Page 106 - Gateways for Early Educators

Gateways for Early Educators
APPENDIX C: GATEWAYS FOR EARLY EDUCATORS FOCUS GROUP SUMMARY AND PROTOCOL
Gateways for Early Educators PREPARED BY LAURA VALLES & ASSOCIATES, INC.
FOCUS GROUP REPORT
EXECTIVE SUMMARY
OVERVIEW
The Gateways for Early Educators (Gateways) program was established in 2010. Gateways offers pathways to professional development for early childhood education providers. These pathways include a comprehensive training program, individualized coaching in career development, and individualized coaching in increasing the quality of child care environments. Gateways services are offered through seven Resource and Referral agencies located across Los Angeles County. The purpose of this qualitative study was to capture information concerning the experience of Gateways coaching participants gathered through a series of discussion groups and two participant interviews conducted between October 2015 and February 2016. These findings will be used to improve and refine coaching programs, as well as to capture success stories that can be shared with potential future funders. The Child Care Resource Center contracted Laura Valles & Associates, Inc. (LVA) to co- design the discussion group process, conduct the discussion groups and two interviews, and prepare the final report.
KEY FINDINGS
What follows is a brief summary of the relevant findings from data gathered through the discussion group process. A complete description of the methodology and discussion of the findings can be found later in this report. Examples of the discussion questions and informed consent documents can be found in the appendices.
 TRANSFORMATIONAL EFFECT
Gateways Coaching program participants across all participating agencies report a high level of satisfaction with the program and profound transformational changes at both personal and professional levels. The most often cited changes at the personal level included shifts in their perceptions about their own capacities and the profession as a whole. Another singular characteristic of the program is the impact it has had among minority women with limited education, particularly in assisting them with achieving a higher academic degree, professional certification, and establishing or strengthening their small businesses.
 BENEFITS TO CHILDREN
The clientele served by Gateways early educators is uniquely composed of a large percentage of very young children (0-3). The direct benefits on the well-being of these children was most evident in
2016
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