Obstacles to Developing a Strong Workforce

A growing body of research shows that access to quality early care and education (ECE) can impact children’s long-term success. Children’s brains are developing rapidly during the first eight years of life and their experiences during this formative time determine how prepared they are to succeed in school and beyond. For instance, children who do not read on grade level by the end of third grade are more likely to be held back a grade and less likely to graduate from high school.¹ High-quality education and care during the early years is essential to set children on a path for success, and yet in reality most children’s experiences are low-quality and disjointed. The risks are especially great for children from low-income families, dual language learners, children with disabilities, and children of color, who are less likely to have access to high-quality programs.

The cornerstones to any strong ECE program are caregivers and educators (both teachers and administrators) who understand early learning and child development and who can support the needs of young children. The seminal report, Transforming the Workforce for Children from Birth through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation, published in 2015 by the National Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, lays out what knowledge and skills are needed to effectively work with young children and offers recommendations for how to change the way professionals are prepared, credentialed, and supported.² The report also explains the obstacles to strengthening the preparation of this particular workforce. With varying qualification requirements across programs, states, and age groups, many educators enter the field unprepared to work with young children. Infant and toddler teachers might not have any formal education or training in ECE. While kindergarten through third grade teachers usually need at least a bachelor’s degree and teaching credential, their preparation might not be specific to working with young children.³ And the qualification requirements for pre-K teachers vary significantly among states and from one program to another. Transforming the Workforce recommends that the field gradually moves toward requiring all lead educators of children birth through age eight to earn a bachelor’s degree and specialized knowledge and competencies.

But improving the workforce is much more complex than simply raising qualifications. Because of the mixed quality of preparation programs and professional learning opportunities, a credential or degree in and of itself does not ensure better practice. Research finds that many preparation programs fail to ensure that educators develop knowledge and competencies they need to work with young children.⁴ For example, children at ages three and four should be able to develop skills in early literacy and numeracy, but they need teachers who are attuned to their abilities and can design activities that are aligned with their learning trajectories and can help them progress to new levels. Educators need programs that include relevant content on child development and early learning as well as support to translate that knowledge to practice.

With varying qualification requirements across programs, states, and age groups, many educators enter the field unprepared to work with young children.

Another key obstacle to strengthening the workforce is the current level of compensation. According to the University of California Berkeley’s Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, the average child care worker, a job description that can include one who is in charge of classrooms, still makes just over $10 per hour.⁵ And those caring for the youngest children usually earn the least. Early education teachers working outside of the public school system tend to not only have lower salaries, but also limited access to benefits like health care or paid sick leave. Poor pay and benefits discourage individuals from joining the field, make it difficult for those in ECE to pursue further education since they may be struggling to make ends meet. This contributes to high turnover, which also occurs when those who do go on to earn higher qualifications leave to work with older children and in other settings where the compensation is better.⁶