Page 18 - Gateways for Early Educators

Gateways for Early Educators
quarters serve children not yet in kindergarten, with half of them age 2 or under, there is a great need for training in working with both the preschool and the infant/toddler population. Additionally, two-thirds care for at least one child who receives public assistance and one-quarter care for at least one child with special needs. This illustrates the need for training in working with children who live in families with multiple stressors and/or children with special needs. Formal educational attainment varies by SPA (Service Planning Area)2 with providers in SPAs 2, 5, and 8 being more likely than others to have four-year degrees. Additionally, Latina early care and education professionals have less formal education than White Non-Hispanic, African American, or Asian / Pacific Islander and educators with a high school degree or less are more likely to report speaking Spanish only or Spanish and English. Given the connection between providers’ education and training and quality of child care, these findings show a need for supporting all early care and education professionals (particularly minority women whose first language is not English) in finding accessible pathways to education and quality improvement training.
Research with center-based staff also illustrates a need for support in accessing education and training. As compared to the average Los Angeles woman, ECE teachers and assistant teachers are more likely to be under age 30 and many are able to speak a language other than English, usually Spanish. Teachers tend to be white, while assistant teachers are more diverse and more closely reflect the community. Many of the children in these centers (two-thirds) are preschool age with fewer serving infants and toddlers. Only approximately 5% report that they serve children with special needs. Therefore the educational needs of center-based staff may be different than family child care providers with a greater emphasis on the development of the preschool child and less on infant/toddler development and/or children with special needs. Data on formal education indicate that the number of early care and education professionals with formal education within each ethnic group is not always proportionate to their make up in the population as a whole. For example, of those with a BA or higher, African- American teachers are reflected proportionately, while White, Non-Hispanic and Asian/ Pacific Islander teachers are over-represented and Latinas are under-represented. This suggests the need for targeting Latina center-based teachers to support them in finding accessible pathways to formal education. xxiii
According to Kidsdata.org, there are almost 800,000 children ages 0-5 years in Los Angeles County.xxiv With many of these children in early care and education settings, there is a significant need for a highly trained workforce. As previously documented in a Los Angeles study, a large number of possible career paths exist in the Early Care and Education fieldxxv and those paths may be difficult to navigate. Given the need for highly trained early care and education professionals as well as multiple career paths within
2 A Service Planning Area, or SPA, is a geographic region within Los Angeles County. Due to its large size (4,300 square miles), Los Angeles County has been divided into 8 geographic areas. These distinct regions allow county and community agencies to develop and provide more relevant services targeted to the specific needs of the residents in these different areas.
2016
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