Center for the Study of Childcare Employment

This two-part paper examines the early care and education (ECE) and K-12 research literature in depth to assess the current state of knowledge about the effective preparation of excellent teachers, and charts a research and policy agenda for the future.

Part I: Teacher Preparation and Professional Development in Grades K-12 and in Early Care and Education: Differences and Similarities, and Implications for ResearchPart I summarizes the differences between the K-12 and the early care and education fields. We found more than enough similarities to warrant a close consideration of the combined wisdom of both fields.

Part II: Effective Teacher Preparation in Early Care and Education: Toward a Comprehensive Research AgendaPart II contains an in-depth review of our ECE and K-12 teacher preparation research and outlines what remains to be learned. It concludes with a set of key recommendations for research and policy.