Variation in State Early Childhood Lead Educator Qualifications: Pre-service Versus In-service Qualification, Professional Organization, and Geographical Proximity.
Saved in:
| Title: | Variation in State Early Childhood Lead Educator Qualifications: Pre-service Versus In-service Qualification, Professional Organization, and Geographical Proximity. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Rucker, Larra1 (AUTHOR) lkrucker@uark.edu, Zajicek, Anna2 (AUTHOR), Kerr, Brinck3 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Early Childhood Education Journal. Jan2023, Vol. 51 Issue 1, p67-77. 11p. 3 Charts. |
| Subject Terms: | *Early childhood educators, *Employee training, Membership in associations, institutions, etc., Professional associations |
| Abstract: | Early childhood (EC) educator qualifications shape the quality of education/care provided to children. Although past research demonstrates that EC educator qualifications are lower than recommended by research, little is known about how qualification attainment differs at the state level where policy change primarily occurs. Using restricted-access data from the National Survey of Early Care and Education, inclusive of all 50 states, the current study seeks to understand EC lead educator's qualifications. We ran a cluster analysis to understand the variation between state workforces. We found that, at the state level, EC lead educator workforces cluster in four distinct groups, which we label: the Informally-Qualified Educator, the Non-EC Track Educator, the K-12 Aligned Educator, and the Pre-Service Trained Educator. We find the latter two clusters have the highest membership in unions and professional development associations. We also identify professional development, most likely to occur as in-service training, as the most common form of qualification. Finally, an emergent finding demonstrates evidence of geographical proximity across clusters. Findings contribute to a more adequate understanding of how the EC lead educator profession is qualified and, thus, permit informed policy decisions to support educators and improve the quality of EC care and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Early Childhood Education Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
|
Full text is not displayed to guests.
Login for full access.
|
|
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 1 |
|---|---|
| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 161248419 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
| IllustrationInfo | |
| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Variation in State Early Childhood Lead Educator Qualifications: Pre-service Versus In-service Qualification, Professional Organization, and Geographical Proximity. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rucker%2C+Larra%22">Rucker, Larra</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> lkrucker@uark.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zajicek%2C+Anna%22">Zajicek, Anna</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kerr%2C+Brinck%22">Kerr, Brinck</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Early+Childhood+Education+Journal%22">Early Childhood Education Journal</searchLink>. Jan2023, Vol. 51 Issue 1, p67-77. 11p. 3 Charts. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Early+childhood+educators%22">Early childhood educators</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Employee+training%22">Employee training</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Membership+in+associations%2C+institutions%2C+etc%2E%22">Membership in associations, institutions, etc.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Professional+associations%22">Professional associations</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Early childhood (EC) educator qualifications shape the quality of education/care provided to children. Although past research demonstrates that EC educator qualifications are lower than recommended by research, little is known about how qualification attainment differs at the state level where policy change primarily occurs. Using restricted-access data from the National Survey of Early Care and Education, inclusive of all 50 states, the current study seeks to understand EC lead educator's qualifications. We ran a cluster analysis to understand the variation between state workforces. We found that, at the state level, EC lead educator workforces cluster in four distinct groups, which we label: the Informally-Qualified Educator, the Non-EC Track Educator, the K-12 Aligned Educator, and the Pre-Service Trained Educator. We find the latter two clusters have the highest membership in unions and professional development associations. We also identify professional development, most likely to occur as in-service training, as the most common form of qualification. Finally, an emergent finding demonstrates evidence of geographical proximity across clusters. Findings contribute to a more adequate understanding of how the EC lead educator profession is qualified and, thus, permit informed policy decisions to support educators and improve the quality of EC care and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Early Childhood Education Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=161248419 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1007/s10643-021-01277-z Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 11 StartPage: 67 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Early childhood educators Type: general – SubjectFull: Employee training Type: general – SubjectFull: Membership in associations, institutions, etc. Type: general – SubjectFull: Professional associations Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Variation in State Early Childhood Lead Educator Qualifications: Pre-service Versus In-service Qualification, Professional Organization, and Geographical Proximity. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Rucker, Larra – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Zajicek, Anna – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Kerr, Brinck IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Text: Jan2023 Type: published Y: 2023 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 10823301 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 51 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: Early Childhood Education Journal Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
