Early Childhood Workforce and Models of Individual Professional Certification

NCCF has received a grant from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) to research issues of the early childhood education workforce and models of professional certification. NAEYC has identified as an organizational priority increasing the capacity and stability of the workforce to provide and administer high quality programs and services for young children. As part of the grant, the center is profiling the current early care and education workforce; examining existing public and private sector models that certify early childhood education personnel; evaluating various models of professional certification that could serve as examples for a new early childhood national certification program; and researching the managerial, legal and fiscal implications of implementing a credentialing program. NCCF will produce a final briefing paper with a comprehensive review of these workforce issues. The paper will serve as a resource for NAEYC’s Governing Board and staff as the association evaluates future strategic planning decisions. Our goal is to challenge the existing workforce conventions and to synthesize research and learning from the experiences of early childhood education professionals and other fields to help inform NAEYC’s deliberations about what workforce initiatives are most promising for the association’s future efforts.

Funding Source: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Contact: Sharon Lynn Kagan , Ed.D.

Current Systems/Governance Projects

Completed Systems/Governance Projects