Reports (Research/technical)

This report presents findings from the 2009 Montana Early Childhood Trainer/Instructor Survey. Survey participants rated the importance of 39 items in four areas related to early childhood trainers: (1) general characteristics; (2) the training topic/content; (3) adult learning principles; and (4) local community experts, specialists, and State agency staff.

This document by the National Professional Development Center on Inclusion presents a definition and conceptual framework for professional development (PD) in early childhood. Defining what is meant by PD is intended to guide efforts aimed at ensuring that the early childhood workforce is highly qualified and effective in working with young children (birth through eight years) and their families.

This 2007 Minnesota report presents key findings from a survey of parents on the factors that influence their choice of a child care provider and what they consider to be a good quality child care program. Data are intended to inform the development of a child care information/rating system.

This briefing paper informs policymakers about the level of quality observed in child care centers in Minnesota, the characteristics of programs that provide higher quality care, and the resources needed by child care centers to improve quality. Nationally recognized observational tools were used (i.e., the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised and the Arnett Caregiver Interaction Scale) to document activities and interactions and to track quality benchmarks in 100 randomly selected classrooms serving children (aged 3-5 years) in Minnesota child care centers.

This executive summary highlights the findings from an inventory of almost all of the California institutions of higher education that train adults to teach children under the age of five years, including certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and PhD programs. Findings show that in California, 136 institutions of higher education, or approximately one-half of the State's public colleges and universities, are engaged in preparing teachers to work with young children prior to kindergarten.

This executive summary highlights the findings from an inventory of almost all of the California institutions of higher education that train adults to teach children under the age of five years, including certificate, associate, bachelor's, master's, and PhD programs. Findings show that in California, 136 institutions of higher education, or approximately one-half of the State's public colleges and universities, are engaged in preparing teachers to work with young children prior to kindergarten.

This brief summarizes research that was conducted to assess the validity of the Qualistar Early Learning Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) as a tool for improving child care quality in Colorado. The QRIS includes five components that are generally agreed to contribute to high quality care: (1) classroom environment, (2) child-staff ratios, (3) staff and director training and education, (4) parent involvement, and (5) accreditation. Data suggest that much work needs to be done before such systems can be confidently designed and implemented at scale.

This study examined whether the Keystone STARS program in Pennsylvania is improving quality in participating child care programs and to determine if Keystone STARS is reversing the decline of quality in child care in Pennsylvania that was so evident in the late 1990's. Data were collected from 356 child care centers, 81 group child day care homes, and 135 family child day care homes. Programs were assessed using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) for center-based programs or the Family Day Care Rating Scale (FDCRS) for home-based programs.

Report.pdf

This report presents a range of options to improve the communication of information to the public regarding child care health, safety, and quality. The report focuses on licensed care only. Options to improve the availability of key licensing information to the public include: (1) improve communication of existing licensing information, (2) create ratings that consolidate and communicate licensing information, (3) create a quality rating system, and (4) expand on the basic quality rating system to include environmental rating scales.

This study examined the implementation of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) Quality Rating System and the impact that the process had on the classroom and teachers' beliefs and practices. Specifically, the extent to which the ECERS-R Observation System was effective in improving the quality of early childhood classrooms and the amount of training and support that was available to teachers were examined.