Professional development refers to the process of acquiring new knowledge and skills that relate to one's job, duties, or career path. It encompasses all types of learning opportunities, ranging from formal coursework in college, workshops, and conferences to more informal learning opportunities set in practice.
Professional development systems provide consistent and uniform standards for early childhood education (ECE) programs and guide implementation of high-quality services for all children. The systems are designed to work across all sectors of private and public early education and care. Comprehensive systems address many areas of requirements and standards.
Standards and requirements may include registries, alliances, quality ratings, and credentialing and licensing requirements. They inform the nature and scope of professional development at the national, state, territory, and local levels. A sustainable system for professional development motivates achieving excellence in early childhood programs for all young children. Most states have their own professional development systems.
The Office of Head Start (OHS) has prioritized strengthening the early childhood birth to 5 workforce as one of its goals. Professional development systems promote coordinated and effective learning paths that help realize this goal for the early childhood workforce. Such systems guide and inform the foundation for staff and individual career development. OHS believes that, as required by the Head Start Act, a minimum of 15 clock hours of professional development per year is key for all program staff members who support the progress of children’s development.
Find the tools and resources in this section that may be most useful for T/TA providers; state collaboration directors; consultants; early childhood educators; child care administrators; policy makers; licensing and credentialing agencies; and leaders in the ECE field.
Aspects of Professional Development Systems
State Systems
Resource Compilations
These compilations provide background information to states and territories. Explore these key resources that can help to build and sustain professional development system frameworks for the early care and education workforce.
- State/Territory Infant/Toddler Credential Overview
- State/Territory Preschool Credential Overview
- Supporting Diverse Populations Within the Early Childhood Workforce
- Early Care and Education Coaching: A Closer Look at Coaching Models in Child Care and Head Start
- Early Childhood Workforce: Career Pathway Goals and Strategies for Developing, Improving, and Evaluating Higher Education Articulation Agreements
- Early Childhood Education Apprenticeships: The Why, What, and How
- Health and Safety Training Resources for Child Care Providers
- Preventing and Reducing Suspensions and Expulsions in Early Care and Education Settings
- Professional Development System Frameworks
- Staff Recruitment and Retention
- Early Childhood Workforce: Registries
- Alignment Self-Assessment Tool: State Early Learning Standards and Head Start Child Outcomes
- Early Childhood Credential Planning and Implementation Guide
- Helping States, Territories, and Tribes Implement Developmental Screenings in Early Care and Education Settings
Brief Series on the Early Childhood Workforce: Pathways to Progress
In 2015, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and National Research Council (NRC) released the report, Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth to 8. It offers recommendations for building a high-quality early childhood workforce with the knowledge, competencies, education, and support to promote children’s development and learning. This series of briefs summarizes the findings in the report. Use them to inform early childhood programs, states, institutes of higher education, and other interested stakeholders to strengthen the support they offer the early childhood workforce.
- Introduction: Pathways to Progress
- The Science of Child Development and Learning
- Workforce Development: Higher Education and Preservice Professional Preparation
- Workforce Development: Ongoing Professional Learning
- Workforce Knowledge, Competencies, and Educational Practices\
Spotlights on Innovative Professional Development Practice
In this video series, explore best practices in career pathways and ongoing, practice-based learning. Hear from leaders in higher education and others focused on professional development.
Overviews
Early Learning Guidelines
These guidelines inform ECE practitioners about expected outcomes for young children. They describe what all children from birth through kindergarten should know and be able to do, and their dispositions toward learning.
Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS)
A QRIS is a systemic approach to assessment, improvement, and communication focused on determining quality in early and school-age care and education programs.
State Early Childhood Advisory Councils
The State Advisory Council (SAC) on Early Learning and Care is a governor-appointed leadership body that ensures statewide collaboration among early childhood programs to define future policy for children birth to kindergarten. Find out about how they function within the professional development arena.
State Early Childhood Registries
Take a look at the state registries that track teacher qualifications, degrees, and credential information for early childhood and school-age professionals.
Examples of State Professional Development Systems
In this section, explore several examples of state professional development systems focused on the preparation of teaching staff.
Resources for Building Professional Development Systems
Designing a professional development system is a complex and challenging activity. The following resources provide guidance on factors to consider when building a comprehensive system.
- A Framework for Choosing a State-Level Early Childhood Governance System
- Forging a New Framework for Professional Development [PDF, 394KB]
- Toward the Identification of Features of Effective Professional Development for Early Childhood Educators: Literature Review [PDF, 2MB]
- Strengthening Early Childhood and School Age Workforce
- State TA Professionals Knowledge and Competencies
- Number and Characteristics of Early Care and Education (ECE) Teachers and Caregivers: Initial Findings from the National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE)
Foundations of Professional Development
In this section, discover effective professional development activities that are evidence-based, reflect adult learning principles, and identify clearly defined outcomes.
Principles of Adult Learning:
- Adult Learning Principles
- Key Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) Strategies
- Aligning Adult Learning Principles with T/TA Strategies
- Relationship-Based Competencies to Support Family Engagement: Overview for Early Childhood Professionals
- Know-See-Do-Improve Framework
Bloom's Taxonomy:
- Bloom's Taxonomy Revised: A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing
- Bloom's Taxonomy
- Revised Bloom's Taxonomy Action Verbs [PDF, 47KB]
Communities of Learners:
- MyPeers
- Online Collaboration Principles [PDF, 55KB]
Glossaries
Explore definitions of approaches to professional development delivery.
Consultants
Effective use of consultants is key to providing targeted professional development. Learn strategies to identify and select consultants in this guide.
Last Updated: March 2, 2022