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The rapid rise of career pathways strategies, including an emphasis on them in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), creates a need for more evidence on this approach. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Chief Evaluation Office contracted with Abt Associates to conduct the Career Pathways Design Study, to develop evaluation design options that could address critical gaps in knowledge related to the approach, implementation, and success of career pathways strategies generally, and in early care and education (ECE) specifically. To inform thinking about evaluation design options, Abt produced reports on (1) research and evaluation relevant to career pathways approaches, (2) the implementation of existing and past career pathways initiatives, and (3) the potential for career pathways approaches in early care and education.

The primary purpose of the report is to inform the evaluation design options. In this report, researchers describe findings from research and discussion with experts on (1) the extent to which ECE career pathways approaches exist currently and the nature of career trajectories within the ECE labor market, (2) barriers to ECE workforce advancement that may inhibit development of career pathways approaches, and (3) promising practices intended to promote ECE workforce advancement (these include strategies to better delineate ECE career trajectories in the labor market as well as a few career pathways program- or system-level initiatives). While the analysis does summarize relevant literature, researchers did not conduct an exhaustive or formal literature review (i.e. with critiques of existing studies’ designs, methodologies, data sources, etc.). The report concludes with a section on possible research directions to help the fields of workforce development and evaluation, early care and education, and other stakeholders to better understand the potential for career pathways approaches to promote career advancement for low-wage ECE professionals.

Key Takeaways

• Career trajectories in the ECE field: Experts expressed concern that the field does not include many job opportunities with family-sustaining wages, compared to sectors that are more commonly the focus of career pathways approaches.
• Existing career pathways approaches: A review of recent research on the ECE workforce found few national or state initiatives aimed at creating comprehensive ECE career pathways approaches that incorporate many of the program- or system-level elements in the career pathways approach definitions.
• Barriers: Barriers to higher wages include the limited opportunities in the ECE field for career advancement, the tension between the labor-intensive nature of ECE work coupled with maintaining child care affordability for families, persistent low wages even as educational requirements increase, and lack of compensation parity among professionals within and across funding streams. Barriers to obtaining additional training and education include varying definitions and professional standards for ECE occupations across settings and states, limited financial support for postsecondary education, challenges in the articulation of credit and prior learning, lack of availability and access to high-quality ECE professional development programs, shortage of supports for lower-skilled adults and English language learners, and a scarcity of counselors who understand the ECE field.
• Promising Practices: Based on input from experts and review of research findings researchers highlight a number of innovative practices aimed at addressing barriers to ECE workforce advancement in the report.

Citation

Cheng, I., Koralek, R., Robinson, A., Russell, S., Schwartz, D., Sarna, M. (2018). Abt Associates. Career Pathways in Early Care and Education. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.