Barriers to Child Care Providers' Professional Development

Abstract

The current study uses telephone interview data gathered from 647 randomly-selected child care providers (92 center-based directors, 230 center-based providers, and 325 family child care providers) to describe one state's child care workforce and the individual beliefs, pragmatic concerns, and current regulations that may operate as barriers to providers' professional development. Results indicate meaningful differences among the three groups' demographic characteristics (age, experience, educational attainment, and personal income) and perceptions of the importance of pragmatic barriers and variations in their beliefs about the relationship between education and compensation. No significant differences were noted in provider beliefs about preservice training; all groups equally agreed that training and education are necessary prior to providing child care. Results are discussed in light of current state child care regulations and the larger context of child care provider professional development. Additionally, the findings are considered from an applied perspective, specifically, how reported differences may serve as barriers to professional development and potential solutions to alleviate such concerns.