Early Childhood Workforce Conference

Conference Examines Critical Early Childhood Workforce Needs Across Nebraska

The Buffett Early Childhood Institute convened a statewide conference entitled “Transforming the Early Childhood Workforce in Nebraska” on October 5 ⎼ 6, 2015. The conference brought together educators from throughout the state to begin building a consensus around how to address Nebraska’s early childhood workforce needs. More than 120 people from higher education institutions, the Nebraska Department of Education, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, and other agencies attended the conference. Twenty-two of the state’s 24 higher education institutions were represented. National consultants joined Nebraska experts to discuss strategies to ensure that all children will be served by highly trained early childhood educators.

Immediately following the conference, deans from the University of Nebraska Omaha, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and University of Nebraska at Kearney met with senior NU faculty and consultants in a facilitated think tank to discuss specific action steps.

Conference Reports 

• Conference Summary Report
  A summary of conference presentations, emerging themes, and next steps.

• Nebraska’s Early Childhood Higher Education Programs: Summary of the Higher Education Inventory
• Teaching the Teachers of Our Youngest Children: The State of Early Childhood Higher Education in Nebraska, 2015
  A summary and full narrative report focused on the "Nebraska Higher Education Inventory." The Inventory was conducted by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at University of California, Berkeley, in conjunction with the Buffett Institute, and provides the most complete picture to date of the state's early childhood-related offerings and degree programs. 

• Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation
  A report by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council offering guidance for systems change to improve professional learning and workforce development for early childhood professionals.

Conference Presentations, Day 1

• Conference welcome, Dr. Hank Bounds
  Video

• Challenges Facing Nebraska’s Early Childhood Workforce, Dr. Samuel J. Meisels
  Presentation slides │ Video

• A Unifying Foundation for Early Childhood, Dr. Jacqueline Jones
  Presentation slides │ Video

• Landscape of Higher Education Early Childhood Degree Programs, Dr. Marcy Whitebook
  Presentation slides │ Video

• Nebraska’s Pathways to Becoming an Early Childhood Educator, Dr. Susan Sarver
  Presentation slides │ Video

Conference Presentations, Day 2

• Conference welcome, Dr. Matt Blomstedt
  Video

• From Fragmentation to Integration in Higher Education, Dr. Marjorie Kostelnik
  Presentation slides │ Video

• Strategic Planning for Sustainable Change, Panel Discussion
  Panelists: Drs. Jacqueline Jones, Marjorie Kostelnik, Susan Sarver, Marcy Whitebook
  Facilitators: Laura Bornfreund, Sherry Cleary, Dr. Diane M. Horm
  Video

Think Tanks
The Buffett Early Childhood Institute convened two think tanks with faculty from Nebraska’s community colleges and 4-year colleges and universities in March 2016 and two think tanks in May 2016 with early childhood professionals who work directly with practitioners or who provide some type of regulatory oversight. Participants were invited to discuss statewide competencies for Nebraska early childhood educators. 

• Think Tanks Summary (March 2016)
• Think Tanks Summary (May 2016)
  
  

For more information about the Buffett Institute's Elevating the Early Childhood Workforce program, contact Susan Sarver, Director of Workforce Planning and Development (ssarver@nebraska.edu or 402-554-2924).