Building the Future of Early Childhood Education Through Experience

When first-year Literacy Studies student Bambi He began her placement in an infant, toddler, and preschool classroom, she did not expect to spend so much time thinking about how children communicate long before they have words. She watched how toddlers reached, pointed, laughed, or turned away, and how teachers responded with gentle mirroring, soft language, and close attention. These moments, simple and fleeting, became some of the most profound lessons of her graduate career.

“I saw how much communication happens before children even have language,” He said. “The teachers helped me understand how to observe and respond, and how to support a child’s emotional needs. It changed how I think about early development.”

He is one of many students who have completed experiential fieldwork as part of the proseminar for Penn GSE’s Early Childhood Education and Family Studies (ECEFS) Academic Certificate. The program is an emerging cornerstone of early childhood scholarship and practice at Penn GSE. It offers students a rigorous academic foundation combined with hands-on learning in Philadelphia communities.

Now in its second year, the certificate is designed for graduate students who want to understand early childhood development with depth and nuance. It also prepares leaders who hope to influence systems that support young children and families.

A Certificate Built on Student Demand and Faculty Vision

The idea for the ECEFS certificate originated from years of student interest and faculty expertise across Penn GSE. Although early childhood research has long been a part of the school’s identity, there had been no structured pathway for students to specialize in the field.

“We have had faculty doing cutting-edge work in early childhood for a long time,” said Associate Professor Sharon Wolf, the ECEFS faculty director. “But we did not have a way to bring that together. Students interested in early childhood education had to navigate that path on their own. This certificate finally creates that structure.”

The program was launched with support from a five-million-dollar gift from the Suzanne McGraw Foundation. The gift also established the Suzanne McGraw Scholarship, which offers financial support to students pursuing the certificate.

“These scholarships are not huge, but they are substantial,” said Program Manager Ardath Weiss. “They remove barriers and help students who want to enter this field but need financial support.”

The certificate includes one required course, “Proseminar: Topics in Early Childhood, Families, and Equity,” and a set of flexible electives that allow students to tailor the program to their own educational goals. Weiss and Wolf worked with faculty across all divisions to identify courses and assignments that could serve early childhood interests.

“We reviewed syllabi across every division,” Wolf said. “Even if a course was not specifically about early childhood, it might have a final project that allowed students to apply what they learned to this field. The idea is to build connections across programs and help students integrate early childhood perspectives into their graduate work.”

Interest grew quickly. The second year of the certificate brought far more applications than available spots.

“Students hear about it through their classmates, through faculty, and through our speaker series,” Weiss said. “There is real excitement around this work.”

Experiential Learning as the Heart of the Certificate

While the coursework provides academic grounding, the experiential practicum of the proseminar sets the certificate apart. Students complete 30 to 40 hours of fieldwork, matched intentionally to their interests and career goals. These placements are woven into the fabric of Philadelphia’s early childhood ecosystem.

“We really want students to see what early childhood looks like on the ground,” Wolf said. “It matters to understand who we are talking about when we discuss infants and toddlers. The practicum helps students make those connections in real settings with real families, teachers, and children.”

Placements include preschools, infant and toddler centers, research organizations, policy offices, and community agencies. Students have worked with the Penn Children’s Center, Children’s Village, the City of Philadelphia’s Early Childhood Education team, and the Penn Early Childhood and Family Research Center, among others.

“We match students carefully,” Weiss explained. “Sites need a clear project or role for the student. That might be classroom support, data collection, interviewing families, assisting with research, or creating resources. We want the work to be meaningful and doable within the students’ schedules.”

Partnerships that Bring Research to Life

A core partner in this work is the Penn Early Childhood and Family Research Center (PECF), led by Executive Director Katherine Barghaus. PECF uses developmental and educational science to improve the well-being of young children and families facing systemic injustice. It brings together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and community members to produce knowledge that can strengthen programs and inform policy for young children and families. 

“PECF is focused on understanding how early childhood systems function and how they can better support children and families,” Barghaus said. “We work directly with teachers, caregivers, community members, system leaders, and policymakers. The certificate gives students entry into that practitioner network, where they can see how research and practice inform one another.”

PECF hosts speakers, shares new research with students, and collaborates with field sites across the city. Barghaus sees the certificate as part of a larger effort to prepare leaders who can understand both the evidence and the lived realities of early childhood systems.

“Students need to understand the complexity of early childhood work,” Barghaus said. “It is not just theories or policy documents. It is relationships, community needs, and the day-to-day experiences of children. The certificate gives students that holistic view.”

Her team also shapes opportunities for students who want to understand program evaluation, data collection, and research. These placements expose students to broader systems-level questions that shape early childhood outcomes.

“Students begin to see how decisions get made,” Barghaus said. “They also see how important it is to partner with practitioners and caregivers in ways that respect their expertise.”

Inside the Classroom: Learning from Children

At the Penn Children’s Center, students learn in a setting that combines developmental research with high-quality early childhood practice. The center serves children from infancy up to kindergarten and follows a play-based model informed by developmental science.

“We do childcare and early learning together,” said Heather MacDermott-Havey, executive director of the Penn Children’s Center. “Infants might explore with a yellow scarf. Toddlers might sort yellow objects into baskets. Preschoolers start writing the word yellow. You build on what children already know. That is the art and science of early learning.”

Students quickly see how intentional teaching supports language development, emotional regulation, social skills, and curiosity.

“When someone walks into the classroom, the children often invite them right into play,” MacDermott-Havey said. “We model for students how to be present and engaged. Some come in nervous, but after a few weeks, they relax. They start reading stories, joining pretend play, and building relationships. They grow from the experience just as the children do.”

He, the Literacy Studies student, experienced this firsthand in her work with infants and toddlers.

“I learned how much children tell you without speaking,” she said. “You have to observe closely, respond with care and thoughtfulness, and support their development with sensitivity. The teachers at Penn Children’s Center were amazing models.”

Student Insight: Seeing the Whole Child

First-year Language, Globalization, and Intercultural Studies student Howard Ho completed his placement in a preschool classroom at Children’s Village, a Philadelphia center known for its multilingual and multicultural community.

“One of my best memories was seeing teachers comfort children in their home languages,” Ho said. “I was moved by how teachers supported children during emotional moments. It helped me understand how language, culture, and relationships shape children’s early experiences.”

Ho also saw how teachers turned conflicts or emotional challenges into opportunities for growth.

“I learned that early childhood education is deeply relational,” he said. “It is not just about academics. It is about helping children feel safe, understood, and capable.”

Both He and Ho described the practicum as transformative. They saw how theory came alive in real settings and how children’s development is shaped by everyday interactions.

Looking Ahead: Expanding a Growing Community

The certificate’s leaders, placement site partners, and students are already envisioning what comes next.

“We have a bigger vision,” Wolf said. “We hope this can become a cross-University certificate. Early childhood knowledge would benefit students in nursing, social policy, psychology, and many other fields.”

Weiss is focused on strengthening partnerships, improving placement logistics, and supporting a growing number of interested students.

Barghaus hopes to deepen connections between researchers and practitioners, bringing more opportunities for students to engage with community-based work.

MacDermott-Havey hopes more students will enter classrooms and discover the complexity and richness of early learning.

He and Ho hope to bring what they learned into their future careers. He is looking at contributing to early childhood education through a children’s literature lens and pursuing a doctoral degree. Ho hopes to work in multilingual educational contexts or pursue a doctoral degree.

“This certificate helped me understand children more deeply,” Ho said. “It shaped the kind of educator and researcher I want to become.”

For all of them, the heart of the certificate is clear. It is about understanding how children grow, how families navigate early learning, and how communities support the youngest members of society.

“It is about building leaders who understand the science and the humanity of early childhood,” Wolf said. “Our students will carry that knowledge into the systems they shape, and young children will benefit from their leadership.”

Photo: Ryan Collerd for Penn GSE and Penn Children's Center, Division of Business Services