ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

i think the most likely correlation between teacher "training" and quality was missed entirely by the researchers...
from my experience, formal education correlates far less with quality than "ongoing professional development"... in other words, teachers with less formal education that may, however, participate regularly in professional development opportunities, workshops, professional conferences, etc, are far more likely to remain current and abreast of best practices as compared to more highly educated colleagues that do not participate in professional development opportunities, or who participate only in highly limited, defined, proscribed or scripted trainings.
teachers that participate in NAEYC, NAFCC, or other professional conferences and workshops demonstrate a commitment to children beyond degrees, age-of-child considerations, and societal status. in california, although Title 5 programs have more stringent professional development requirements, it is actually in the Title 22 programs that teachers actively seek out for themselves professional development opportunities.
in fact, at workshops that i have presented to, it is often the "better educated" teachers that resist progressive strategies. "we have to follow the curriculum", is what i often hear.
researchers would do well to consider non-formal learning opportunities when researching quality outcomes in early care and education studies. i dare say they will be surprised by what they discover, and what we in the classroom already recognize about ourselves.
gregory uba
beach cities association for the education of young children - president and public policy chair
region public policy representative for the california association for the education of young children

In as much as higher education may not guaranty quality education when it comes to preschool, teacher education should not be over looked. Ignorance is very expensive.It is true that it takes more than higher education to teach preschoolers. It will be very good to consider other variables such as interest, teacher's readiness/preparedness, leve of motivation and love of children and dsegree of patience/tolerance besides teacher's level of education.

I was not surprised to see there is not a concrete path between teacher education and a quality classroom. I am a director of a large “5 star” center in NC. I was in the “Regs and Stds Task Group” that developed the Why the Education of Early Childhood Teachers Matters“attachment used in your article. An important note is that a percentage of task group did not agree with the position statement. For the following reasons:

1. I see no difference between my staff that are degreed and non-degreed.
2. What matters is enthusiasm and genuine care for children.
3. In NC our rated license includes an outside independent assessment of the classrooms and the degreed teachers are NOT getting higher scores than the non-degreed teachers. At times, lower scores for the degreed staff.
4. The degreed staff can have the opinion that they are educated and know what to do, thus turning a blind eye to suggestions.

I think I should mention that I believe in education. I have a Masters Degree in Early Childhood, but my practical hands on experience prove to me that what counts is the enthusiasm, training and supervision of staff and not education!

My center provides carre for children 4 and under. Ga. has a lottery funded pre-k4 program. I do not object to education I comend those who further their education. I am 62 years old and have been awarded local, state and natiional recognition in the field of childcare. I do not have a BA and I love my work with children and have studied and read on my own. I have been to many trainings and conferences dealing with childcare. I was not given the opportunity to get a degree. I feel that each person as an individual should be looked at on their own merit. Children do not begin life at age 4. What comes before is just as important if not more so than formal school education. Giveing children the opportunities to learn from birth in and safe, clean, loving environment sets up the rest of thier learning experience. Please do not forget about the educators for under 4. Sometimes formal education is not available or affordable to child care providers in the home. We have to be in the work place during school hours. Online courses should be set up for those of us who would like to further out education and get that piece of paper that so many people feel is so important. If uou do not have that diploma you are considered unprofessional and looked down upon. I feel I am truly a professional provider of children, families and community as a mentor. Studies are wonderful, but where do they rreceive this info. How many people are they surveying. Are the parents of these children involved in the results. I have never been asked to participate in a survey of this kind. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to express my opinion. by the wey My family has 7 educations at different levels of education from pre school to adult education. I had most of them in my care as children. All but one has a Masters or Doctorate and one is in the process of her specialist degree. Ann Brinson

The authors of the Child Development paper CCIE has featured are forthright in saying that "the results from this study must be interpreted cautiously and that they raise more questions than answers." Every study has limitations and this particular study is trying to do something that is very difficult, estimate a causal model, or educational production function, for a process about which a great deal is unknown. That said, I would add a few things to the authors' caveat.

1. A simple statistical test of the number of associations between a BA and child outcomes that are positive rejects the hypothesis that there is no association. In other words it is highly unlikely that the number of positive associations found across the 7 data sets in this paper would be found by chance. Thus, the overall evidence from this paper is not as negative as the authors indicate and actually contradicts the view that this paper shows "no association" between the teacher having a BA and children’s learning.

2. There are many ways to fail to find an association. The approach used in this study frequently fails to find associations between just about any program characteristic and child outcomes. This may say more about the limitations of education production functions than about programs. Note that this study reports no association at all between education and observed quality or child outcomes. If one concluded from it that a BA was not of value, one would have to conclude similarly that no education at all beyond a high school diploma or GED was of value for preschool teachers.

3. A quantitative review of the larger literature finds that the average effect of a BA on quality and child outcomes is small, but that very large effects tend to be limited to programs where teachers have a BA. This suggests that higher levels of teacher education are necessary, but not sufficient, for highly effective preschool education. Such a conclusion is not really at odds with what the authors of the Child Development paper conclude:
A working paper is available at:
http://nieer.org/docs/index.php?DocID=4

My experience and observations convince me that the two most important indicators of quality in the classroom (with any age group) are:
1. What the teacher knows/understands about human development and age-appropriate practices, and
2. Effective communication skills.

The teacher who has both of the above qualities, even if she didn't get through high school, can be as good in the classroom as someone who has a Ph.D. The teachers who have one without the other are more effective doing something besides working directly in the classroom.

thank you for clarifying the article on Quality as related to education. I was disturbed by it since I had read some of the various studies when I was teaching at a community college. Quality depends on several elements as I see it. the list that I think makes themost sense comes from several sources including High/Scope Educational Research Foundation and Abt Associates among others.
(Much abbreviated here.)
1.Developmentally appropriate curriculum.
2.Supervisory support and inservice training.
3.Low enrollment limits/adequate number of adults
4.Staff trained in Early Childhood Develoment.
5.Parents involved as partners with Program Staff.
6.Sensitivity to All of family circumstances.
7.Developmentally appropriate evaluation
processes.
I think there are so many ways that adults learn and good teachers come in so many styles and backgrounds. The levels of education are not as important as the content of the training curriculum andthe attitudes of the teachers of teachers.
Katie Gerecke

There is no mention of Early Childhood Education Diploma graduates teaching preschoolers as this program, atleast here in Manitoba is geared especially for preschoolers. I have taught preschool for 10 years and have great success with children going into Kindergarten. I know that some Bachelor of Education degrees don't even focus on children under 6! How is that beneficial to 4 year olds who are developmentally different than a 6 year old!! Please give mention to graduates who have done the 2 year programs as they are just as good, if not better than the BAEducation!

I found that the two articles about formal training to be consistent with what I am reading in the book: "Critical Issues n Early Childhood Professional Development" (Zaslow & Martinez-Beck.)

I am using the book to inform my work as an adult educator and consultant.

This information raises many important questions and it seems our field needs to examine professional development and formal education more closely.

I am interested in finding out about current studies regarding this.

My experience has been that the quality of early childhood teachers is usually high when they are educated in a good early childhood program. If, however, the program is mediocre or poor, the teacher is also usually mediocre or poor.

Other factors that influence teacher quality are her (or his) upbringing and temperament. Some adults find it very difficult to use the developmentally appropriate approach. (I once heard of a teacher who came from a good ECE program, but, when faced with a few 4-year-olds with minds of their own, told them that they had to do what she said because she was the teacher. Within a day or two, a very manageable group of children had been turned into a group of rebels. As one child told the director who asked why she wasn't cooperating with the teacher, "She doesn't listen to me, so I won't listen to her!")

Reggio Emelia schools once did - and still may (I haven't checked) - prefer to do their own teacher education. I have seen excellent teachers who have had no formal education, but have worked for years in a well run program with a knowledgeable director who provides good supervision and ongoing professional development.

These factors are likely to be major contributors to the mixed results seen in the studies.

Janet Sherman
Retired child care administrator

I have been working with children for 25 years. I have worked with infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and after school children over the years. I worked for 8 years in a school readiness program in Nova Scotia. I have my ECE. I feel extremely lucky to now be working with Parents and Children. Over the years I have seen many workers and students. The one that I find have the most impact on the education of the children are the professionals that aren't scared to go outside the box. They know their children, they know their parents, their home environments. They know how to reach these children and best stimulate/motivate them to reach their highest potential. There is communication, respect and consistency between home and school. Most of these people didn't even have ECE just passion for what they did and knowledge of the children, families and communities. I enjoy and look forward to each day knowing I am going to MAKE a positive impact on a family. Educating and supporting both parents and children in all they do.

This is an important subject and merits an op-ed. I'd suggest that you publish the views of NIEER. The institute has undertaken much research on this subject.
Many thanks.

John Bennett