California State University
Building and Supporting the Early Childhood Workforce: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities

March 3, 2006
Sacramento California

Agenda (with live links to presentations)
Key Document: Time to Revamp and Expand: Early Childhood Teacher Preparation Programs in California's Institutions of Higher Education.
Report Link: Time to Revamp and Expand (PDF, 380k)

Description

In March, 2006, Chancellor Reed convened a statewide meeting with leaders across sectors of the higher education and K-12 communities focused on Building and Supporting the Early Childhood Workforce: Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities. The meeting involved campus representatives in a conversation about the status of the preparation of early childhood professionals. Campus presidents sent teams that included deans with responsibility for academic programs in child development and early childhood education credentialing, and faculty with expertise in these areas. The purpose of this activity was to take stock of CSU efforts systemwide in this key area of workforce preparation, and to begin to develop a framework for change that is focused on meeting California's need for well qualified early childhood educators.

Dan Bellm, a Senior Policy Analyst with the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at UC Berkeley's Institute of Industrial Relations provided a keynote address that highlighted the following findings from a study of ECE teacher preparation programs in California's institutions of higher education:

• In California 136 institutions of higher education are engaged in preparing teachers to work with young children. 97 of these IHEs are community colleges, and 18 are CSUs.
• 41,000 students are currently studying ECE at a community college, and about half of these students are working toward a degree or certificate.
• 5,000 students are currently working toward completion of a baccalaureate degree at a four-year institution.
• 10 students are currently working toward completion of a Ph.D.
• 15 CSUs currently offer baccalaureate degrees in ECE
• 11 CSUs currently offer master's degrees in ECE

Researchers in this field assert that the pipeline for professionals serving the early learning population is not sufficiently robust to meet the state's current need for a well-qualified workforce. Issues of program growth, alternative program delivery systems, access, faculty recruitment and preparation, and articulation were discussed during the March 3 summit.

Approximately 130 individuals participated in the March session at the Sterling Hotel in Sacramento. Speakers included:

• Charles Reed, California State University Chancellor
• Jack O'Connell, Superintendent of Public Instruction
• Dan Bellm, Senior policy Analyst, Center for the Study of Child Care Employment UC Berkeley Institute of Industrial Relations
• Karen Hill-Scott, President, Karen Hill-Scott & Company
• Joyce Justus, Interim Vice Provost, Student Affairs, University of California Office of the President
• James Rosser, President, CSU Los Angeles
• Steven Bruckman, Executive Vice Chancellor, California Community Colleges
• Kris Perry, Executive Director, Children and Families First Commission
• Glen Thomas, Executive Director, California County Superintendents Educational Services Association
• Gary Reichard, Executive Vice Chancellor, California State University

Links to speeches and presentations can be downloaded by going to the "Agenda" page on this website. During the course of the day, groups were organized to discuss pressing issues across several policy areas. Participants were asked to identify steps that were needed at the state, institution and program levels in order to prepare and support a workforce that can meet the needs of California's preschoolers in the future. The recommendations of the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment framed the discussion for the day:

Recommendation 1: Increase resources to California institutions of higher education to:
–Expand lower-division programs;
–Develop more upper-division & graduate programs;
–Hire more full-time ECE faculty;
–Attract and retain a more culturally and linguistically diverse faculty;
–Update and revamp the courses of study in ECE that they offer.

Recommendation 2: Increase resources to California institutions of higher education to:
–Serve a diverse and rising ECE student population;
–Create new incentives to encourage students to pursue degrees in early childhood education.

Recommendation 3: Initiate a statewide process with the authority to:
–Create a blueprint for a well-articulated higher education system for ECE teachers
–Develop a comprehensive set of ECE teacher skills and competencies
–Design a relevant ECE teacher certification system
–Promote improved ECE teacher compensation

Recommendation 4: Launch a concerted effort to build public awareness of:
–The knowledge and skills required for working effectively with young children
–Why advanced levels of education are necessary & appropriate for ECE teachers;
–The need to increase compensation, to better attract and retain ECE teachers.