Early Care And Education Teachers Research Articles

Strengthening children’s roots of resilience: Trauma-responsive early learning

With the majority of children in the United States attending early care and education (ECE) prior to kindergarten (National Survey of Early Care and Education, 2016), the opportunity to reach children early, and strengthen resilience in the context of everyday life, is profound. Yet, ECE teachers often lack professional supports to meet the needs of children impacted by trauma (Cummings, Addante, Swindell, & Meadan, 2017; Loomis, 2018). The Roots of Resilience program was designed to address this issue through an online course and video-based coaching. Recognizing the importance of feasibility and of balancing rigor with relevance to create wide-spread change (Glasgow & Chambers, 2012), this preliminary study of Roots of Resilience focuses on feasibility and examines teachers’ learning and application of practices consistent with trauma-responsive care. Seventeen ECE teachers from family child care homes, centers, and Head Start programs participated. The majority (69%) had less than a Bachelor’s-level education. Qualitative and quantitative data sources included teacher surveys, quizzes, discussion board entries, workbook entries, coach ratings, and observations. Findings indicate that the program is feasible for ECE teachers and offer preliminary evidence that it may help teachers strengthen their knowledge and application of practices to identify and respond to children’s needs. An iterative development process and a strengths-based approach were identified as critical program attributes.

The Role of Family: Understanding the Childhood and Current Family Environment of Early Care and Education Teachers

The Role of Family: Understanding the Childhood and Current Family Environment of Early Care and Education Teachers Tracey M. Barnett PhD, LMSW, Natasha Thorne, D. Crystal Coles PhD, LICSW, Taren Swindle, PhD Abstract Through qualitative inquiry and application of family systems theoretical perspective, this study sought to explore the experiences of Early Care and Education Teachers (ECET) and what role their family environment (childhood and current family) had in them choosing their career and how communication and family connections during mealtimes made an impact. Three overarching themes and dimensions captured the experiences of Early Care and Education Teachers (ECETs) and what role their family environment (childhood and current family) had in their career choice, and how communication and family connections during mealtimes made an impact. While family environment is certainly not the only consideration when choosing a career or staying on a career path, it is arguably one of the biggest. Through critical analysis and application of theoretical perspectives, broader understanding was brought to the experiences and family environments of ECETs and the initial influence these factors played in their career selection. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jehd.v8n4a2

Early Care and Education Teacher's Role in Obesity Prevention and Healthy Development of Young American Indian Children.

The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of how stakeholders, specifically early care and education (ECE) teachers, perceive their role in the development of young American Indian children, and envision working with health care providers and parents in order to enhance children's health. Twenty tribally affiliated ECE teachers from Oklahoma participated in interviews. Thematic analysis was conducted, and three main themes, each with two to three subthemes, emerged. Teachers felt that nutrition and physical activity were important to children's health. Teachers had little professional interaction with health care providers but desired more. Parental empowerment was conveyed as essential to actualize positive changes in their child's behavior. Teachers of tribally affiliated ECE centers are important stakeholders in promoting the health and well-being of young American Indian children. Additional efforts are needed to more effectively integrate teachers and nurses in order to create effective interventions. We propose a stakeholder partnership to guide the development of future interventions.

Meals for Good: An innovative community project to provide healthy meals to children in early care and education programs through food bank catering.

Innovative approaches to childhood obesity prevention are warranted in early care and education (ECE) settings, since intervening early among youth is recommended to promote and maintain healthy behaviors. The objective of the Meals for Good pilot was to explore feasibility of implementing a food bank-based catering model to ECE programs to provide more nutritious meals, compared to meals brought from home (a parent-prepared model). In 2014–2015, a 12-month project was implemented by a food bank in central Florida in four privately-owned ECE programs. An explanatory sequential design of a mixed-methods evaluation approach was utilized, including a pre-post menu analysis comparing parent-prepared meals to the catered meals, and stakeholder interviews to determine benefits and barriers. The menu analysis of lunches showed daily reductions in calories, fat, and saturated fat, but an increase in sodium in catered meals when compared to parent-prepared meals. Interviews with ECE directors, teachers, parents, and food bank project staff, identified several benefits of the catered meals, including healthfulness of meals, convenience to parents, and the ECE program's ability to market this meal service. Barriers of the catered meals included the increased cost to parents, transportation and delivery logistics, and change from a 5 to a 2-week menu cycle during summer food service. This pilot demonstrated potential feasibility of a food bank-ECE program partnership, by capitalizing on the food bank's existing facilities and culinary programming, and interest in implementing strategies focused on younger children. The food bank has since leveraged lessons learned and expanded to additional ECE programs.

A Qualitative Application of the Belsky Model to Explore Early Care and Education Teachers' Mealtime History, Beliefs, and Interactions

ObjectiveStudies on factors associated with nutrition practices in early care and education settings often focus on sociodemographic and programmatic characteristics. This qualitative study adapted and applied Belsky's determinants of parenting model to inform a broader exploration of Early Care and Education Teachers (ECETs) practices. DesignQualitative cross-sectional study with ECETs. SettingThe researchers interviewed ECETs in their communities across a Southern state. ParticipantsPurposive sampling was employed to recruit ECETs (n = 28) from Head Start or state-funded centers serving low-income families. Phenomenon of InterestDevelopmental histories of ECETs regarding food and nutrition, beliefs about child nutrition, and teaching interactions related to food. AnalysisQualitative interviews were coded using a deductive content analysis approach. ResultsThree distinct interrelationships were observed across the themes. First, rules and routines regarding food and mealtime in the educators' childhood often aligned with educator beliefs and behaviors at meals in their classroom. Second, some ECETs described motivations to leave a healthy food legacy for children in their class. Finally, an experience of food insecurity appeared in narratives that also emphasized making sure children got enough through various strategies. Conclusions and ImplicationsThe influence of ECET developmental histories and their related beliefs can be addressed through professional development and ongoing support. Future study should quantify model constructs in a larger sample and study their relationships over time.

Assessing Quality of Early Care and Education: Lessons Learned from San Francisco’s Gateway to Quality

Abstract This 10 year overview of a citywide program implemented to improve the quality of childcare and education in San Francisco provides a description of critical issues related to implementation of an assessment process as well as factors that influence success related to initiating and sustaining quality improvement efforts in early care and education (ECE). The population of interest included all licensed childcare programs and family childcare homes in the city and county of San Francisco receiving public funding and those serving families with subsidies. The assessment tool chosen by city childcare leaders was the Environmental Rating Scales (ERS) for preschool, infant toddler and family childcare sites. Quality improvement plans were developed based on the results of the assessment of each classroom or family childcare home, followed by technical assistance targeted at improving the quality of the environment and teaching practice. Because assessment scores are currently tied to city funded subsidies, motivation for participation in the program becomes a critical factor for those programs that depend on the subsidies. Lessons learned can support other endeavors to improve the quality of childcare and education and include engaging ECE teachers in intentional dialogue that results in internal motivation to improve the quality of their teaching, along with systemic supports that include teachers, families and funding streams to sustain quality care.

Differentiated Staffing and Practice

SEVERAL DECADES ago cost-conscious health-care providers began to look at their staffing practices. These companies found that many health-care needs were fairly routine in nature and that using highly qualified nurses rather than doctors to provide these services could be more cost-efficient. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants began successfully performing a number of duties that previously had been trusted only to doctors. These staff positions required more training and less supervision than a traditional nurse's position, so nurse practitioners and physician assistants were compensated at higher rates. Though these positions cost more, they allow organizations such as Kaiser Permanente to run more efficiently than many traditional medical providers. They also create career paths that encourage highly qualified nurses to stay in the profession and enable health-care providers to more effectively target their doctors at complex medical issues. The development of the positions of nurse practitioner and physician assistant is a good example of differentiating staffing and practice to meet individual needs in an effective and cost-efficient way. This type of differentiation has been confined to the healthcare industry, principally to health maintenance organizations, but perhaps those in education can draw some lessons for meeting the needs of our children with scarce resources. EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION The early care and education (ECE) community has used differentiated staffing to some extent--e.g., combining a lead teacher who has a bachelor's degree in ECE with assistant teachers who have lower-level credentials. However, a new study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), titled Losing Ground in Early Childhood Education: Declining Workforce Qualifications in an Expanding Industry, 1979-2004, indicates that there is less of this practice in place than I would have guessed. Parents can't afford to pay, teachers can't afford to stay, there's got to be a better way is cited as a common sentiment of ECE professionals, and the study's findings indicate that the industry has been unable to attract and retain qualified teachers over the past two decades. CENTER-BASED CHILD CARE The EPI study looked at center-based child care, rather than at school-based early education or home-based care, and examined data on the ECE work force from the 1979-2004 Current Population Surveys. The researchers included private, public, for-profit, and nonprofit child-care centers; Head Start programs; and stand-alone preschools and nursery schools. Losing Ground reminds readers that early childhood education outside the schools is a highly fragmented and competitive industry dominated by small firms and that families that use the services and states that subsidize the attendance of low-income children often have limited financial resources. Because of their clients' inability or unwillingness to pay higher rates, many ECE providers have not been able to raise tuition, thus limiting their ability to compensate staff at higher rates. The growth in center-based ECE providers has been tremendous, primarily because of the growing number of women working outside the home. The EPI study found that the number of center-based ECE teachers and administrators has grown from about 180,000 in the early 1980s to over 400,000 in recent years. The share of those teachers and administrators with at least a four-year college degree averaged 43% between 1983 and 1985 but only 30% over the last three years. The share with a high school education or less has grown by about 5% during that same period. Most of the decline in the education levels of ECE professionals occurred between 1984 and 1997. The hourly earnings of teachers and administrators in center-based ECE averaged $10 in 2002-04, compared to $19.23 overall for female college graduates. From 1984 to 1997 the average wage of ECE employees rose only 43 cents per hour, compared to an increase of $2. …

States’ Efforts in Improving the Qualifications of Early Care and Education Teachers

An important component of quality early care and education (ECE) is teacher training. Only 18 states require teachers in private ECE settings to undergo any preservice training, however, and there are many barriers to improving these teachers’ qualifications. Individual states are initiating various efforts that address those challenges and hold promise for improving ECE, including the provision of scholarships and financial incentives, specifications regarding the types of training ECE teachers need, and career lattices that delineate pathways for continued learning and improved practice. The article describes these efforts and summarizes the practices that seem to offer promise for improving ECE teachers’qualifications. The article also suggests topics to be considered in regard to future research.

What do teachers need? Practitioners' perspectives on early childhood professional development

Because of the link between teacher training and higher‐quality classroom practice, early childhood researchers and professional organizations have placed an increasing emphasis on all early childhood teachers—including those in early care and education (ECE) settings—obtaining a minimum of a Bachelor's degree as part of their professional development. Given the differing licensure requirements for ECE teachers, the variety of settings early childhood teachers work in, and the creativity needed to respond to the changing roles teachers play in those settings, however, this paper offers an additional perspective that is sometimes left out of the discussion regarding what teachers need: that of the early childhood practitioner. Using conversations with both a certified, public school teacher and a non‐certified teacher in a private ECE setting in New Jersey, this article reports on these teachers’ professional development experiences, as well as the implications of their experiences for future considerations of what teachers need in order to enhance their growth as educators.