Early care and education (ECE) apprenticeship programs provide structured on-the-job learning combined with job-related education or coursework. ECE apprenticeships are viewed as a promising strategy to prepare people for careers in ECE or provide career pathways for the people currently working in ECE. This annotated bibliography summarizes existing resources on the topic of ECE apprenticeships as of early 2024.
Why This Matters
ECE Registered Apprenticeship Programs—meaning programs approved by the US Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Apprenticeship or a State Apprenticeship Agency—have grown over the past decade. In 2023, ECE Registered Apprenticeship Programs were operating in more than 35 states. In addition to Registered Apprenticeship Programs, some states and ECE programs offer nonregistered apprenticeship programs that provide on-the job-training with classroom instruction but are not approved by DOL or a State Apprenticeship Agency.
Given the growth of ECE apprenticeships, the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the US Department of Health and Human Services contracted with the Urban Institute and MEF Associates project team to develop an annotated bibliography. This annotated bibliography summarizes resources that can help ECE apprenticeship program developers, ECE apprenticeship industry intermediaries and other technical assistance providers, institutes of higher education that implement ECE apprenticeship programs, researchers, and local, state, and federal policymakers.
Key Takeaways
We found 44 publications on the topic of ECE apprenticeships—16 of which we categorize as research publications. Of these 16 research publications, 12 are summaries of descriptive research studies including implementation, process, and case studies, 3 present findings from literature reviews and discussions with experts, and 1 reviews and synthesizes available data on the ECE workforce. The remaining 28 materials and resources include policy briefs and reports, program descriptions, and technical assistance resources and toolkits. We summarize each publication, highlighting the following aspects of ECE apprenticeships: development and implementation, participation and access, financing, outcomes and effectiveness, and data sources. For the research studies, we also summarize the methodology and research findings.
How We Did It
To identify the resources in this annotated bibliography, we conducted a scan of research and gray literature, issued a public call for materials and resources on ECE apprenticeships in collaboration with OPRE, and compiled resources recommended by ECE apprenticeship experts. The team screened, reviewed, and coded the relevant resources. Resources were included that met at least one of the following criteria:
- addressed what is known about ECE apprenticeships
- identified gaps in the knowledge base about ECE apprenticeships
- addressed at least one topic of interest to this project: development and implementation, program components, participation and access, partnerships, training or technical assistance, financing, policy context, and data sources
