Demographic Characteristics of Early Childhood Teachers and Structural Elements of Early Care and Education in the United States.

Abstract

childhood programs and teachers of 3 and 4-year-olds. Questionnaires were sent to a random sample of early childhood programs across the United States. Data were collected on teacher characteristics and structural features of early childhood programs (enrollment, class size, hours of operation, and ratio of teachers to students). Findings indicated that there are approximately 284,277 teachers of 3 and 4-year-olds in the United States. The vast majority of these teachers are women, and 78 percent are white. Approximately 50 percent of these teachers have earned a college degree, although educational attainment varies among program types. For-profit centers currently outnumber other types of centers, although the number of early childhood programs in public schools is increasing rapidly. The findings wiil be of interest to parents, and it is therefore important for them to have access to information about the characteristics of early childhood programs and teachers. Additionally, policy-makers need to understand the distinctions that exist between different types of early childhood settings as they adopt regulations and make funding decisions that affect parental choice of programs. (Contains 18 references.) (Author/HTH) This paper summarizes demographic information on early Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made fiom the original document. Early Childhood Research and Practice Sp ... Care and Education in the United States http://ecrp.uiuc.edulv4n l/saluja.htnil Spring 2002 Volume 4 Number 1 d tl w TI __ _ _ _ I -I 1 / I Demographic Characteristics of Early Childhood Teachers and Structural Elements of Early Care and Education in the United States I '