Excerpts from highlights:
The present study aims to document the current state of staff qualifications, stability, turnover and compensation in state-funded prekindergarten programs, and to identify the conditions under which Pre-K initiatives promote a more skilled and stable, and better compensated, early care and education workforce. [The authors] selected a sample of programs in five states: California, Georgia, Illinois (Chicago only), New York and Texas. In addition to profiling Pre-K staffing in each state, [they] also explored variations in staffing among Pre-K programs housed in different auspices, including publicly-operated programs (based in public school districts or community colleges) and privately-operated programs (based in community-based nonprofit agencies or for-profit organizations).
Results include:
Finding 1: Teaching staff in publicly-operated prekindergarten programs had higher educational qualifications than staff in privately-operated programs.
Finding 2: Teaching staff in publicly-operated prekindergarten programs received higher pay and benefits than teaching staff in privately operated programs.
Finding 3: There was greater teaching staff stability in publicly-operated prekindergarten programs than in privately-operated programs.
Finding 4: Publicly-operated and privately operated programs appeared to be evolving into separate segments of a two-tier prekindergarten system.
Finding 5: Prekindergarten programs, both publicly- and privately-operated, have had mixed success in integrating their teaching staff into existing service delivery systems.