National Academies Press: OpenBook

Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce (2015)

Chapter: Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce

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Suggested Citation:"Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2015. Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21786.
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Suggested Citation:"Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2015. Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21786.
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Suggested Citation:"Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2015. Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21786.
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Suggested Citation:"Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2015. Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21786.
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Suggested Citation:"Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2015. Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21786.
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Suggested Citation:"Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2015. Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21786.
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Suggested Citation:"Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2015. Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21786.
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Suggested Citation:"Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2015. Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21786.
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Suggested Citation:"Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2015. Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21786.
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Suggested Citation:"Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2015. Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21786.
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Suggested Citation:"Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2015. Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21786.
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Suggested Citation:"Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2015. Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21786.
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Suggested Citation:"Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2015. Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21786.
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Suggested Citation:"Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2015. Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21786.
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Suggested Citation:"Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2015. Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21786.
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Suggested Citation:"Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce." Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2015. Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21786.
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Professional Learning for the Care and Education Workforce Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and education of children from birth through age 8 bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8, a report from the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, explores the implications of the science of child development for the professionals who work with these chil- dren. This guide summarizes considerations from the report for planning and implementing high-quality and coherent professional learning for this workforce. M uch is known about how children learn and complicated and often decentralized because the develop, what professionals who provide care and education of young children take place in care and education for children need to know so many different contexts; with different practitioner and be able to do, and what professional learning traditions and cultures; funded through multiple supports they need. However, that knowledge is not governmental and nongovernmental sources; and fully reflected in the current capacities and practices operating under the management or regulatory of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the oversight of diverse agencies with varying policies, policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and incentives, and constraints. As a result, achieving provide professional learning, and the government coherence is challenging. At the same time, this means and other funders who support and oversee these that there are many diverse ways that education systems. Despite their shared objective of nurturing professionals, the organizations that support and train and securing the future success of young children, them, administrators and leaders, policy makers, and those who work with these children from birth through nongovernmental organizations can drive changes at age 8 are not acknowledged as a cohesive professional the community, state, and national levels. workforce, unified by the common knowledge base The report offers a blueprint for action based on a and competencies needed to do their jobs well. unifying foundation that encompasses essential The science of child development and early learning features of child development and early learning, makes clear the importance and complexity of shared knowledge and competencies for care and working with young children from infancy through education professionals, and principles for effective the early elementary years. It also illuminates the professional learning. Within this blueprint, the report need for consistency and continuity both over time offers recommendations in the areas of qualification as children develop and across systems and services. requirements for professional practice; higher Yet just when children would benefit most from education; professional learning during ongoing high-quality learning experiences on a consistent, practice; evaluation and assessment of professional cumulative trajectory, the systems they encounter practice; the role of leadership; interprofessional are fragmented. Strengthening the workforce is practice; support for implementation at the local, state, challenging because those who care for and educate and national levels; and improvement of the knowledge young children work in disparate settings such as base to inform professional learning and workforce homes, childcare centers, preschools, educational development. The report also offers a framework programs, and elementary schools. Their work relates for collaborative systems change and extensive directly to those who provide such services as home discussion of considerations for implementing visiting, early intervention, and special education, the recommendations, recognizing the challenges and is also closely connected to the work of health associated with the multiple, interdependent changes and social services professionals who work with that need to be carried out within and across different children and families. Oversight and influence are systems. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation

Principles to support quality professional practice Professionals need foundational and specific competencies. Care and education professionals are best able to support children from birth through age 8 when they have a shared foundation of knowledge and competencies related to development and early learning across this age span. This foundation needs to be augmented by shared specialized knowledge and competencies within a type of profession, as well as further differentiated competencies that depend on specialty or discipline and age group. Professionals and systems need to be able to support diverse populations. Care and education profes- sionals, with the support of the systems in which they practice, need to be able to respectfully, effectively, and equitably serve children from backgrounds that are diverse with respect to family structure, socioeco- nomic status, culture, language, and ability. Professional learning systems need to develop and sustain competencies. Care and education profes- sionals need access to high-quality professional learning that supports them in the acquisition and appli- cation of the competencies they need. High-quality professional learning systems encompass a coherent series of activities to prepare professionals for practice, assess and ensure their competency to practice, and continuously enhance the quality of their ongoing practice. Practice environments need to enable high-quality practice. Care and education professionals are best able to engage in high-quality professional practice when the settings in which they work are safe and well maintained, provide a high-quality learning environment for children, maintain a reasonable class size and ratio of adults to children for substantial and consistent group and individualized interactions to sup- port learning, are well resourced with materials and supplies, and are guided by informed and competent leadership. Practice supports need to facilitate and sustain high-quality practice. To foster high-quality practice, care and education professionals need to experience the support of supervisors, mentors, and a commu- nity of peers; regularly assess and reflect on the effectiveness of their practices in order to improve them; be guided by thoughtfully designed workplace and oversight policies; be compensated in a manner that recognizes their important role with young children; and have access to and time and resources for ongo- ing professional learning and career development. Systems and policies need to align with the aims of high-quality practice. Children benefit from consis- tency and continuity in high-quality learning experiences over time. This results when policies are aligned in accord with principles for high quality across the professional roles and settings that provide care and education for different age groups/grade levels, as well as across the sectors that provide closely related services for young children, especially health and social services. Professional practice, systems, and polices need to be adaptive. Research will continue to provide new information about how children learn and develop; how adults can best support them; and how adults can best be supported in their professional learning, practice environments, and practice supports. Accord- ingly, the systems that support children, the professionals who work within them, and their professional learning systems all need to adapt iteratively, with evaluative components that are embedded in continu- ous improvement processes. 2 TRANSFORMING THE WORKFORCE FOR CHILDREN BIRTH THROUGH AGE 8: A UNIFYING FOUNDATION

Shared Knowledge and Competencies for Educators of Children Birth Through Age 8 CORE KNOWLEDGE BASE cilitate learning and development in all domains in  Knowledge of the developmental science that un- ways that are appropriate for their stage of devel- derlies important domains of early learning and opment. child development, including cognitive develop-  Ability to set appropriate individualized goals and ment, specific content knowledge and skills, general objectives to advance young children’s develop- learning competencies, socioemotional develop- ment and learning. ment, and physical development and health.  Ability to use learning trajectories: A deep under-  Knowledge of how these domains interact to facili- standing of the subject, knowledge of the way tate learning and development. children think and learn about the subject, and the ability to design and employ instructional tasks, cur-  Knowledge of content and concepts that are im- ricula, and activities that effectively promote learn- portant in early learning of major subject-matter ar- ing and development within and across domains eas, including language and literacy, mathematics, and subject-matter areas. science, technology, engineering, arts, and social studies.  Ability to select, employ, and interpret a portfolio of both informal and formal assessment tools and  Knowledge of the learning trajectories (goals, de- strategies; to use the results to understand individ- velopmental progressions, and instructional tasks ual children’s developmental progression and deter- and strategies) of how children learn and become mine whether needs are being met; and to use this proficient in each of the domains and specific sub- information to individualize, adapt, and improve in- ject-matter areas. structional practices.  Knowledge of the science that elucidates the dy-  Ability to make informed decisions about whether namic interactions among biological and environ- and how to integrate different kinds of technologies mental factors that influence children’s develop- ment and learning, including the positive effects into curricula and instructional practice to promote children’s learning. of consistent, nurturing interactions that facilitate development and learning as well as the negative  Ability to promote positive social development and effects of chronic stress and exposure to trauma self-regulation while mitigating challenging behav- and adversity that can impede development and iors in ways that reflect an understanding of the learning. multiple biological and environmental factors that affect behavior.  Knowledge of the principles for assessing children that are developmentally appropriate; culturally  Ability to recognize the effects of factors from sensitive; and relevant, reliable, and valid across a outside the practice setting (e.g., poverty, trauma, variety of populations, domains, and assessment parental depression, experience of violence in the purposes. home or community) that affect children’s learning and development, and to adjust practice to help PRACTICES TO HELP CHILDREN LEARN children experiencing those effects.  Ability to establish relationships and interactions with children that are consistent, nurturing, and use WORKING WITH DIVERSE POPULATIONS positive language. OF CHILDREN  Ability to create and manage effective learning en-  Ability to advance the learning and development of vironments (physical space, materials, activities, children from backgrounds that are diverse in family classroom management). structure, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, cul- ture, and language.  Ability to consistently deploy productive routines, maintain a schedule, and make transitions brief and  Ability to advance the learning and development of productive, all to increase predictability and learn- children who are dual language learners. ing opportunities and to maintain a sense of emo-  Ability to advance the development and learning tional calm in the learning environment. of children who have specialized developmental  Ability to use a repertory of instructional and care- or learning needs, such as children with disabilities giving practices and strategies, including imple- or learning delays, children experiencing chronic menting validated curricula, that engage children stress/adversity, and children who are gifted and through nurturing, responsive interactions and fa- talented. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR THE CARE AND EDUCATION WORKFORCE 3

DEVELOPING AND USING PARTNERSHIPS  Ability to collaborate and communicate with pro- fessionals in other roles, disciplines, and sectors to  Ability to communicate and connect with families facilitate mutual understanding and collective con- in a mutually respectful, reciprocal way, and to set tribution to improving outcomes for children. goals with families and prepare them to engage in complementary behaviors and activities that en- CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVING QUALITY hance development and early learning. OF PRACTICE  Ability to recognize when behaviors and academic  Ability and motivation to access and engage in challenges may be a sign of an underlying need for available professional learning resources to keep referral for more comprehensive assessment, diag- current with the science of development and early nosis, and support (e.g., mental health consultation, learning and with research on instructional and oth- social services, family support services). er practices.  Knowledge of professional roles in and available  Knowledge and abilities for self-care to manage services within care and education and in closely their own physical and mental health, including related sectors such as health and social services. the effects of their own exposure to adversity and  Ability to access and effectively use available refer- stress. ral and resource systems. Characteristics of High-Quality Professional Learning INTENTIONAL advancement, systems for evaluation and support for ongoing quality improvement, and supports for  Guided by the available science on child develop- ment and early learning, instructional and other the status and well-being of the workforce. practices, and adult learning.  Coherent and coordinated with respect to pro-  Guided by alignment between the developmen- fessional learning activities for professional roles tal needs of children and the professional learning across practice settings and age ranges within the birth through age 8 span. needs for acquiring and sustaining core competen- cies and professional practice standards. COLLABORATIVE AND INTERDISCIPLINARY  Guided by the context of the diverse settings in  Based on an ethic of shared responsibility and col- which professionals might practice and the diverse lective practice for promoting child development populations of children and families with whom and early learning. they might work.  Providing shared professional learning opportuni- ONGOING ties for professional roles across practice settings and age ranges within the birth through age 8 span  Designed to support cumulative and continuous (e.g., cross-disciplinary courses and professional learning over time, with preparation experience that learning communities). leads to a period of supervised practice, followed by independent practice with ongoing, individual-  Leveraging collaborative learning models (e.g., ized supports from supervisors, coaches, mentors, peer-to-peer learning and cohort models). and/or peers. TIED TO PRACTICE COHERENT  Designed to provide field experiences and/or to  Coherent in the types and sequence of professional tie didactic learning to applied practice experience learning to which individual practitioners have ac- with ongoing, individualized feedback and support. cess and in which they engage to support a contin- uum of growth, as opposed to discrete, potentially RESPONSIVE disjointed learning experiences.  Designed to take into account variations in entry  Coherent and aligned with a shared foundation of points and sequencing for accessing professional knowledge of child development across profession- learning. al roles.  Designed to take into account career stage, from  Coherent and comprehensive in what professional novice to experienced. learning is available in a given local system.  Designed to take into account challenges faced by  Coherent and aligned in content and aims across the practitioners with respect to accessibility, afford- full breadth of supports and mechanisms that con- ability, scheduling/time/logistics constraints, base- tribute to improving professional practice, including line skills, and perceptions about professional learn- higher education, ongoing professional learning, the ing activities and systems. practice environment, opportunities for professional 4 TRANSFORMING THE WORKFORCE FOR CHILDREN BIRTH THROUGH AGE 8: A UNIFYING FOUNDATION

A comprehensive and collaborative approach to improve professional learning Professional learning currently lacks consistency and coordination across types of professional learn- ing supports and across professional roles working with children from birth through age 8. It occurs in fragmented systems that have differing infrastructure and use differing tools and approaches. There are a variety of entry points to the field, and individuals may follow a variety of pathways to caring for and educating young children. The availability of professional learning supports and the sequencing and de- gree to which they are accessed vary greatly across professional roles. An educator in family childcare receives different types and amounts of professional learning support than one in a Head Start program, whose experience differs from that of an educator in an elementary school. For example, many early care and education professionals may pursue coursework toward a degree concurrently with active prac- tice, often after many years of experience during which they also participated in in-service professional learning supports. On the other hand, many elementary school teachers may take a more linear path of pursuing degree-related coursework before starting practice, while others may complete degrees in other fields and transition into preparing for a teaching license at a later stage. Pathways also vary by the state and local contexts in which individuals work because policies and the availability of and access to professional learning supports vary greatly from place to place. These challenges point to opportunities for improving professional learning through a more comprehensive approach for care and education pro- fessionals who work with young children. Take a comprehensive view of the workforce across professional roles, settings, and age ranges. Attention to the workforce for early-childhood education has often centered on the preschool years, and discussion of improving continuity often focuses on children entering kindergarten. This focus is due in part to the relative strength of central oversight for publicly funded or subsidized preschools through Head Start and the emergence of preschool as part of public elementary school systems. Attention to these settings and age ranges continues to be important, but to be successful, concerted attention is needed to also incorporate the workforce development needs of those who provide care and education for infants and toddlers and those who practice in settings outside of centers and schools, such as family childcare. These professionals have historically had the weakest, least explicit and coherent, and least resourced infrastructure for professional learning and workforce supports. At the other end of the age spectrum, concerted attention is needed to also incorporate professionals in early elementary schools. For them, professional learning is already supported through a more explicit and robust infrastructure. However, educational practices for the youngest elementary students can be insufficiently emphasized in the context of broader K-12 professional learning systems that incline toward a focus on teaching older children. To be successful, collective efforts to improve professional learning are needed that place similar emphasis along the full birth through age 8 range and across professional roles and settings. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR THE CARE AND EDUCATION WORKFORCE 5

Take a comprehensive view of professional learning and factors that affect quality professional practice. High-quality professional learning supports such as higher education programs, in-service professional development, and mentoring and coaching are all critical mechanisms for developing and sustaining the knowledge and competencies of professionals who can deliver quality practice that will foster continuous progress in the development and early learning of children from birth through age 8. Yet practitioners who master competencies can still be constrained in applying them by the circumstances of their settings and by the systems and policies of governance, accountability, and oversight that affect their practice. In many cases systemic or contextual factors that are important to support quality practice are influenced or controlled by stakeholders other than the professionals themselves or the systems that provide them with education and training. These factors include the practice environment, such as leadership and su- pervision, working conditions, staffing structures, and staff-to-child ratios; the availability of resources such as curricular materials and instructional tools, resources for conducting child assessments, and sup- plies; policies and agencies or organizations that affect licensure and other qualification requirements as well as those that affect program accreditation and quality assurance; systems for evaluation and ongoing quality improvement; and the status and well-being of the professionals, encompassing, for example, in- centives that attract and retain teachers, opportunities for professional advancement, perceptions of the profession, compensation, and stressors and the availability of supportive services to help manage them. These elements interact with one another, and they all need to be represented in collaborative efforts to develop a more comprehensive and coordinated system of professional learning and workforce develop- ment. Embracing a broader and more unified concept of “professional learning” that encompasses all of the activities and opportunities that contribute to developing and sustaining quality professional practice will facilitate better consistency in care and education for children from birth through age 8. When all of these elements are mutually driven by the science of child development and principles of high-quality professional learning, and are supported through coherent systems of continuous quality improvement, they can work collectively toward the ultimate aim of ensuring sustained, positive outcomes for children. FIGURE 1. Factors that contribute to quality professional practice. 6 TRANSFORMING THE WORKFORCE FOR CHILDREN BIRTH THROUGH AGE 8: A UNIFYING FOUNDATION

Avoid duplication of effort. Collaborative change for professional learning systems will be most effective when it draws on available resources, frameworks, and guidance and builds on collaborative efforts already under way—engaging established organizations and leveraging current efforts to avoid creating entirely new infrastructure and solutions. For example, many states and communities already have early learning coalitions or similar or- ganizations that cover some elements of the comprehensive systems change that is needed. Implementa- tion of this report’s recommendations can serve to inform and reinforce those efforts, to strengthen their infrastructure and resources, and to catalyze a more comprehensive approach. Where coalitions have not yet been formed, communities can learn from the experiences of other localities. To avoid unnecessary duplication while also more effectively and comprehensively supporting consis- tency and continuity for children from birth through age 8, existing collaborations could benefit from reviewing their efforts and the scope of their current partnerships in light of the principles and recom- mendations in this report. For example, are current early learning coalitions adequately inclusive of both early childhood and early elementary settings? Are current collaborative efforts that focus primarily on services for children inclusive of what is needed to support workforce development and professional learning? Are these collaborative efforts reaching out to collaborate and coordinate with the health and social services sectors? Balance shared and specialized efforts. Based on the shared foundation of child development and early learning, all educators need to develop core competencies to move children along a continuous trajectory of learning and development. Greater consistency can result from aligning around a shared knowledge base, establishing shared expectations, using common tools where appropriate, building greater mutual understanding of language and termi- nology across professional roles and professional learning systems, and participating together in some aspects of professional learning. At the same time, some aspects of professional learning and practice need to be tailored to specific pro- fessional roles—for example, educators of infants and toddlers will need to develop certain competencies more fully than educators of older children, who likewise will need to master their own specific instruc- tional and other strategies. Early intervention specialists or other professionals providing consulting ser- vices will need to develop in depth different competencies from those needed by their colleagues who are classroom educators. Yet specialization need not inherently produce or reinforce fragmentation. In- stead, such specificity needs to be developed in the context of a shared foundation of child development and early learning. All professionals need to know the basics of learning and development over time even as they learn to apply different practices that are specific to their professional roles and the age range with which they work. This balance means that not every action taken to improve professional learning and workforce develop- ment will require the collective effort of all stakeholders. Some actions will be specific to a subset of pro- fessional roles or practice settings. Some actions can be taken at the level of smaller collaborations or at the level of institutions or even individuals. But through a more comprehensive framework, these efforts at different levels of collaboration can be better linked to contribute to the ultimate common agenda of sustained positive outcomes for the development and early learning of young children. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR THE CARE AND EDUCATION WORKFORCE 7

FIGURE 2. Shared and specialized competencies for birth through 8 professionals. 8 TRANSFORMING THE WORKFORCE FOR CHILDREN BIRTH THROUGH AGE 8: A UNIFYING FOUNDATION

Recommendations for higher education Build an interdisciplinary foundation in higher education for child development. To improve the consistency of a shared fundamental knowledge base for all professionals working with young children, the report recommends that institutions of higher education review and revise their pro- grams, policies, and infrastructure to support child development as a cross-departmental, cross-disci- plinary foundation that feeds into specialized degree and certificate programs for multiple specific pro- fessional roles. Baseline requirements for core coursework, other learning activities, and cross-sector field-based learning experiences could serve as a prerequisite for further study or as a child specialization enhancement. Requirements that are designed to establish a more continuous and comprehensive understanding of child development would support preparation for various professional roles working with children from birth through age 8 in education, social services, and health/allied health professions. A foundational program should inform students about the range of professional roles that involve working with young children and provide advising to select career development pathways to their chosen professional role. Additional coursework, learning, and practicum requirements would be differentiated according to the specific professional pathway students follow. A shared baseline across professional roles and sectors would also lay the foundation for competencies in interprofessional practice to support communication and collaboration across professional roles, settings, and sectors. The active participation of administrative and departmental leadership will be needed to address barriers to the implementation of this recommendation resulting from the silos that commonly exist today among disciplines in institutions of higher education. These leaders should take steps to create infrastructure that will support cross-disciplinary work. For example, they can create opportunities for teams of faculty and students from different disciplines to interact based on common interests, seeded projects that cross disciplinary lines, agreements among administrators that underscore the value of group and cross-dis- ciplinary efforts, and faculty rewards and incentives for cross-departmental and cross-disciplinary team teaching and research, including benchmarks for promotion and tenure that account for excellence in such work. Mechanisms to support interdisciplinary faculty might include developing professional learning commu- nities throughout campuses with joint appointments across departments and using learning institutes that address teaching, research, and community engagement and that are formed with a core focus on developmental science and a mission to foster interaction among faculty from different departments and among students interested in a wide range of professional roles that entail working with young children. To be feasible, implementing an interdisciplinary approach in higher education programs will require resources and incentives tied to funding and to accreditation and oversight. Therefore, the report rec- ommends that government agencies and other organizations that support initiatives in higher education link funding to participation in cross-department institutes, building strong relationships with practice settings in their communities for student field experiences and practice-based research projects, and multidisciplinary training grants that bring developmental psychologists and other developmental scien- tists, health care professionals, educators, and social workers into a common training arena. In addition, the report recommends that voluntary accrediting agencies and governmental oversight mechanisms for educational and research institutions include in their review criteria the extent to which an interdisciplin- ary approach is used in programs that award degrees or certificates in fields related to young children. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR THE CARE AND EDUCATION WORKFORCE 9

Develop and enhance programs in higher education for care and education professionals. Building on a cross-disciplinary foundation, high-quality programs in higher education are needed that further ensure and document the acquisition of the knowledge and competencies needed to practice as care and education professionals working with children from birth through age 8. The report recommends that institutions of higher education, including leadership, administrators, and faculty, should review and revise the requirements, content, and structure of such programs. This recommendation is particularly im- portant in the context of the report’s related recommendation to develop and implement comprehensive, phased, multiyear pathways to transition to a minimum bachelor’s degree requirement with specialized knowledge and competencies for all lead educators who work with children from birth through age 8. Recognizing the complex issues that accompany a minimum bachelor’s degree requirement, the report emphasizes that a number of interrelated factors must be addressed together, and one of these is by necessity to strengthen the quality, availability, and accessibility of higher education—not only to accom- modate an increasing number of lead educators who will practice in settings prior to elementary school, but also to improve the quality of preparation for early elementary educators who, although already required to have a bachelor’s degree, in many cases are not experiencing degree-granting programs that ensure they have the specialized knowledge of child development and competencies for instructional and other practices that are needed to work with children in the earliest elementary grades. Higher education programs for care and education professionals need to provide a formally defined, accredited course of study in child development, early learning, and instruction. Such a course of study needs to provide students with coursework in development, subject matter content, and instructional and other practices to foster development and early learning; field experiences; and methods to document demonstrated mastery of practice. In some cases this defined, accredited course of study could be a specified degree or major, but it could also be a concentration or certificate in child development, early learning, and instruction that a student would complete alongside another major, as a postbaccalaureate program, or as part of other tailored pathways for transitioning professionals, including differentiated pathways for practicing professionals in care and education. To achieve many of the characteristics of a high-quality higher education program, the report also rec- ommends that institutions of higher education work with local practice communities. Such working rela- tionships can contribute a practice-based perspective to the design of higher education programs and facilitate the identification of appropriate and diverse field placements capable of contributing to the training of students. In addition, there is a need not only for faculty who are rooted in the sciences of child development and pedagogy but also for faculty whose primary valued competencies are in teaching stu- dents how to practice. Institutions of higher education therefore need to make a commitment to treating science and research related to practice, as well as faculty competencies in teaching students how to practice, with the same deference as that accorded theory and developmental research. COLLABORATIONS ACROSS INSTITUTIONS A quality program also requires sufficient depth and breadth to impart to students the scope of neces- sary knowledge and competencies. Collaborations and connections across institutions are one way to meet this challenge for smaller institutions and departments by allowing students to access courses and learning experiences at other institutions. The report therefore calls for institutions of higher education to facilitate cross-institutional relationships that mutually bolster the quality, availability, and accessibility of programs. Such coordination is crucial both to ensure higher and more consistent quality in higher education and to provide higher education programs at the scale necessary to accommodate increasing enrollment in bachelor’s degree programs. One mechanism for collaboration is to establish agreements among 2- and 4-year colleges in the same locality to develop consistent pathways and efficient transitions between institutions and into special- ized programs. These might include agreements regarding credit transfers, agreements about cross- enrollment of students in courses, collaborative program development, coordinated identification and vetting of field experiences, and convening of faculty across institutions to share information about pro- grams and to participate in joint planning and implementation of cross-institutional agreements. Cross- institutional collaborations also offer the opportunity to expand professional communities for faculty through such mechanisms as sharing of faculty through cross-appointments, teaching of courses across institutions, and joint faculty professional development activities. 10 TRANSFORMING THE WORKFORCE FOR CHILDREN BIRTH THROUGH AGE 8: A UNIFYING FOUNDATION

Considerations to improve higher education for students pursuing care and education professions  Align content, curriculum, and pedagogy  Enable students to develop competencies to with shared knowledge and competencies communicate and collaborate appropriate- related to the development and learning of ly and productively with other practitioners children across the birth through age 8 con- working with a child, as well as with the tinuum as well as specialized knowledge and child’s parents or primary caretaker/guard- competencies in programs that are differen- ian. To this end, students will need to devel- tiated for specific age ranges, subject matter op knowledge of the different nomenclature specialization, or responsibilities so that care and terminology used in different care and and education professionals will be prepared education systems, as well as in the health to support consistent learning experiences and social services sector, to enable mutual for children. understanding in interprofessional commu-  Provide training that integrates knowledge nications. Students will also need to develop with behaviors and practices and enables knowledge and skill in the use of discussion students to develop the following in parallel protocols and other tools for structured, fa- rather than sequentially: cilitated information sharing that will sup- port appropriate analysis and interpretation • knowledge of the fundamentals of the of child data and avoid misuse and misin- science of early childhood development terpretation of data with potential negative and learning; consequences, such as assigning diagnoses • general pedagogical knowledge; to children incorrectly or prematurely and introducing biased expectations for children. • subject-matter knowledge;  Provide high-quality practice-based and • pedagogical content knowledge, includ- field-based learning experiences that enable ing all three aspects of learning trajecto- students to apply and build instructional and ries and the connections among them— other competencies; experience supportive the goal (the subject-matter knowledge), supervision, mentoring, coaching, and reflec- the developmental progression of levels tive practice; gain experience working with of thinking, and the instructional activi- diverse populations of children and families ties corresponding to each level; and and engaging with families in practice set- • competencies in child assessment (in- tings and through home and community cluding formative assessment) and how visits; and gain exposure to a range of dif- to use the information to modify and im- ferent settings and systems across the birth prove their instructional practice. through age 8 continuum (not limited to the practice settings they will enter in their pro- fessional role) so they can develop the un- derstanding needed to support continuity for children across settings and professional roles in care and education. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR THE CARE AND EDUCATION WORKFORCE 11

Recommendations for professional learning during ongoing practice The report calls for supporting greater quality, consistency, and parity in learning opportunities during ongoing practice across settings and roles for care and education professionals who work with children from birth though age 8 through technical assistance; funding mechanisms such as interagency pooling of resources; and better coordination of professional learning systems. At the state and local level, the report recommends that governmental and nongovernmental stakeholders, with the help of resources at the national level, collaboratively develop a clearinghouse and quality assurance system for locally available services and providers of professional learning during ongoing practice. Building on existing initiatives and on resources already developed, this clearinghouse and quality assurance system should  define local gaps and needs in the availability and accessibility of professional learning activities;  provide guidance for individuals and employers or institutions on how to set professional learning objectives, select and prioritize professional learning activities, map out a sequence of professional learning activities, and access financial and other supports;  coordinate with state accreditation or regulatory mechanisms for professional learning providers to create a quality assurance infrastructure;  coordinate with state quality improvement systems that apply to programs and settings to ensure that standards and opportunities for professional learning and support for quality practice are aligned and strategically coordinated;  promote joint professional learning opportunities among care and education professionals across roles, age groups, and settings, and provide a forum to facilitate collaborations; and  develop assessment plans to monitor and continuously improve the availability and quality of professional learning activities and other services adequate to meet the needs of the workforce. Considerations for access to ongoing professional learning High-quality professional learning during ongoing practice needs to be not only available but also acces- sible. As a result, access needs to be a fundamental aspect of quality assurance systems. Factors that affect access for diverse professional roles and diverse populations of practitioners include affordability and financial support, geographic location and convenience, and time available to participate. Although barriers in these areas affect care and education professionals across settings and roles, they are particu- larly challenging for those in smaller organizations or family childcare, as well as those in rural areas or in urban areas with limited transportation. A comprehensive clearinghouse and quality assurance system therefore needs to include such actions as cataloging (and developing if needed) sources for scholarships and subsidies or tuition and fee re- imbursement incentive programs, and encouraging supervisors to allow employees time to participate without jeopardizing their income or placing an undue burden on their time outside of work. Employers, especially those in small organizations with low revenue margins, also need supports to help them facili- tate participation in professional learning, such as subsidies to cover paid employee time away from work and assistance in accessing and paying qualified substitutes. 12 TRANSFORMING THE WORKFORCE FOR CHILDREN BIRTH THROUGH AGE 8: A UNIFYING FOUNDATION

Quality professional learning during ongoing practice  encompasses active learning involving the  is sustained and intensive rather than stand- details of setting up, conducting, and forma- alone; tively evaluating experiences and activities  is interconnected and consistent in content for children; and approach across activities (e.g., trainings,  develops knowledge of the content to be adoption of new curricula, implementation of taught, including deep conceptual knowledge new standards), with a shared language and of the subject and its processes, and gives goal structure that promote peer communi- corresponding attention to specific pedagog- cation and collaboration; ical content knowledge, including all three  is part of portfolios that build on the en- aspects of learning trajectories: the goal; the tire range of learning activities and training developmental progression of levels of think- mechanisms available, cover the full scope ing; and the individual and group instructional of knowledge and competencies that need activities corresponding to each level; to be supported, and are linked to incentives  focuses on common actions and problems of and career advancement; practice;  offers a balance of joint professional learning  allows for care and education professionals to activities that are relevant across professional actively implement what they are learning and roles, settings, and ages with those that pro- discuss their experiences in doing so through vide deep specificity for particular roles and peer study groups, networks, or other forms specializations; and of collective participation by care and educa-  is tied to the science of adult learning and tion professionals who work together; recognizes the importance of the multiple,  includes coaching embedded in the practice comprehensive domains of knowledge and setting with coaches who have knowledge of learning that are important for adults. instructional and other practices to foster de- velopment and learning, as well as competen- cies in effective coaching; Effective joint professional learning during ongoing practice  promotes professional practice with greater continuity across age ranges and settings;  promotes and provides incentives for partic- ipation of professionals from different roles, settings, and age ranges in the same profes- sional learning activities;  offers activities specifically designed to pro- vide training in better supporting children as they move from infant/toddler services to pre- school to kindergarten to grades 1–3, such as continuous and aligned curricula and learning environments; and  supports professional learning communities and other partnerships and convenings across roles, settings, and age ranges. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR THE CARE AND EDUCATION WORKFORCE 13

Recommendations for evaluation and assessment of professional practice Current systems for measuring the performance of educators are not sufficient for those who work with children in the early elementary years and younger; indeed, they may produce unreliable data about children’s learning and development and the quality of instruction. Current systems typically focus on student outcomes and instructional practices in one or two areas instead of capturing the developmental nature of early learning and the full range of domains that are important. In addition, they fail to capture important competencies such as trauma-informed practice, family engagement, and collaboration and communication with other professionals. As a result, current evaluation and assessment policies and sys- tems may reinforce a narrow view of effectiveness while missing best practices that should be fostered and recognized in professionals working with children from birth through age 8. The report recommends that policy makers; school district leadership; and school, center, and program leadership, in partnership with representatives of professionals and of families whose children are served in their settings, review and improve their current policies and systems for evaluation and assessment of educators. Because of the variable nature of learning and development from birth through age 8, consid- ering multiple sources of evidence derived with multiple methods and at multiple times is important when evaluating and assessing educator performance. A continuous quality improvement system, using a portfolio of assessment and observation tools, should  align with research on the science  reflect what professionals do in of how young children develop their practice settings and also and learn, effective instruction in how they work with professional the early grades, and best practic- colleagues and with families; es in child assessments;  be tied to professional learning  be comprehensive in its scope of opportunities; and development and learning objec-  be used to shape local-, district-, tives and of professional compe- and state-level policies, invest- tencies; ments, and professional learning  reflect day-to-day practice and systems. not just single-point assessments; Evaluation and assessment systems also need to take into account that setting- and community-level factors beyond the control of practitioners can affect both outcomes for the children with whom they are working and their own capacity to practice effectively. Examples of such factors include overcrowded classrooms, poorly resourced settings, lack of access to professional learning supports, quality and quan- tity of supportive community factors, and children’s home environments. There is a risk that individual practitioners be held accountable for such factors, which can contribute to challenges with equitable recruitment and retention of quality professionals across diverse practice settings. It may not be feasible for education systems and settings to incorporate every element of a fully com- prehensive evaluation and assessment approach. Nonetheless, to make more informed decisions about priorities in reforming evaluation and assessment systems, leaders at the state, district, and setting level would benefit from taking stock of which outcomes and practices their current evaluation and assess- ment policies favor, which they omit, and how these decisions affect the professional growth of care and education professionals and children’s progress in learning and development. To inform the design of systems for evaluating and assessing the practice of professionals who provide care and education for young children, the report also recommends support for research and develop- ment to yield a better understanding of what combinations of data sources and tools can produce more reliable and valid assessments of both educator performance and children’s progress during the birth through age 8 span, while also being feasible within the time and other constraints faced by educators and leaders. 14 TRANSFORMING THE WORKFORCE FOR CHILDREN BIRTH THROUGH AGE 8: A UNIFYING FOUNDATION

Recommendations for the role of leadership Elementary school principals, early care and education center directors or program directors, and other administrators are an important factor in the quality of early learning experiences for the children in the settings they oversee. These leaders play an instrumental role in helping care and education professionals strengthen their core competencies and in creating a work environment in which they can fully use their knowledge and skills. Principals and directors often take a lead role in selecting content and activities for professional learning. In addition, leaders—including not only principals and directors but also superinten- dents and other administrators—have a major influence because they are responsible for workforce hiring practices and for the systems used for evaluating performance. As part of their own professional learning, these leaders need to be supported in developing the knowl- edge and competencies in child development and early learning, instructional leadership, and organiza- tional management that they need to be able to effectively hire and supervise educators who are capable of working with children in the settings they lead. These leaders also need to understand what constitutes appropriate assessment tools and multicomponent evaluation systems and how to use the information thus gained to improve the practice of the workforce they supervise. In addition, they need specific com- petencies for collaboration and communication because of their important role in bridging systems to support greater continuity in early learning experiences across care and education settings, as well as to support linkages with other sectors such as health and social services. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING FOR THE CARE AND EDUCATION WORKFORCE 15

A call to action The professionals who care for and educate children from birth through age 8 have an enormous in- fluence on their lifelong success. These professionals have a complex and important role; their work is intellectually, physically, and emotionally challenging; and they need the support of deep, extensive, and ongoing professional learning to be successful. While there have been significant advances in recogniz- ing and supporting the importance of fostering development and early learning for young children from infancy through early elementary school, workforce policies have lagged behind. Many of the challenges discussed in the report are not new. For too long, the nation has been making do with the systems and policies that are rather than envisioning the systems and policies the nation needs—and committing to the strategies necessary to achieve them. Comprehensive implementation of this report’s recommendations will not happen quickly and will not come cheaply. It will require a strate- gic, progressive trajectory of change over time to transform the professional landscape, accompanied by significant commitment and investment of financial and other resources. Yet the changes recommended hold promise for improving the quality of professional practice; the quality of the practice environment; the status, well-being, and retention of the workforce; the recruitment of a robust pipeline of new pro- fessionals—and ultimately improving outcomes for children. It is through the quality work of these adults that the nation can make it right from the very beginning for its children. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation REPORT RESOURCES The full report and additional report-related resources are available at: www.nap.edu/birthto8

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Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and education of children from birth through age 8 bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8, a report from the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, explores the implications of the science of child development for the professionals who work with these children. This guide summarizes considerations from the report for planning and implementing high-quality and coherent professional learning for this workforce.

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