Improving Early Childhood Education Experiences for Military Families

This qualitative planning study investigated the hiring process, with emphasis on critical knowledge, skills, and competencies, of educators in military early childhood education (ECE) programs through the lens of parents, educators, and administrators. Military families face unique challenges due to a transient lifestyle with frequent relocations, deployments, geographical separation from natural supports, and additional stressors. This study sought to understand the important educator competencies as assessed by parents with young children in United States Air Force (USAF) child development programs, educators working within these programs, and administrators providing oversight to these programs. The problem in this study addressed a lack of a standard hiring tool to assess for critical competencies deemed essential for early childhood educators in the military community. Military children attending military ECE programs spend most their day in the care of educators while their parents defend and serve our nation. Twelve participants across the three groups were identified and selected using convenience sampling and snowball sampling. Participants then completed individual interviews to obtain their opinions and experiences with USAF child development programs. Interview data were coded, first through a priori coding using the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) professional standards and then through emergent (emotional) coding, to identify the areas most important to parents, administrators, and teachers with respect to knowledge, skills, and competencies of ECE teachers. The researcher carefully designed research questions for each of the three participant groups to learn about their experiences and gain their opinions about military ECE teacher competencies. After data collection and analysis, the researcher concluded (a) emotional awareness is an essential knowledge base or skill set critical in military ECE classrooms; (b) teachers with knowledge of or personal experience with military culture, terminology, life events, and the impact of change and unknown can help support the needs of children and families; and (c) parents and administrators value a knowledge base in child development and learning in context above all other practice-based professional preparation standards. By understanding important knowledge, skills, and competencies of military ECE teachers as informed by program administrators, parents, and teachers, ECE programs can more effectively hire and train staff to meet the needs of families and improve the ECE experience for children.