Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC)

Working together, the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) and Boston University’s Wheelock Educational Policy Center (WEPC) have established a research-practice partnership focused on better understanding the policies and practices shaping the state’s early educator workforce. This partnership is focused on providing strategic insights into some of the state’s most pressing questions and priorities with the goal of building a stronger and more sustainable early educator workforce, with particular emphasis on improving the economic viability of the profession. The scope of the partnership is broadly crafted but will seek to address questions like:

• What are the characteristics and experiences of the early education workforce?
  • What is the current supply and distribution of early educators in Massachusetts? What is the state of the early educator pipeline? How can the answers to these questions inform workforce development efforts?
  • What are the common entry points and career pathways for the early education field?
  • What types of workforce interventions/benefits/supports do educators want access to that could promote recruitment, retention, and career progression?
• How are various workforce interventions impacting the recruitment, retention, and career progression of early educators?
  • What are key early implementation lessons and experiences related to the rollout of the new credentialing system? What are the effects of the credentialing system on educator progression, recruitment and retention, and skill building?
  • What additional workforce strategies are needed to further support recruitment, retention, and career progression?