1 Shortchanging Teachers, Shortchanging Children Marcy Whitebook Center for the Study of Child Care Employment University of California, Berkeley

2 Three major questions: 1.What do early care and education professionals need to know and do to meet the rising expectations for our youngest children? 2.What is our current capacity to meet teachers’ needs? 3.How can we build our capacity to support early care and education professionals?

3 What do early care and education professionals need to know and do to meet the rising expectations for our youngest children? Paradigm shift in how we think about the importance of early years resulting from: –Brain research –Child Care quality research –Importance of relationships, teacher knowledge and stability

4 What do early care and education professionals need to know and do to meet the rising expectations for our youngest children? Changing characteristics of children/families/workforce: –Working parents in dual parent and single parent families –Immigration, changing child populations –Diagnosis of special needs, particularly mental health problems

5 What do early care and education professionals need to know and do to meet the rising expectations for our youngest children? Half of the children in CA are either immigrants or the children of immigrants Three quarters of the Head Start children in LA County are English Learners or dual language learners (DLL)

6 What do early care and education professionals need to know and do to meet the rising expectations for our youngest children? Knows how to construct an environment and present activities that enhance and build upon child’s learning Knowledgeable about culture and traditions of children and able to communicate with children and families Provides ample verbal and cognitive stimulation Interacts sensitively and responsively Gives generous amounts of attention and support

7 What do early care and education professionals need to know and do to meet the rising expectations for our youngest children? Observes and assesses skills based on child development knowledge Constructs developmentally appropriate environment and activities Practices age appropriate classroom management Understands adult communication and learning Knows inclusion strategies Aware of family support resources Familiar with cultural tradition and practices of children in program Understands needs of children for whom English is a second language Understands the whole child

8 What do early care and education professionals need to know and do to meet the rising expectations for our youngest children? PositionTitle 22Title 5Preschool Initiative Teacher12 units of college level CD/ECE 24 units of college level CD/ECE, 16 units of GE BA with 24 units related to early care and education, phase in credential Shifting teacher qualifications

9 What is our current capacity to meet teachers’ needs? There has been a decline in the percentages of center-based teachers with college degrees Younger people entering the field are less likely to have college degrees More teachers have completed high school Among family providers, the percentage with some college and BAs has risen

10 Ethnicity of early childhood education students by educational goal

11 Mean percentage by institution of language capacity of undergraduate and graduate students* *At the undergraduate level, data for the University of California (n=1), and the two-year private (n=1) and other public programs (n=5) are excluded because of their small sample size. At the graduate level, data for the University of California are excluded because only one program is represented in this group.

12 Mean percentage by institution of language capacity of undergraduate and graduate students* *At the undergraduate level, data for the University of California (n=1), and the two-year private (n=1) and other public programs (n=5) are excluded because of their small sample size. At the graduate level, data for the University of California are excluded because only one program is represented in this group. Mean percentage of students with difficulty completing coursework in English 21% 13% 10% 6% 3% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% Community College (n=90) California State University (n=14) Private College (n=10) California State University (n=10) Private College (n=5) UndergraduateGraduate

13 What is our current capacity to meet teachers’ needs? Wage trends: –Wages have dropped relatively, lowering the incentives for those with more education to pursue careers with young children

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15 What is our current capacity to meet teachers’ needs? Highlights from the study of early childhood teacher preparation programs –136 Institutions of higher education are engaged in preparing teachers to work with children prior to kindergarten –Most of these programs are at the community college level

16 What is our current capacity to meet teachers’ needs? Opportunities for upper-division and graduate-level work in early childhood are very limited California’s population of students studying to work with young children is very diverse in terms of language and ethnicity

17 Number of colleges overall and number of colleges providing early childhood education by type of institution

18 A closer look at the four year institutions offering ece options

19 What is our current capacity to meet teachers’ needs? Faculty in Early Childhood Teacher Preparation Programs are predominately white and adjunct. Most of the faculty in the upper division programs do not have a background in early childhood education or experience working with children prior to Kindergarten Many of California’s degree programs in ECE do not require a full course in a variety of topics widely identified as relevant to the profession

20 Ethnicity of faculty

21 Educational background of part-time and full-time faculty (in percentages)

22 Early childhood program faculty, as compared to faculty in institutions as a whole: Mean percentage of part-time faculty, and mean number of students per faculty member Standard errors are not presented for institutions as wholes because these values are population statistics. The sample sizes are lower than reported elsewhere due to non-response on some items. Early Childhood ProgramsInstitutions as a Whole (IPEDS Data)

23 Recommendation #1 A concerted effort to build public awareness of: –The value and skill involved in working with young children which is sensitive to the existing workforce as well as encouraging to newcomers to the field; –The need for advanced levels of education; and –The need for increased compensation to increase teacher retention.

24 Recommendation #2 A statewide process, such as a Blue Ribbon Committee, to: –Create a blueprint for a well-articulated higher education and certification system; –Develop a comprehensive set of ECE teacher skills and competencies; –Design a relevant ECE teacher certification system; –Promote improved teacher compensation in early care and education.

25 Recommendation #3 Increased resources to California institutions of higher education to update what we teach, how it is taught and by whom: –Expand lower-division programs and practicum opportunities; –Develop more upper-division and graduate programs with preschool child development focus;

26 Recommendation #3, cont. –Hire more full-time ECE faculty; –Attract a more culturally and linguistically diverse faculty; establish Master’s program as one strategy; and –Update and revamp the courses of study that higher education programs offer to prepare early childhood teachers

27 Recommendation #4 Improve access to higher education for diverse students through: –Tuition support; –Cohorts and community classes; –Academic and linguistic supports; and –Enhanced career and academic counseling.

28 Recommendation #4 Improve compensation in early care and education jobs: –Create new incentives to encourage students to pursue degrees in early childhood education; –Explore benefit pools and mechanisms for ongoing wage increases.

29 Recommendation #5 Support research that: –Tracks pathways of successful students; –Clarifies best practices for training effective early care and education professionals who are culturally competent; and –Clarifies best practices for working with children who are dual language learners.

30 You all are in positions to make these changes!