Designing and Developing the Pennsylvania Early Care and Education Career Pathway System

Abstract

The early care and education (ECE) workforce plays a vital role in supporting the development of our youngest learners, and putting them on track for a lifetime of success. These critical practitioners work hard for little status or compensation. The profession is grappling with advancing the skills and competencies of practitioners already in the field and lifting the barriers to entry for those new to the profession. This complex work requires innovative strategies, new policies, and comprehensive supports, particularly in light of the low compensation in this sector. State government organizations, such as the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), are well-versed in the challenges and rewards of this important work. OCDEL is committed to supporting the advancement of the early care and education workforce through policies, procedures, regulations, programs, and funding.

During my residency, I led the Career Pathways Work Group in revising the Early Learning Keys to Quality Career Lattice. I used this discrete charge as an entry to engage the team in a broader strategic planning effort. I employed the career pathways approach and its focus on career pathway systems to guide my work and the broader strategic planning efforts. I engaged in a three-part approach where I: (1) used vision-setting to establish a larger goal for the team’s efforts; (2) facilitated a shift in the team’s focus from narrow—the redesign of the career lattice—to broad—career pathways system development and (3) guided the team’s initial engagement in the systems design and development processes.

I achieved these outcomes because I: (1) managed the complexity of the endeavor by scaffolding the team’s engagement and grounding its work in a vision; (2) calibrated my leadership moves to the learning needs of the team; (3) created short-term wins to maintain momentum and foster commitment to the process; and (4) engaged my authorizers to build legitimacy and support.