Training & professional development

The Early Childhood Workforce Initiative's Landscape Analysis Series takes a deeper look at key questions left unanswered concerning the global early childhood development workforce:

• What do early childhood professionals and paraprofessionals need to know and do in order to perform effectively?
• How do requisite knowledge and skills vary across contexts?
• What types of training and support do staff receive?
• How is the early childhood workforce recruited, monitored, and evaluated?

The second of these analyses, Supporting the Early Childhood Workforce: Training and Professional Development, takes a closer look at training and professional development opportunities for the early childhood workforce.

Taking into account the diverse backgrounds and experiences of individuals delivering ECD services, training and professional development programs offer an opportunity to impart a core set of knowledge and skills to members of the early childhood workforce, which is particularly important as programs look to scale and reach a greater number of young children and families. In addition, there is evidence to suggest that supporting individuals with such opportunities can influence child development outcomes.

This analysis, published in January of 2018, synthesizes evidence on the approaches to and challenges associated with training and professional development across the early childhood workforce. An extensive review of published and grey literature, and key informant interviews with ECD experts yielded 10 findings.

You can find the full Landscape Analysis in English below. You may also download the Executive Summary in English, French and Spanish.

The Early Childhood Workforce Initiative's Landscape Analysis Series takes a deeper look at key questions left unanswered concerning the global early childhood development workforce:

• What do early childhood professionals and paraprofessionals need to know and do in order to perform effectively?
• How do requisite knowledge and skills vary across contexts?
• What types of training and support do staff receive?
• How is the early childhood workforce recruited, monitored, and evaluated?

The second of these analyses, Supporting the Early Childhood Workforce: Training and Professional Development, takes a closer look at training and professional development opportunities for the early childhood workforce.

Taking into account the diverse backgrounds and experiences of individuals delivering ECD services, training and professional development programs offer an opportunity to impart a core set of knowledge and skills to members of the early childhood workforce, which is particularly important as programs look to scale and reach a greater number of young children and families. In addition, there is evidence to suggest that supporting individuals with such opportunities can influence child development outcomes.

This analysis, published in January of 2018, synthesizes evidence on the approaches to and challenges associated with training and professional development across the early childhood workforce. An extensive review of published and grey literature, and key informant interviews with ECD experts yielded 10 findings.

You can find the full Landscape Analysis in English below. You may also download the Executive Summary in English, French and Spanish.

Below you may download one of the 30 Workforce Profiles (country reports) on the current status quo regarding the qualification requirements for early childhood education and care professionals (pedagogues, teachers, educators), the composition of the workforce, the systems of initial professional education and continuing professional development, current reform initiatives and research projects and selected aspects of the working conditions of staff in each of the 30 participating countries.The initial Workforce Profiles in Systems of Early Childhood Education and Care in Europe were provided by mostly long-standing cooperation partners according to a research specification which they received for comment before compilation of the data. The final versions are based on a long period of close collaboration between the editors and the authors. The reports vary in length between approximately 25 pages and 80 pages.SEEPRO-R takes a look at many of the new fundamental reforms including, qualification and competence requirements for early childhood workforce and the structures of professional studies and continuing education. More on the SEEPRO-R project here.

Transforming European ECEC services and Primary schools into professional learning communities: drivers, barriers and ways forward focuses on Professional Learning Communities, within competent early years systems, which help professionals better serve the complex needs of families and their children.The diverse societies in which we live make it impossible to find standardized solutions for all families. New competences like negotiation and reflection must be integrated with additional forms of continued professional development (CPD) that focus on the active and democratic participation of staff.Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are a valuable answer to this complex issue. PLCs are ‘groups of people sharing and critically interrogating their practice in an on-going, reflective, collaborative, inclusive, learning-oriented, growth-promoting way’.Competent systems are essential for the creation and maintenance of PLCs. The latter require a multilevel network of competences, structural conditions, engagement, and awareness. This report seeks to:

1. provide a framework to explain the need for PLCs today;
2. offer a clear definition of the essential criteria that define a PLC, with concrete examples from several European countries; and
3. provide four in-depth case studies—from Belgium (Flanders), Croatia, Italy and Slovenia—which illustrate different ways of establishing and sustaining PLCs.

The report includes specific conclusions and recommendations for policy makers in Member States. Please note that the report focuses on services and schools for 0 to 12 years old children. However, the key concepts and conclusions could also be re-adapted for secondary school.

Quality is key in Early Childhood Education in Australia highlights several key policy priorities for limiting quality across the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) system. These priorities address gaps in access by focusing on: 

• Pre-service teacher education, especially for Early Childhood Teachers (ECTs) and Diploma-qualified staff
• Pathways to grow pedagogical leaders
• Ongoing embedded and evidence -informed professional learning
• The use of data to track children's developmental, and design appropriate, personalized learning opportunities

This report also takes a look at the many elements of quality in ECEC and their importance.

2017 Home Visiting Yearbook is one of the first publications from the National Home Visiting Resource Center. It was developed with the recognition that, as many communities have implemented home visiting models aimed at improving outcomes for children and families, there has not been a comprehensive overview of how home visiting is across the country. This resource aims to inform readers as they make decisions in policy and practice. The following critical questions are addressed: 

Where do home visiting programs operate? 
How many families and children are being served by home visiting, and how many more could benefit? 
Who develops and administers home visiting? 
Who funds home visiting?

This first edition presents the most complete data available on home visiting in the United States.

6 Policies to Support the Early Childhood Workforce shares six policies that the federal government should include as part of significant federal financing reform for early care and education. The following policies will be implemented in partnership with communities: 

• Develop and maintain a comprehensive professional development system with stable funding and measures for quality assurance. 
• Develop or revise statewide career pathways that provide a road map for early childhood professionals to advance in their careers through increasing levels of education, experience, demonstrated competencies, and compensation. 
• Make progress toward compensation and benefit standards at parity with kindergarten teachers. 
• Promote data-driven policies and programs for the workforce with a statewide workforce registry.
• Bolster scholarship programs for early educators.
• Reward degree completion with wage supplements or tax credits.

These coordinated, integrated policies aim to promote a diverse early childhood workforce that is skilled, supported, and adequately compensated.

Standards for ECD Parenting Programmes takes a deeper looking into the interventions or services which aim to support parenting interactions, behaviors, knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and practices. The document guides practitioners through a set of standards for parenting programs. Nine standards are presented including:  

• Supporting nurturing care because it contributes to holistic child development;
• Build on a theory of change that leads to the desired results;
• Tailor content to the child's developmental stage;
• Serve vulnerable children and their families;
• Involve all parents and key caregivers engaged in the function of parenting;
• Adapt to context and culture and build upon positive parenting practices;
• Engage trained workforce and service providers;
• Reflect continuous improvements through systematic monitoring and evaluation.

This resource is particularly targeted to low and middle income count ires.

The relationship between teacher qualification and the quality of early childhood care and learning environment attempts to synthesize the empirical evidence on the relationship of teacher qualifications on the quality of early childhood learning environments. The study aims to answer one question:Is there a relationship between the level and type of education of the lead teacher, and the quality of the early childhood learning environment, as measured by the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, the Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale and their revised versions?The authors review 48 studies with 82 independent samples from 1980 to 2014, examining the relationship between teacher qualification and the quality of ECEC environment. The results draw upon information from quantitative research data from a number of countries, showing that higher qualifications of teachers are significantly correlated with higher quality ECEC.