Our Childcare Workforce Can’t Thrive Without Better Support
Amanda Hachey is co-lead of the ECE Lab and systems convener at All In Research and Innovation. Katie Davey is the executive director of the Pond-Deshpande Centre, which houses NouLAB – New Brunswick’s public and social innovation lab.
As the K-12 school system wraps up for two months, an already-stretched early learning and childcare system prepares to stretch even further to meet the needs of its communities.
It’s already been a challenging few years for early childhood educators (ECEs), with the Covid-19 pandemic and rapid changes to early learning across Canada. However, ECEs continue to meet these challenges with resilience and innovation.
The Pond-Deshpande Centre’s NouLAB has been working with the early childhood sector in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador for the last three years.
Through our conversations with more than 200 educators, centre operators, and other people in the sector, we found that administrative burden is one of the biggest barriers to creating the conditions for successful pedagogical leadership and that this is one of the strongest determinants of high-quality early learning and care. Over the last two-to-three years, there has been a noticeable increase in administrative burden due largely to Covid-19 and the introduction of new, Canada-wide childcare agreements.
How does administrative burden present itself? It shows up as complex human resources challenges, meeting the needs of parents, regulatory requirements, inspections, working with departmental officials, applying for grants, and reporting on funding. These challenges are exacerbated by labour shortages in the sector, the continued under-valuing of care work, and a lack of support for childcare operators.
More needs to be done by governments to reduce the administrative burden on childcare operators.
Our interviews also confirmed a growing body of research that shows there is a strong correlation between the leadership of the centre and the quality of childcare. There is an ongoing tension between administrative requirements and pedagogical leadership that is creating a barrier to thriving work experiences. The sector identifies that resilience, creativity, and determination are how childcare leaders overcome these barriers in Atlantic Canada. But their resilience can only go so far if we don’t rise up to meet ECEs where they need support.
In 2021, the Canada-wide ELCC agreements were announced. The overarching goal is to transform Canada’s market-driven ELCC into a high-quality, publicly subsidized system that supports families’ workforce participation and gives every child a head start. None of these objectives will happen without a qualified and well-supported early childhood education workforce.
Educators are central to making Canada’s newest social program a success.
Over the last three years, we have supported the childcare sector in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador to develop solutions that are led by and work for them.
This year our New Brunswick anglophone team identified an ECE directors’ peer support cohort, which will provide a safe space to share successes and challenges. A group of 15 directors will meet once a month for the next six months hosted by a facilitator/coach. The aim of this cohort is to create connections and support for directors in the ECE sector to support their leadership and the leadership at their centres. This tested solution is particularly important in New Brunswick because it remains the only province in Canada without a professional sector association for child care.
By supporting an innovative and resilient childcare workforce in New Brunswick, ECEs, and early learning and childcare operators, we will strengthen the backbone of the renewed childcare system while reducing barriers to their success and the success of their teams. This is a win for the workforce and it’s a win for children, who develop the fundamental skills they need for a lifetime in their early years – which makes it a win for society as a whole.
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