Walden University ScholarWorks Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection 2015 Exploring the Impact of Wyoming's Pathways to Professional Development Program on Childcare Providers and Quality Early Childcare Colleen Kay Bartlett Walden University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.edu/dissertations Part of the Adult and Continuing Education Administration Commons, and the Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching Commons This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies Collection at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact ScholarWorks@waldenu. Walden University COLLEGE OF EDUCATION This is to certify that the doctoral study by Colleen K.
Bartlett has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. James Crosby, Committee Chairperson, Education Faculty Dr. Warren Braden, Committee Member, Education Faculty Dr.
David Bail, University Reviewer, Education Faculty Chief Academic Officer Eric Riedel, Ph. Walden University 2015 Abstract Exploring the Impact of Wyoming’s Pathways to Professional Development Program on Childcare Providers and Quality Early Childcare by Colleen Bartlett MA, Lesley, 2000 BA, Metropolitan State College, 1990 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University July 2015 Abstract Childcare programs that provide high quality care can strengthen children’s early development. One component of a quality program is having providers who are knowledgeable in child development; however, despite the understanding of these known predictors of child development, Wyoming does not require childcare providers to complete any training before beginning to work with children. Guided by the constructivist theories of Piaget, Vygotsky, Dewey, and Bruner, this objectives-based program evaluation investigated the Pathways to Professional Development program to determine participants’ perceptions of the strengths and weaknesses of the program.
A researcher-produced survey was created based on the objectives of the program and consisted of open-ended and Likert scale questions. This survey was completed by 35 childcare providers who completed the 3 modules of the Pathways program. Data analysis began by identifying potential categories, comparing and contrasting emerging themes, and looking for emerging patterns in participant responses. Key results indicated that the participants of this program gained knowledge about child development and developmentally appropriate practice.
The implications for social change from this research are directly related to the early childcare providers, children, and ultimately the communities of Wyoming. By increasing the knowledge of childcare providers, higher quality care can be provided, leading to positive relationships, stimulating learning experiences, and to a greater likelihood of children reaching their full potential. Exploring the Impact of Wyoming’s Pathways to Professional Development Program on Childcare Providers and Quality Early Childcare by Colleen Bartlett MA, Lesley, 2000 BA, Metropolitan State College, 1990 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University July 2015 Dedication This is dedicated to my Dad who would have been proud of me for not giving up. Acknowledgments There have been a lot of people who played a part in my doctoral journey and I have been blessed to have many supporters.
I would like to thank my Walden University committee members, Dr. Braden, and Dr. Bail, URR, for their encouragement and support. I would also like to thank all of my Walden professors who gave me the knowledge I needed to keep moving forward and helped me believe that this would be possible.
But I owe the most gratitude to my husband Travis, my sons Joe and John, and my Mom, who have encouraged me to pursue my dreams and hung in there with me from beginning to end. Table of Contents List of Figures. iv Section 1: The Problem .1 Background of the Problem .1 Purpose of the Study .7 Definition of Terms.9 Significance of the Study .12 Review of the Literature .35 Section 2: The Methodology.37 Research Design and Approach .37 Justification for Methods Chosen .38 Role of the Researcher .42 Protection of Participants .44 i Role of the Researcher .75 Section 3: The Project .80 Review of the Literature .89 Needed Resources and Existing Supports.89 Potential Barriers and Solutions.91 Roles and Responsibilities .95 Section 4: Reflections and Conclusions .101 Project Strengths and Limitations .101 Recommendations for Alternative Approaches .103 Scholarship, Project Development, Leadership and Change .104 Reflection of the Importance of the Work .107 Implications, Applications and Directions of Future Research .112 Appendix A: Pathways Evaluation Report .129 Appendix B: Consent Form .149 iii List of Figures Figure 1. Data distribution for overall rating of the Pathways Program…………………53 Figure 2.
Data distribution for teacher ratings…………………………………………. Data distribution of what aspects of the program had the most impact………. Data distribution of participant’s degree status………………………………. Knowledge and skills gained………………………………………….
Beneficial to participants…………. Current job title……………………………………………………. Current degree status…………………………………………………….…147 iv 1 Section 1: The Problem Introduction Quality early childcare programs influence children’s early development in favorable ways. A component of a quality program is having providers who are knowledgeable in child development (National Association for the Education of Young Children, n.
Wyoming does not require childcare providers to complete any training before beginning to work with children; this lack of higher education hurts Wyoming’s children and has economic and social repercussions for our communities (Heckman, 2011). The Pathways to Professional Development Program (Pathways) was created as a quality entry-level community based training for childcare providers in Wyoming. Background of the Problem Childcare providers are expected to have the skills needed to engage children even though they may not have had any formal training. In programs that provide high quality care, the staff will supervise children and manage the way they behave, take care of their basic needs, create an atmosphere that is secure, teach listening, speaking, reading, writing and social skills, and form relationships with the children (Ivy & Schreck, 2008).
The numbers of workers needing childcare has increased; but, there is a lack of well- prepared workers. This is having an adverse effect on the amount and the quality of care that is available. A lack of adequate training and career development opportunities are factors that contribute to lower staff retention rates and a lower quality of care for the children. When 2 staff are prepared through education and training, they experience higher job satisfaction, which relates to higher retention rates and higher quality of care (Curry, Eckles, Stuart, & Qaqish, 2010).
The childcare profession has historically been a low paying profession despite the research emphasizing how critical it is to provide quality care for young children. If a program’s staff lack experience they will not be able to provide quality training and support to new employees. When compared to workers in other similar professions who care for and educate young children, childcare workers appear to be at a disadvantage. This profession will continue to deal with a shortage of workers and low quality ratings unless some changes are made (Choy & Haukka, 2010).
Childcare programs that provide high quality care impact children’s early development in favorable ways (Heckman, 2011). A component of a quality program is having providers who are knowledgeable in child development. Low pay and low employee retention rates influence the quality of childcare (Smith & Baughman, 2007). The amount of formal education that employees in an early childcare setting have is a strong predictor of their ability to provide and engage in positive developmentally appropriate activities; knowledgeable childcare providers are also less likely to obstruct children’s activities and disregard inquiries made by children (National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, 2011, p.
It is a physically and mentally demanding job that may never pay providers a livable wage with benefits. Wyoming does not require childcare providers to complete any training before beginning to work with children in a childcare setting. 3 In the state of Wyoming, the average annual income for a fulltime, year round childcare provider is $20,720, which is less than the national average of $20,940 (National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, 2011). The 2009- 2010 Poverty Guidelines stated that the threshold for poverty begins at $10,830 (U.
Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). The Wyoming Child Care Finder (2010) collected statistics from childcare providers throughout the state. According to the data, hourly pay for some employees is less than $6. Wyoming has a basic minimum wage of $5.
This makes Wyoming one of only five states with a minimum-wage rate lower than the federal level (United States Department of Labor, 2011). The Child Care Finder (2010) also compiled data about the levels of education of staff in centers. The types of centers were divided into categories, and for the purpose of this study, the results from three of those categories are discussed: Child Care Center, Family Child Care Center, and Family Child Care Home. Staff positions were organized into six groups: director or sole provider, associate director, teacher director, teacher, assistant teacher, and classroom assistant.
Twenty-seven percent of the director or sole providers had only a high school diploma or GED. Of that same group, 3% had completed their Child Development Associate Credential (CDA), 10% had a bachelor’s degree that was child-related, and 3% had a master’s or PhD degree that was child-related. Twenty percent of associate directors had only a high school diploma or GED, 10% had completed their CDA, 13% had a bachelor’s degree that was child-related, and none of the associate directors had a 4 master’s or PhD degree that was child-related. Of the teacher or directors, 12% of these employees had only a high school diploma or GED, 3% had completed their CDA, 38% had a bachelor’s degree that was child related, and 5% had a master’s or PhD degree that was child related.
Thirty-five percent of the teachers had only a high school diploma or GED. Seven percent had completed their CDA, 14% had a bachelor’s degree that was child-related, and less than 1% had a master’s or PhD degree that was child- related. Forty-seven percent of assistant teachers had only a high school diploma or GED. Twelve percent had completed their CDA, 5% had a bachelor’s degree that was child related, and less than 1% had a master’s or Ph.
degree that was child related. Sixty-four percent of classroom assistants had only a high school diploma or GED. None of the classroom assistants had completed their CDA, 2% had a bachelor’s degree that was child-related, and no classroom assistants had a master’s or Ph. degree that was child-related.
The lack of higher education of the childcare providers hurts Wyoming’s children and has had economic and social repercussions for the communities. When children are exposed to a program that provides high quality care, they have better academic outcomes, have lower rates of unemployment, and are less likely to commit crimes between the ages of 18 and 25 (Vandell, Belsky, Burchinal, Steinberg, & Vandergrift, 2010). Although a greater percentage of graduates are now attending and graduating from college, an even greater percentage is dropping out. Seventy-five percent of American youth who apply to enter the military are rejected.
One of the reasons is low cognitive capacities; 20% of the work force in the United States has such a low literacy 5 rate that they are unable to understand the instructions on a medicine bottle (Zigler, Gilliam, & Barnett, 2011). Ability gaps start to appear at a young age in the lives of young children; but, if intervention happens early enough, it can raise the cognitive and social emotional abilities of children. For many skills and abilities, later intervention may still be possible; but, it is much more costly than earlier intervention to achieve a higher rate of adult performance. The rate of return to investment on human capital is highest with children in the first five years of their lives (Zigler et al.