The Value of Apprenticeship

In a small-scale study described in Bridging Research and Practice, Victoria Long-Coleman notes,

“Apprenticeship has long served as a mechanism to guide the development of practical expertise of a novice under the supervision of a master practitioner. Teachers who have both content knowledge and have gained practical expertise through apprenticeships are able to interpret situations and apply their skills to increase student learning. In a nutshell, teacher education is most effective when it provides content knowledge and practice applying it in a classroom with an expert teacher (apprenticeship).

"A review of state child care center licensing requirements for children birth to 5 revealed that an apprenticeship is not mandatory for child care center teachers in any state in the United States. Instead, center directors generally hire child care teachers upon completion of a content knowledge preparation program alone."

Exploring how study participants describe their on-the-job learning, Long-Coleman concludes:

“The need for apprenticeship seems clear, given that participants described developing practical expertise primarily through trial and error and self-study. Therefore, the intentional addition of apprenticeship in any form would fill a gap in early childhood education teacher preparation, and may lead to better outcomes for children. Children would then be taught by teachers who not only ‘know what’ but also ‘know how,’ which should lead to better outcomes for children.”

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