Introduction
The Study of Coaching in Early Care and Education Settings (SCOPE) was designed to examine the variations in coaching in ECE. The sample was recruited across seven geographically dispersed states that demonstrated active implementation of coaching in at least one ECE setting. The centers and family child care (FCC) provider homes in the SCOPE sample served children from families with low incomes primarily through a Head Start grant and/or with Child Care and Development Fund subsidies (though many settings had other sources of revenue as well). Surveys were provided to ECE coaches and to a sample of ECE center-based teachers and FCC providers who participated in coaching. Surveys were collected in 2019, and a set of follow up surveys we collected in 2022 from respondents to the 2019 survey. The initial surveys examined a wide range of coaching features and processes, program context and supports provided to coaches. The follow up surveys explored the impact of COVID on coaching implementation for ECE. Data from the SCOPE study is available for secondary analyses at the Child and Family Data Archive.
Purpose
This brief describes information about ECE coaches’ training and supervision from 2019 surveys of coaches who provided coaching in center-based classrooms and FCC homes. When we refer to coaching or coaches in SCOPE, we mean people who meet regularly with teachers or FCC providers one-on-one or with their teaching team to provide feedback and guidance to help them strengthen their teaching with preschool-age children. The brief highlights information from surveys of center directors about the types of supports they provided to coaches working in their centers.
Key Findings and Highlights
Overall, coaches in SCOPE participated in trainings on a number of topics. Most coaches in SCOPE received training about coaching strategies and communication with teachers and providers, and many also received training about coaching goals, assessment and observation tools, and coaching structure. Future studies could examine the links between the topics and the quality of coaching.
Center directors reported that training provided by their center tended to be an initial meeting or informal (rather than formal) training.
Coach supervision from centers was prevalent for center-based coaches in SCOPE.
Center directors in SCOPE were generally satisfied with coaching in their centers, reporting that coaching helped strengthen teacher and provider practices and meet center goals.