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When defining quality and investing in improvement, the early childhood education field is broadening what it considers as key levers for positive change - in particular, by examining the organizational climate and conditions that surround teaching to enable effective daily practices.
Participants may be familiar with the five essentials framework and related (K-12) 5Essentials surveys, which were developed by the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research (UChicago Consortium) and are supported by over 25 years of research linking these conditions to school improvement over time. Building on this knowledge, researchers at the Ounce of Prevention Fund collaborated with UChicago Consortium researchers to develop the Early Education Essentials measurement system for use in school- and community-based preschool programs. This
measurement system consists of valid and reliable surveys, interactive data reports, and data use and improvement tools.
We presented on this measurement system last year and, since then, have (1) developed and improved support tools and services; (2) created videos of the tools in use, (3) released new practical research describing key
organizational structures, practices, and mindsets; and (4) began adapting the surveys for use in infant-toddler settings.
In this updated session, participants will see examples of these tools in action and have a hands-on experience interpreting and dialoguing with survey data using the newly improved tools. They will also learn about the work to adapt the surveys for use in infant-toddler programs and brainstorm ways to capture infant-toddler teacher, staff, and parent perspectives more effectively. We will conclude with a discussion on how the alignment between the Early Education Essentials and K-12 5Essentials tools provides a common lens, language, and metric for understanding and
promoting instructional improvement across the educational continuum.
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