Ashela Trevino

The Early Childhood Work Environment Survey (ECWES) was developed by Dr. Paula Jorde Bloom. It was first released in 1989. This tool "can help directors assess the organizational climate of their early childhood program" (McCormick, n.d.) by evaluating staff perceptions.

Assessment items are organized across ten dimensions:(Everbloom, n.d.)

• Collegiality

• Professional growth

• Supervisor support

• Clarity

• Reward system

• Decision-making

• Goal consensus

• Task orientation

• Physical setting

• Innovation

These dimensions provide insight into how staff experience: communication, leadership, collaboration, and support.

While it does not directly measure classroom instructional practices, the workplace conditions could be essential for implementing high-quality, evidence-based early childhood education. It doesn't seem to explicitly measure culturally sustaining pedagogy or equity-focused practices. However, "research in the early childhood field demonstrates the critical role that program quality plays in the development of the cognitive skills, social abilities, and healthy behaviors that prepare children to succeed in school and life (McCormick, n.d.).

References:

Everbloom Learning. (n.d.). The Early Childhood Work Environment Survey (ECWES). https://everbloomlearning.com/ecwes/

McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership. (n.d.). Early Childhood Work Environment Survey. National Louis University. https://mccormickcenter.nl.edu/library/ecwes-sample-profile/

Program Evaluation Tool: PAS-3

Name: Program Administration Scale, Third Edition (PAS-3)

Publisher: McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership, National Louis University

Date of Publication: 2022

What the Tool Evaluates:

• The PAS-3 evaluates leadership and management practices in early childhood programs. It consists of 25 items organized into key domains such as:

  • Human resources development

  • Program operations

  • Fiscal management

  • Family and community partnerships

  • Program evaluation

  • Organizational climate

• Each item is scored on a 7-point scale, ranging from minimal to excellent practice, providing programs with a structured way to assess the quality of their administrative practices.

Research-Based Practices in Early Childhood Education:

• The PAS-3 is grounded in research on effective leadership and management. It aligns with best practices in early childhood by:

• Promoting distributed leadership and continuous quality improvement.

• Highlighting policies that support teacher effectiveness, professional growth, and stable staffing.

• Encouraging systematic program evaluation and use of data to guide decision-making.

• In this way, the tool helps administrators adopt and sustain evidence-based practices that contribute to program quality and positive child outcomes.

Culturally Sustaining and Inclusive Practices:

• The PAS-3 integrates elements of equity, diversity, and inclusion by examining whether leadership:

• Builds reciprocal, respectful relationships with families from diverse backgrounds.

Engages in fair and transparent hiring and professional development practices.

• Encourages culturally and linguistically responsive policies that reflect the needs of the community served.

These components ensure that evaluation does not just focus on technical management but also on inclusive leadership practices that sustain cultural responsiveness and equity in early childhood education.

_{Krista Gaitan}

_{Publisher: National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ}

_{Date of Publication: 2011}

_{What it evaluates...}

_{It is a self report survey for early childhood teachers to reflect on their classroom practices and quality. There are over 100 questions and teachers will answers questions using a Likert scale.}

_{Areas it covers...}

• _{Literacy, math, science, physical education, art.}

• _{Overall Curriculum}

• _{Instruction & Assessment}

• _{The Physical Environment}

• _{Emotional Climate}

• _{Leadership & Supervision}

• _{Family Involvement}

^{Research Based Practices}

^{Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP)}

• _{The survey asks teachers many questions about development which aligns with research on DAP and intentionally teaching in the multiple domains.}

_{Jean Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development}

• _{The survey allows teachers to self-assess the environment that the children are learning in. This align's with Piaget's theory by providing environments where children can learn and explore.}

_{Lev Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory}

• _{With this theory, a teacher acts as a guide providing support for children. This assessment allows teachers to assess teacher-child interactions to make sure that teachers are there for instructional support and responsiveness.}

_{While this assessment tool doesn't particularly ask about cultural and inclusive practices, many of the questions in the survey suggest that having materials in the classroom that are available to all children and materials that are diverse are important. The classroom environment should also be welcoming to all families and children. There isn't any specific category to check for culturally sustaining and inclusive practices, but there are some questions that might be relevant to diversity and inclusion within the classroom environment.}

_References

_{Hallam, R., Rous, B., Riley-Ayers, S., & Epstein, D. (2011). Teacher Survey of Early Education Quality. New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education Research}

_{National Institute for Early Education Research (n.d.). Our Developed Tools and Professional Development. NIEER. https://nieer.org/our-work/nieer-developed-tools-professional-development}

_{Krista Gaitan}

_{Publisher: National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ}

_{Date of Publication: 2011}

_{What it evaluates...}

_{It is a self report survey for early childhood teachers to reflect on their classroom practices and quality. There are over 100 questions and teachers will answers questions using a Likert scale.}

_{Areas it covers...}

• _{Literacy, math, science, physical education, art.}

• _{Overall Curriculum}

• _{Instruction & Assessment}

• _{The Physical Environment}

• _{Emotional Climate}

• _{Leadership & Supervision}

• _{Family Involvement}

^{Research Based Practices}

^{Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP)}

• _{The survey asks teachers many questions about development which aligns with research on DAP and intentionally teaching in the multiple domains.}

_{Jean Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development}

• _{The survey allows teachers to self-assess the environment that the children are learning in. This align's with Piaget's theory by providing environments where children can learn and explore.}

_{Lev Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory}

• _{With this theory, a teacher acts as a guide providing support for children. This assessment allows teachers to assess teacher-child interactions to make sure that teachers are there for instructional support and responsiveness.}

_{While this assessment tool doesn't particularly ask about cultural and inclusive practices, many of the questions in the survey suggest that having materials in the classroom that are available to all children and materials that are diverse are important. The classroom environment should also be welcoming to all families and children. There isn't any specific category to check for culturally sustaining and inclusive practices, but there are some questions that might be relevant to diversity and inclusion within the classroom environment.}

_{A self-assessment survey like this would be extremely helpful to early childhood educators. One problem that I ran into was the licensing process for this assessment tool. There is a process that needs to be followed to have access to this assessment. I tried to fill out the license, but the email address I was supposed to send it to was undeliverable. I then tried to get ahold of somebody else, but did not hear back. So it definitely isn't something that educators could easily access.}

_{I do believe self-assessments have a lot of benefits, as long as educators are being honest filling these out. What are some experiences you have all had with self-assessment, specifically in early childhood?}

_References

_{Hallam, R., Rous, B., Riley-Ayers, S., & Epstein, D. (2011). Teacher Survey of Early Education Quality. New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education Research}

_{National Institute for Early Education Research (n.d.). Our Developed Tools and Professional Development. NIEER. https://nieer.org/our-work/nieer-developed-tools-professional-development}