A few weeks back, Anne Tolley announced she was delaying the requirement for 80% of early childhood educators to be qualified teachers – only she forgot to say her Government had also decided to scrap the planned increase to 100% qualified teaching workforce forever!…or at least until 2011 when Labour gets back in and gets serious about improving standards in ECE again. Today, the Ministry of Education confirmed that the Nats have scrapped the policy to move to a fully-qualified ECE workforce but couldn’t explain why the Minister didn’t announce it nor why its ECE Advisory Committee had not been consulted on this major policy shift. The policy shift was noted, it said, in its “frequently asked questions” section on the Ministry website. I smell a rat. I wonder if the Minister picked up this cunning strategy from her recent bedtime stories?
Great news. I work a a preschool and not everyone needs to have a degree – this policy of Labours pushed some great older teachers out which is nothing to be proud off.
This Labour policy is just pandering to the NZEI who want this brought in to give jobs to their members but the fact is there are not enough qualified teachers in the sector and Labour would have imposed this in a totally unrealistic timeframe for the ECE sector.
You say “or at least until 2011 when Labour gets back in” – is this not just a little presumptive given Labour’s current poll ratings where you are trailing the Nats by about 50% or 2:1?
What do the two of you commenters have against the early childhood education teachers being qualified?
I can understand the basis behind suggesting that these teachers don’t have to be qualified because they’re experienced. But beyond the basics there is just a big gaping hole called – ‘who knows who’s good at teaching, and who’s not’?
If they are so experienced then they should step up and prove it. Children deserve the very best start at education, teachers need to meet the criteria to show they’re capable of giving it.
We would abhor the thought of teachers at primary, intermediate, secondary, tertiary, being unqualified as running a risk with our future. We would abhor the thought of students at these levels being taught by unqualified teachers.
Why do those youngest students who are just starting out their education deserve any less?
? My comment is gone
Sound like a bedtime story better suited to a campfire…
oops, I mixed this thread up with another one, no comment missing this time.
No one is against early childhood educators having qualifications. What we’re opposing is a law that Labour implemented that mandated all educators had to be fully qualified. Its a stupid requirement.
So tell me at which age children need trained educators?
Bloody hell, Labour hates Tolley… Every second post is about her…
Is it really needed to call her a rat like she was some Maifioso informant..?
@Jeremy
Because she is mucking around with our childrens futures and our own, if you want to retrain she has made it harder to get into uni. They need trained educators at all ages. Our children deserve it.
Frequently Asked Question #69:
Q. If it was such a positive announcement, why did the Minister decide to leave it out of her press statement and hide it in the “frequently asked questions” section of the Ministry’s website?
A. ………….(any takers?)
In a centre for under 2’s where someone has to mainly change nappies / feed babies / clean up, that person does not need a degree.
No-one says that degree qualified people are not required – just the 100% benchmark.
Some of the research I read as Minister said that making the interactions in those first two years especially while changing nappies and feeding was a vital part of a good start. I think some people have a very narrow view on how children learn.
Trev- perhaps if you or Nat could find a way of allowing a aprent to stay at home and foster the relationship as many studies have displayed how important the connection is at this time. BUT no we as a country do not value parents, and would rather have parents working full time and placing children in care. Parents donot recieve qualifications yet most parents do a great job UNSKILLED.
A degree does not guarantee for a great teacher.
@ Hero: Labour has the most progressive position on the issue you mention – I have a Bill in the members’ ballot to increase paid parental leave to six months and appreciate your support on it.
FAQ #70
Q. Why has no Nat answered FAQ #69 yet?
A. There is no justification for trying to hide a major policy downgrade for ECE, let alone making the decision without consultation with those affected.
Thanks Sue, there is one other question I am searching for an answer, that is What is a liverable wage for a family? As I believe welfare, min wage etc feeds of this answer. But no one can give the answer to me. I was tempted to Ask Phil Goff last night but held back.
It seems to me that childcare workers aren’t paid highly enough to warrant a degree. Conundrum:
– a rise in wages to make the pay commensurate with the qualification makes childcare unaffordable
– if there was no rise in wages, why would they get a degree in early childhood caregiving when they are capable of getting a degree in something where the pay recognises the qualification.
– or maybe it would be a dumbed-down degree, so that people who were not capable of getting a degree in something with degree-level pay could get a ‘degree’ in childcare.
Who knew you needed a degree to interact with a baby when changing its nappy or feeding it.
I work with ECE workers, both trained and untrained, through their union NZEI Te Riu Roa. (However I am making these comments in a personal capacity) I agree with what Trevor said about some of the commenters on this thread having a very narrow view of what learning and education constitute. Anyone who has spent anytime with infants and toddlers will have observed how rapidly they learn. It makes sense to have trained teachers working with them to extend that learning. Early Childhood Education (ECE) is not just about care, which seems to be what several people above think.
I have seen the difference that highly skilled early childhood workers can make to a child’s development and enjoyment. Childcare is not an option for many parents, and it is important that those do not become wasted years for their children. I suspect that the pleas for long-serving untrained workers with skills from experience is vastly overstated – often 30 years experience is just one years experience repeated. But for those few who have learned and are applying that learning in accordance with best practice, it should not be difficult to obtain a qualification; recognition of prior learning should make that process easier without being used to ‘qualify’ those not up to the new standards.