Better Teachers, Better Preschools: Student Achievement Linked to Teacher Qualifications. NIEER Preschool Policy Matters, Issue 2

Once they begin kindergarten, America's children are taught by professionals with at least a four-year college degree. Prior to kindergarten, their teachers are far less prepared. Fewer than half of preschool teachers hold a bachelor's degree, and many have never even attended college. Noting that new research finds that young children's learning and development clearly depend on the educational qualifications of their teachers, this policy brief examines the relationship between student achievement and teacher qualifications, and offers recommendations for improving teacher qualifications. The brief summarizes the kinds of qualifications preschool teachers actually need, and reviews research indicating the relationship between teacher qualifications and program quality. The brief concludes with policy recommendations, including the following: (1) require preschool teachers to have a four-year college degree and specialized training; (2) design professional development programs enabling current early education teachers to acquire a four-year degree; and (3) pay preschool teachers salaries and benefits comparable to those of similarly qualified teachers in K-12 education.

Read the full article:
http://nieer.org/resources/policybriefs/2.pdf

A Conceptual Framework for Early Childhood Professional Development

For more than 60 years, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has worked to promote high-quality early childhood programs for all young children and their families. Two major strands of activity support this goal: (1) facilitating the professional development of individuals working for and with young children birth through age eight, and (2) improving public understanding and support for high-quality early childhood programs.

NAEYC’s efforts have helped to create growing recognition of the importance of high-quality early childhood programs to our society and an increasing demand for services. Nonetheless, serious barriers remain that undermine access to high-quality services for all young children. There is increasing recognition that systemic approaches are
required to address these barriers. A growing number of states and communities are employing comprehensive
planning efforts to improve their early childhood care and education systems. Although these efforts vary considerably by state and community, there is typically recognition of the following key elements (NASBE, 1991; Melaville, Blank, Asayesh, 1993; Morgan et al., 1993; Galinsky, Shubilla, Willer, Levine, & Daniel, 1994; Kagan & the Quality 2000 Essentials Task Force, 1994):

1. a holistic approach to the needs of children and their families that stresses collaborative planning and service integration across traditional boundaries of child care, education, health, and social services;
2. systems that promote and recognize quality through licensing, regulation, and accreditation;
3. an effective system of early childhood professional development that provides meaningful opportunities for career advancement to ensure a well-qualified and stable workforce;
4. equitable financing that ensures access for all children and families to high-quality services; and
5. active involvement of all players—providers, practitioners, parents, and community leaders from both public and private sectors—in all aspects of program planning and delivery.

Read the full article:
http://www.naeyc.org/about/positions/pdf/psconf98.pdf

Educational Qualifications of Program Administrators and Teaching Staff Building Better Futures for Children and the Profession

Professional preparation includes university and college course work as well as the pre- and inservice training and technical assistance that early childhood staff receive.) Research also shows that in addition to specialized education and training for teachers of young children, other components of high-quality teacher preparation include experience in working with young children and support systems focused on teachers' instructional behaviors and classroom management, such as mentoring, coaching, and constructive feedback (Pianta 2007. Helping professionals-and the profession-move forward While research, experience, and stakeholders call for higher educational qualifications for teachers and administrators, everyone in the early childhood profession understands that there are hurdles involved in helping more educators without a certificate or degree earn those qualifications, including: * the current poor compensation for early childhood educators, which means that many qualified teachers and administrators cannot afford to enter or remain in the field (Lamb 1998; Bowman, Donovan, & Burns 2000). * the growing number of early childhood educators, including women of color with low incomes, for whom access to education, particularly at the bachelor's level, is problematic, even if compensation levels for their work were raised to a sustainable level (McDonough 1997). * the need for more and better teacher preparation programs at two- and four-year colleges in the United States (Early & Winton 2001).

Read the full article:
http://journal.naeyc.org/btj/200703/pdf/BTJProfDev.pdf

Staff Development

This article focuses on three areas of effective staff development:

1. the needs and characteristics of participant learners;
2. the program characteristics of purposes, structure, content, process and follow-up; and
3. the organizational characteristics that contribute to or support effective staff development.

Each of these three areas is examined separately in the following analysis.

Read the full article:
http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/6/cu12.html

The State of Preschool 2006 State Preschool Yearbook

 The 2006 State Preschool Yearbook is the fourth in a series of annual reports profiling state-funded prekindergarten programs in the United States. The 2006 Yearbook presents data on state-funded prekindergarten during the 2005-2006 school year. The first report in this series focused on programs for the 2001-2002 school year and established a baseline against which we may now measure progress over 5 years. Tracking these trends is essential, since changes in states' policies on preschool education will influence how successfully America's next generation will compete in the knowledge economy

Read the full article:
http://nieer.org/yearbook/

How does Iowa rate?
http://nieer.org/yearbook/pdf/yearbook.pdf#page=70

Where We Stand on Standards for Programs to Prepare Early Childhood Professionals

Research shows that when early childhood professionals are well prepared, children are likely to experience warm, safe, and stimulating environments that lead to healthy development and constructive learning. Based on this research as well as professional values, NAEYC developed and promotes standards for the preparation of early childhood professionals. These standards present a shared vision of excellence for all early childhood professionals across education and training settings. They act as a signpost toward desired outcomes at colleges and universities and in communitybased and other professional development settings.

Read the full article:
http://www.naeyc.org/about/positions/pdf/programStandards.pdf