WHAT IS A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM? (cont'd)
2. QUALIFICATIONS AND CREDENTIALS:
A. Continuing Education Requirements
One of the most important determinants of program quality is having educated and
qualified practitioners who interact with children and families and who ensure the
provision of quality developmental and learning experiences and services.
Various early childhood sectors have regulations and performance standards that
address the required qualifications for the different levels of professionals in
these programs. Additionally, professionals in the field are required to participate
in ongoing professional development to remain in their positions.
-
Early Childhood Licensing Regulations
- Public School Regulations
- Head Start Performance Standards
- Early Intervention Regulations
- Private Academic School Regulations
B. PENNSYLVANIA PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES:
In the belief that practitioner quality contributes to better educational and service
outcomes, Pennsylvania has embarked upon multiple professional development activities
and pathways to link professional development of early childhood practitioners and
improved child outcomes. The Pennsylvania Key provides statewide leadership in collaboration
with the Office of Child Development’s Bureau of Early Learning in the development
of an integrated system of program quality improvements and professional development
activities and supports. These professional development activities include
the Keystone STARS program, the Environmental Rating Scales (ERS), the Facility
Professional Development (FPD) plan, Technical Assistance (TA) System, Mind in the
Making, School-age projects and the Infant-Toddler Mental Health project.
Keystone STARS
Keystone STARS is an important part of Pennsylvania's Early Learning System.
Launched in 2002, STARS is a quality improvement program for early learning programs
and practitioners. The Performance Standards, which are the foundation of
the program, promote the fact that professional development is an integral factor
in providing quality early childhood and school-age programs for children.
The program acknowledges and encourages the ongoing education and educational accomplishments
of early childhood and school-age practitioners. Certification serves as the base
from which program quality is measured through performance standards, practitioner
credentialing and accreditation. The Performance Standards work to improve
the quality of the program in several different areas, including staff qualifications
and professional development linked to Pennsylvania's Career Lattice; the early
learning program inclusive of health and safety, curriculum and assessment; partnerships
with family and community, transition and collaboration practices, leadership and
management.
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Environmental Rating Scales (ERS)
The Environmental Rating Scales are national standardized tools designed to assess
process quality in early childhood and school age programs. Process quality
consists of the various interactions that take place in a classroom between teacher
and children, support staff, parents and adults, among children themselves, and
interactions children have with the materials and activities in the environment.
It also includes features such as space, schedules and materials that support the
interactions and children’s learning. There are different Environmental
Rating Scales based on the age of the children and setting of the program.
The Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale (ECERS) is for pre-school children,
the Infant-Toddler Environmental Scale (ITERS) for infants and toddlers, Family
Day Care Environmental Rating Scale (FDCERS) for home-based programs, and the School
age Care Environmental Rating Scale (SACERS) for school age programs.
[Click HERE to learn more]
- An ERS assessment helps early learning programs learn valuable information about
the strengths and areas of needed improvement in each classroom and age group.
- The rating scales assess the following quality indicators – health and safety, building
positive relationships with children, building positive relationships with families,
and providing opportunities for learning and development.
- ERS contains a set of items rated from 1 (inadequate quality) to 7 (excellent quality)
- Practitioners, directors, administrators and agencies that provide technical assistance
and oversight to early learning programs, as well as researchers can use ERS assessments
to determine areas of high quality, areas of need in classrooms, and program quality
over time as well as factors that are related to quality.
- ERS is linked to the Keystone STARS continuous quality improvement program at STAR
2, 3 and 4 levels.
- At STAR Two a childcare center or group home provider must complete an ERS self
–assessment.
- At STAR Three or Four practitioners and administrators must participate in a Keystone
STARS ERS assessment and achieve a defined ERS score.
Facility Professional Development
Professional development is an essential component of continuous quality improvement.
Early childhood and school-age programs enrolled in Keystone STARS use information
from individual staff’s Professional Development Records to identify the professional
development needs of the director/administrator and/or staff in the facility as
part of developing their quality program. Programs participating in Keystone
STARS complete and submit a Facility Professional Development (FPD) form annually
to their Regional Key that details the professional development needs for the director
and/or staff in areas pertaining to the Core Body of Knowledge.
The information from the Facility Professional Development forms is used by the
Regional Keys to prepare the Professional Development Calendars, organize professional
development events and develop quality supports to programs.
STARS Technical Assistance (TA) System
STARS Technical Assistance (TA) is a specialized consultation service available
to support the programs in the Keystone STARS quality improvement program who are
working to achieve higher STARS levels. Technical assistance may take many
forms, including individualized and on-site assistance to facilities aimed at helping
them achieve a specified knowledge area of performance expectation of the Keystone
STARS Performance Standards.
The Mind in the Making Project
Mind in the Making is a new multi-faceted national communications initiative in
learning, created by the Families and Work Institute and New Screen Concepts.
Its purpose is to share the science of early learning with all those who care about
children’s learning and development. Current early childhood research indicates
that the public is increasingly aware that children are born learning and that children’s
early experiences make a difference in their readiness for school and later success
in school and in life. The partners in Pennsylvania’s Mind in the Making include
the Families and Work Institute, the master learning facilitators from the Regional
Keys and Early Intervention Technical Assistance (EITA) and the director learning
facilitators in Keystone STARS programs. Pennsylvania implemented seven Mind
in the Making projects in the six Regional Keys in the 2005/2006 fiscal year.
Approximately seventy early childhood sites participated in the Mind in the Making
project.
The purpose of the Mind in the Making Project is to:
- Encourage responsive and reflective teaching and learning based on the importance
of relationships and integrating young children’s social, emotional and intellectual
(SEI) development.
- Bring credible research in ECE to practitioners in the field.
- Engage practitioners as learners.
- Build and strengthen the professional development instruction, facilitation and
technical expertise available in the state.
- Create multiple layers of learning teams to enhance practice and assimilation.
- Demonstrate the effectiveness of a model for educating the professional development
instructor.
Pennsylvania School-age Projects
Founded in 1986, Pennsylvania’s Regional School-Age Child Care Projects provide
professional development and technical assistance supporting both public and private
after-school programs across the state. The six School-Age Projects work to sustain,
enhance, develop and expand high quality and innovative out-of-school time programs
by using strategies, tools, and processes grounded in best practices, research,
state and national standards. The School-Age Projects provide an extensive calendar
and variety of professional development opportunities, on site-technical assistance,
program improvement and accreditation support. Each Project also has an extensive
collection of after-school resources made available to practitioners through a resource
lending program.
The Regional School-Age Projects service delivery areas mirror those of the Regional
Keys and are administered by the following agencies: Northwest Institute of Research,
Northwest Region; YMCA of Pittsburgh, Southwest Region; Community Services for Children,
Northeast Region; Montgomery Early Learning Centers, Southeastern PA SACC Project,
Southeast Region; Child Care Consultants, South Central Region; and the Central
Intermediate Unit, Central Region.
Infant-Toddler Mental Health Project
The infant/toddler mental-health project, funded through a Heinz grant, will occur
over a two-year period and will involve assessment of current resources including
the identification of gaps in service delivery, a compilation of strengths and needs
within the system, and final recommendations for improvement to the system.
Each county within the Western Pennsylvania region, as well as South Central counties
will be involved in this effort to build a cross-systems approach to service delivery,
thus increasing the coordination, collaboration, and communication of all entities
involved in promoting the social-emotional development of our youngest children
and their families.
Outcomes of the project will include the creation of a resource directory and guide
for accessing services for infants and toddlers, increased professional development
opportunities, greater support to all practitioners who play a role in the healthy
development of young children, all of which will lead to the promotion of infant/toddler
mental health. It is our goal that the project will be sustained and replicated
across other regions of the state.
C. CREDENTIALS AND CERTIFICATION:
A credential is a document certifying that an individual has met a defined set of
requirements such as related skills, core knowledge and competencies, learning objectives
established by the grantor of the credential. Among the credentials and professional
certification in the PA Keys to Professional Development System are the Director
Credential, the Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential, the School-age Credential,
Teacher Certification and Early Intervention Qualifications and Certificate of
Competency.
Pennsylvania Director Credential
As Pennsylvania continues to invest in early childhood education and school-age
programs, it is critical that both fields seek to expand leadership opportunities
and promote the professional development and competencies of directors and administrators
who administer these programs. The Pennsylvania Director Credential is designed
to validate skills necessary to administer high quality early childhood and school-age
programs in the commonwealth. The Director Credential is earned through demonstration
and validation of accomplishments in eight core competency areas of the Pennsylvania
Core Body of Knowledge (CBK).
The Director Credential acknowledges that directors working in the early childhood
field who have obtained the credential can do the following:
- Plan and implement developmentally appropriate early learning programs for children
and families.
- Develop and maintain effective and efficient early childhood program.
- Plan and administer systems that effectively implement program vision, mission,
goals and objectives.
- Administer effectively personnel management and staff development programs.
- Develop and maintain the physical environment.
- Develop and foster good family and community relations.
- Have the legal and regulatory knowledge necessary for effective program management.
- Have good knowledge of and apply financial management tools.
- Advocate for and influence early childhood policy that affects the program.
The Pennsylvania Director Credential also acknowledges personal and professional
development as well as professional contributions of early childhood and school
age directors and administrators to the field. The Director Credential can
be earned in one of two ways:
- Enroll in a Director Credential course in an approved college or offered by an approved
professional development organization (PDO)
- Submit a portfolio for assessment in lieu of coursework
[Click HERE to learn more to learn more]
Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential
Children’s early learning experiences in the critical early years can increase their
confidence and readiness for elementary school. Families place great trust
in the staff of early childhood programs and practitioner qualification and performance,
in part, determines the quality of children’s early learning and developmental experiences.
Early childhood practitioners demonstrate their skill in working with children and
their families by successfully completing the CDA assessment process. The
CDA Competency Standards and Assessment System support quality early childhood programs
by providing standards for professional development instruction, evaluation, and
recognition of practitioners based on their ability to meet the unique needs of
the children they work with.
Working towards earning a CDA Credential offers practitioners the opportunity to:
- Self-reflect by looking at their work in relation to national standards.
- Receive feedback and support from experiences practitioners who are knowledgeable
about early childhood education and child development.
- Acquire applicable knowledge and competencies used in informing practice.
- Improve their skills in ways that are beneficial to children and satisfying to them.
- Earn a nationally recognized Credential.
Pennsylvania continues to invest in and offer support to early childhood practitioners
working towards their CDA Credential. Financial support is available through
the six Regional Keys, the PA Keys to Professional Development Voucher System and
T.E.A.C.H Scholarships.
Pennsylvania Teacher Certification
The Department of Education (PDE) sets the qualifications for teacher certification
and certifies teachers to teach in Pennsylvania’s public school system and in private
academic schools. There are currently two levels of certification in this
system:
Level 1: The initial Certificate awarded which must be converted to Level II certificate
within six years.
Level II: 24 post graduate college credits in education must be completed in order
to convert a Level I Certificate to a Level II.
With the increasing emphasis to boost student outcomes and improve the capacity
of teachers to meet the needs of all children, the Pennsylvania Department of Education
(PDE) is focused on creating a system of teacher education and professional development
that is grounded on current research in child development, aligned with state academic
content standards, and meets the requirements of federal and judiciary mandates.
In 2004, the Pennsylvania Department of Education began a process to upgrade the
Early Childhood Education (ECE) and Elementary Education (EL ED) Guidelines that
directs teacher preparation programs in Institutions of Higher Education.
Recognizing the long term impact of early education experiences documented in years
of research, a goal was set to advance children’s educational and developmental
outcomes by strengthening Early Intervention, implementing pre-kindergarten programs
and expanding full-day kindergartens An important factor in achieving
this goal is to ensure that teachers of young children have the essential knowledge
and skills required for the early education and child development.
After careful consideration of the research and needs of young children by the Early
Childhood Committee, it was determined that it would benefit the Pennsylvania educational
system to move the teacher preparation structure from a system that trains generalists
to one that provides specialized knowledge and skills appropriate for the age range
of children being taught. Candidates in an ECE teacher preparation program
should gain expertise in child development, emergent literacy, diagnosis, early
intervention, and developmentally appropriate instruction in academic subject/core
content areas.
Following the deliberations of the Guidelines Committee, the Pennsylvania Department
of Education has made some recommendations for the revision of the Teacher Education
Program Guidelines. Among the recommendations are:
- The creation of two distinct teacher certificates, increasing expertise in Early
Childhood Education, Pre K – Grade 3, with an emphasis on Learning to Read, and
Elementary Education, Grads 3 - 6, with an emphasis on Reading to Learn.
- In order to meet high content and methodology standards, all Early Childhood
Education and Elementary Education program enrollees will fulfill a Pre K-6 Special
Education Program.
If the above recommendations are passed, they will be applicable to future teacher
education candidates. The Department of Education hopes that by creating a
public school system that is rich in early childhood education and developmentally
appropriate curriculum, more children can be assisted earlier, which improves their
opportunities for a successful transition to higher levels of learning.
Early Intervention Professional Qualifications and Certification
Pennsylvania provides early intervention services and supports at no cost to families
of infants and toddlers with disabilities and at-risk children in order to maximize
the child’s developmental potential. Service planning and delivery are developed
in partnership between families and early intervention personnel which is grounded
on meeting the unique needs of the individual child, addressing concerns and priorities
of each family and building on family and community resources. Individuals
working in the Early Intervention system must meet the qualifications and requirements
as defined by the Early Intervention System Act.
Personnel employed by the Department of Education (PDE) funded mutually Agreed Upon
Written Agreement (MAWA) Early Intervention program serving eligible children with
disabilities, ages three through five, must have one or the following:
- An existing PDE Public School Instructional I or Instructional II Certificate in
Special Education or Early Childhood Education with the exclusion of Private Academic
School Certification, or
- A Certificate of Competency, which is limited to those employed by private provider
agencies who provide early intervention services and programs to children with disabilities
via subcontract with a MAWA Agency. The Certificate of Competency permits
employees of subcontracted agencies to implement existing Individualized Education
Programs (IEPs) developed by the MAWA Agency on behalf of the MAWA Agency.
Certificate of Competency are not transferable from one agency to another.
The Certificates of Competency are also reviewed annually.
Pennsylvania School-Age Professional Credential
The Pennsylvania School-Age Professional Credential is administered
by the Pennsylvania Key and will be piloted through six regional school-age projects
in FY2006-07. It has been developed to promote quality services for children and
families by providing specific standards, training, and evaluation of school-age
practitioners. It is an opportunity for individuals working with school-age children
(5-12 yrs.) to gain professional recognition, demonstrate competence and positively
impact child outcomes.
The PA School-Age Professional Credential is modeled after the Child Development
Associate (CDA) Credential. Candidates participating in the SAC Credential
process must:
- Meet eligibility requirements which include working in a Department of Public Welfare
regulated facility providing care to school-age children (5-12 years-old); a high
school diploma or GED credential; and have worked 480 hours with school-age children.
- Demonstrate 120 hours of coursework addressing the thirteen (13) Functional Areas.
- Collect information to include the following:
- Portfolio – contains an autobiographical statement, a program description,
and three written examples of his/her competence in each of 13 Functional Areas.
- Resource File - A collection of thirty-three (33) resource items. These items
are not to duplicate items in the Portfolio.
- Observations – Three observations of the Candidate are conducted [by Advisor,
Parent Community/Representative and SAC Assessor] while working with children of
this age group.
- Surveys - The Candidate must coordinate with the Parent/Community Representative
the distribution and collect family questionnaires.
- Participate in a Local Assessment Review Meeting. The Candidate and the SAC Assessor
meet to review and discuss the information collected about the Candidate. The SAC
Assessor will conduct an observation of and interview with the Candidate. The Candidate
has an opportunity to orally present his/her learning as demonstrated in their Portfolio
and Resource File through an interview process.
D. Pathways to Qualifications, Degrees and Credentials:
Articulation agreement
There is a momentum in Pennsylvania for early childhood professionals to further
their education by earning CDA Credentials, School-age credentials, Bachelor’s and
even Master’s degrees in child development or early childhood education. Additionally,
Keystone STARS requires more early childhood and school-age practitioners to earn
or pursue college degrees. As these practitioners further their education,
they often attend more than one higher education institution to earn their baccalaureate
degrees and transferring credits between colleges becomes a major concern.
The goal of an articulation agreement is to facilitate the educational advancement
and career mobility of early childhood professionals as a way of improving the quality
of early childhood professionals and ultimately child outcomes.
Due to the growing recognition that children’s early learning experiences are crucial
to their later success in school and life and that professional development of practitioners
make a difference in contributing to the preparation of children for later success;
the Office of Child Development and the PA key through the six regional Keys are
working with the higher education community to eliminate barriers to the educational
advancement of early childhood professionals. One such effort is through articulation
agreements among levels of higher education to accept credit for courses taken at
these institutions. Currently there is no uniform articulation approach in
Pennsylvania. However, some four year colleges do negotiate articulation agreements
with nearby two year colleges. In general many institutions have transfer
agreements and many community colleges post information about their transfer agreements
and the State’s Academic Passport program on their college websites. Some
two year colleges also offer assistance to students through transfer counseling
services.
E. Professional Development Registry
An early childhood professional development registry can be both part of the Qualifications
and Credentials and the Quality Assurance components of a professional development
system. Practitioner or Professional Development registries contain databases
that track practitioners’ completed professional development experiences which can
be an integral part of pathways that lead to degrees, credentials and qualifications.
Professional Development Instructor (PDI) registries, a database of professional
development event instructors, can be part of instructor approval processes, which
is a component of quality assurances.
The professional development registry for early childhood and school-age practitioners
serves multiple functions:
- Improve the status of practitioners and professionalize the early childhood and
school-age fields.
- Provide formal documentation of practitioner experience, education and professional
development showing titles, topics and dates of all professional development instruction.
- Track and recognize professional growth, career development and educational attainment
of practitioners.
- A tool for the professional development and career planning of practitioners.
- Collect and document professional development information and monitor the effectiveness
of the professional development system.
- Identify professional development and education gaps and develop new opportunities
for learning.
- Tracks and documents educational milestones in the field.
- Track demographic information on early childhood and school-age issues, including
need, turn-over, quality, and availability.
- Use documented information to provide career counseling, mentoring and assessment
to practitioners to facilitate their individual professional growth.
The Pennsylvania Keys to Professional Development Practitioner Registry
is an on-line database system that records the information obtained on professional
development event forms. The information includes: practitioner’s personal
and employment information, professional development information (title, topic,
hours of instruction, and code). Information on the on-line registry is accessible
to individual practitioners, DPW and PA Key and Regional Key staff via secure pass
code access. Pennsylvania also maintains an on-line database of all PQAS (Pennsylvania
Quality Assurance System) approved professional development instructors.
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