Context for the 2024 Study
2021 Research: The Study That Shaped This Work
Before EYLDI studied what effective leadership development looks like, it asked a simpler question: do ECE leaders have access to it at all? This 2021 study — EYLDI's founding research — found that they largely didn't, especially leaders from marginalized backgrounds. That gap is what the 2024 research set out to understand and address.
What the 2021 Study Found
Leadership quality shapes everything else in this sector — but who leads doesn't match who's served
Who leads doesn't match who's served
Nationally, about 50% of children under age 5 in the U.S. are children of color — yet roughly 79% of U.S. early childhood center directors are white, and only 21% are Black, Indigenous, or people of color.
Sources: 2016 Early Childhood Workforce Index; CSCCE, UC Berkeley; Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count; McCormick Center, 2018 — as cited in EYLDI's 2021 report.
The sector already agreed this mattered
In EYLDI's 2021 survey of ECE professionals, 82% endorsed the importance of advancing leaders from marginalized backgrounds, and 71% said the sector currently has too few leaders with diverse identities and backgrounds.
Source: EYLDI, Diversify Early Childhood Leadership (2021).
2021 · Diversify Early Childhood Leadership
EYLDI's founding study — a national survey asking what's holding ECE leaders back.
- ~500 ECE professionals surveyed (457 analyzed)
- 27 companion interviews
- 82% endorsed advancing leaders from marginalized backgrounds
- 71% said the sector has too few leaders with diverse backgrounds
- Key finding: leaders — especially from marginalized backgrounds — lacked access to developmental relationships with more experienced leaders
In Their Own Words
Quotes from the 2021 Study
“It matters that we have leaders from the community that are going to change and make things better for that community... it's an equity gap. Not an achievement gap, an ability gap.”— ECE State Nonprofit Leader, 2021 study
“There's no coaching that goes along with figuring out what to do next. How do I get ahead? How do I become a better teacher?... That just doesn't exist in the sector right now.”— Consultant and Trainer, 2021 study
Who Did This