The First Year of the Palm Beach County Afterschool Educator Certificate Program

This report describes the first year implementation of a new professional development program, Palm Beach County Afterschool Educator Certificate (PBC-AEC). Set within a larger systemic quality improvement effort in Palm Beach County, this training seeks to provide a concentrated course of learning, practice, and reflection. The training seeks to change how afterschool practitioners perceive their relationship to other staff, to the youth they work with, and to the broader afterschool field. Fundamentally, PBC-AEC educator is about improving knowledge and practices in the short and longer term, and increasing practitioners' interest in further professional development and involvement in the afterschool field.

Chapin Hall's research relies upon surveys of training participants conducted at the completion of training, in-depth interviews with participants in the weeks following training and with training staff at multiple points, and the review of program documentation and internal evaluation data.

Overall, practitioners reported high levels of satisfaction with PBC-AEC training soon after its completion, and their experiences typically matched or exceeded their expectations. Training was credited by participants as have several important impacts, including increased confidence in abilities, increased satisfaction with their work, and changed workplace practices. Many practitioners believed that this training had increased, or would increase, their likelihood to obtain additional education or training. Many also believed it made them feel more likely to stay in the afterschool field.

Although practitioners described many immediate improvements in their attitudes, knowledge and practices, almost half of participants also believed there were barriers at their workplace that would make it difficult to apply parts of PBC-AEC training. In addition, the PBC-AEC program enrolled front-line staff and supervisors, who appear to have very different existing roles and goals within the afterschool field.

Current research being conducted by Chapin Hall on the PBC-AEC program is focused more directly upon the experience of bringing PBC-AEC training back to the workplace and understanding the organizational issues that help to support or hinder its application.