Recruiting and Developing Teacher Educators: Moving the Pipeline Discussion Forward The NAEYC Office of Applied Research

Session Plan The Supply of ECE Teacher Educators: What Do We Know? Dr. Mon Cochran, Tufts University How Do You Recruit, Mentor, and Retain New Faculty? Keri Harvey & Elaine Wilkinson How Can 2 and 4-year Programs Work Together to Support and Build the Pipeline? Ursula Thomas-Fair College Leadership Needed to Build Enrollment and Recruit Diverse Faculty Alicia Biggs Next Steps Alison Lutton, NAEYC

The Supply of Teacher Educators What Do We Need to Know?  How many ECE teacher educators are currently in the work force?  What are the characteristics of these educators? age Educational background Race, ethnicity, and linguistic backgrounds Experience in ECE settings  Are there shortages of ECE teacher qualified educators?

Sources of Data National studies: Early, & Winton, 2001; Maxwell, Lim, & Early, 2006; Review by Valora Washington, 2008 Role, Relevance, Reinvention: Higher Education in the Field of Early Education State studies: Of New York - Lekies & Cochran, 2006; of Connecticut: Cochran, Anecdotal evidence: your experiences in your various locales.

Size of the Current ECE Teacher Educator Work Force Approximately 12,000 ECE higher education faculty nation-wide About 4,000 of the faculty are full-time These ECE faculty work in an estimated 1,350 higher ed. institutions. [This is may be an under- count.]

Is the Current Supply of ECE Teacher Educators Adequate in Number? Demand for ECE teachers with Associates degree and above is increasing, especially at BA level. Head Start, state prek programs If 50% more teachers with a bachelor’s degree are needed nationwide over the next decade, this will require about 8,000 more university faculty, of whom about 2,300 will need to be full-time. Current full-time faculty carry very heavy loads  ratio of students to full-time faculty in ECE programs is 61 to 1; ratio is 39 to 1 in higher education overall.  57% of ECE faculty are part-time; 69% in 2-year colleges.

What are the Characteristics of these Teacher Educators? Age:  Most of the teacher educators interviewed for the New York and Connecticut studies were over age 50. Educational Backgrounds :  Only 53% of early childhood faculty have a degree in ECE or related field. Less likely in 4-yr. than 2-yr. colleges.  About 36% of faculty holds doctorate degrees, about 56% at four-year colleges and 8% at two-year colleges. State variation.

What are the Characteristics of these Teacher Educators? Race & Ethnicity:  Nationally about 80% of faculty are White, non- Hispanic.  Student bodies much more diverse; in California most are students of color. Experience:  Only 64% have experience working with three- or four-year-olds. State data show lower rates in 4-year colleges.

Are there Shortages of Qualified ECE Teacher Educators? What is “Qualified”?  Many faculty are untrained and/or inexperienced in ECE.  Most faculty know little about best practices in working with children whose home language is not English.  Many faculty speak only English fluently.

Are there Shortages of Qualified ECE Teacher Educators? Supply is not Meeting Demand  Existing faculty are over-burdened, especially in 2 year colleges.  Both existing faculty and available candidates for positions are not well suited to address the growing diversity of both the college and the preschool populations.  Anecdotal evidence in the states indicates that available faculty positions are hard to fill, especially if the college is seeking expertise in bilingualism and English language learning.

Training, Recruiting, and Retaining ECE Teacher Educators: Further Questions What is the ECE teacher educator “pipeline”?  What have been the career paths of current teacher educators?  Are there better ways to recruit and train teacher educators?  How can we recruit faculty into ECE teacher education with backgrounds and interests more similar to those of of ECE teachers-to-be and the preschool children they will serve?

Training, Recruiting, and Retaining ECE Teacher Educators: Further Questions What Can be Done to Increase the Supply of Applicants for ECE Teacher Education Faculty Positions?  Pre- and Post-doctoral training programs?  Marketing of positions to graduate programs in education and the social sciences?  Advocacy with state Departments of Higher Education?  Other ideas?