a system wide look at professional development opportunities for afterschool professionals...
TRANSCRIPT
A System Wide Look at Professional Development Opportunities for
Afterschool Professionals
Afterschool in Oregon: Professional Development
Challenges in Afterschool Professional Development
The nature of the workforce and of the job.
The lack of identity as a profession.
A lack of identity as a field.
Varying prior experience and educational
backgrounds.
Different professional development goals.
o Building Professional Development Systems for the Afterschool Field
The Afterschool Field: A Snapshot
Challenges in OregonThe four worlds of afterschool; education,
childcare, recreation and youth development have very little overlap.
Each world has its diverse range of skills and knowledge required.
Each world has a varying range of requirements and training needs.
Professionals in each world have difficulty seeing the “bridges” to the other worlds and tend to stay within their own field of expertise.
Challenges in Oregon“Bridges” are need to crossover into the
other worlds of afterschool in order to understand and strengthen the field.
Professionals need to see the value of moving outside their world.
The language that each world uses varies greatly and creates a barrier for communication, training and acceptance.
Challenges with TrainingTimeDistances to travelLack of quality trainings and trainersLack of trainings developed specifically for the
fieldFundingTraining at a variety of levelsTraining for AdministratorsNeed for repetition of basic trainings because
of turnoverKnowing what is available
Approaches to Afterschool Professional Development System-Building Efforts
Building Professional Development Systems for
the Afterschool Field
Interconnected Components of Professional Development Systems
Building Professional Development Systems for the
Afterschool Field
Current System Components in OregonOregon Center for Career Development in
Childhood Care and Education.Resource and Referral Network.Commission on Children and Families.21stCCLC Funding—Department of
Education.
Funding
Funding is the foundation of any system. Investment is needed to plan and implement professional development systems for afterschool programs to make training financially feasible for participants.
Building Professional Development Systems for the
Afterschool Field
Financial Support Includes:
Scholarships and financial incentives for
training.
Compensation and retention initiatives.
Tiered reimbursement or rewards for programs
connected to a quality rating system.
Building Professional Development Systems for the
Afterschool Field
What We Have Currently:
Local Commission Funding for training.
21st CCLC funds for professional development.
John and Betty Gray Scholarship for licensed
childcare programs.
Tiered reimbursement for professional
development for family childcare providers.
Core Knowledge and Core Competencies
A key component is identification of what every professional should know and be able to do to provide high-quality afterschool programs.
•Core Knowledge is the basic set of information that professionals are expected to know.
•Core Competencies are the interactions and observable skills of putting core knowledge in action.
Building Professional Development Systems for the
Afterschool Field
What We Have Currently:
Core Body of Knowledge for Childhood Care
and Education.
Draft Core Competencies for Afterschool
Professionals.
Qualifications and Credentials
Training should count towards a licensing requirement, credential or degree or be valuable to the participants in some other way.
Building Professional Development Systems for the
Afterschool Field
Credential Program
What We Have Currently
Work plan in place to develop a school age credential through the Oregon Center for Career Development in Childhood Care and Education.
Quality Assurances
Training and trainers must be monitored and evaluated to make sure the content and delivery of training meet quality standards.
Building Professional Development Systems for the
Afterschool Field
What We Have Currently:
Trainer Registry Program: OCCD
Trainers are classified as Community,
Standardized or Master Trainers.
Trainings are submitted for approval and
linked to the professional development sets
of knowledge.
Access and Outreach
Afterschool professionals must be aware of training and able to easily access them for the system to be fully utilized.
Building Professional Development Systems for the
Afterschool Field
What We Have Currently:
Online calendars for both Resource and Referral
and OregonASK.
Resource and Referral Child Care Trainings.
Afterschool Resource Center—OregonASK
Statewide and regional conferences.
Youth Development Networks.
Putting all of the Pieces Together
A strong infrastructure is needed to help connect the various components of an afterschool professional development system and coordinate the efforts to create a comprehensive system.
Lessons Learned from Other State Efforts:
Building Professional Development Systems for the
Afterschool Field
Goal for Afterschool Professional Development:
The afterschool professional workforce has the knowledge, competencies and skills to support child and youth development and quality programs.
Goal for Afterschool Professional Development:
System needs to be sustainable, credible and versatile to engage the diverse workforce.
Goal for Afterschool Professional Development:
System must be able to acknowledge and embrace the variety of professionals and their individual motivations and needs.
Next Steps
Creating an effective afterschool professional development system requires strong, long term leadership, collaboration and strategic vision.
Engage Partners and Stakeholders
Create a design team to examine what currently exists, where opportunities and strengths are and how to design a professional development system for the afterschool field in Oregon.
Maximize and Align Existing Resources
Examine what is currently available in Oregon and create strategies for aligning resources, eliminating duplication of efforts and maximizing the components that are already in place.
End Results
A professional development system that embraces and supports the diverse nature of the afterschool workforce. One that is responsive and accessible to all afterschool professionals in the afterschool worlds of education, childcare, recreation and youth development.
Research and ReferencesBuilding Professional Development Systems
for the Afterschool Field, Afterschool Investments.
Child Care Division Sponsored Provider Days, February 2008.
21stCCLC Grantees training surveys, 2007-2008
Provider meetings, discussion and surveys through Youth Development Network. 2007--2008