Early childhood educators’ qualifications: a framework for change

Abstract

In the context of an ongoing policy crisis in relation to the qualifications of the early childhood workforce in England, this paper first rehearses the context and long overdue need for reform before presenting a framework for career structure and professional early childhood education qualifications in England. This framework is designed to address difficulties of recruitment, retention, and progression, and thereby raise the status of qualifications and the roles they enable early years practitioners to undertake. The paper ends by reiterating the importance of qualifications for those working in early childhood education, what they need to study and how what they study equips them for their various roles.

Research into trainees

“…Participants consistently used phrases that emphasised 'why we do things' and the resultant ability to inform the setting's culture and policy by effectively implementing new practices and supporting colleagues by promoting reflexivity in practice and bringing innovation to the setting. In most cases, participants asserted that graduate-level knowledge, couple with their open-minded approach to reflection, made them more confident in practice, corroborating similar investigations into the relevancy of graduate leaders in the sector (Bonetti & Blanden, 2020;Early Years Commission, 2021;Archer & Oppenheim, 2021;Nutbrown, 2021).…”

‘The village and the world’: competing agendas in teacher research – professional autonomy, interpretational work and strategic compliance

“…Workforce development in ECE is a core strategy to improve quality, specifically having a graduate or graduate leader in every setting (OECD, 2017;Nutbrown, 2012). ECE is dominated by the persuasive power of policy discourses (Kay, Wood, Nuttall and Henderson, 2019;Wild, Silberfeld and Nightingale, 2015) that influence all aspects of teachers' work, including professional standards, a statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (birth to five), and an assessment profile for children on transition to compulsory education.…”

Negative Bias or Positive Deficiency, or Both? The Relationship Between Individual Authenticity and Depression Among Preschool Teachers: The Sequential Mediation Effects of Mindfulness and Self-Alienation

“… 11 As a preschool education that complements early childhood experiences, preschool teachers play a huge role in preschool education. 12 Once preschool teachers have long-lasting depression, it will not only affect their emotional and social needs, cognition of life, but also reduce the quality and responsibility of work. 13 Specifically, the depression of preschool teachers will have an impact on the quality of interaction and the development of children’s social emotions.…”