A resource released in October, 2017 highlights the importance quality in early childhood education. Quality is key in early childhood education in Australia, from the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University, discusses why improving teaching in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) should be a primary focus of governments.
Dr. Charlene Smith, Policy Program Director of the Mitchell Institute, stressed early childhood educators need enhanced training and professional learning to better support them in their work.
“We know that early education changes lives and is particularly transformative for disadvantaged children but it is only effective if it is of sufficient quality to impact their development,” Smith said. “Governments have invested significantly to help more children access early learning and improve affordability, but there will be no return on that investment unless children attend high quality services.”
The recent paper found that one in five services in Australia do not ensure that their staff is active and reflective in designing learning programs for children. Half of services just meet the minimum quality benchmark in this area.
