Developing a High-Quality Workforce & Professional Development

Last Reviewed Date
January 24, 2023

High-quality early childhood education begins with a high-quality workforce. Developing a quality workforce is an intensive, ongoing process that involves recruitment, apprenticeship to training, retention, and professional development. This page offers a wide range of frameworks, briefs, webinars, expert presentations, blogs, and other resources about developing, improving, and retaining a quality workforce. It also highlights successful approaches used in states across the country.

Early Childhood Teacher Apprenticeships in a Mixed Delivery System Webinar

The early childhood apprenticeship webinar examines different models on how to implement an apprenticeship program within a mixed delivery system.

PDG B-5 TA Center 2020 Annual Meeting - High-Quality Workforce Strand Opening Session

This session reflected on the latest national and state efforts to tackle the most challenging workforce issues facing the field. 

So How Do You Do Pre-K Online?

This blog describes how one NYC preschool transitioned to online learning in spring 2020.

Tips for Managing Distance Learning in Preschool

This blog written by a preschool education director who shares what her school is doing to keep kids’ screen time to a minimum while fostering play-based learning at home.

Supporting the Continuation of Teaching and Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This annotated list features resources about online learning.

Staff Recruitment and Retention

This research to practice brief highlights strategies to address staff turnover, provides examples of state systems and policies that support the recruitment and retention of a highly qualified workforce.

System Framework Personnel / Workforce Component

This framework identifies key indicators and elements of an effective high-quality ECE special education professional development /workforce system.

Using Early Educator Central in Training and Technical Assistance

This brief describes the Early Educator Central: Pathways to Credentials and Degrees for Infant-Toddler Educators website, which highlights PD resources for infant and toddler ECE professionals.

Developing a Statewide Network of Infant/Toddler Specialists

This guidebook explores the issues that have contributed to the development of infant/toddler specialist networks including the research and context behind this strategy.

Competencies of Infant and Toddler Teachers and Caregivers: A Compendium of Measures

This report provides explains essential competencies for teaching and caring for infants and toddlers that are needed to support children’s optimal development.

Supporting the Infant -Toddler Workforce: A Multi-Pronged Approach Is Urgently Needed

This blog highlights how the recent expansion of the CCDBG funds provides an opportunity to invest in a multi-pronged strategy that supports the teachers of our youngest children.

Early Childhood Workforce: Strategies for Developing, Improving, and Evaluating Higher Education Articulation Agreements

This guidebook explains how articulation work connects to two recommendations in the Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation report.

Early Care and Education Coaching: A Closer Look at Coaching Models in Child Care and Head Start

This brief offers strategies and resources to promote systemic coaching approaches for state, territory, or regional considerations.

Early Childhood Workforce: Registries

This guidebook explains how an early childhood workforce registry functions to allow states, regions, and practitioners to track professional development achievement and plan for future training.

Professional Development System Frameworks

This web page that contains a summary of resources that support defining, building, and sustaining a professional development system framework for a state’s early care and education workforce.

Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators

This position statement describes the professional standards and competencies for early childhood educators to effectively promote the development, learning, and well-being of all young children.

 

Early Childhood Workforce Qualifications Calculator

This web-based tool that can be used to calculate the funds needed to increase workforce qualifications.