Study: Failure to Train, License Child Educators a ‘Disgrace’

Training for early childhood education personnel is so fragmented and unregulated that millions of American children may be receiving inadequate care, a new study has concluded.

“The failure of most states to require and support training is a national disgrace that has serious consequences for the nation’s future,” says Gwen Morgan, co-author of the report issued today by Wheelock College in Boston. “We are putting our future generation at risk by not providing adequate training and pay for those who teach and care for our young children.”

Nationally, 11 million children are enrolled in preschool and day-care programs, and that number is growing as more mothers enter the work force.

But the report from the college’s Center for Career Development in Early Childhood Education found that most states have minimal standards--or none at all--governing the training of child-care workers and educators.

The report, based on data gathered in all 50 states, also found:

* Early childhood education training was not a condition of employment for child-care center teachers in 35 states and for center directors in 22 states.

* Sixteen states have no early childhood training certificate for public school teachers. Of the states that do have certificates, 14 do not require any experience in working with children younger than kindergarten age.

* Major gaps exist in training on diversity, on working with children of different ages and on administration.

* Family child-care providers were rarely required to undergo training before or even after enrolling a small number of children in their homes.

* State and federal funds to support training are scarce. Few states even know how much they spend on training.

* Child-care workers have little incentive to invest in their own training because of low earnings and few opportunities to advance in the field.

Noting that “California is definitely ahead of the game in terms of having more standards” (than other states), Marcy Whitebook of the Child Care Employee Project in Oakland says the lack of training and regulations is only part of the dismal picture in early child care.

Echoing a theme in the Wheelock report, Whitebook says, a “terribly low-paid work force” translates to “tremendous turnover.”

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Whitebrook says national salaries for people working in child-care centers average about $10,000. With a bachelor’s degree and some experience, that figure rises to about $16,000.

“Even if you have training and regulations in place, if you don’t compensate people, they’re not going to stay,” Whitebook says.

One explanation for the lack of child-care training standards is the cultural conviction that “families are responsible for anything involving their children before the age of 5,” according to Sue Bredekamp of the Washington-based National Assn. for the Education of Young Children.

“We’re going to have to rethink that,” Bredekamp continues, pointing out that “so many other countries recognize that investing in your citizens at an early age pays off.”

Morgan calls the two-year study, funded by a number of major foundations, a kind of red flag signaling the “crisis” in early child-care training. She says its recommendations include specialized training for practitioners already working in centers and homes, along with licensing for individual child-care practitioners and for facilities.

The Wheelock report further advocates baseline national standards for employment in all early child-care and education programs.

It calls for certification of early childhood teachers in public schools in all states, including a provision for practice teaching with children younger than kindergarten age.

In addition, it urges increased compensation for early childhood workers based on their qualifications and positions.

Finally, the researchers call on each state to set aside 5% of all state and federal funds spent on early child-care and education programs for training.

“The bottom line here is that child care in the United States, whoever runs it, is just not as good as it ought to be,” Morgan says. “And our children deserve better.”