The public health issue: Ensuring education and care for all children, starting at birth, supports academic and social development. Early childhood education (ECE) has become part of many policy-related conversations, and lawmakers continue to consider increasing funding for the field. Maintaining a strong and prepared workforce is an essential component in ensuring high quality early childhood education for all young people in the city of Philadelphia.
Supporting and strengthening this field’s workforce assists in providing high quality education for young people in Philadelphia and nationwide.
Our contribution to the client: The Early Childhood Education Workforce Transformation Initiative (ECEWTI) is a partnership, funded by the William Penn Foundation, between PHMC’s Research & Evaluation Group, PHMC’s Early Childhood Education group, Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children and Montgomery Early Learning Centers. Our team collected data and feedback from ECE staff in Philadelphia in order to support the ECEWTI team in designing and implementing informed workforce development initiatives. We used surveys, focus groups and qualitative feedback coding, secondary data analysis, and data presentation and dissemination to shed light on obstacles reported by ECE center directors, staff and technical assistance personnel. Project findings have helped to inform the development of a strategic plan aimed at offering professional advancement and growth for the city’s ECE staff.