Studies suggest that teachers with bachelor’s degrees and specialized training in early education are more effective than those educators who don’t hold such credentials, says a report on early-childhood education and teacher preparation.
Published by PreK Now, an early-education initiative of the Pew Center on the States, the report also says that states are all over the map in how much training they mandate. Some states require no more than a high school diploma, while others require a bachelor’s degree, and in still others, it’s a bachelor’s degree plus special training or certification in early education.
The report recommends that states move toward requiring a bachelor’s degree and specialized training in early education, and it highlights some models for doing so. States should consider, for example, a tiered phase-in system to allow incremental progress in raising the number of educators with such credentials over time.
It also calls for forming stronger partnerships between universities and community providers to create avenues to early-education certification and licensure.
