Creating communities: a consortium model for early childhood leaders
The current paper describes an urban university-anchored but community-based consortium of early childhood centers and community partners in a large Midwestern US city. The goal of the Consortium is to provide professional development opportunities that include networking, coaching,
and collaboration as part of a community of practice (CoP) intended to improve program quality. Our findings suggest that early childhood center directors who are part of the Consortium describe benefits consistent with a CoP, specifically in terms of connection, resources, and community.
Our findings also show that sense of community is associated with deeper engagement with the Consortium and program quality rating of the member center. Implications of the findings for future practice, especially in urban settings, are discussed.
Keywords: Early childhood education; community of practice; directors; professional development; urban
Document Type: Research Article
Affiliations: 1: Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA 2: College of Education, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
Publication date: 27 May 2018
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