Decades of research show the promise of high-quality early childhood education for promoting children’s success in school and life. To support early childhood programs in delivering on this promise, the field has invested a great deal of resources in “program improvement.” How can we be more confident that these investments and our efforts will result in improving teaching and children’s learning over time? Research in early education and K-12 settings have identified five organizational supports essential to improvement—effective instructional leaders, collaborative teachers, engaged families, supportive environments, and ambitious interactions and instruction (Bryk et al. , 2010). This session will describe the evidence and illustrate the power of these supports in early childhood programs with real life examples. As a result, participants will feel more confident and prepared to lead the improvement of instructional interactions in their programs.
At the end of this session the participant will be able to:
- Identify the five organizational supports essential to continuous quality improvement
- Discuss opportunities and challenges for early childhood programs to strengthen these organizational supports and realize better outcomes for children and families
