Assessing the Implementation and Cost of High Quality Early Care and Education: Comparative Multi-Case Study, Phase 1

Implementation interview protocol

staffing MATHEMATICA POLICY RESEARCH

mODULE 1: StaffING

We’d like to start by discussing staff qualifications and the hiring process.

A. Staff Qualifications

1. What are the minimum education requirements for each type of staff, and what are the preferred requirements?

[Indicate what is required and what is preferred. Place an “R” in the box for required, and a “P” for preferred.]

	HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE	ASSOCIATE’S DEGREE	BACHELOR’S DEGREE	MASTER’S DEGREE OR HIGHER
a. Lead teachers who work with children ages 0-5	1 □	2 □	3 □	4 □
b. Assistant teachers who work with children ages 0-5	1 □	2 □	3 □	4 □
c. Aides who work with children ages 0-5	1 □	2 □	3 □	4 □
d. Education specialists	1 □	2 □	3 □	4 □
e. Center (site) director	1 □	2 □	3 □	4 □

2. Do you require, or prefer, specialized coursework in early childhood development or related field when hiring each type of staff?

[Indicate what is required and what is preferred. Place an “R” in the box for required, and a “P” for preferred.]

	YES	NO
a. Lead teachers who work with children ages 0-5	1 □	0 □
b. Assistant teachers who work with children ages 0-5	1 □	0 □
c. Aides who work with children ages 0-5	1 □	0 □
d. Education specialist	1 □	0 □
e. Center (site) director	1 □	0 □

3. What certification or credentialing (such as a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential, or a state credential) if any, do you require, or prefer, for each type of staff?

[Indicate what is required and what is preferred.]

	SPECIFY REQUIREMENTS
a. Lead teachers who work with children ages 0-5 □ NONE
b. Assistant teachers who work with children ages 0-5 □ NONE
c. Aides who work with children ages 0-5 □ NONE
d. Education specialist □ NONE
e. Center (site) director □ NONE

4. How much early care or education experience, if any, do you look for in hiring each type of staff?

	SPECIFY REQUIREMENTS
a. Lead teachers who work with children ages 0-5 □ NONE
b. Assistant teachers who work with children ages 0-5 □ NONE
c. Aides who work with children ages 0-5 □ NONE
d. Education specialist □ NONE
e. Center (site) director □ NONE

5. What additional skills, abilities, or other qualifications do you look for in hiring each type of staff?

	SPECIFY REQUIREMENTS
a. Lead teachers who work with children ages 0-5 □ NONE
b. Assistant teachers who work with children ages 0-5 □ NONE
c. Aides who work with children ages 0-5 □ NONE
d. Education specialist □ NONE
e. Center (site) director □ NONE

6. Is there consistency in these other qualifications for staff holding the same position, or do the requirements vary?

	MARK ONE PER ROW
	REQUIREMENTS DO NOT DIFFER	REQUIREMENTS DIFFER BY AGE OF CHILDREN IN CLASSROOM	REQUIREMENTS DIFFER BY TYPE OF CLASSROOM (SUCH AS HEAD START, PRE-K)	REQUIREMENTS DIFFER IN SOME OTHER WAY, EXPLAIN IN SPACE PROVIDED
a. Lead teachers who work with children ages 0-5	1 □	2 □	3 □	4 □
b. Assistant teachers who work with children ages 0-5	1 □	2 □	3 □	4 □
c. Aides who work with children ages 0-5	1 □	2 □	3 □	4 □
d. Education specialist	1 □	2 □	3 □	4 □

7. How many current staff meet the education requirements, degree of experience, and other qualifications just described for their position? [Probe on each category listed below.

[Interviewer: Fill in total number of each type of staff from the initial call interview and make sure numbers reported add up to total number. If they are unable to answer the question exactly, ask approximately what proportion of each group meet the requirements.]

	ENTER A NUMBER IN EACH COLUMN
	MEET IN FULL	MEET EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS ONLY	MEET EXPERIENCE OR OTHER QUALIFICATIONS ONLY	DO NOT MEET EITHER EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, OR OTHER QUALIFICATIONS
a. Of the X Lead teachers who work with children ages 0-5	| | |	| | |	| | |	| | |
b. Of the X Assistant teachers who work with children ages 0-5	| | |	| | |	| | |	| | |
c. Of the X Aides who work with children ages 0-5	| | |	| | |	| | |	| | |
d. Of the X Education specialist	| | |	| | |	| | |	| | |
e. Of the X Center (site) director	| | |	| | |	| | |	| | |

9. Why do you think you are successful/not successful at hiring staff who have the qualifications and skills you are seeking?

9. [If staff do not fully meet requirements] What are the reasons you have hired or have current staff who do not fully meet the qualifications or skills desired for their position?

9. [If staff do not fully meet requirements] What, if any, plans do you have in place for staff who do not meet the requirements to help them to meet them?

B. Staff Recruitment and Selection (the hiring process)

1. How does your center recruit potential staff for open positions?

1. [Follow-up if appropriate:] Do you specify education requirements and other qualifications in job announcements and descriptions?

2. Do the methods you use to recruit potential candidates vary based on the type of position, such as a director or classroom staff? Please describe.

2. Who is involved in outreach, advertising, or recruitment for open positions?

1. Does this vary depending on the type of position for which you are hiring? Please describe.

3. About how many applicants do you typically receive for the following positions:

• Center director or site administrator? _____

• Education or curriculum specialists? _____

• Classroom staff? [ask about lead teachers and assistants separately] _____

4. Who does the initial review and screening of resumes to identify applicants that meet minimum qualifications?

1. Does this vary depending on the type of position for which you are hiring?

If yes, how does it vary?

5. Please describe the interview process for center staff.

[For each position, probe on:]

1. The number of applicants brought in for the position

2. Who is involved in conducting interviews?

3. Who is involved in the assessment and discussion of candidates?

4. Who is involved in making the final hiring decision?

• Classroom staff [ask about lead teachers and assistants separately]

[Additional probes for lead teacher interview process:]

1. Do you discuss scenarios of classroom situations? If so, how?

2. Are candidates expected to prepare or present a lesson or age-appropriate activity for discussion? For observation?

3. In what ways, if any, do you discuss what quality education and care means to a job candidate?

• Education or curriculum specialists?

• Center director or site administrator?

6. Is there anything that I have not asked about that you think is important about what you have in place at this center to help you hire staff with the qualifications you are seeking?

7. In the past 12 months, have you hired staff to fill a position(s) associated with implementing a new initiative to help improve quality (for example, a coaching model, or adoption of a new curriculum or assessment tool)?

□ Yes □ No Go to 8

1. Who determined the position requirements?

2. In what ways did the hiring process differ from classroom staff?

8. What is the biggest challenge you face in filling vacant positions for classroom staff?

Probe on: Characteristics of candidates (qualifications or skills)

Features of the center (available incentives, benefits)

Features of the environment (a lot of available jobs in the market)

Features of the hiring process

Characteristics of the position (curriculum, number of hours)

Cognitive Interviewing Questions for Module

1. Please tell me about your overall experience answering questions on staff qualifications, the hiring process and staff turnover in the “Staffing” section.

2. [Ask only if perceived difficulty in responding]: I noticed that you paused when responding to one question in particular. The question reads as follows [repeat question]. Was this question difficult to understand? If so, why?

3. Were any other questions in this section not clear to you or difficult to respond to for some other reason?

1. If so, can you think of other ways that the question might be worded so that it is easier to understand or easier to respond to?

2. What additional information would you need to answer the question?

4. In this section, I asked you about hiring staff for positions associated with implementing a new initiative to help improve quality. What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “initiative to help improve quality?”

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