Education & Care

This report from Early Childhood Ireland maps remuneration within the Irish ECCE Sector. The report presents data on how pay rates vary by role, qualifications and county. The report concluded with future steps including research on the professionalization with the sector.

Programs and policymakers face numerous challenges as they develop and implement professional development strategies for the early childhood workforce. The field lacks consistent standards and requirements for professional preparation, and, as a result, low levels of education and a minimum of specialized training in early childhood education are the norm. In addition, current strategies of professional development do not adequately prepare all educators for the array of responsibilities, knowledge, and skills they are expected to demonstrate in their work with young children and their families.

This review incorporates findings from research on four targets of early childhood professional development: 1) strengthening human or social capital; 2) strengthening practices at institutions or organizations providing professional development; 3) strengthening early educator practices related to specific child outcomes; and, 4) strengthening overall quality in classroom or group settings. The literature review analyzed the research on professional development of early childhood educators to work toward identification of a set of core features that characterize effective professional development. A number of gaps were identified in the research on early childhood professional development that need to be addressed.

In light of the current policy context, early childhood educators are being asked to have a complex understanding of child development and early education issues and provide rich, meaningful educational experiences for all children and families in their care. Accountability for outcomes is high, and resources for professional support are limited. As such, the early education field needs well-conducted empirical studies on which to base professional development practices. In this paper,the authors offer research directions associated with the processes underlying professional development, including areas in need of investigation that can inform the early childhood education field in terms of how professional development efforts exert their influence and produce meaningful change in practitioners’ skills, behaviors, and dispositions. The paper highlights representative research from the professional development literature on its various forms/approaches and offers an agenda for research on the professional development process. Broad issues associated with the conduct of research on professional development, including considerations of professional development processes, participant characteristics, relationships, and sustainability are discussed.

Examining the Associations Between Infant/Toddler Workforce Preparation, Program Quality and Child Outcomes: A Review of the Research Evidence summarizes the findings of an evidence review conducted to address the following question:
What evidence do we have from the research literature about associations between infant/toddler teacher and caregiver preparation (e.g. education, credentials, etc.) and improvements in quality and child outcomes.

The research team worked to synthesized research about which core competencies and credentials have the strongest associations with program quality outcomes. Their findings report what research currently says about:

• teachers’ degrees in relation to program quality and child outcomes;
• teachers’ major/concentration in ECE or child development in relation to observed quality and child outcomes;
• state credentials on observed quality and child outcomes; and
• teacher training on observed quality and child outcomes.

The study describes the implications of this research for policy, practice and for further research.

2013 National Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce Census, commissioned by the Department of Education as part of a range of Australian Government initiatives designed to improve the quality of information used in developing and measuring early childhood policy and programs. This report was developed specifically to address information gaps in existing administrative data sources, with respect other ECEC workforce, participation in and provision of preschool programs and children with additional needs in child care. The data presented in this census will help policy makers better understand the challenges of providing quality child care and early learning, assess the capacity in the workforce to meet future demand and formulate strategies to support early childhood development policies.

This global survey, which presents information on 426 programs in 121 countries in all world regions, aims to fill in existing gaps in our knowledge about the status of IECD and ECI programs internationally. Specifically, the main objectives of the survey were to: 1) Map current implementation of IECD and ECI programs and related activities; 2) Describe key IECD and ECI program features; 3) Identify gaps and challenges in providing accessible IECD and ECI services; 4) Document factors associated with successful implementation and scale-up; and 5) Generate recommendations to inform future policy and program development and national planning and implementation efforts.

The study reports program types and participants, legal frameworks that support the development and implementation of programs, program objectives, multi-sectoral cooperation, service provision, financial support and parent involvement across regions. In addition, the study highlights the barriers and enabling factors that can support the development, expansion and improvement of IECD and ECI programs. Based on the robust findings and conclusions of the study, the authors formulate 20 recommendations that can support the development, scale up and effectiveness of the IECD and ECI services globally and at the same time they issue a Call for a global agenda for the improvement and expansion of IECD and ECI programs.

RISE Institute, UNICEF, Early Childhood Development Task Force

2019

Resisting Neoliberalism: Professionalisation of Early Childhood Education and Care focuses on the professionalization of early childhood in Australia, Chile, England, Germany, Ireland and the United States.

This paper questions how the sector manages the constraints imposed by a neoliberal political and social world and calls upon manages the constraints imposed on it in a neoliberal political and social world. It calls on professionals to take a stand in terms of what is considered best practice. The paper further argues that continued debate is needed around the boundaries of what is called the early childhood profession, considering the ways in which the education, health and welfare sectors contribute to a holistic approach balanced against the requirement for a profession to have an identified and discrete body of knowledge.

Mary Moloney, Margaret Sims, Antje Rothe, Cynthia Buettner

International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education

2019

The Wanda method: overview and steps forward  report is the result of an ISSA Peer Learning Activity and involved several members of the ISSA network.

WANDA is a method developed in 2010 in order to support professional group reflection, with specific attention to valuing each other, with respect towards the child, the family, the colleagues, the community. WANDA aims to improve quality in ECEC for children and families.

The specific objectives of the PLA were:

1) Get an overview of what (and how) has been done with Wanda on a local level in each country: which services have been involved, with which frequency did they organize Wanda sessions, what has been the impact, what are the strengths and the critical points that come out, what are the needs of the target groups etc.
2) Co-reflect on the strengths and challenges, with the aim of fine-tuning the different Wanda paths: the aim is not homologating the peculiar experiences of the different contexts, but finding coherency within the differences (agreeing on what is Wanda and what it is not, discussing possibilities and borders, stimulating each other by getting to know the different experiences that took place etc.).
3) Consider all this, thinking together about possible next steps for Wanda, both on a local level in each country involved, and on an international one (f.e. through EU projects).

ISSA and R4D, in partnership with ICDI, are glad to announce a new webinar series in the framework of the Early Childhood Workforce Initiative. This webinar puts the spotlight on the notion of early childhood practice being political, and on early years practitioners as activists and change agents. In an interactive format we explore:

• What does early childhood activism mean or look like in different political, geographical and cultural contexts?
• Are advocacy, activism and the ability to effect positive change essential elements of professionalism in general, and therefore the early childhood profession in particular?
• Is it reasonable to expect early childhood practitioners to balance an activist critical stance alongside other roles such as pedagogical expert; builder and maintainer of relationships with children, their parents and other professionals; as well as manager in return for little recognition and poor remuneration?

The webinar is primarily intended for early childhood practitioners, leaders in early childhood services and lecturers/trainers teaching pre-service and continuing professional development courses on leadership, professional practice in the early years, working with families with young children and social policy.  It is also beneficial to those who represent the interests of the early childhood workforce (trade unions, professional councils, representative bodies) at national and international levels.To listen to the webinar recording, click the YouTube link below. To access resources and presentations related to this webinar, visit the webinar webpage.

Adopting multi-sectoral approaches in the early years, which integrate parenting support, nutrition, health, social protection, child protection, and education, is widely recognised as the way forward to meet global challenges. Multifaceted problems require both multiple as well as aligned and well-coordinated interventions. Poverty, discrimination and increasing inequalities need to be addressed in an integrated manner in order to bring about qualitative and quantitative change.

So called ‘integrated services’ are seen as desirable for responding to the complex problems that characterise the realities of children and families. Therefore, the way early childhood systems are designed, governed and financed, and the way early childhood services are delivered can make a dramatic difference in children’s as well as in their families’ life. Yet, that there are many barriers to making integration work and that it may take different shapes depending on the context.
The objective of this webinar was to discuss the conditions for interagency work from the perspective of those in a position of leadership in the early year’s workforce.

To listen to this webinar recording, visit the YouTube link below. To access videos, reports and presentations related to this webinar visit the webinar page.