eNotes
July 22, 2016In this Issue:
- Policy Statement on Early Childhood Career Pathways Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - July 19, 2016
- Parenting Matters: Supporting Parents of Children Ages 0-8 Source: National Academies of Medicine - July 20, 2016
- 50-State Comparison: K-3 Quality Source: Education Commission of the States - July 19, 2016
- International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education - New Issue Available Source: International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education - June 2016
- Proposed Revisions to the Definitions for the Early Childhood Workforce Source: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation - July 7, 2016
- Developing Effective Quality Rating and Improvement System Scales Source: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation - July 8, 2016
1. Policy Statement on Early Childhood Career Pathways
A new Policy Statement on Early Childhood Career Pathways provides recommendations for developing and implementing career pathways to support the professional learning, practice, and compensation of early childhood educators and program directors. Learn more here.
2. Parenting Matters: Supporting Parents of Children Ages 0-8
The National Academies of Medicine convened an ad hoc committee of experts, Committee on Supporting the Parents of Young Children, to examine the state of the science with respect to:
- parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices that support positive parent-child interactions and healthy development of children ages 0-8;
- strategies for supporting parents and helping them engage in parenting practices associated with healthy child development;
- barriers and facilitators to strengthening parenting capacity and parents' participation in effective programs and services, and;
- gaps in the research on parenting.
The Committee has just released its findings and recommendations in a new report, Parenting Matters: Supporting Parents of Children Ages 0-8 (July 2016), which is intended to serve as a road-map for the future of parenting and family support policies, practices, and research in the United States across the private and public sectors within the health, human services, and education systems.
3. 50-State Comparison: K-3 Quality
Both pre-K and K-3 programs play a significant role in building a strong foundation for children's future success and it is important that a cohesive, high-quality education experience is provided within both programs. Children are at risk of losing the gains made in high-quality pre-K programs if high-quality practices do not continue during the K-3 years. This new resource explores key state-level policies that impact the quality of K-3 programs. A companion report highlights significant research findings in key K-3 policy areas.
- 50-State Comparison: K-3 Quality (July 2016)
- Companion Report: 50-State Comparison: K-3 Quality (July 2016)
- Related resource - Preschool to Third Grade: A Policymakers Guide (October 2014)
4. International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education - New Issue Available
The June 2016 issue of the International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education (INT-JECSE) (Volume 8, Issue 1) is now available online and freely accessible. INT-JECSE is an open-access, peer reviewed journal offering scholarly articles on various issues related to young children with special needs (0-8 age) and their families. View the Table of Contents with abstracts and links to the full-text articles.
5. Proposed Revisions to the Definitions for the Early Childhood Workforce
Federal statistical agencies use the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) to classify workers and jobs into occupational categories. A recently published white paper proposes revisions to the titles, definitions, and placement of the occupations involving the early childhood care and education workforce. Problems with the way workers are classified make it difficult to know the size of this workforce and its characteristics, such as level of education and training.
- Proposed Revisions to the Definitions for the Early Childhood Workforce in the Standard Occupational Classification (2016) by Richard Brandon, Margaret Burchinal, Fran Kipnis, Roberta Weber, Marcy Whitebook, and Martha Zaslow.
6. Developing Effective Quality Rating and Improvement System Scales
Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) are designed, in part, to provide meaningful information about the quality of early child care programs. A new brief demonstrates how using the principles of scale development can support the development of valid QRIS ratings. A related technical report describes the analysis in detail.
- Best Practices in Creating and Adapting Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) Rating Scale - Brief and Technical Report (July 2016) by Margaret Burchina, Louisa Tarullo, and Martha Zaslow