Early Childhood Intervention Personnel Preparation

Abstract

The centerpiece of my vision for personnel preparation is a well paid, well-educated early childhood intervention workforce situated in "learning communities" whereby parents, practitioners, administrators, consultants, and university and community college faculty are mutually accountable for creating quality early environments for children. Personnel preparation is an ongoing part of the fabric of daily work. The driving force behind the content and specific personnel preparation activities is the basic question, "What do we need to know and do to improve the outcomes for all young children?" I suggest that currently we do not have the resources or the policies in place to support such a vision. I further suggest that grassroots public support for early childhood intervention could be achieved through the kind of "learning communities" envisioned in the opening vignette of this article. I suggest that there are three areas where changes are critical in order to create "learning communities": (1) increasing collaboration among multiple partners at multiple levels; (2) attending to diversity issues; and (3) promoting family involvement in personnel preparation. Without a shared vision and commitment to early childhood intervention at the community level, we will continue to operate with a massive gap between what we know from research and how we practice. We know what constitutes an effective personnel preparation system, just like we know what makes an effective early childhood intervention program. The question is can that information be shared in ways that make the need for changes in policies and practices undeniable? It will take a nation of informed "learning communities" to make my vision a reality.