Professional Development Incentives for Oregon's Early Childhood Education Workforce: A Randomized Study

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Early Childhood Teacher Development

Abstract

Oregon encourages all early childhood education (ECE) workers to sign up for a career lattice (a career pathway system) and offers educational incentives and college scholarships. This study used two randomized controlled trials in Oregon in 2018/19 to test whether sending emails and offering different financial incentives to ECE workers increased lattice registration and education and training levels. Sending career lattice sign-up emails had no impact on sign-up or retention. Sending monetary incentive emails had an impact on training hours but no impact on career lattice movement, continuing postsecondary education, or retention. Sending scholarship enrollment emails had no impact on scholarship use, career lattice movement, credits earned, or retention. The findings suggest that emails show promise for increasing training hours.

Authors

• Ashley Pierson, Education Northwest

• Jill S. Cannon, RAND Corporation

• Rachel M. Perera, Pardee RAND Graduate School

• Kata Mihaly, RAND Corporation

• Rebekah LeMahieu