A new report from the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) explores state preschool policies related to assistant teacher qualification requirements, strategies to meet those requirements, compensation policies, and professional development (PD) supports available to, and required for, assistant teachers.
According to their findings, researchers concluded that while assistant teachers play a crucial role in the preschool classroom, policies that support them often do not meet the minimum standards needed for creating a high-quality program and supporting children in ways that foster positive developmental outcomes and learning.
“Assistant teachers are an integral part of the early childhood classroom and take on many responsibilities, including planning and implementing educational activities and supporting individual children and small groups,” according to the report. “In addition, they often bring linguistic, cultural, and racial/ethnic diversity to the classroom teaching team. As such a critical part of the preschool teaching team, assistants should be valued for their role in the classroom, appropriately qualified to support children’s learning and development, and adequately compensated.”
Key findings
Most state-funded preschool programs require two adults in each classroom, typically a lead teacher and an assistant teacher — sometimes referred to as aides, associate teachers, paraeducators or paraprofessionals.
During the 2023–24 school year, lead teachers were required to have a bachelor’s degree in 48 percent of state-funded preschool programs, and nearly 75 percent required lead teachers to have specialized training in early childhood education, child development or another related field. However, only about 33 percent of state-funded preschool programs required the pre-employment qualification of a Child Development Associate (CDA) or equivalent for assistant teachers in preschool classrooms, nor did they include assistant teachers in salary scales or offer similar starting salaries to their K-3 public school equivalents.
Among other key findings outlined in the report:
- Over 70 percent of preschool programs require both lead and assistant teachers to participate in regular PD hours, but 12 states did not require any PD hours for assistant teachers
- About two-thirds of programs required some level professional development planning for assistant teachers
- Twenty-one programs required ongoing classroom-embedded support to be provided for both lead and assistant teachers in all settings
- About 30 percent of programs met or exceeded NIEER’s staff professional development benchmark, meaning the majority of programs are not offering what research has suggested is the minimum adequate support needed for both lead and assistant teachers in terms of PD hours, coaching and PD plans
“Taken together, these policies not only affect children’s classroom experiences but also limit assistant teachers’ ability to earn a living wage and reduce their reliance on public assistance programs,” according to the report. “Improving support and compensation for assistant teachers can also help reduce stress and retention, which will result in a stronger teaching team, benefiting the teaching staff as well as the preschoolers.”
To address these gaps, the report details the following recommendations:
- Raise assistant teacher qualifications to a CDA or equivalent
- Support increase pay aligned with qualifications
- Develop policies that address starting salary, salary scale and health care benefits parity that are inclusive of assistant teachers
- Offer, require and support assistant teachers to participate in ongoing PD
- Provide resources to complete PD and education qualifications
