EARLY CHILDHOOD PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

CONTINUING LESSONS FROM INDONESIA

Marilou Hyson, Ph.D.

ECED Consultant, The World BankSenior Consultant, National Association

for the Education of Young ChildrenAffiliate Faculty, George Mason University

WHY DOES PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MATTER ?

ECED services must be good quality to produce positive child outcomes.

Teachers and other personnel are the key to ECED quality.

Professional development can improve teachers’ ability to influence young children’s positive development and learning.(Winton, McCollum, & Catlett, 2007; Zaslow & Martinez-Beck, 2005)

DEFINING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD

“Professional development is structured teaching and learning experiences that are formalized and designed to support the acquisition of professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions as well as the application of this knowledge in practice.”

Draft for Review, National Professional Development Center on Inclusion, December 2006

ELEMENTS OF A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM

Core competencies for teachers (what should everyone know and be able to do?)

Levels and ladders (what knowledge and skills are essential for different roles; how might one progress professionally?)

Credentials and credit ultimately linked to higher education

Provision of quality training at all levels(National Child Care Information Center, 2005)

TEN FEATURES OF HIGH QUALITY TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCES

1. Results-oriented

2. Evidence-based

3. Responsive to culture and community

4. Built on participants’ needs

5. Team-oriented

6. Active and job-embedded

MORE FEATURES

7. Ongoing

8. Well-mentored and supervised

9. Linked to meaningful progression and rewards

10. Continuously evaluated and improved

(Bransford, Brown & Cocking, 1999; Hyson & Biggar, 2005; NAEYC, 2003; National Staff Development Council, 2001; Ramey & Ramey, 2005)

THE CONTEXT FOR ECED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDONESIA

Southeast Asia’s largest country; 200M people A growing economy, yet poverty reduction a

continuing challenge Government commitment to education as poverty

reduction strategy Continuing rich/poor gaps in education enrollment,

health, nutrition Highly decentralized delivery of public services

(World Bank, 2006a)

ECED IN INDONESIA ECED programs and services

(e.g., kindergarten; playgroup; daycare; health; parent education) delivered under diverse, disconnected auspices

Only 8% of all young children enrolled in preprimary ECED programs (other than health services and parent education)

99% of ECED programs are privately run Almost no access to ECED for poor children Only minimal training available for ECED staff; only

one university with baccalaureate ECED Relatively new ECED Directorate in Ministry of

Education, with commitment to holistic approach.(World Bank, 2006a,b)

THE WORLD BANK AND ECED IN INDONESIA

3 components:

1. Increasing integrated ECED

service delivery through community-driven mechanisms in targeted poor communities (to reach more than 700,000 children 0-6 and their families in 3000 villages in 50 poor, mostly rural districts)

2. Developing a sustainable system for ECED quality

3. Establishing effective program management, monitoring, and evaluation

(World Bank, 2006b)

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT

Training project personnel to deliver ECED integrated services within a wide range of roles (facilitators, teachers, child development workers, district trainers/supervisors, national master trainers)

Assisting the Government with development of national ECED standards, including standards for ECED personnel

Strengthening ECED knowledge and commitment on the part of district officials

Plans to develop standards and accreditation for higher education programs preparing ECED personnel

REVISITING SOME FEATURES OF EFFECTIVE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SYSTEMS WITH INDONESIA IN MIND

Core competencies Differentiation of training content and

methods according to desired results Job-embedded professional development Training of trainers and supervisors Continuous evaluation and improvement

BUILDING CAPACITY IN THE SYSTEM: WHAT IS NEEDED? Expanding higher education access and quality

(including pipeline and professional development for faculty)

Moving beyond divided, non-collaborative agency responsibility for professional development system and its components

Strengthening local commitment to reduce staff turnover and create sustainability

Linking project activities to broader scale-up Tying ECED professional development needs to

other national priorities

WHAT ISAT STAKE