Purpose. Research in the field of early childhood education (ECE) demonstrated the association between skilled directors and high quality programs. Still, most state licensing requirements do not delineate the requisite knowledge or experience necessary to be an effective director. Many ECE directors advance to their position directly from the classroom with little to no management training. The purpose of this study was to describe ECE directors’ reported human resource management practices and to investigate associations between those practices and the directors’ education level, early childhood and management coursework, and experience.

Methods. This study was descriptive, survey research and employed a survey tool with both qualitative and quantitative items. An existing program self-assessment tool, the Program Administration Scale developed by Teri Talan and Paula Bloom, was adapted into a mixed-methods survey instrument. The survey instrument was pilot tested in the state of Missouri. For the study, early childhood center directors (n=119) from five states representing all four of the US census regions were recruited for participation.

Findings. The findings from this study demonstrated that while early childhood center directors report good practices on some of the human resource management constructs, such as supervision and performance appraisal, they are struggling in other areas such as compensation and staff development. This study also found that there is an association between director coursework in management and directors’ reported human resource management practices.

Implications. This study suggested the need for professional development for directors in the area of human resource management. Additionally, this study implicated the need for increased availability of higher education and preparation programs that focus specifically on early childhood leadership.