You’re Invited: Virtual Release of New Early Childhood Education Higher Education Report
Higher education is a critical part of the early childhood education (ECE) profession as it serves as the primary pipeline for the early childhood education workforce. And, like early childhood educators, most ECE higher education programs find themselves under-resourced and under-valued. As such, the Unifying Framework for the Early Childhood Education Profession calls for a significant investment in ECE higher education programs to shore up the ECE workforce pipeline and to ensure that practitioners are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively support the development and education of young children.
In particular, the framework recognizes that investment and engagement from higher education leaders is essential. To this end, in Spring 2021, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) interviewed 30 higher education leaders—presidents, provosts, CEOs of national higher education organizations such as AACTE, and others—to better understand their perspectives on the connections between early childhood education and higher education and to help inform an agenda for increasing higher education leadership’s investments in their ECE degree programs.
AACTE is pleased to cohost a virtual event on November 17, 2:00-3:30 p.m. EST, where NAEYC will release “Preparing a Profession: Perspectives of Higher Education Leaders on the Future of the ECE Workforce.” This report summarizes the findings from the interviews and paints a path forward to help ECE degree programs secure the respect and resources they deserve and that the ECE profession needs.
Speakers
- Kate Connor, Vice President for Academic & Student Affair Harry S. Truman College
- Robert DeHaas, Vice Provost of the School of Education, Dallas College
- Rhian Evans Allvin, CEO, National Association for the Education of Young Children
- Marquita Grenot-Scheyer, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Educator Preparation and Public School Programs, The California State University
- Jacqueline Rodriguez, Vice President, Research, Policy and Advocacy, AACTE
- Sara Slaughter, Executive Director, W.Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation.
I invite you to join this event to learn more about the important connections between early childhood education and higher education. Register in advance.
This event is co-hosted by the American Indian College Fund, the American Association for the Colleges of Teacher Education, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the Education Commission of the States, and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. This publication and event are generously supported by the W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation.
Tags: AACTE partner organizations, early childhood education, events
