On both the national and the international level, the qualification of skilled personnel in the field of early childhood education is receiving an increasing amount of attention. This is to a large degree due to the constant changes in demands and requirements connected with professional work in the field of early childhood education (cf. e.g. Oberhuemer 2009; Stamm 2010). The changes in tasks and in competences, too, – some of which are, for example, due to the implementation of country-specific educational programs and plans – also involve new demands concerning training and further education in early childhood education (cf. Stockfisch/Stricker/Meyer 2008). With regard to the quality of training and further education for skilled personnel in early childhood education teaching staff plays a crucial role (cf., among others, Kraft 2006; von Hippel/Grimm 2010). So far, only fragmentary information is available regarding recruitment patterns, assignments, or the qualification of teachers working in further education for early childhood educators. Against the background of this heterogeneous landscape of further education, in particular, systematization seems advisable. The project’s theoretical points of reference are formed by theories of competency and of professionalization. 

The project “Taking stock of the recruitment, assignment and competence profiles of the teaching staff in further education for early childhood educators (German abbreviation: KoprofF)”, sponsored by the Ministry of Research and Education (June 2011 until November 2013), is a joint venture by the University of Heidelberg (Prof. Dr. Carola Iller) and the University of Munich (PD Dr. Aiga von Hippel) in close cooperation with the Deutsches Jugendinstitut (DJI, German Youth Institute)/Project Further Education Initiative for Skilled Personnel in Early Childhood Education (German abbreviation: WiFF). Due to its significance for the quality of training and further education of skilled personnel in early childhood education, the teaching staff in further education for early childhood educators constitutes the focal point of this project. Its aim is to determine relevant and widespread recruitment patterns and forms of assignment among the teaching personnel and to simultaneously undertake a systematic stocktaking of the competence profiles of the teaching staff. Here, the focus is on the relation to the job assignment and on the professional identity of the teaching staff in further education for early childhood educators. In the context of an institution-analytically grounded systematization and typology of “arrangements of further education”, the project inquires, inter alia, into the following questions: who offers further education in this field, what is the structure of the target groups and the programs offered, and what does the personnel structure of the respective providers look like?

Beher, K./Walter, M. (2010): Zehn Fragen – zehn Antworten zur Fort- und Weiterbildungslandschaft frühpädagogischer Fachkräfte, Werkstattbericht aus einer bundesweiten Befragung von Weiterbildungsanbietern. Eine Studie der Weiterbildungsinitiative frühpädagogischer Fachkräfte (WiFF); online: http://www.weiterbildungsinitiative.de/uploads/media/WiFF_Studie_6_Walter_Beher_Internet.pdf Kraft, S./Seitter, W./Kollewe, L. (2009): Professionalitätsentwicklung des Weiterbil¬dungspersonals. Bielefeld: wbv. Kraft, Susanne (2006): Aufgaben und Tätigkeiten von Weiterbildner/inne/n - Herausforderungen und Perspektiven einer weiteren Professionalierung in der Weiterbildung. Bonn: DIE. Online: http://www.die-bonn.de/esprid/dokumente/doc-2006/kraft06_02.pdf Oberhuemer, P. (2009): Fachpersonal in Kindertageseinrichtungen der Europäischen Union, Ausbildungen und Arbeitsfelder. Projektergebnisse. www.ifp.bayern.de/imperia/md/content/stmas/ifp/091014_bmfsfj_fachpersonal_eu27_neu.pdf) Stamm, M. (2010): Frühkindliche Bildung, Betreuung, Erziehung. Bern. Stockfisch, Ch./Stricker, M./Meyer, A. (2008): Ergebnisse der Studie „Qualitätsanfor¬derungen an ein Fort- und Weiterbildungskonzept für Erzieherinnen und Erzieher“. Düsseldorf. Von Hippel, A./Grimm, R. (2010): Qualitätsentwicklungskonzepte in der Weiterbildung Frühpädagogischer Fachkräfte. Zusammenfassung der Expertise für das Projekt Weiterbildungsinitiative Frühpädagogischer Fachkräfte (WiFF). München: DJI.