Inequities in Coaching Interventions: A Systematic Review of Who Receives and Provides Coaching Within Early Care and Education

Background Providing quality and equitable professional development (PD) to early care and education (ECE) providers can support high-quality care for young children. Coaching is a common way of delivering PD that has demonstrated positive impacts on teacher practices, however the field has yet to summarize which providers receive coaching, who provides coaching, the match between providers and coaches, and if researchers are examining the effectiveness of their interventions for different populations of providers. Objective The current study conducted a systematic literature review to examine these characteristics. Method A search was conducted using PsychInfo and ERIC between 2009 and 2020, with further searches conducted in Google Scholar and through backwards citation chaining. In total, 161 peer-reviewed articles representing 117 unique, U.S.-based studies were included in this systematic review. Results More coaching research is conducted in urban versus rural areas; at Head Start, center-based, and public pre-school programs compared to other ECE settings; and with 3–5-year-old children compared with infants and toddlers. ECE providers receiving coaching were predominantly White, held a bachelor’s degree, and spoke English. Eighty-one percent of studies reported some information about coaches’ backgrounds, but only 15% included information about the coaches’ race, ethnicity, and/or language spoken. Conclusion Findings indicate researchers need to be more explicit in their research design and dissemination efforts regarding their target populations and purveyors of their coaching interventions. The field needs to reflect on the potential inequities regarding who receives coaching-inclusive interventions based on providers’ geography and demographic background.