early childhood educators Archives

Early Childhood Workforce: revitalising policy to enable quality

The quality of education and care for children in Australia currently sits at the forefront of public debate. Governments have responded to critical calls for children’s safety in before school settings with new mandatory measures, urgent regulatory changes, and funding investment to boost the capacity of the workforce.

Three key policies fundamentally influence educators’ practice in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector.

The National Quality Framework (NQF)
The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), and;
The modern awards.

Educators must work collaboratively (according to the NQF) and inclusively (in line with the EYLF) as key indicators of quality, yet with disparate pay and conditions (following the modern awards).

I embarked on a PhD to deeply analyse the NQF, EYLF, and modern awards—a first of its kind—and explore how educators understand and enact policy in practice. I located disconnections between government documents and inconsistencies as teams of educators translate policy in many ways.

As I near the completion of my research, I am producing a strategic plan to realign the early childhood policy landscape in Australia. I focus on presenting opportunities to revitalise ECEC policy through short term, medium term, and long-term actions. By spotlighting the current complexities of teamwork in ECEC, I offer a new approach to policy that can be undertaken by governing bodies and the workforce itself.

Policy with good intentions

The National Quality Framework (NQF) was released in 2012 in response to the OECD’s 2006 international review, which highlighted the importance of the early years and inspired a global quest for quality ECEC. The NQF aims to improve educational outcomes through a National Law and National Regulations, a National Quality Standard (NQS), an assessment and quality rating process, and approved national learning frameworks. The modern awards sit outside the scope of the NQF, driving legislated industrial conditions for over 70% of the ECEC workforce.

Through analysing policies, I found that the NQF, a reform with good intentions, can be deciphered and applied in various (and at times unintended) ways as teams simultaneously navigate their legal requirements of the modern awards. Teams of educators contend with many interpretations of policies as they strive to make quality decisions for children’s education and care.

Teams piece together the ECEC policy puzzle

To explore how policies translate into practice, I recruited four long day care centres in Queensland to share centre documents and participate in focus groups. This enabled research into how centres interpret policy through written expectations for teams—for example, position descriptions, centre philosophy, and governance structure—and how teams of educators say they implement policy in practice.

Through rigorous analysis I show teams of educators grappling as they fit together and apply policy documents to make decisions for children’s learning. My findings illuminate the taken-for-granted expectation that everyone pitches in with everything (the NQS and EYLF), which sits in tension with position descriptions and prescribed wage levels—not everyone is paid to do everything (modern awards).

A problem yet to be solved

Now over a decade since the introduction of the NQF, workforce stability remains an issue yet to be resolved, hampering efforts to teams achieving quality ECEC.

ECEC workforce shortages have been exacerbated by persistent issues of attracting and retaining qualified educators, high attrition from the sector, and persistent calls for increased wages and conditions. The ECEC Workforce Capacity Study forecasts an additional demand of 54,000 educators and teachers by 2034.

The National Workforce Strategy 2022-2031 prioritises a focus on responding to identified barriers of the reform. Key actions include improving professional recognition of the ECEC workforce, attracting qualified educators and teachers, and engaging the sector in upskilling.

My research highlights a different barrier to the ECEC workforce. As I analysed policies alongside one another, I identified contradictions in the ways they can be interpreted, negotiated, and enacted in teams.

A fresh take on ECEC policy

Three complexities are most visible at this point in my doctoral studies and offer a fresh take on ECEC policy.

First, staffing structures must comply with the individualistic and hierarchical approach of the modern awards, which dictates each educator’s wage and responsibilities. This contrasts with the NQS and the EYLF where collaboration and the notion that everyone contributes to decisions is an indicator of quality ECEC. Policy that accounts for fair distribution of roles and responsibilities and at the same time encourages teamwork will go some way to respond to the tensions as educators negotiate their work.

Second, the introduction of the degree-qualified teacher in teams aimed to lift the quality of early education. Yet without clear indication of when and how the degree-qualified teacher contributes to decision-making, or what the role should look like in teams, the expectations for their position may not differ from others in the team. Policy that explicitly harnesses the skills and knowledge of the degree-qualified teacher will lead to tangible change following the increase in early childhood educator qualification requirements.

Third, each centre must appoint a designated Educational Leader to lead the implementation of quality curriculum and pedagogy in teams. The role can be diversely qualified—from certificate III to degree—and though eligible for some non-contact time and an allowance, the Educational Leader may hold little actual authority in centre decisions. Policy that enables the Educational Leader to enact a formal leadership role will see the value of their professional knowledge embedded further into team decision-making.

What’s next?

Watch this space in the coming months for publication of my research. I will offer new ways for policymakers, approved providers, and educators to think differently about how teams could work within policy intent to improve quality outcomes for children.

Jessamine Giese is a PhD Candidate at Queensland University of Technology. This article is drawing on doctoral studies, with supervision team Associate Professor Megan Gibson and Dr Marie White.

Flowers, chocolates, promises: now too late for early childhood educators

The newest Productivity Commission report: A path to universal early childhood education and care glosses over or ignores many fundamental problems within the early childhood education sector .

Scarcely mentioned, or tactfully ignored, are the:
* systemic issues relating to educator burnout,
* poor wellbeing and morale of educators,
* increasing burden of quality assurance,
* emotional cost of caring, and the
* increasingly complex needs of families.

These are crucial challenges creating chaos in the sector as educators head for the door in droves since before the pandemic. This alone is impacting families and the ability of Australian parents to work.

Neglect and abuse

After successive government neglect (poor pay and status) and abuse (overwork, underpay and unpaid hours) of educators over the years, suddenly the sector is getting attention. However, as this report shows, the Commission’s attention is on the wellbeing of the children and families.

While families need attention and are very deserving, there still seems to be a reluctance to talk about educator wellbeing. When educators are mentioned, it is about how to attract more, rather than real solutions on how to nurture and retain those who have had enough.

An early childhood sector in chaos

The Commission does report on the vacancy rate which is over 5000 (over 4.5%), but this does not
show the number of services that have given up advertising. Many have simply closed down or
reduced the number of rooms they have open.

Many are operating under waivers, meaning they are being staffed by those who are currently
studying to meet the mandated requirements of the service. Studying can be difficult when an
educator’s service is short staffed.

The report does explain that in ‘childcare desert’ areas, that is, where the need for early learning is
greatest, children and families are spending years on waiting lists to access any care they can find.

The Parenthood’s ‘Choiceless’ report about effect of a lack of early learning in regional, rural and remote (RRR) communities shows, this is impacting the:
* mental health and wellbeing of parents
* access to screening services for children
* economic stability of households
* safety of children as they are taken to work with parents,
* viability of rural businesses and communities, and
* viability of families living in RRR communities.
In these communities, educators’ role in providing a link to services and supporting parents in their
role is vital because access to other services is severely limited. Educators in these areas need more support, because they are often providing more than early learning. They often undertake family support and mental health support roles with the families.

Supporting early childhood educator wellbeing

Educators need an investment in their wellbeing. They need access to funded wellbeing programs,
peer support and/or counselling programs. These should be conducted during work hours, otherwise it is only increasing their unpaid hours.

Pandemic stresses

The draft skims over the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector, which fared poorly compared to the school sector. The services were: told to stay open, roll out wave after wave of new health care policies, enforce new rules about attendance, required to do additional cleaning with no extra funds or hours. It was as though educators were on a ghost train ride to ‘burnout central’.

Additionally, they were labelled as essential workers, but were not given priority for vaccinations, nor given any recognition. The educational leaders showed great innovation in implementing a range of new ways of working, many which have remained in a post-COVID era.

The report also highlights the benefits of investing in the sector to free up parents to work and
increase the access children have to early learning. The report also highlights the overwhelming amount of data available on the sector. They fail to mention how this is collected, often by overworked educators who are trying to collect government data whilst educating and caring for children.

This has led to a ‘datification’ of the sector. It is a constant source of complaints as educators want to work with the children and families. Ironically, the report says there are gaps in the data! Many educators give up trying to complete data collection done while they are on the floor and do the work for free when they are at home. This is appalling given they are the 13 th lowest paid workers in Australia. So, in other industries where no qualifications are needed, workers can earn far more (e.g. in shops, manufacturing, farming and construction).

What the report gets right

The draft report outlines the dire need to remove unpaid practicums for educators because this leads to higher levels of attrition and poverty among educators. Many state governments are offering scholarships to remove university fees, which is encouraging. The report also discusses a range of improvements to assist families to access childcare three days per week, by removing the activity test.

Too little! Too late!

Whilst the politicians are quick to report on their moves in the right direction, the flowers, chocolates and promises have come far too late for many educators who cannot afford to stay in the industry any longer. Many educators can only afford to do the job they love if their partner earns far more, or their parents provide support. In the era of the #MeToo movement, the feminised workforce has had enough of neglect, poverty, being ignored, undervalued, demoralised and abused. They are saying ‘too little, too late’!

Dr Marg Rogers is a Senior Lecturer in the Early Childhood Education. Marg researches marginalised voices within families and education especially in regional, rural and remote communities. Specifically, she researches ways to support the wellbeing of military, first responder and remote worker families and early childhood educators. Marg is a Postdoctoral Fellow within the Commonwealth Funded Manna Institute.

Margaret Sims is a Professor in Early Childhood Education and Care and has worked in the areas of family support and disabilities for many years. She researches in the areas of professionalism in early childhood and higher education, families, disabilities, social justice and families from CaLD backgrounds. She is an Honorary Professor at Macquarie University.