Browsing by Author "Lux, Christine"

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EDEC 385 COVID-19 Time Capsule
(Montana State University, 2020-05) Lux, Christine; Benden, Denise; Edwins, Parker; Funk, Elizabeth; Rosin, Andrea; Scalley, Julia; Weber, Izzy
When MSU moved to remote learning after spring break, I asked students in my EDEC385 Early Childhood Curriculum course to create a time capsule by choosing one word to describe how they were feeling. Students responded with a range of emotions, including excited, uncertain, calm, anxious, content and unbalanced. The word cloud on the book cover captured those words.In an online discussion, students wrote about how they were feeling and also uploaded a photo to capture their life in that moment. I wanted students to share their words, photos, and feelings to create a forum to understand and support one another.Flash forward to the end of the semester: for their final project, intended to document and showcase their semester-long field experience working with young children in classroom contexts, students designed a remote learning lesson using their time capsule word or photo. Some students opted to choose a new word, one that expressed a more positive outlook reflective of their changed perspective about their experience with COVID-19. This book contains a selection of the words, photos, and lessons students contributed to our EDEC385 Spring 2020 Time Capsule. Please enjoy!
Montana’s Early Childhood Educators: Recruiting and Retaining an Essential Workforce
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2022-02) Lux, Christine; Noble, Cassandra; Red Bird, Nanci
Shifting realities across the world have emphasized the need to change early childhood systems thinking. Specifically, a quality early childhood workforce was in high demand before the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to be in demand until sustainable recruitment and retention efforts are achieved. Encouraging more professionals to enter and stay in the field of early childhood education involves building an understanding of the current workforce through analyzing the influence of age, role, education, wages, and access to incentives on career motivation. In this case study, a rich description of Montana’s early childhood workforce is presented along with recommendations to strengthen the state’s early childhood workforce systems. Results of survey and focus group data collection and analysis confirmed the pervasive compensation disparity that exists in the early childhood workforce and revealed the need for financial incentives to pursue and attain higher education degrees to help ensure the delivery of quality early childhood education. Specific recommendations for policy change include sharing the data across other state systems and with other nations for the purpose of supporting the growth and development of the early childhood workforce in the United States and beyond.