An Investigation of the Post-Graduation Outcomes of High School Students Completing an Early Childhood Education Career and Technical Program

The quality of care children receive from birth to kindergarten sets them on a trajectory for successful entry to school. Children who receive high-quality care, which is provided by qualified early educators with demonstrated mastery of the essential early learning core competencies, enter school ready to learn. Shortages of credentialed early educators are an obstacle to achieving this goal. This study investigated the employment and educational outcomes for high school students who graduated from early childhood career and technical education programs (EC-CTE) in 16 school districts in Florida and explored whether they chose to work in early learning settings directly following graduation, pursue higher education in the field of early education, or pursue career or educational options outside the field of early education. All participants received a T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® scholarship to pay for the National Child Development Associate® (CDA) credential™, which is the entry-level industry standard for early educators. Information gathered from scholarship applications as well as data collected from a post-graduation survey informed the findings of this study. In general, participants felt very prepared to work in preschool settings following the completion of their EC-CTE programs and almost half were employed in early childhood settings immediately following high school. For those who worked in jobs outside the Early Childhood Education (ECE) field, more than half said they were looking for positions in early education. Most participants enrolled in college directly following high school and those who selected a major focused on "helping fields" such as elementary education, nursing, and early care and education. These findings suggest that high school EC-CTE programs provide a strong pipeline to the early learning career pathway and that high school CTE programs should be considered a viable resource to increase the number of credentialed early educators entering the workforce. This study can be used to inform policy that adequately supports the early learning workforce and attracts and retains the qualified staff necessary to provide high quality early care and education for young children in Florida. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]