STATE OF PRE-K SERIES: BRIEF MAY 2021
Pre-K Teacher Qualifications in 2017-2018 Research Brief by Andrew Van Horn and Rachel Canter
BACKGROUND A key element of pre-K program quality is the effectiveness of lead and assistant teachers in improving student outcomes across early learning domains, including academic domains. Typically, pre-K programs use teacher credentials, such as degrees and training experiences, as a proxy for effectiveness because measuring student learning can be challenging. In 2007, the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) conducted a “meta-analysis”—a scientific review of existing studies—to determine the extent to which increased lead teacher education levels improved student academic outcomes.i The key findings from their review are that lead teachers with bachelor’s degrees (BAs) generally outperform those without them and that pre-K training does not improve academic outcomes for students of lead teachers with less than a bachelor’s degree.ii Importantly, the study did not separately compare outcomes from students of lead teachers with high school diplomas, associate’s degrees, and bachelor’s degrees, only whether students of teachers with bachelor’s degrees outperform students of teachers without bachelor’s degrees.iii Furthermore, because this meta-analysis focused on qualifications of lead teachers, it does not offer clues as to what optimal assistant teacher qualifications should be when a degreed lead teacher is present. Since 2007, the research community has put less focus on minimum degrees and more focus on the content and type of teacher preparation.iv This area of research, though, remains somewhat sparse as to what preparation courses and experiences best ensure staff quality. Nonetheless, NIEER kept all its quality benchmarks relating to teacher credentials when it updated its list in 2017. These three benchmarks require the following:
1. Lead teachers hold a bachelor’s degree 2. Lead teachers have specialized training in early education 3. Assistant teachers have specialized training in early eduction 1
Mississippi pre-K programs have different requirements for staff qualifications depending on the type of provider. Staff in the state-funded collaborative program (regardless of provider type) must meet the highest requirements for both lead teachers and assistants. These requirements match the NIEER benchmarks for lead teachers and exceed the NIEER benchmark for assistant teachers by requiring that assistants have at least an associate’s degree (AA) along with specialized training in early childhood education. Collaborative lead teachers in public school classrooms must further be state licensed for pre-K. The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) annually monitors collaboratives to ensure that programs have staff meeting these requirements. “Specialized training” has a specific meaning to NIEER. NIEER defines specialized training as a major in early childhood education or related field, 12 hours of coursework in early childhood, state or national teacher certification in early childhood education or a related field, a Child Development Associate’s credential (see footnote 2), a Montessori certificate, or a Reggio-Emilia certificate. 1
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