Supporting Diversity in the Early Childhood Education Workforce Through Higher Education Pathways

• In Event: Promising Practices in Early Educator Preparation: Supporting a Diverse, High-Quality Workforce

Abstract

Purpose
This presentation will highlight key design features and impacts of one program’s efforts to improve B.A. completion in Child and Adolescent Development for students historically underrepresented in higher education. The program, which includes two pathways embedded in a state university, focuses on supporting a diverse cohort of both aspiring and veteran early educators. The presenter will describe how program faculty and staff provide students with intensive supports and experience they need to graduate. She will also describe the program’s professional development and how faculty and staff examine their roles in ensuring equitable outcomes for their adult students.

Perspective
This study is guided by an ecological perspective which recognizes that a variety of home and school contexts and factors influence the development and learning of both children and adults. Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) Ecological Systems Theory emphasizes the impact of different contexts and environments on human development. Applied to early educator preparation, the ecological systems framework suggests that early educator candidate development is impacted not only by their lived experiences in various school, work, home, societal, and cultural contexts but also by the interactions between these different contexts. Bronfenbrenner’s framework points to the importance of wrap-around supports that address potential tensions between contexts for optimal educator preparation. In other words, effective educator preparation requires more than high-quality instruction.

Methods
This paper describes the results of a qualitative case study (Mirriam & Tisdell, 2015) conducted of the two pathway programs embedded in a state university. Data were collected by a team of researchers and include surveys, focus groups, and interviews with program faculty, staff, current participants, and program alumni as well as ECE community leaders and program directors. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with a semi-structured protocol and data are being coded and analyzed to understand students’ experiences and key program elements that support their academic and professional development.

Conclusions
Data reveal that some of the most impactful features of the program include the following:
• A clear pathway to a bachelor’s degree with multiple points of entry based on students’ prior education and experience.
• Collaborative structures for course development such as faculty learning communities that allow faculty to tailor courses to students’ needs.
• Teaching strategies that link coursework to practice, drawing upon the personal experiences of educators and that encourage reflection.
• Opportunities for hands-on experience in early childhood settings with a skilled mentor teacher that includes frequent, individualized feedback.
• Prioritizing relationship building by developing cohorts of students who take classes together and providing extensive counseling and individualized academic support.

Significance
This presentation will benefit stakeholders working to improve supports for a racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse workforce. The presentation will especially help teacher educators identify ways to incorporate field experiences early and allow prospective educators to apply what they learn in coursework to practice.

Author

• Lygia Stebbing, San Francisco State University