Tennessee’s Infant and Toddler Credential Pilot Evaluation Report

Tennessee’s Infant and Toddler Credential

as proposed in the pilot project is designed

to acknowledge the work of licensed

infant and toddler caregivers in providing

the highest quality care environments

for Tennessee’s children. The objectives

proposed in Tennessee’s Infant and Toddler

Credential are to increase the infant and

toddler caregiver’s knowledge of:

• Child development theory and practice;

• Relationship-based models of care and

education;

• The importance of quality interactions to

infant mental health;

• Individual curriculum design;

• The role of family and community in

quality infant and toddler care.

This evaluation is primarily a summative outcome evaluation, which used performance measures based on the project developers’ theory of change and child care research on effective professional development for infant and toddler caregivers. The purpose of this evaluation is three-fold: first and foremost, the goal is to determine whether the Tennessee Infant and Toddler Credential Pilot Project met its stated objectives and outcomes. Second, the evaluation is designed to provide insight and feedback to the program’s developers as they move forward to bring the program to scale. Third, the research on effectiveness of infant/toddler child care professional development initiatives is sparse. Findings from this evaluation will likely point to many other research questions that researchers and future evaluations can explore in order to push the field toward a deeper understanding of professional development models, infant toddler credentialing, and ultimately, quality and enhanced child outcomes.

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