The rapid rise of career pathways strategies, including an emphasis on them in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, creates a need for more evidence on this approach. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Chief Evaluation Office contracted with Abt Global to conduct the Career Pathways Design Study, to develop evaluation design options that could address critical gaps in knowledge related to the approach, implementation, and success of career pathways strategies generally, and in early care and education (ECE) specifically.

To inform thinking about evaluation design options, Abt produced reports on (1) research and evaluation relevant to career pathways approaches, (2) the implementation of existing and past career pathways initiatives, and (3) the potential for career pathways approaches in early care and education.

This document is the third of these reports for the project—an analysis of the potential for career pathways approaches in the ECE sector. The primary purpose of this report is to inform the evaluation design options. With that in mind, our analysis summarizes current major reports and initiatives relevant to the development of career pathways approaches for the ECE workforce.