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Ed.D. Educational Leadership, ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵState University, Long Beach, 2025

M.Ed. Early Childhood Education, ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵState University, Long Beach, 2019

B.A. Family and Consumer Sciences, concentration in Child Development and Family Studies, ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵState University, Long Beach, 2016

For student success and advising, I actively engage in planning/coordinating:

• Academic advising and degree planning for master's students
• New student orientations and onboarding sessions
• Individualized student success plans for students
• Graduation advising
• Mentorship opportunities for current students and alumni pursuing leadership roles in early childhood education
• Connecting students with campus support resources

To enhance community building, professional, and career development, I actively engage in planning/coordinating:

• Student networking events and cohort-building activities
• Welcome receptions and community engagement events
• End-of-semester celebrations
• Peer mentoring programs connecting new and continuing students
• Virtual and in-person program information sessions
• Guest speaker class sessions featuring leaders in early childhood education
• Student participation in state and national professional organizations
• Culturally responsive programming for diverse student population
• Discussions on equity and inclusion in early childhood education
• Social media communications through a dedicated ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵ ECE Instagram page

Alumni engagement efforts include:

• Alumni mentoring initiatives
• Alumni networking panels
• Graduate engagement through monthly newsletters and events
• Featured alumni career spotlights on the ECE MA program website
• One-on-one shadowing during my seminar courses for alumni from the ECE MA program who have goals of teaching at the college level

Continuous program improvement efforts include:

• Collecting and analyzing student engagement data
• Conducting student satisfaction surveys at the beginning, middle, and end of each student's graduate program journey
• Using assessment data to improve programming
• Preparing program-specific and college-wide reports on retention, engagement, and student success outcomes

My teaching philosophy is grounded in the belief that all students are capable of learning and deserve a high-quality education. As an educator, I am committed to creating an inclusive, identity-safe, and bias-aware learning environment that embraces a growth mindset, trauma-informed practices, and culturally responsive teaching. By removing barriers to success, I strive to foster belonging, empathy, and individualized learning, particularly for first-generation college students and those from historically underrepresented and marginalized communities. I view teaching as a reciprocal, constructivist process in which students and instructors co-construct knowledge through dialogue, collaboration, inquiry, and reflection. Through experiential learning opportunities, diverse perspectives, and authentic applications of course content, I encourage students to think critically, connect theory to practice, and develop confidence in their abilities. Ultimately, I see teaching as an act of empowerment that prepares future educators to become reflective, compassionate, and equity-minded leaders who are committed to creating inclusive learning environments, challenging inequities, and making meaningful contributions to the children, families, and communities they serve.

I teach a range of courses across the College of Education's two ECE programs: the Master's in Early Childhood Education program and the PK-3 Early Childhood Education Specialist Instruction Credential program.

Courses Taught in the Early Childhood Education Master's Program:

• EDEC 520: Early Childhood Curriculum and Assessment
• EDEC 521: History and Contemporary Perspectives in Early Childhood
• EDEC 522: Developing Family, School, and Community Partnerships
• EDEC 623: Leadership, Advocacy, and Supervision in Early Childhood Education

Courses Taught in the PK-3 Early Childhood Education Specialist Instruction Credential Program:

• EDEC 400: Introduction to Early Childhood Education
• EDEC 422: Developing Family, School, and Community Partnerships
• EDEC 430: Advocating for Early Intervention of Young Children and their Families
   

• Early Childhood Care and Education
• Early Childhood Teacher Preparation, Retention, and Workforce Development
• Early Childhood Teacher Well-Being
• Early Childhood Leadership
   

• Laney, C. (Under Review). Beyond burnout: Relational leadership, resource equity, and well-being among infant/toddler teachers in early childhood education. Manuscript submitted for publication in a special issue for the Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education.
• Laney, C., & Piker, R. (2025). Breaking barriers, building futures: Using student-centered approaches to advocate for early childhood educators. ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵCouncil on Teacher Education, Fall 2025 Research Monograph, 63-70.
• Laney, C. (2025). Navigating the revolving door: Understanding infant/toddler teachers’ turnover and retention decisions in early childhood education. Doctoral Dissertation. ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵState University, Long Beach.
   

Conference Presentations:

• Laney, C. (2026, April 12). In their own words: Centering infant/toddler teachers’ voices on turnover and retention. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. Los Angeles, CA.
• Laney, C. (2025, October 17). Beyond burnout: Elevating the voices of infant/toddler educators through resource-centered story and systems advocacy. Roundtable presentation at the annual fall meeting of the ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵCouncil on Teacher Education. San Diego, CA.
• Laney, C., & Piker, R. (2025, October 17). Breaking barriers, building futures: Using student-centered approaches to advocate for early childhood educators. Roundtable presentation at the annual fall meeting of the ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵCouncil on Teacher Education. San Diego, CA.
• Laney, C., & Piker, R. (2025, January 6). Leadership in transition: Changing paradigms in early childhood education. Panel presentation at the Hawaii International Conference on Education. Honolulu, HI.
• Laney, C., & Piker, R. (2024, October 18). Leadership in transition: Changing paradigms in early childhood education. Roundtable presentation at the annual fall meeting of the ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵCouncil on Teacher Education. San Diego, CA.
• Piker, R., Laney, C., Thompson, H. R., & Maiorca, C. (2024, March 28). Changing from theory to practice: Re-imagining an early childhood education MA degree program. Roundtable presentation at the Association of Teacher Educators Annual Meeting. Anaheim, CA.
• Pattnaik, J., Laney, C., Batchelor, H., Watts, R., & Pockett, B. (2021, February 16). Implementation of a peer-mentoring project in a master’s in early childhood education program: Mentor and mentee perspectives. Paper presentation at the Association of Teacher Educators Annual Meeting. Virtual.
• Pattnaik, J., Laney, C., Silva, N., Smith, A., Suarez, L. (2021, February 16). The voices of early childhood teachers during the pandemic: Challenges faced, efforts made, and lessons learned. Paper presentation at the Association of Teacher Educators Annual Meeting. Virtual.
   

• Child Development Program Director Permit, ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵCommission on Teacher Credentialing (2026-2031).
• Child Development Site Supervisor Permit, ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵCommission on Teacher Credentialing (2021-2026).

• Grade Appeals Committee (2026-2028)
• Early Childhood Education Graduate Program Coordinator (2025 - Present)
• PK-3 Course Lead (2025 - Present)

ÀóÖ¦ÊÓƵState University, Long Beach Spring 2025 College of Education Faculty Achievement Award, Part-Time Lecturer