The Early Childhood Educator Preparation Innovation Grant: Lessons from Initial Implementation. Policy Research: IERC 2015-2

The main goals of this implementation study were to: (1) examine how the grant recipients were implementing the changes set forth in their grant proposals; (2) identify initial barriers to implementation of grant activities; (3) identify catalysts that aided in goal attainment and/or partnership development; and (4) consider the sustainability of the impact of the grant-related activities. Through structured telephone interviews, a brief description of major activities associated with the grant; catalysts and/or levers enhancing grant activities; barriers inhibiting implementation of grant activities; and successful strategies utilized to overcome barriers were solicited. There was also a specific emphasis on articulation activities within the partnerships, as articulation was considered a foundational component of the Educator Preparation Program Innovation (EPPI) grants. This implementation study reveals the barriers to project-specific goal attainment and the catalysts that allowed the partnerships to meet their objectives. This research is informative for policy development specific to articulation agreements, current and future early childhood innovation grantees, as well as others attempting to build stronger and more authentic partnerships between community colleges and four-year institutions. Appended are: (1) Basic Interview Protocol; (2) Table B1: Representative Summaries or Quotes within the Institutional Barriers Theme; (3) Table B2: Representative Summaries or Quotes within the Systemic Barriers Theme; (4) Table B3: Representative Summaries or Quotes within the Catalysts Theme; (5) Table B4: Representative Summaries or Quotes within the Potential Long-Term Impacts Theme; (6) Table B5: Representative Summaries or Quotes within the Mediating Impacts Theme; and (7) Table B6: Representative Summaries or Quotes within the Frameworks Theme.