Collaborative Partnerships During Fieldwork Experiences to Promote Evidence-Based Practices

Abstract

In early childhood education, implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) is crucial for enhancing children's developmental outcomes. While educator preparation program coursework often covers the content knowledge of EBPs, the application of this knowledge in fieldwork settings is limited. This results in infrequent implementation of EBPs in early childhood settings, highlighting the need for better strategies. One effective way to promote educators' implementation of EBPs is integrating the behavioral skills training (BST) model during fieldwork experiences. Incorporating BST into early childhood educator preparation programs can foster strong collaborative partnerships among team members, facilitating the identification and intentional use of EBPs to support individual children's learning and development. We describe this new collaborative partnership model in fieldwork experiences to demonstrate how preservice educators, in-service educators, and teacher educators play pivotal roles in influencing each other's performance. This collaborative effort aims to promote the implementation of EBPs that lead to the children's improved developmental outcomes.