3-059 - State and Local Programs to Support Quality Teaching in Early Childhood Classrooms

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Numerous studies have demonstrated that higher quality care is related to positive developmental outcomes for children, including improved language development, cognitive functioning, social competence, and emotional adjustment (e.g., Burchinal et al., 1996; Howes, 1988; Mashburn, 2008; Peisner-Feinberg et al., 2001; Weiland et al, 2013); and the benefits tend to be largest for children from disadvantaged backgrounds (e.g., Gormley & Gayer, 2005; Gormley et al., 2005; Karoly, 2009; Pianta et al., 2009). More recent studies examining the effects of quality thresholds (summarized in Zaslow et al., 2010) underscore the importance of high-quality learning environments for improving child outcomes.
But what is the best approach to ensuring that high quality early learning opportunities are available to young children? Policies at the state or local level—such as coaching programs, which have been shown to change teacher practices (e.g., Neuman & Cunningham, 2009) can facilitate improvements in teaching in early childhood classrooms or increase access to those existing high-quality programs.
This symposium brings together research on the effectiveness of programs and policies designed to increase access to high quality teaching and learning in early childhood education. We will examine three such policies and programs. We will discuss the characteristics and effectiveness of a new transitional kindergarten program; examine one state’s Quality Rating and Improvement System and observed improvements in classroom quality and children’s outcomes; and describe the rollout and results of a city-based, privately-funded coaching program for early childhood teachers, including implementation challenges and implications for policy and practice.

Sub Unit

• Education, Schooling

Chair

• Heather Quick, American Institutes for Research

Discussant

• Denise Smith, Excellent Schools Detroit

Individual Presentations

• Transitional Kindergarten as a model of high-quality early childhood instruction - Presenting Author: Karen Manship, American Institutes for Research; Jennifer Anthony, American Institutes for Research; Heather Quick, American Institutes for Research; Alex Holod, AIR; Iliana Brodziak de los Reyes, American Institutes for Research; Burhan Ogut, American Institutes for Research

• California’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS)—A Statewide Approach to Improving Classroom Quality and Child Outcomes - Presenting Author: Laura Hawkinson, School Readiness Consulting; Heather Quick, American Institutes for Research; Alex Holod, AIR

• The Excellent Schools Detroit Early Educators Excel Coach-Based Adaptive Learning Initiative to Improve Classroom Quality - Presenting Author: Sarah Mae Olivar, American Institutes for Research; Natalie Tucker-Bradway, American Institutes for Research; Denise Smith, Excellent Schools Detroit; Ann-Marie Faria, American Institutes for Reserach; Jillilan Webb, Excellent Schools Detroit