This week’s assignment took me on a
journey all the way in Australia. Australia has a number of websites on early
childhood but the website I choose to explore is National Quality Standard
Professional Learning Program Newsletter
(NQSPLPN). This website has many newsletters that cover a wide array of topics
on early childhood. However, after much deliberation and searching I decided to
review the newsletter on “Staffing for Quality.” I was particular drawn to this
newsletter because of this week’s discussion on “Overcoming Barriers-Awareness,
Accessibility and Responsiveness.” This
website also definitely adds to equity and excellence in early care and
education.
The quality of early childhood
programs are affected by the quality of the programs offered to our children. According to NQSPLPN “there is now a wide body
of evidence showing that early childhood education and care affects a child’s
health, wellbeing and competence throughout their lives.”
One of the biggest barrier to
quality early childhood care and education is how our early childhood staff
responds to our children. NQSPLPN
discusses the evidence that lower child-adult ratios are associated with higher
process quality and larger groups are associated with lower process quality.
The website also explores the quality of leadership and what quality really
should look like. One of the research findings speaks to responsive learning relationships
are strengthened as educators and children learn together. Educators are more
likely to be responsive, purposeful and thoughtful when staffing arrangements
at their service allow them to direct their full attention to their work with
children, and when they do not attend simultaneously to other tasks.
I believe as early childhood advocates we need to present more empirical evidence to our policy makers and stakeholders that quality really lies in the kind of staff our children have to encounter with on a daily basis. Many of our children who attend early care programs spend majority of their developmental years in these programs. Much effort should be made to ensure that our children get the best care and experiences. The attrition rate in our early childhood programs and the poorly trained staff will contribute to poor quality programs.
Reference
Judy,
ReplyDeleteHere in New York, overcrowding is such an issue. We have so many children in New York and there just isn't enough seats. Most public schools here have approximately 30 students in each class. Most classes have teacher assistants to assist but not all. I hate to think of some students that do not grasp schoolwork as quickly as others due to language barrier, or inability to understand concepts, they are sometimes left behind. I can definitely understand that lower child-adult ratios will bring forth better results. Great post!
Staffing... I think I could write a very opinionated paper on this topic. The first thing I want to point out that the higher majority of staffing is educated and compassionate about their work, however I know that a small percentage of educators are only in their current position for a paycheck and this saddens me. I feel that if there is no passion for the work that you are accomplishing you should find another career. This career is one of the most vital in our nation and throughout the world. Another problem with staffing is the overcrowding that many schools face. Due to several economic cut backs across the US classrooms face issues with overcrowding which is not only discouraging to students, but to teachers and families as well. For example, in our school district the state has taken over in a fiscal emergency and they are cutting back to the state minimum which will lead to 5 hour school days, larger classrooms, and fewer teachers and assistants. This will lead to feelings of disappointment and frustration. Teachers and students will feel overwhelmed by the goals that they are trying so hard to reach. To me, I feel that when some things look very simple to fix it is made to be too complex.
ReplyDeleteDear Judy,
ReplyDeleteI also explored the website from Australis. I agree with you that one of barrier to quality early childhood care and learning is how the early childhood staff responds to the children. Your post focus on this staffing issue. My resources from Australia also relates staffing. The qualification of The teacher in the early childhood field is reducing, according the report, the professor is concerned the lower qualify standard for teacher would affect the quality of the early child care program. The two lines seem to bring the same issue for the week. Good to know it was the issue of the week. Thanks for sharing.