Early Childhood Educators Seek More Support to Teach Early Literacy, New Survey Finds

Second Survey of 2,200 early childhood educators conducted by Teaching Strategies examines workforce conditions, trending topics like science of reading

BETHESDA, Md., May 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Early childhood educators seek more resources, training, and family engagement to build early literacy skills in young learners, according to a new survey by Teaching Strategies, the leading provider of early childhood education curriculum, assessment, professional development and family engagement solutions.

Only 28% of early childhood educators said they feel "very prepared" to teach early literacy, expressing the need for more materials and guides, reading-specific curricula, additional planning time, and flexible professional development opportunities. In addition, an overwhelming majority of respondents (91%) underscored the importance of parent/caregiver engagement for developing early literacy skills in young students.

These results come as an increasing number of states implement changes to the way students are taught to read and write, aligning teaching practices to reading research known as the science of reading. The survey showed 39% of early childhood educators are "not familiar at all" with the science of reading.

"There's been incredible momentum across the nation to align literacy instruction to decades of strong research on how children best learn to read and write, but too often policymakers focus attention on the early elementary grades only. In order to build a strong foundation for literacy, we must start in early childhood education, particularly in the critical year before kindergarten," said Nicol Russell, vice president of implementation research at Teaching Strategies. "What we see in the survey data is an opportunity to help bridge this gap by equipping teachers with high-quality, research-aligned tools and professional development."

The survey drew responses from more than 2,200 early childhood educators in its second year. As with the initial survey conducted in fall 2022, the respondents primarily included public/private preschool educators, Head Start educators, child care center educators, and public/private kindergarten educators.

Among the key findings:

• More early childhood educators are considering leaving the profession. The percentage of educators considering leaving the profession within the next five years increased from 19% in 2022 to 26% in 2024. Educators highlighted a need for feeling more respected (60%), flexibility in work schedules (33%), and increased parent/caregiver engagement (28%) to help retain them in the field.
• Mental health and compensation are increasingly cited as the driving reasons for early childhood educators considering a career change. The top factors driving educators to consider career changes are mental health challenges (61% in 2024, compared to 40% in 2022), compensation and benefits (57% in 2024, compared to 47% in 2022), and working conditions (57% in 2024, compared to 40% in 2022). Only 43% of educators surveyed felt well compensated, and only 52% believe they receive adequate benefits.
• More early childhood educators prefer online, on-demand professional development. 57% of educators were interested in continuing education, with a preference for online, self-paced courses and shorter credential-bearing modules. The preference for online courses that educators can take at their own pace increased notably from 38% in 2022 to 61% in 2024.

View all survey findings here.

"Early childhood education is critical to set children on a path for success in kindergarten and beyond, yet the professionals who work in the field are often feeling overwhelmed and underpaid, leading to mental health challenges and workplace turnover. These survey results clearly spell out what we need to do to support and elevate these critical employees," said Teaching Strategies CEO John Olsen. "Teaching Strategies is listening, and we are committed to developing research-backed solutions to meet the evolving needs of our early childhood educators, and in turn, the needs of young learners and families."

The survey results echo the feedback Teaching Strategies has gathered from educators in recent years to inform the evolution of its ecosystem of teaching and learning solutions.

Recently, Teaching Strategies launched The Creative Curriculum for Pre-K, a first-of-its-kind, research-based curriculum that combines explicit literacy and math instruction with hands-on, play-based, investigative studies to ensure students build the fundamental skills and experiences that will set them up for long-term academic success. The curriculum also offers educators digital lesson planning tools, enabling them to plan a full year of lessons and share classroom resources directly with families in a few clicks. Embedded professional learning, including hundreds of short, topical videos offer educators just-in-time guidance on how to effectively deliver language and literacy activities, as well as activities supporting growth across all areas of development.

Today, over 75,000 early childhood educators and administrators are active members of Teaching Strategies' online professional learning community, which provides 24/7 unlimited access to a catalog of online courses with over 400 hours of research-based content including IACET-accredited courses, live virtual classes, and an 8-week rapid onboarding bootcamp for new teachers.

About Teaching Strategies

Driven by research that shows a child's first eight years form a critical foundation for success in school and in life, Teaching Strategies has been an advocate for the early education community for 45 years. Today, Teaching Strategies connects teachers, children and families to inspired teaching and learning experiences, informative data, stronger family partnerships, and professional learning through the leading early learning platform and resources. Its products, including the most widely-used curriculum and assessment solutions The Creative Curriculum® and GOLD®, are found in over 270,000 classrooms and more than 80 countries around the world and reach over 4 million children each year. To learn why thousands of early childhood programs and many states and countries choose to partner with Teaching Strategies to help ensure children's success in school and in life, visit www.teachingstrategies.com.

SOURCE Teaching Strategies