The Early Childhood Care and Education Workforce Challenges and Opportunities: A Workshop Report (2012) / Chapter Skim
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4 How the Workforce Affects Children
4 How the Workforce Affects Children
Pages 39-60
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From page 39... ...
Researchers and policy makers both have an interest in determining which characteristics (e.g., amount of training, years of experience, possession of a college degree) are associated with the practices that promote healthy child development, as well as how to produce these practices on a large scale across the early childhood care and education (ECCE)
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From page 40... ...
Study of Early Child Care and Youth Develop ment1 is a landmark study of these early experiences. The study included a full range of settings and income groups and serves as a rich source of data regarding the effects of the workforce on child development.
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From page 41... ...
Huston also reported on an analysis of caregivers who worked with 2-year-olds, in which the researchers identified five caregiver characteris tics as important to outcomes for children (Malerba, 2005) : • Education, formal training, and non-traditional beliefs about child rearing; • Years of experience and age; • Conscientiousness about the job and commitment to caring for young children, and low levels of depression; • Finding personal rewards in the job; and • Professionalism and recent training (among family child care providers only)
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From page 42... ...
For example, low child-to-adult ratios for children at ages 2 and 3 predict both high levels of positive social behavior and low levels of problem behavior in the children. For 3-year-olds, caregiver educa tion and training predicted school readiness, high language comprehen sion, and low levels of behavior problems.
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From page 43... ...
. Two researchers, Margaret Burchinal, senior scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina, and Steve Barnett, codirector of the National Institute for Early Education Research, who have examined this topic in detail, presented research findings and their views.
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From page 44... ...
In Burchinal's view, the findings show that measures of child care quality or child outcomes were not consistently related to any of the ways of measuring teacher education. The researchers considered possible explanations for these findings.
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From page 45... ...
She believes that combining effective higher education with onsite induction and coordinated professional development are the most promising avenues for progress. Barnett provided another perspective on the evidence regarding teacher quality and qualifications.
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From page 46... ...
. This study found positive effects for programs that incorporated intentional teaching (i.e., purposeful and planned activities to achieve specific educational objectives)
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From page 47... ...
On the other hand, the independent variables are heterogeneous. Teacher degrees may reflect quite rigorous preparation or may be available from a "diploma mill." The same is true for teacher in-service training and professional development, he added; they vary so much that the benefits of excellent programs might be obscured in data that also include poor-quality programs.
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From page 48... ...
adj: adjusted; PPVT: Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. SOURCE: Barnett, 2011.
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From page 49... ...
Furthermore, the kinds of skills, activities, and goals that are in play for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers are different, and those distinctions are not clear in the available measures. Diversity and the Early Childhood Care and Education Workforce Other teacher and caregiver characteristics may also influence out comes for children, explained Ellen Frede, codirector of the National Institute for Early Education Research.
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From page 50... ...
The most significant discrepancy, she pointed out, is between His 6 Frede cautioned both that the race/ethnicity categories and the classifications for the child care and education workforce are those defined by the Census and may obscure aspects of the demographic matches.
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From page 51... ...
NOTE: CQ&O: Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes in Child Care Centers Study; NICHD: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. SOURCE: Frede, 2011.
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From page 52... ...
They found, in a public prekindergarten setting, that fostering independence but providing high levels of support promoted kindergarten readiness. Even when families hold different beliefs about child rearing, teachers who follow that model improve children's readiness, though to a slightly lesser degree.
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From page 53... ...
States should require teacher preparation programs to improve bilingual education; in fact, this should be a criterion for receiving state and federal funds, she argued. She also believes that teachers should have access to professional development that fosters sensitive and stimulating interactions with children and an approach that promotes independence while providing support.
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From page 54... ...
Current work is also focusing on the theory that quality in child care is not necessarily linear, and that certain thresholds may need to be reached before the positive benefits of child care can be demonstrated. At the same time, advances in research on child development -- and especially early brain development -- and on the neurobiology of stress have shed light on the critical role played by caregivers.
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From page 55... ...
As they grow, a share of the infants with highly negative reactions remains easily stressed and exhibits high anxiety and high cortisol levels in stressful social situations. These children, Phillips explained, are particularly sensitive to their contexts, including variations in the quality of the care they experience in their first months and years.
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From page 56... ...
Emerging research suggests specifically that a secure attachment between the child and his or her lead teacher seems to protect against the rising cortisol levels (Badanes et al., 2011; Gunnar et al., 2011)
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From page 57... ...
Turnover in family child care has been less well researched, but one Illinois study found a rate of 25 percent turnover over a 15-month period for licensed family providers (Fowler et al., 2008)
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From page 58... ...
Turnover among directors is also a problem, which can both exacerbate and be exacerbated by staff turnover. Among caregivers who leave child care jobs, Whitebook noted, data show that about 42 percent move to other centers, 8 percent move to resource and referral agencies, 7 percent move to K–12 education, and 21 percent leave the field altogether (Whitebook et al., 2001)
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From page 59... ...
The work environment is a critical ingredient in quality child care, she believes, but most states use quality rating and improve ment systems that do not really address what is necessary to create a positive work environment. A few states (Colorado, Illinois, and New Mexico)
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From page 60... ...
60 THE EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION WORKFORCE rently has, together with the low wages, is likely to continue to limit its appeal to academically successful college graduates. Others worried that as expectations for child care and education are raised, the workforce who can deliver that level of competence is just not available.
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