Supporting Early Childhood Educators Helps the Entire Community

The Council for Professional Recognition, the nonprofit organization that supports early childhood education professionals and administers the Child Development Associate® (CDA) credential, is proud to highlight new insights. Usma Mohamed, the Council’s vice president of  brand experience and marketing, recently gave these educators a chance to share their views in her doctoral dissertation: Uncertified Early Childhood Education (ECE) Teacher Perceptions of ECE Certifications: A Qualitative Narrative Inquiry Study. Usma’s study makes a strong contribution as our country continues to face a shortage of qualified early childhood teachers. And it’s an issue that has a major impact on children, as Usma points out. Teachers with specialized ECE training are better equipped to help children learn at the most formative stage in life, and the learning scaffolding these teachers provide makes a long-term impact.

But it’s another story in low-income communities like the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, where Usma conducted her research in the field. The region has lower-quality early learning programs than wealthier parts of the state. And it isn’t unique. Texas has met only four out of ten quality benchmarks for early childhood education, as defined by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). And the shortfall is especially acute when it comes to assistant teachers. In Texas, as in other states, the qualifications for assistant teachers do not meet NIEER recommended criteria like holding a Child Development Associate® (CDA) Credential™ or similar certification.

The lack of qualified assistant educators or teachers is a cause for concern, as Usma points out, since assistant teachers play a vital role in early learning settings, often sharing classroom responsibilities with lead teachers. Unqualified assistant teachers are especially common in areas, like the Lower Rio Grande Valley, which have large minority populations, high poverty rates, and lower per-capita incomes. Areas like the Lower Rio Grande Valley also have lower-quality early learning programs than wealthier parts of the state, and that’s a roadblock as the region strives to improve early learning programs, prepare children for success, and ultimately cut poverty levels down. Granted, the region is expanding access to early learning programs, but it struggles to raise their quality due to the shortage of certified teachers.

Usma explored the reasons for this roadblock through in-depth interviews with seven uncertified teachers at a preschool in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. They conveyed their thoughts by sharing their lived experiences to uncover insights to support the following questions: What perceptions do uncertified ECE teachers have toward certification training? What are uncertified teachers’ perceptions regarding the degree to which ECE certification would or would not add to their knowledge and skills? And how do uncertified teachers perceive their current ability to teach children effectively?

The stories that teachers shared revealed both personal and professional factors that deterred the teachers from pursuing credentials such as the CDA. The roadblocks to certification, as Usma learned, include time constraints, the perceived difficulty of certification, lack of awareness of credentials, and such high confidence in their teaching skills that teachers didn’t feel they needed training. In addition, strong support from colleagues and the importance of their family duties made teachers question the merits of pursuing ECE credentials. Yet they did not question the value of their profession. The stories they shared revealed the passion, pride, and sense of commitment they brought to serving young children well.

Some teachers even acknowledged that earning an ECE credential or certification would assist them in their work. And it is important for education leaders to also acknowledge the factors that can prevent many early childhood teachers from pursuing this goal. Understanding the context of their daily life and perceptions of specialized training is crucial for boosting the number of credentialed early childhood teachers. And it’s especially urgent for underserved communities both in Texas and beyond.

That will be a challenge for educators and for those who support them. Still, the effort is worthwhile. Educators with credentials produce better outcomes for children, according to the many studies that Usma cites. And she provides recommendations that can help lower the roadblocks early childhood teachers face to earning credentials. For example, states and localities can build a more qualified workforce by using block grants and funding to help educators earn an ECE certification or credential. Center directors can urge teachers to make credentials a priority and show them how it would enhance their teaching skills. Accreditation organizations can provide detailed rationales for the importance of teacher certification. Credentialing organizations can tailor their outreach to highlight specific benefits for centers, teachers, and students.

Future studies should explore incentives for uncertified teachers to pursue certification nationwide. These efforts should take account of teachers’ real-life challenges and stories, like the ones that Usma heard. Her insights contribute to an understanding of why more teachers don’t earn credentials, ways to help them succeed in doing so, and why it matters so much. Granted, early childhood teachers contend with other commitments and face constraints on their time. But Usma urges policymakers and education leaders to find ways to help more teachers earn credentials for the sake of those they serve. Qualified early childhood teachers, as she points out, have the skills to help young children someday tell success stories of their own.