Why Bother With Higher Education?

New Ways of Thinking About Professional Development

A Presentation at the 2013 QRIS National Meeting

Tracey BennettVance-Granville

Community College (NC)

Camille CatlettFrank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (NC)

Aisha RayErikson Institute (IL)

What Do You Want Graduates to Know and Be Able to Do?

•Culturally responsive•Reflective of diversity in its many forms

•Extensive knowledge & skill in early childhood content•Skilled at interacting with and individualizing learning for each child•Know where and how to access resources •Lifelong learner•Self-reflective•Know that families are the first and most important teachers of every child

•Respect and support diverse roles for family members•Collaborate effectively with adults – colleagues, family members, community partners

•Know the content other colleagues bring (e.g., OT, PT, SLP) & how to integrate shared knowledge to support children & families

•Advocate•Change agent

What Do You Want Graduates to Know and Be Able to Do to Support Your QRIS?

•Possess the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to support each young learner•Be familiar with the ways in which the quality of programs serving young children is measured within the QRIS•Be familiar with standards and guidelines that are part of the QRIS (e.g., state early learning guidelines)•Be familiar with competencies that are expected of professionals working within the QRIS•Know how to connect authentic assessment results with decisions about effective instruction•Be familiar with the child and program assessment tools used in our QRIS•Be skilled in engaging and supporting the authentic participation of diverse families in early childhood programs•Respect and support diverse roles for family members

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Anecdotal Evidence

• Higher education faculty express frustration at not “knowing what is going on” and feeling out of the loop at the state level

• Early childhood program directors report that graduates are not familiar with key tools and structures that form the basic building blocks of quality

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Can you answer these questions about preservice preparation in your state? How do course offerings build knowledge, skills, and dispositions related to key QRIS structures,

frameworks, and tools? How do preservice experiences build the capacity of early childhood professionals to support

each young child and his or her family?

How do preservice field experiences expose students to programs participating in your QRIS?

Do you have a current list of all early childhood instructors, including adjunct instructors?

Do you regularly provide updates to higher education colleagues related to your QRIS?

Do you regularly invite higher education colleagues to participate in professional development offerings?

How well are higher education faculty preparing students for complex diversity?What is the research evidence?

Aisha RaySenior Vice President for Academic AffairsDean of Faculty | Rochelle Zell Dean’s ChairErikson Institute , Chicago, IL

Why bother with higher education?

Because in the United States they represent a significant repository of early childhood expertise essential to quality improvement:

Faculty and staff with knowledge and research Professional preparation

▪ Certification through degrees, licensure and certificates Training resources – print and electronic Capacity to deliver EC expertise across a state,

region or nation through distance learning Capacity to garner financial resources for training,

research, and evaluation

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Cultural Competence in EC Trainers, Coaches and Higher Education Faculty is Critically Important

Who have a deep understanding of child development

Who understand cultural models of child competence relevant to children, families and students

Who can use their knowledge of themselves (their own cultural insights)

Who can work effectively with all families

Who can teach ALL adult students effectively

Who can manage student anxiety regarding diversity

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Professional Development Systems

Fragmented PD systems across & within states

Under funded

Insufficiently aligned to teacher competencies

Insufficiently site/teacher specific

Little integration between training and EC classrooms

Need for credit bearing/anchored to credentials

Diversity in America: Young Children Leading the Way

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6.5%

14.0%

18.6%

6.4%

22.3%

Teachers (1-8)

65+

18-64

5-17

0-4Age

Source: United States Census Bureau, 2005 American Community Survey (age)Current Populations Services, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2006 (teachers)

Percent of Hispanic and or Population of Color by Age

44.9%

40.8%

32.4%

18.9% Hispanic population

17.9%

Theory, research & consensus documents in the early childhood field

1. Development occurs in the context of culture

2. Children’s cultural and language identity are essential to their optimal development

3. Children’s home culture and language should be used as platforms for teaching and learning

4. Children have a right to the knowledge and skills of power (e.g., literacy, “school English”)

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Teachers with Specific Knowledge and Skills are Critical

Children from culturally diverse communities, poor children, and children from marginalized racial groups have better educational outcomes when teachers have knowledge and practice skills that support home culture and language(Au & Mason, 1981, 1983; Dee, 2004; Knapp & Associates, 1995; Pewewardy,

1994)

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EC Teacher Preparation

Research suggests that both pre- & in-service EC teacher training have failed to prepare educators who can effectively teach children for whom English is a new language or second dialect, children of color, and children from economically marginalized communities

(Ray & Bowman, 2006; Ray, Bowman, & Robbins, 2006)

Research suggests that… …institutions of higher education

(IHEs) that teach early childhood teachers are insufficiently preparing them:

To effectively educate all children To work effectively with families & communities To use children’s home cultures, languages, dialects, and

competencies as platforms for school learning To be critical reflective practitioners regarding how their

own beliefs and biases may influence children’s learning and school adjustment

Challenges and Opportunities

Challenge: PD providers, researchers, TA providers, and policy makers—largely White, Non-Hispanic, monolingual

Challenge: Much of current policy development is “diversity neutral,” with issues of ethnicity, language, culture, ability, sexual orientation and expression, and social class not central to the work—lack of cultural competence across the field

Opportunity: Develop QRI Systems that infuse and integrate diversity in all aspects in a deep and meaningful way

Opportunity: Develop an EC and QRIS workforce that is culturally competent and diverse

Opportunity: Early childhood programs and services represent a beginning time where families and communities are seen as essential and there is a receptivity to learning and change

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Redefining Highly Qualified Early Childhood Teachers and PD Providers

Early childhood teacher certification (still a question???)

Specialized training in second language and dialect acquisition; ability diversity and inclusion; culture

Practice and clinical experiences with ‘diverse’ children

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Redefining Highly Qualified Early Childhood Teachers & PD Providers (continued)

General and specific knowledge regarding the developmental and educational needs of children with a variety of characteristics culture, race, language, ethnicity, gender, immigrants & special needs

Demonstrated ability to engage in reflection & apply reflection in their work with children/adults

Specific coursework, professional development, and practice regarding working effectively with ‘diverse’ families

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226 Accredited, 4-year EC Teacher Education Programs & Diversity

Examined 1/3 of 4-year accredited IHEs in the U.S. for diversity content in professional course work

Average of 68 hours of professional coursework

13% addressed diverse abilities; 12% addressed all other forms of diversity

7% required a student placement in a ‘diverse setting’

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State EC Teacher Standards & Diversity

Examined state EC teacher standards for diversity content

6O % of states have either EC teacher standards (N=12), or Elem. Ed with an EC endorsement (N=18)

Majority of states with EC teacher standards address diversity in less than 1/3 of 18 competency areas (e.g., working with families; literacy)

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Illinois Study of 2- & 4-year Accredited EC Programs & Faculty 4-year programs (27)

58% of semester hours of professional course work appear to not address diversity of any kind

70% offer 18 credit hours of bilingual / ESL coursework toward the Illinois Bil/ESL endorsement

2-year programs (40)

75% of semester hours of professional course work appear to not address diversity of any kind

87% have no course work on ESL or working with bilingual children

Illinois EC Faculty Study

Key barriers to effectively preparing EC professionals to educate every child: Faculty time and load Faculty discomfort with addressing issues,

especially race Small numbers of EC faculty in 2-/4-year

programs Lack of knowledge of DLLs & 2nd dialect

speakers Characteristics of students (lack of experience

with people unlike themselves)

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The ABCs of Strengthening Higher Education’s Ability to Prepare Teachers for Diversity

Redefine teacher standards to reflect expectations re. “diversity”

Statewide efforts (e.g., conferences) to support and re-educate faculty in areas of need (conducted over several years)

Pilot models that are shared across institutions and state lines

Small grants from state boards of education to support inter-institutional efforts

Create, recruit and invest in the development of a more diverse faculty and faculty with specialized knowledge

Develop legislation and policies that require all early childhood staff receive relevant cultural competency education (e.g., Minnesota’s efforts)

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Aisha Ray, Ph.D.(312) 893 7137

aray@erikson.edu

Erikson Institute451 North LaSalle

StreetChicago, IL 60654

Tools and Strategies

NAEYC: National Standards

186 degree programs at 150 institutions in 30 states 

BUILD Resources

Read All About It

Recent publications about the current content of preservice coursework and field experiences Degrees in Context By Default or By Design

Create Linkages with Higher Education Colleagues That are Explicit & Intentional Maintain and use a current faculty contact

list to support ongoing dissemination of current, accurate information

Include higher education colleagues in invitations to professional development opportunities

Offer Master Classes and targeted PD that support both what faculty teach and how they teach it

Support and Explicit and Intentional Sequence of Change

Crosswalks Sequence

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Supports for Change

Needs assessment and planning process to identify strengths, challenges and needed changes to increase reflection of and responsiveness to cultural, linguistic, and ability diversity

Syllabus deconstruction and reconstruction

Reconceptualization of field experiences

Professional development and resources to support shifts in both content and practices

An overview of the Crosswalks process may be found in Maude, Catlett, Moore, Sanchez, Thorp & Corso, 2010

Supporting Intentionality in Higher Education

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Delaware: Building Higher Education Professional Development Linkages for Early Childhood

Strategies Survey of instructors (higher education and

Training for Early Care and Education/TECE) Review of syllabi for alignment with Early

Learning Foundations and Competencies for Early Childhood Professionals

Review of field experiences Identification of areas of alignment and

opportunities to strengthen alignment Toolbox of resources

The Journey Towards Developing the CLEARR Early

Childhood Professional

Tracey BennettDepartment Chair, Education

Vance-Granville Community College, NC

Where Were We?

Awareness of the need to: Address the cultural, linguistic, and ability diversity issues of

children and families. Provide more opportunities for students to observe and

participate in a variety of centers and settings including settings with a culturally, linguistically, and ability diverse population.

Incorporate more up-to-date instructional materials (e.g., texts that provide more online experience and exposure to updated ideas, examples, scenarios, and videos)

Develop consistency across courses (online and hybrid) in both content and implementation.

Provide more opportunities for "application” or knowledge-to-practice assignments.

Incorporate and reference NAEYC Standards, DEC Standards, NC Foundations, and North Carolina Rated License.

BUT Where’s the Intentionality?

What Did We Do?

Reflected on desired outcomes Assessed and evaluated practices Deconstructed/reconstructed syllabi Expanded field experiences Offered professional development Implemented relevant approaches Honed skills

VGCC ‘s Graduate of the Future

Vision: What We Want Graduates to Know and Be Able to Do

VGCC’s Graduate

of the Future

The CLEARR Early Childhood Professional

C- Collaborative professionals with the capacity to work with diverse families and community partners

L- Lifelong learners possessing the desire for continued learning

E- Experienced in working with children of diverse backgrounds, languages, and abilities and their families; as well as capacity in learning additional communication in order to promote learning in young children; such as sign, second language phrases/words)

A- Assured in their personal capacity to become positive change agents and advocates

R- Resourceful in securing and utilizing professional resources

R- Reflective professionals who reflect on their own practice in order to promote positive outcomes for each child

Where Are We Now?

Intentional recognition and incorporation of cultural, linguistic, and ability diversity issues of children and families.

Development and implementation of an approved listing of observation and practicum field sites.

Incorporation of online video resources such as CONNECT modules.

Development and implementation of an instructor syllabi and resource site to help ensure consistency across courses (online and hybrid).

Development and incorporation of specific assessments which provide opportunities for students to make "application” of CLAD concepts throughout courses.

Incorporation and implementation of NAEYC Standards, DEC Standards, NC Foundations, and North Carolina Star Rated License.

Intentional Strategies for Shifting VGCC’s EC Department Toward Alignment with State and National Frameworks

Strategies Intentional reflection and evaluation Program faculty professional development Revision of candidate assessments

What’s missing? Statewide professional development for faculty of

professional preparation programs

Intentional Tools for Shifting VGCC’s EC Department Toward Alignment with State and National Frameworks

Program-wide required faculty and student resources

Derman-Sparks, L., & Olsen Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves. Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Foundations: NC's Early Learning Standards Milbourne, S.A., & Campbell, P.H. (2007). CARA’s kit: Creating

adaptations for routines and activities. Missoula, MT: DEC. Retrieved from http://www.dec-sped.org/Store/Additional_Resources

NAEYC Standards for Initial & Advanced Early Childhood Professional Preparation Programs

Sandall, S., Hammeter, M. L., Smith, B. J., & McLean, M. E., (2005). DEC recommended practices: A comprehensive guide for practical application in early intervention/early childhood special education. Missoula, MT: Division for Early Childhood. Retrieved from http://www.dec-sped.org/Store/Recommended_Practices

Examples of Intentionality in Coursework

Curriculum Planning:Then:

Now:

Theme

Centers

Lesson Plan

Foundations Developmental Domains

Concept

Area

Adaptations

Lesson Plan,

Activity Plans, and Unit Plans

Examples of Intentionality in Coursework

Language and Literacy ExperiencesThen:

Now:

Activity and Assignment

Based

Portfolio Development

FoundationsTheoreti

cal Perspect

ive

Best Practices

and Strategie

s

Observation and

Assessment

Examples of Intentionality in Field Experiences

Early Childhood Capstone PracticumThen:

Now:

Activity and Assignment

Based

Portfolio Development

Foundations: NC Early Learning

NAEYC Standards,

Best Practices, and

Strategies

Theoretical Perspectiv

e

Observation and

Assessment

Family Engageme

nt

Where Will We Strive to Be?

Intentional, Consistent, Informed, and Collaborative with regard to:

Providing candidates opportunities to work with diverse children, families, and community partners.

Developing the candidates personal capacity to become positive change agents and advocates and desire for continued learning.

Providing candidates opportunities to work with children of diverse backgrounds, languages, and abilities and their families

Integrating national and state standards into the curriculum Developing reflective professionals who reflect on their own

practice in order to promote positive outcomes for each child

Discussion

How are you supporting intentional connections with higher education colleagues in your QRIS?

What will you do next with the ideas you’ve heard and the resources you’ve discovered?

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“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll

get run over if you just sit there.”

- Will Rogers