Aspects of Professional Development Systems
Find professional development tools and resources for training and technical assistance providers, directors, educators, administrators, policy makers, and leaders in the early childhood education field.
Professional Development Systems
The process of acquiring new knowledge and skills that relate to one's job, duties, or career path is known as professional development. It encompasses all types of learning opportunities, ranging from formal coursework in college, workshops, and conferences to more informal learning opportunities set in practice.
Professional development systems provide consistent and uniform standards for early childhood education (ECE) programs and guide implementation of high-quality services for all children. These comprehensive systems are designed to work across all sectors of private and public early education and care and address many areas of requirements and standards. Registries, alliances, quality ratings, and credentialing and licensing requirements all inform the nature and scope of professional development at the national, state, territory, and local levels. A sustainable system for professional development motivates achieving excellence in early childhood programs for all young children.
While most states have their own professional development systems, the resources below can help build and strengthen this work at the program level.
State Partnerships with iPD
Find out which states the iPD partnered with to provide professional development approval for courses. This includes detailed information about which iPD courses are approved to meet state requirements.
Implementation Strategies and Reflections on PBC in State Early Childhood PD Systems
Learn how several states embed practice-based coaching (PBC) into their professional development system and use the Coaching Companion. Hear lessons learned from implementing the PBC process.
Early Childhood Credential Planning and Implementation Guide
Explore this planning and implementation guide. Learn ways that state and territory teams can use it to help create or revise early childhood education credentials.
Alignment Self-Assessment Tool: State Early Learning Standards and Head Start Child Outcomes
In this resource, learn how to align state early learning and development guidelines with the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework. Use this tool to help early childhood sectors work better together.
Early Care and Education Coaching: A Closer Look at Coaching Models in Child Care and Head Start
Discover what coaching in early childhood education (ECE) is all about. Find examples of delivery methods and coaching models. Learn how two states have incorporated coaching into their work.
Health and Safety Training Resources for Child Care Providers
Explore training and delivery methods used by states to train child care professionals. Also, find health and safety training resources, and state examples that show where to access training opportunities.
Early Childhood Workforce: Registries
In this resource, find out how state early childhood workforce registries work. Learn about the distinct functions they use to collect and share data on the early childhood workforce.
Professional Development System Frameworks
Find information for states and territories working to meet the 2016 Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) regulations. These regulations are related to the six key professional development framework components.
Staff Recruitment and Retention
Explore this document to find examples of state systems and policies that support recruiting and retaining a highly qualified workforce. Also, find additional research and resources on the topic.