants noted,
researchers cannot easily use the available data to identify the specific
types and levels of training, qualifications, and support that are nec -
essary to achieve the desired levels of quality. These datasets also do
not capture differences among types of programs, such as preschool,
Head Start, child care, and family child care. More detailed knowledge,
participants suggested, could support the design and implementation
of workforce development strategies (e.g., compensation, recruitment,
retention, pre- and in-service professional development, and ongoing
monitoring and support) in a cost-effective manner. Useful models from
K–12 education data sources and forward-looking states indicate the need
for federal–state partnerships using a combination of sources and types
of data collection. Discussion highlighted how improved data collection
could bring greater richness and precision to the development of the most
cost-effective policies for improving the quality of the workforce and the
capacity for monitoring the success of new and existing policies.
THE MARKETPLACE FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD
CARE AND EDUCATION WORKERS
Care and education for young children is provided for a fee in an
open marketplace. Economic forces have a significant influence on its
availability, quality, and cost, as discussed in Chapter 3. There are limits
to parents’ willingness or capacity to pay more for higher quality of care,
economic analysis has shown. At the same time, the supply of people
willing to work in early childhood care and education for relatively low
wages is elastic, and the field has high rates of job turnover. Thus, despite
the tremendous increase in the demand for child care that has occurred as
mothers of young children have increased their labor force participation,
the wages of ECCE workers have remained relatively flat. Government
policies, such as regulations and standards, as well as funding alloca-
tions also influence this market. As long as these factors do not change,
a presentation made clear, it will be difficult to increase wages enough to
attract and retain well-qualified staff, and to encourage existing staff to
increase their qualifications.
Research (described in Chapter 3) has demonstrated significant short-
and long-term benefits of high-quality care and education for young
children, although programs that target disadvantaged children may
have larger returns than programs that also serve children who are not
disadvantaged. Better datasets and new approaches to calculating the
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costs and benefits of child care, presentations suggested, hold promise
for demonstrating the value of high-quality care and education for all
children. Approaches developed for other fields, participants suggested,
have helped researchers assign economic value to long-term benefits
that are more difficult to measure. Results for a number of early child -
hood programs indicate that the longest term benefits are generally the
greatest—the more data that are accumulated, and the greater the time
for benefits to emerge, the greater the quantifiable value of the return on
investment. As described in Chapter 3, these analyses are likely to prove
particularly useful for policy makers who need to choose among policy
alternatives or assess the impact of particular interventions.
EFFECTS ON CHILDREN
Both theory and data indicate that improvements to the quality of
the workforce and the workplace will make a difference in outcomes for
children, as presenters explained. A variety of research approaches have
been used to investigate the relations among caregiver characteristics,
the structural features of child care, child care experiences, and children’s
development (see Chapter 4). Results vary with the age of the children
served (e.g., infants, toddlers, preschool-age), and, as in the K–12 sector,
it is difficult to isolate specific causal relationships in a complex process.
Results from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Develop-
ment Study of Early Child Care, one study that has explored these connec-
tions, showed that higher quality and improved outcomes for very young
children were associated with factors such as lower child-to-adult ratios,
small group size, and a high-quality physical environment. Caregiver
characteristics, such as non-traditional beliefs about child rearing, educa -
tion and training, experience, conscientiousness, and a positive attitude
toward the job, were important predictors of quality for preschoolers.
These predictors varied with the ages of the children, and the evidence
showed that low child-to-adult ratios are especially important for infants
and toddlers.
The benefits to children of high-quality care have been demonstrated
empirically (though definitions of quality vary), a presentation made
clear, but several discussants noted that the evidence regarding the types
of teacher qualifications or experiences likely to yield high-quality care
and education is less clear (see Chapter 4). Specifically, inconsistent find -
ings about the value of a bachelor’s degree for predicting teacher effec-
tiveness have fueled debate about requirements for teachers. Teacher
preparation programs vary widely in quality, and are often reliant on
part-time faculty. Other research indicates that training can be quite effec -
tive in improving teaching practices. However, discussion suggested that
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WORKSHOP THEMES
possession of a bachelor’s degree, targeted training, or any other single
factor alone does not seem to reliably predict high quality. A presenter
emphasized that one reason for the equivocal findings is that existing
research on the factors that produce desired child outcomes has lacked
rigor. Specifically, he stated that more experimental research is needed to
understand what teacher and caregiver behaviors and characteristics are
causally linked with child outcomes.
Several participants emphasized the need to the search for “silver
bullet” solutions. A presenter recommended the evaluation of “pack-
ages” of program characteristics associated with a mix of high quality
and program effectiveness, which would likely include: well-educated
teachers; adequate compensation; strong curriculum and professional
development; small classes and reasonable teacher-to-child ratios; good
working conditions (paid planning time, substitutes, regular meetings,
etc.); strong supervision, monitoring, and review; and both high stan-
dards and continuous improvement. Others noted that an environment
that allows teachers to apply what they have learned through high-quality
preparation and training is also very important.
Researchers have also explored the ways in which racial, ethnic, and
language diversity among children and caregivers may influence child
outcomes (see Chapter 4). The evidence presented at the workshop sug-
gests that the caregivers’ sensitivity and the amount of stimulation pro -
vided to children are more important than whether caregivers are similar
demographically to the children they care for and educate. However, the
research discussed suggested that differences in language background
may be more significant, and that children whose home language is not
English should have teachers who are bilingual and trained to work with
dual-language children.
The conditions in which teachers and caregivers work also have an
important influence on outcomes for children, a presentation emphasized.
Young children are vulnerable to stress, and continued exposure to situa -
tions that cause them to produce high levels of stress hormones can have
lasting effects on their development. New research about the specific
ways children are affected by stress indicates the profound importance
of the quality of the caregiving environment. What is less clear is how
to determine the threshold between beneficial care and care that causes
stress. Emerging research has pointed to factors—particularly a secure
attachment between child and caregiver and the emotional and mental
well-being of the caregiver—that are important components of beneficial
care. Several presenters and participants suggested that existing quality
measures used for licensure and other purposes may not be adequately
capturing this critical aspect of care.
Job turnover in ECCE settings is high, a presentation made clear, and
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highest for the youngest children, who are most vulnerable to lack of sta-
bility. Children experience turnover in caregivers as a loss; high turnover
also affects the morale of the remaining staff and constrains their ability
to work effectively. This circumstance both undermines the quality of care
and also reflects aspects of the work environment that are not attractive to
highly qualified candidates. Turnover is closely linked with wages. Wage
levels in early education and care are very low, in comparison with other
fields. Presentations and multiple participants made the point that a sup -
portive workplace that will attract highly motivated and well-qualified
workers is one that offers adequate wages and benefits. A supportive
workplace is also a learning environment in which workers have the
opportunity to discuss and reflect on their work and are empowered to
make changes as they learn new practices and skills.
BUILDING THE WORKFORCE
Many presenters and participants emphasized that the early child -
hood care and education workforce is vitally important to children’s
well-being and their cognitive, social, and emotional development (see
Chapter 5). People who hold these jobs are part of a workforce that has
relatively low status and low pay, but the responsibility entrusted to them
is extremely serious, as many presenters and participants noted. Making
a career in this field more attractive to potential workers, one person
observed, will require a large and potentially costly public policy effort
to regulate and professionalize the occupation along the lines of public
K–12 education. Evidence indicates that such investments can yield sub -
stantial improvements in program quality and child development, but
presenters and participants suggested that more information about the
circumstances in which the benefits exceed the costs is needed.
Moving the ECCE workforce to view itself and function as a profes-
sion will be a challenge, many participants noted. Professions are often
characterized by entry qualifications, such as a degree and/or a certifica -
tion, and these requirements are often lacking in ECCE, some observed.
As discussed in Chapter 5, other emerging professions, particularly in the
health sciences, have shown that the capacity to use data and research to
guide changes in standards and practice is essential. Experience in health
care suggests that ECCE would benefit if it offered more clearly defined
career pathways, based on guidance for students planning their careers,
support and mentoring for new teachers, and career ladders that offer
financial and other rewards for learning new skills and shouldering new
responsibilities. Several presenters pointed to emerging data on prom -
ising practices in professional development that can offer empirically
based guidance on which features are most important.
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Standards exist for training and development and other aspects of
quality, but they overlap and are mostly voluntary, presenters and par-
ticipants noted. Existing systems, several participants and discussants
suggested, are also not well integrated across sectors such as child care,
Head Start, public prekindergarten, and early intervention programs.
Multiple initiatives across these sectors have different funding streams,
missions, and standards. If these overlapping segments of the field can
be integrated and their efforts coordinated, many participants suggested,
the result will be improvements not only in preparation and training for
teachers, but also in the quality of the care and education they provide.
More than one participant emphasized the importance of ensuring that
the needs and roles of the special education community are considered in
future coordination efforts.
FILLING THE GAPS
The ECCE field currently does not function as a cohesive system,
many presenters and participants observed, and they considered several
specific avenues for improvement.
The need for more systematic data collection was a theme noted
repeatedly throughout the workshop. Models such as the K–12 public
education system and innovative state efforts provide guidance for the
development and improvement of early childhood data systems. Par-
ticipants also identified some goals for both data collection and analytic
research.
With regard to data collection systems, various participants noted the
value of:
• Reliable estimates of the size and characteristics of the workforce
at both the individual occupational level and the organizational
or establishment level;
• Data collection that is consistent over time and occurs at frequent
enough intervals to capture the effects of changes in economic
conditions, major public policy shifts, and other influences;
• The capacity to disaggregate data by state, and, for some informa-
tion, by local jurisdiction and program type;
• Information about the factors that have been shown to be reliable
predictors of quality caregiving, with disaggregation by the ages
of children 0 to 5 years; and
• Data that can be used by different actors, including parents, pro-
viders, policy makers, and researchers.
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Many participants also emphasized that collaborative partnership among
federal and state policy makers and private funders is a promising way
to implement a coordinated set of data sources, collected on an ongoing
basis, to meet these objectives.
Experimental or quasi-experimental studies are also needed, many
participants noted, and they highlighted several possible research goals:
• Explore the specific levels of qualifications, working conditions,
support, and compensation necessary to recruit and retain a
workforce that delivers high-quality care and instruction. That is,
provide guidance on the degree of quality improvement that can
be expected to produce different types of education and training
at varying levels of investment;
• Explore the types and amounts of professional development
that are effective in improving the quality of caregiving in dif-
ferent settings and circumstances (e.g., centers versus home care
providers);
• Compare the cost-effectiveness of different strategies and tech-
niques for improving the quality of the early childhood workforce;
• Estimate the benefit-to-cost ratios for investments in better quali-
fied and adequately compensated staff, including investments
such as professional development activities, rewards for perfor-
mance, and overall increases in the scale of compensation;
• Measure the impact of market forces, public policy, and societal
expectations on the characteristics and performance of the ECCE
workforce; and
• Identify relevant similarities or differences in workforce char-
acteristics and needs for children of different age groups (e.g.,
infants, toddlers, preschoolers), and specific subpopulations (e.g.,
children with special needs and English-language learners).
FINAL THOUGHTS
Numerous presenters and participants highlighted the importance of
the ECCE workforce to the quality of care and education young children
receive. They emphasized that while high-quality programs offer great
benefits to children and society, care and education that are of poor or
even mediocre quality can limit or harm children’s development. The
varying purposes of and expectations for ECCE, whether focused on
enabling parents to work or enhancing child development, have compli-
cated efforts to develop clear occupational definitions, meaningful entry
requirements that relate in predictable ways to the quality of care and
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WORKSHOP THEMES
education, and a cohesive profession, ideas that a number of participants
shared during the workshop.
Several participants observed that parents and policy makers alike
need a greater understanding of the vital work of the ECCE workforce
to help it gain the respect it deserves. As presentations and discussions
made clear, this understanding is needed because of the real inherent risks
to children in the current system, especially for those in poverty, many
of whom participate in settings without teachers and caregivers who are
prepared for or supported in their roles. Throughout the workshop, the
need for accurate, timely, and meaningful data on the workforce was a
theme that repeatedly emerged. Many participants saw better data sys-
tems as a critical step toward educating the public about the true nature
of the ECCE workforce, targeting ECCE policies efficiently, and knowing
whether investments made in the workforce were effective. Many partici -
pants recommended that future solutions take into account the context of
the workforce, noting that “silver bullet” solutions to challenges do not
exist, and that the most successful programs address an array of factors
affecting the workforce. In considering how the ECCE workforce might
move forward in the future as a profession where the specialized knowl -
edge of early childhood development and pedagogy is developed, recog-
nized, and rewarded, one presenter expressed: “You need the research,
you need the data, both [for] the proof, the problem, and to identify the
solution. You need individual champions [who are] persistent about their
ideas and their goals.” Workshop participants were charged to be the
leaders of that positive change for the ECCE profession and ultimately
for children and families.
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