Professional development in early childhood programs: Process issues and research needs
Open accessAbstract
In light of the current policy context, early childhood educators are being asked to have a complex understanding of child development and early education issues and provide rich, meaningful educational experiences for all children and families in their care. Accountability for outcomes is high, and resources for professional support are limited. As such, the early education field needs well-conducted empirical studies on which to base professional development practices. In this paper, we offer research directions associated with the processes underlying professional development, including areas in need of investigation that can inform the early childhood education field in terms of how professional development efforts exert their influence and produce meaningful change in practitioners' skills, behaviors, and dispositions. The paper highlights representative research from the professional development literature on its various forms/approaches and offers an agenda for research on the professional development process. Broad issues associated with the conduct of research on professional development, including considerations of professional development processes, participant characteristics, relationships, and sustainability are discussed.
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The ultimate goal of professional development is to support child wellbeing and development.
“As the ultimate goal of PD is to support child wellbeing and development (Sheridan et al., 2009)”
From Increasing teachers’ intercultural competences in teacher preparation programs and through professional development: A review (2021) · cites this paper as Sheridan et al., 2009
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- Authors
- Sheridan, S. M., Edwards, C. P., Marvin, C. A., & Knoche, L. L.
- Affiliations
- University of Nebraska–Lincoln (US)
- Venue
- Early Education and Development
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2009-06
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 377-401
- ISSN
- 1040-9289 (ISSN-L)
- 1556-6935
- PMC
- PMC2756772
- OpenAlex
- W2015550424
- Cited by
- 537
- References
- 67
- Citations by year
- 2026: 27 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 37 · 2022: 43 · 2021: 45 · 2020: 44 · 2019: 47 · 2018: 34 · 2017: 37 · 2016: 39 · 2015: 35 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 18
- FWCI
- 54.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Early Education and Development (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Lincoln (University of Nebraska) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- U.S. Department of Education
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD046135)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Teacher Education and Leadership Studies
- Social Sciences › Education › Early Childhood Education and Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Human Resource Development and Performance Evaluation
- Keywords
- professional development, early childhood educators, early childhood programs, research agenda, accountability, sustainability of professional development, participant characteristics
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