Introduction
There are several key trends that are becoming increasingly important for the early childhood education (ECE) sector to consider when making strategic decisions. Peter Dixon, Storypark co-founder, sat down with three Canadian multisite leaders to hear their insights on this important topic.
In Peter’s conversation with Patricia Chorney Rubin (Director of The School of Early Childhood at George Brown College, Toronto), Jane Bertrand (ECE educator and researcher) and Michele Lupa (Executive Director of Canadian Mothercraft Society), a few significant takeaways emerged.
Key trends in early childhood education
Addressing workforce challenges by elevating the ECE profession
One of the most important trends these thought leaders discussed is the need to elevate the ECE profession as a whole. According to this expert panel, the workforce challenges have been at the forefront of ECE leaders’ minds for the last few years. In fact, these leaders stated that many centers in Canada are only operating at partial capacity because of staff shortages.
In order to address the current workforce issues, the panel believes the sector must consider how to make a career in ECE a more attractive and viable option. One way to do this is to provide career pathways for educators and promote the variety of roles they can move into within the sector. Organizations also need to prioritize providing comprehensive compensation packages for educators. Alongside salary, a variety of benefits including superannuation, maternity leave, and reduced fees for children attending services were highlighted as useful initiatives.
These sector leaders also believe another important factor impacting staff retention is the environment within ECE centers. According to the panel, organizations must consider how they can create an atmosphere where educators want to stay, learn, and grow. When educators feel valued, they’ll be much more likely to remain in their roles rather than look for a career elsewhere.
Finally, these leaders believe organizations must raise awareness about how valuable ECE is, not only to families, but to society as a whole. As Michele stated, “Early childhood education is a fundamental part of our education system and we need to see the practitioners and professionals who deliver those services be elevated to the place they deserve and be compensated for it.”
Focusing on genuine equity and inclusion
According to the expert panel, another significant trend that will shape ECE over the next few years is the emphasis on equity and inclusion. Although these have been buzzwords for several years now, there’s a vast difference between talking about these issues and critically examining how they affect daily practice. In the past, organizations have called centers “multicultural”, pointing to a few books on the shelves and holiday celebrations. However, in many cases, this has been tokenism rather than genuine inclusion.
According to these thought leaders, organizations must have an action plan for how to implement equity. While many organizations are having conversations about this topic, Patricia emphasized that, “It’s one of the many jobs of [ECE] leaders to think about how that gets translated into daily practice.” The panel believes centers need to bring a critical lens to the curriculum and question the Western view of children, education, and development. The sector also must rethink educator training programmes and examine what biases are implicit in the way educators are trained.
Jane stated, “One of the things our sector leadership can do [to promote equity] is opening up leadership streams to groups who haven’t been represented [in our centers]”. The panel pointed out that this means welcoming those voices and perspectives into center practice. They believe it’s the whole sector’s responsibility to be a force of change against racism.
Balancing regulations with supporting risky play
The panel also discussed the need to reconsider how early childhood education leaders think about risky play. According to these thought leaders, the ECE sector has gone to great lengths to put regulations in place to protect children. Many stakeholders have come to believe that these regulations ensure better care for children. However, this panel believes it’s time to question whether they actually do. Educators have so many restrictions on what they can do that it can be hard for them to create a dynamic and engaging learning environment. Patricia noted that “the unintended consequence of educators working under such constraints is that it limits innovation and taking risks.”
Another issue these thought leaders raised is that educators spend a significant amount of time completing documentation and checklists. The stakes are so high if they accidentally complete a document incorrectly, which Michele stated, “creates an environment of pressure for the educator in the classroom, which I believe could be made less stressful.” Of course, this doesn’t mean organizations should get rid of the regulations that keep children safe. But these leaders believe organizations must consider how to balance safety with risky play so children can explore without adults intervening at every moment.
Supporting Continuity of Learning
According to this expert panel, ECE leaders need to begin rethinking how the sector is supporting a continuity of learning for children. Jane suggested ECE leaders should “stop talking about transition to school, and start seeing it as a continuous pathway by looking at how we can align our professionals to work in a more seamless way.” She mentioned that many ECE educators worry about academics being pushed into early childhood education. However, she believes ECE leaders should be advocating for bringing play-based learning into primary schools instead. In fact, children lose many of the benefits of being in a play-based preschool environment if they go into a highly academic primary classroom. Over the next few years, this panel believes ECE leaders should consider how they can work with primary schools to create a more seamless pathway for children.
Elevating credential requirements for ECE leaders
Finally, these thought leaders discussed the need to raise the qualification requirements of managers, directors, and other leaders in the profession. Currently, there’s no standard requirement for ECE managers in Canada. However, they are the pedagogical leadership in their organizations. Patricia stated, “We need to raise the qualification requirements for the level of responsibility and leadership for that role.” The panel believes managers and directors should be required to have a post secondary credential, which will elevate the quality of teaching practice in ECE organizations.
Conclusion
To learn more about the specific strategies these leaders are using in their own organizations, watch the full video.
Introduction
There are several key trends that are becoming increasingly important for the early childhood education (ECE) sector to consider when making strategic decisions. Peter Dixon, Storypark co-founder, sat down with three Canadian multisite leaders to hear their insights on this important topic.
In Peter’s conversation with Patricia Chorney Rubin (Director of The School of Early Childhood at George Brown College, Toronto), Jane Bertrand (ECE educator and researcher) and Michele Lupa (Executive Director of Canadian Mothercraft Society), a few significant takeaways emerged.
Key trends in early childhood education
Addressing workforce challenges by elevating the ECE profession
One of the most important trends these thought leaders discussed is the need to elevate the ECE profession as a whole. According to this expert panel, the workforce challenges have been at the forefront of ECE leaders’ minds for the last few years. In fact, these leaders stated that many centers in Canada are only operating at partial capacity because of staff shortages.
In order to address the current workforce issues, the panel believes the sector must consider how to make a career in ECE a more attractive and viable option. One way to do this is to provide career pathways for educators and promote the variety of roles they can move into within the sector. Organizations also need to prioritize providing comprehensive compensation packages for educators. Alongside salary, a variety of benefits including superannuation, maternity leave, and reduced fees for children attending services were highlighted as useful initiatives.
These sector leaders also believe another important factor impacting staff retention is the environment within ECE centers. According to the panel, organizations must consider how they can create an atmosphere where educators want to stay, learn, and grow. When educators feel valued, they’ll be much more likely to remain in their roles rather than look for a career elsewhere.
Finally, these leaders believe organizations must raise awareness about how valuable ECE is, not only to families, but to society as a whole. As Michele stated, “Early childhood education is a fundamental part of our education system and we need to see the practitioners and professionals who deliver those services be elevated to the place they deserve and be compensated for it.”
Focusing on genuine equity and inclusion
According to the expert panel, another significant trend that will shape ECE over the next few years is the emphasis on equity and inclusion. Although these have been buzzwords for several years now, there’s a vast difference between talking about these issues and critically examining how they affect daily practice. In the past, organizations have called centers “multicultural”, pointing to a few books on the shelves and holiday celebrations. However, in many cases, this has been tokenism rather than genuine inclusion.
According to these thought leaders, organizations must have an action plan for how to implement equity. While many organizations are having conversations about this topic, Patricia emphasized that, “It’s one of the many jobs of [ECE] leaders to think about how that gets translated into daily practice.” The panel believes centers need to bring a critical lens to the curriculum and question the Western view of children, education, and development. The sector also must rethink educator training programmes and examine what biases are implicit in the way educators are trained.
Jane stated, “One of the things our sector leadership can do [to promote equity] is opening up leadership streams to groups who haven’t been represented [in our centers]”. The panel pointed out that this means welcoming those voices and perspectives into center practice. They believe it’s the whole sector’s responsibility to be a force of change against racism.
Balancing regulations with supporting risky play
The panel also discussed the need to reconsider how early childhood education leaders think about risky play. According to these thought leaders, the ECE sector has gone to great lengths to put regulations in place to protect children. Many stakeholders have come to believe that these regulations ensure better care for children. However, this panel believes it’s time to question whether they actually do. Educators have so many restrictions on what they can do that it can be hard for them to create a dynamic and engaging learning environment. Patricia noted that “the unintended consequence of educators working under such constraints is that it limits innovation and taking risks.”
Another issue these thought leaders raised is that educators spend a significant amount of time completing documentation and checklists. The stakes are so high if they accidentally complete a document incorrectly, which Michele stated, “creates an environment of pressure for the educator in the classroom, which I believe could be made less stressful.” Of course, this doesn’t mean organizations should get rid of the regulations that keep children safe. But these leaders believe organizations must consider how to balance safety with risky play so children can explore without adults intervening at every moment.
Supporting Continuity of Learning
According to this expert panel, ECE leaders need to begin rethinking how the sector is supporting a continuity of learning for children. Jane suggested ECE leaders should “stop talking about transition to school, and start seeing it as a continuous pathway by looking at how we can align our professionals to work in a more seamless way.” She mentioned that many ECE educators worry about academics being pushed into early childhood education. However, she believes ECE leaders should be advocating for bringing play-based learning into primary schools instead. In fact, children lose many of the benefits of being in a play-based preschool environment if they go into a highly academic primary classroom. Over the next few years, this panel believes ECE leaders should consider how they can work with primary schools to create a more seamless pathway for children.
Elevating credential requirements for ECE leaders
Finally, these thought leaders discussed the need to raise the qualification requirements of managers, directors, and other leaders in the profession. Currently, there’s no standard requirement for ECE managers in Canada. However, they are the pedagogical leadership in their organizations. Patricia stated, “We need to raise the qualification requirements for the level of responsibility and leadership for that role.” The panel believes managers and directors should be required to have a post secondary credential, which will elevate the quality of teaching practice in ECE organizations.
Conclusion
To learn more about the specific strategies these leaders are using in their own organizations, watch the full video.