From Shortage to Sustainability: Transforming ECSE Teacher Preparation through Project Camino

• In Event: Unforgetting Histories and Imagining Futures in Early Childhood Teacher Education

Abstract

There is a growing shortage of teachers in early childhood special education (ECSE) across the United States. In response, our study introduced Project Camino, a U.S. Department of Education-funded initiative aimed at recruiting, preparing, and retaining ECSE teachers. We present preliminary findings from the program's first year, highlighting the seminars in which preservice teachers participated and their reflections on those experiences. Our analysis offers important insights that challenge traditional approaches to ECSE teacher preparation, emphasizing the need to integrate critical perspectives and social justice into their practice experiences.

Authors

• Abigail Akosua Amoako Kayser, James Madison University

• Aja McKee, California State University, Fullerton

• Janice Myck-Wayne, California State University - Fullerton

• Rosario M. Ordonez-Jasis, California State University - Fullerton