Three-Year Detroit Study: Large-Scale Teacher Training Improves Quality

Early Childhood Training Project Estimated to Benefit 9,000 Children Annually

In a project that will have a positive impact on nearly 9,000 Detroit area preschoolers every year, evaluators reported the results of a successful large-scale initiative designed to increase the number of teacher-trainers and skilled teachers throughout the city's early childhood educational community.

A Systemwide Approach to Improving Early Childhood Program Quality in the Detroit Metropolitan Area summarizes three years of research on making lasting improvements in Detroit's early childhood programs, and the findings may offer teacher-training solutions for other major metropolitan areas as well. The project was conducted by the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and funded by the McGregor Fund, a private foundation in Detroit that supports local nonprofit initiatives.

"To achieve large-scale impact, training was directed at all levels of the early childhood community, including caregivers and teachers, supervisors, and early childhood agency administrators," according to Ann Epstein, Ph.D., the report's lead researcher. Dr. Epstein worked with High/Scope associate Clay Shouse, M.S., executive director of Operations and Educational Services, and a variety of early childhood specialists. The training project was designed to advance the professional skills of practitioners, certify agency-based trainers who could provide ongoing technical support, and certify teachers at Centers of Excellence to serve as models for other early childhood agencies in the community.

From January 2000 until December 2002, High/Scope implemented and evaluated a series of training projects based on its scientifically validated early childhood curriculum and training model. During the three-year initiative, the High/Scope program development and research team accomplished a number of goals:

• Completed a total of 10 training projects serving 194 participants
• Delivered six curriculum courses to 167 practitioners serving infants, toddlers, and preschoolers
• Conducted four adult training courses with 27 supervisors, who continue to provide training and support to the caregivers and teachers at their respective agencies
• Certified seven programs as Centers of Excellence, whose teachers could mentor and inspire their colleagues
• Established relationships with local colleges so that participants could receive college credit for their training, an important goal in professionalizing the early childhood field

Researchers found that this broad-based yet intensive endeavor enhanced the knowledge and skills of early childhood practitioners and increased program quality. As a result, 27 agency-based trainers are now in place to offer ongoing support to front-line service providers, and 849 teachers and caregivers have or will receive training in the High/Scope curriculum. Finally, an estimated 8,490 children and their families each year will receive the documented benefits of this high-quality early educational experience.

The study concludes that a large-scale and systematic approach to training is feasible. The report revealed that agencies need additional site-based trainers to mentor teachers and caregivers, and that more at-risk children need to benefit from these high-quality educational services. “Although further programmatic and research efforts are needed, the results of Detroit's comprehensive endeavor are promising. This large-scale, systemwide training initiative for early childhood practitioners can serve as a model for other major metropolitan areas nationwide,” Epstein said.

About High/Scope Educational Research Foundation

The High/Scope Educational Research Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization that was founded in 1970 in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Committed to increasing the life chances of children throughout the world, High/Scope conducts research, curriculum development, training, and publishing related to the education and development of children and youth.