Power to the Profession Task Force Decision Cycles 3-5 - APRIL 2018 - Back to the drawing board to do better for children and the profession

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jacob

Power to the Profession Task Force Decision Cycles 3-5 outlines the need for social and systemic transformation in early childhood education and its workforce. It argues that unifying and strengthening the early childhood workforce is central to closing the opportunity/achievement gap by professionalizing the field, improving practice quality, and enhancing teacher preparation. The text frames the initiative through major reports, urges higher professional standards, and stresses investment and equitable access to high-quality care and education for all children.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Power to the Profession: Why Decision Cycles 3-5 Matter

Unifying and strengthening the early childhood workforce

Aligning with landmark research and competencies

Closing the opportunity/achievement gap through access and standards

Urgent need for change beyond current constraints

[www.fcd-us.org](www.fcd-us.org) APRIL 2018 Power to the Profession Task Force Decision Cycles 3-5: Back to the drawing board to do better for children and the profession. Unifying and strengthening the early childhood workforce may be the single most important step towards closing the opportunity/achievement gap. The Foundation for Child Development has committed its energies and resources towards professionalization of the early childhood field, improving the quality of professional practice, and enhancing early childhood teacher preparation. In 2000, the National Research Council’s Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers report and the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) From Neurons to Neighborhood: The Science of Early Childhood Development report gave the early childhood field its scientific foundation and the standards for high-quality teacher preparation. We also support the long-term vision and teacher competencies proposed by the 2015 IOM report, Transforming the Workforce for Children from Birth Through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation. Moving forward, the Foundation has positioned the research base and recommendations from these landmark reports at the center of our 100-plus years of funding research into the care and education that all children need for a strong start in life. The task at hand is critically important for early childhood education and its workforce. The Foundation’s support of Power to Profession was spurred by the 2015 IOM report and the vision it articulated. We acknowledge both the importance and difficulty of asking the initiative’s Task Force to do what has never been accomplished in the early childhood field: Envision a unified, diverse, well-prepared, appropriately compensated workforce and determine the competencies and qualifications early childhood professionals must have at every level of practice in order to guarantee that all children have equal access to high-quality early care and education. Recognizing that increasing competencies and qualifications among a diverse workforce would require an equitable pathway for professional development, and the compensation that must come with it, the Foundation also funded the 2018 National Academies’ Transforming the Financing of Early Care and Education report that outlines a financing framework and funding strategy based on increased competencies while also retaining diversity in our workforce. Therefore, we view Power to the Profession’s work as framed by these seminal reports, which emphasized what works for all children and developed a vision that demands equal access to high-quality care and education, access that begins each day in the arms of qualified professionals across every community, not just for those who can afford the best for their children. POWER TO THE PROFESSION TASK FORCE DECISION CYCLES 3-5 APRIL 2018 1 In short, the work of the initiative’s Task Force is an opportunity for social and systemic transformation that cannot be squandered. It is within this context that we strongly believe that the draft recommendations in Decision Cycles 3-5 fail to seize the moment to look beyond the systemic and fiscal constraints of the present. Instead, we urge the Task Force to envision what could be and embrace what educators do best by setting higher professional standards that lead all children to better school and life outcomes. The question today is not whether quality early childhood education works, but rather how we can make it work for all children and for all early childhood educators. Much has been done over the past decade to convince policymakers and the public of a fundamental truth: Highquality early care and education is the vehicle of social mobility, the accelerator of better education, health, social, and economic outcomes for children and our nation. Our charge is to close the opportunity gap that too many children and families in our society experience due to lack of access to quality early care and

FAQs

Why does the document emphasize Decision Cycles 3-5 for early childhood education?

It argues the task force’s work is an opportunity for social and systemic transformation and that the current draft recommendations do not fully seize the moment needed to improve outcomes for children and the profession.

What is the document’s main goal regarding the early childhood workforce?

It calls for a unified, diverse, well-prepared, and appropriately compensated workforce, supported by clear competencies and qualifications at every level of practice.

How does the document connect early care and education to broader social outcomes?

It states that high-quality early care and education is the vehicle of social mobility and improves education, health, social, and economic outcomes, while helping close the opportunity gap.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jacob