Teacher Education and High Quality Early Education

Abstract

The MCCRC's study on levels of teacher education is presented. The education level of early childhood teachers in Missouri is quite low. Approximately 31% of the teachers had a high school degree or less and another 30% had some type of education/training beyond high school but the education/training did not matriculate to a degree or certificate. A small percentage of teachers (22%) reported having a one- or two-year certificate/degree in child development. The last group, 16% of the sample, were teachers with at least a bachelor's degree. Several findings, related to teacher education, were associated to the licensing status of the program or the type of early childhood program.