Date Approved

8-2025

Graduate Degree Type

Project

Degree Name

Education (M.Ed.)

Degree Program

College of Education

First Advisor

Sherie Klee

Academic Year

2024/2025

Abstract

This project aims to tackle the issue of inconsistencies in the educational experiences provided by many early childhood programs. This project focuses primarily on the infant/toddler age group. Chapter 1 identifies a key contributing factor in these inconsistencies: a shortage of high-quality teachers due to lack of infant/toddler focused content in teacher preparation programs and further professional development. Chapter 2 reviews the literature including what a high-quality educator is and how a high-quality educator impacts a child’s development. It also identifies the various teacher preparation programs and highlights the lack of infant/toddler content in professional development. Chapter 3 presents a Teacher Toolkit in which various resources are provided to help infant/toddler teachers provide high-quality care, no matter their preparation program or experience with professional development. The project seeks to provide infant/toddler teachers with quality, research based resources and lessen the inconsistencies in educational experiences.

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