Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/the-kind-of-professional-learning-early-educators-need/5024558/
Across the country, states, cities and towns are focused on creating plans and policies to improve quality and increase access to early education programs for our youngest learners, and with good reason. High-quality early education is a recognized pathway to equal opportunities for all children. Yet, the truth is that early education programs today are extremely uneven, with only two in 10 children having access to a high-quality early education experience. The success of early education initiatives rests on their quality, which itself rests on the educators on the ground. In other words, in order for these ambitious early education plans to succeed, we need to place much greater emphasis on transforming systems of professional learning and support for the early education workforce.
Well-trained and well-supported early educators are the cornerstone of high-quality classrooms filled with children who are primed to learn. Yet, early education leaders—be they state commissioners, agency directors, nonprofit executives, center directors, school principals or policymakers—often do not have the core knowledge needed to drive effective quality improvement. Today, 46 percent of early education leaders report the need for more knowledge of child development, and 37 percent report the need for more knowledge of ...