Early childhood education and care (ECEC) staff are central to promoting young children's development, learning and well-being. ECEC staff work in teams and the staff roles included these teams vary both across countries and within countries, for instance related to the size and location of ECEC centres. Initial education and ongoing professional…

Professional development for sustainability in early childhood care and education (ECCE) has been perceived by experts as education that supports the workforce to acquire the right skills, attitudes, and knowledge that resonate through their practices to the benefit of the sector. Professional development for sustainability is aimed at providing…

Expanding Quality in Infant Toddler Care is a professional development initiative that is relationship-based on every level. It is administrated by the Colorado Office of Early Childhood. Instructors get intensive training and become members of the Infant Toddler Specialist network. Every level of the EQ Initiative uses an open framework called…

Children's emergent mathematics skills are important predictors of their later achievements. We analyze and present the effects of a large-scale school readiness intervention in preschools in Denmark. We thereby provide evidence on the effects of a broadly based professional development program (with supporting materials) implemented in a…

Although childcare professionals play a crucial role in creating stimulating environments for multilingual infants and toddlers and in establishing partnerships with multilingual parents, they often feel uncertain and inexperienced about it. This is especially true in multilingual contexts where three or more home languages in a single family are…

In 2023, Wilder Research in St. Paul contracted with the Minnesota departments of Education (MDE) and Human Services (DHS) in partnership with the Minnesota Children's Cabinet to conduct an Early Care and Education (ECE) Workforce Survey. The purpose of the study is to describe characteristics of the ECE workforce, assess educators' economic…

Education, either formal or informal, plays an important role to help the masses. As such, educators, especially trainees, are entrusted to teach young generations all important elements, principles, or concepts in a wide range of disciplines. Surely, such an undertaking, especially for early childhood care and education, requires quality…

State and territory child care and early education (CCEE) leaders typically support a range of professional development (PD) opportunities for CCEE providers. This highlight presents the "Professional Development Matrix for Quality Improvement" created by Douglass, Tout, and Doyle. The matrix provides a framework for organizing and…

This research uses focus group methodology to examine how a specific subset of family childcare providers--those participating in a voluntary quality rating and improvement system and serving a high percentage of children receiving childcare subsidy--define quality. The study builds on the limited existing research about family childcare quality,…

Half of all infants and toddlers receive care in nonparental settings, such as centers and family child care (FCC) homes. On average, infants and toddlers spend more hours per week in care than preschoolers do. Yet infant-toddler care has been identified as lower quality than care for older children, suggesting that professional development (PD)…

Lately, pedagogical coaches have been deployed in childcare as a form of continuous professional development (CPD) with the aim of improving the quality of childcare. While we have a clear understanding of what coaching should involve to be effective and how it improves the learning outcomes of young children, research has failed to capture the…

ECEC-based physical activity (PA) interventions have reported modest changes; however, those that are underpinned by theory seem to report more favorable outcomes. To date, no ECEC-based PA interventions have been underpinned by professional development-focused theories, despite professional development being a consistent component in such…

State Quality Rating Improvement Systems (QRIS) can effectively support the improvement of school-age childcare programs by leveraging Program Quality Assessments (PQAs) alongside structured improvement planning and professional development. Real-world implementations in Arkansas, Michigan, and Pennsylvania underscore the impact and adaptability…

This report presents key findings from the four years of the Quality Support Program (QSP). The QSP is an initiative of, and funded by, the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Education Early Childhood Education Quality Assurance and Regulatory Services Directorate (NSW DoE), involving the delivery by Australian Children's Education and Care…

Research has established the vital role administrators play in the success and sustainability of high-quality early childhood care and education (ECEC) programs. However, many center-based program administrators assume their leadership roles by being promoted from a teaching position. Consequently, while they may assume their administrative role…