Purpose
PSSA Research generates provider-informed evidence to deepen understanding of South Carolina's early childhood profession, inform PSSA's work, strengthen partnerships, and contribute meaningful knowledge to the broader early childhood field.
Research Grounded in the Realities of Early Childhood
PSSA Research generates provider-informed evidence to deepen understanding of South Carolina's early childhood profession, strengthen partnerships, inform our work, and contribute meaningful knowledge to the broader early childhood field.
Our Research Commitment
PSSA Research is designed to produce evidence that is relevant, useful, and grounded in the experiences of the people doing the work.
Vision
Our research reflects the experiences and expertise of early childhood professionals and examines the conditions shaping their work. Through rigorous inquiry and meaningful provider engagement, PSSA Research seeks to generate evidence that is relevant, useful, and grounded in the realities of early childhood practice.
Centering Provider Expertise
Provider expertise is central to the PSSA research approach. PSSA creates intentional opportunities for early childhood professionals to contribute throughout the research process.
Participate in Data Collection
Take part in interviews, surveys, listening sessions, focus groups, and observations.
Share Experiences & Perspectives
Bring the day-to-day realities of early childhood work into the research conversation.
Review & Interpret Findings
Help read and discuss findings so what they mean reflects the people doing the work.
Contribute Context
Add the context that strengthens how findings are understood and used.
Our goal is to ensure that research is grounded in the realities of early childhood work and that provider perspectives are meaningfully reflected in the research process and in how findings are shared and applied.
How We Approach Research
PSSA Research uses qualitative and mixed-methods approaches suited to understanding the experiences, perspectives, practices, and conditions of early childhood professionals. Methods are selected based on the research question, context, and intended use of findings.
- Interviews
- Listening Sessions
- Focus Groups
- Surveys
- Observations
- Case Studies
- Existing Data Analysis
- Contextual & Document Analysis
- Mixed-Methods Research
PSSA also collaborates with research partners when specialized expertise, data, or analytic capacity can strengthen a project.
What Guides Our Research
Provider-Centered & Grounded
Research reflects the experiences, expertise, and perspectives of early childhood professionals and the contexts in which they work.
Practical & Actionable
Research addresses questions grounded in the realities of early childhood work and produces findings that can be meaningfully used.
Rigorous & Collaborative
Research uses appropriate, transparent, and methodologically sound approaches and draws on partnerships that expand expertise and research capacity.
Responsive & Evolving
Our research agenda evolves as evidence grows, new questions emerge, and the early childhood field changes.
What We're Working to Understand
PSSA Research is organized around four interconnected areas of inquiry.
Provider Experiences & Conditions of Care
Understanding the experiences, perspectives, practices, and conditions that shape the work of early childhood professionals across roles, settings, and career stages.
Conditions of Care for Effective Practice
Examining the individual, organizational, and systemic conditions that influence providers' capacity to create caring, responsive, and effective environments for young children.
Pathways, Sustainability & Change
Exploring the experiences and factors that shape entry, retention, mobility, professional growth, and change across the early childhood profession.
Provider-Informed Systems & Supports
Examining how providers experience policies, resources, services, professional supports, and other systems, and how these factors influence day-to-day practice.
Our Current Research Focus
PSSA's research focuses on the experiences and conditions of early childhood professionals across South Carolina. Through qualitative inquiry and meaningful provider engagement, this work explores how early childhood professionals experience their work across different roles, settings, geographic regions, career stages, and professional contexts.
RolesSettingsRegionsCareer StagesProfessional Contexts
This work establishes a foundation for continued inquiry into the experiences, conditions, pathways, and systems that shape South Carolina's early childhood workforce.
Research Is Stronger Through Partnership
PSSA collaborates with universities, researchers, early childhood organizations, data partners, and other organizations whose expertise can strengthen research.
- Research design & methodology
- Data collection & analysis
- Specialized expertise
- Data access
- Dissemination
- Joint research projects
- Broader research collaborations
These partnerships help PSSA contribute South Carolina provider-informed evidence to broader early childhood research efforts.
Your Experience Can Help Shape the Research
PSSA will create opportunities for early childhood professionals to participate in research studies, share their experiences and perspectives, and contribute to how findings are understood and shared.
The Provider Research Network form is coming soon. In the meantime, email Brittany to get involved.