Critical Issues in Early Childhood Professional Development
Edited by Martha Zaslow, Ph.D., & Ivelisse Martinez-Beck, Ph.D.



Effective teaching leads to positive student outcomes, and professional development for early childhood teachers is key to improving both. But what exactly do we mean by “professional development”? What effect does it have on school readiness? Which models and approaches really work? This is the book the early childhood field needs to take the crucial first steps toward definitive answers. Top experts in early childhood education help readers

• define professional development
  
  
• examine research across a range of settings — Head Start, public preschools, private programs — on professional development and school readiness
  
  
• consider both the extent and the content of professional development
  
  
• learn from detailed explorations of promising professional development models
  
  
• investigate key economic considerations and policy implications
  
  
• identify areas for further exploration

A timely volume on a high-priority topic in early education, this resource provides the solid foundation of knowledge the field needs to focus future research studies and make informed decisions about teacher preparation.

1. Introduction: The Context for Critical Issues in Early Childhood Professional Development
   Ivelisse Martinez-Beck and Martha Zaslow

2. Defining and Measuring Professional Development in Early Childhood Research
   Kelly L. Maxwell, Cathie C. Feild, and Richard M. Clifford
   
   
3. Estimating the Size and Characteristics of the United States Early Care and Education Workforce
   Richard N. Brandon and Ivelisse Martinez-Beck
   
   
4. Quality and Qualifications: Links between Professional Development and Quality in Early Care and Education Settings
   Kathryn Tout, Martha Zaslow, and Daniel Berry
   
   
5. Studying the Culture of Quality Early Education and Care: A Cumulative Approach to Measuring Characteristics of the Workforce and Relations to Quality in Four Midwestern States
   Helen H. Raikes, Julia C. Torquati, Susan Hegland, H. Abigail Raikes, Jacqueline Scott, Lana Messner, Carla Peterson, Kathy Thornburg, Becky Houf, and Sandra Scott

Section II: Completing the Model: Connecting Early Child Care Worker Professional Development with Child Outcomes
Kyle L. Snow

6. Toward Effective Support for Language and Literacy Through Professional Development
   David K. Dickinson and Joanne P. Brady
   
   
7. Helping Early Childhood Educators to Teach Mathematics
   Herbert P. Ginsburg, Rochelle Goldberg Kaplan, Joanna Cannon, Maria I. Cordero, Janet G. Eisenband, Michelle Galanter, and Melissa Morgenlander
   
   
8. Self-Regulation as a Key to School Readiness: How Early Childhood Teachers Can Promote this Critical Competency
   Elena Bodrova and Deborah J. Leong

9. Standardized Observation and Professional Development: A Focus on Individualized Implementation and Practices
   Robert C. Pianta
   
   
10. Alignment in Educator Preparation for Early and Beginning Literacy Intruction: A State-Level Case Example
    Kathleen Roskos, Catherine A. Rosemary, and M. Heidi Varner
    
    
11. NAEYC's Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation: Getting from Here to There
    Marilou Hyson and Heather Biggar

12. A Framework for Cost — Benefit Analysis of Professional Development in Early Care and Education
    W. Steven Barnett and Pamela J. Kelley
    
    
13. Early Childhood Professional Development Programs: Accounting for Spillover Effects and Market Intervention
    H. Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Bristow

14. Creating and Sustaining a High-Quality Workforce in Child Care, Early Intervention, and School Readiness Programs
    Sharon Landesman Ramey and Craig T. Ramey
    
    
15. Improving Connections Between Professional Development Research and Early Childhood Policies
    Melissa Welch-Ross, Anne Wolf, Martha Moorehouse, and Colleen Rathgeb