There is promising but limited evidence supporting the effectiveness of scholarship strategies to address low compensation and high turnover rates in the child care and early education (CCEE) field. “Scholarship” refers to financial support provided to educators to take part in postsecondary educational coursework. These strategies are one component of a broader set of workforce strategies designed to improve educator recruitment and retention in the CCEE field.

This document presents a general theory-of-change model for scholarship strategies that illustrates potential outcomes for CCEE educators, such as earning an industry-recognized degree or credential, fulfilling higher education requirements for specific roles in the CCEE field, and obtaining higher compensation. The theory-of-change model also considers how scholarship strategies may have positive outcomes for employers, such as raising the overall educational attainment of the educators they employ and increasing the quality of CCEE settings and educators’ interactions with children.

This publication is part of the Building and Sustaining the Child Care and Early Education Workforce (BASE) Theory of Change Series, intended for readers who are interested in designing and evaluating their own workforce development strategies.