What is the biggest issue facing early childhood education?
As an educator, I can tell you that the biggest issue facing early childhood education is a lack of parental involvement. It is very easy to assess the students and within minutes you can guess which students are exposed to education on a daily basis and which students are not. There are many parents today that feel it is the responsibility of the school to educate the children and that none of the burden comes down to them. It is that feeling that robs a child of years of an education before they even step into their first classroom.
I could write a thesis on this one and particularly because it is not just one factor or issue. 1. Funding 2. Recognition for the work being done by early childhood workers. That is, appropriate pay for their work, they are clearly underpaid. 3. National standards for all early childhood sectors and accreditation processes for same. At present, certain services are accredited whilst others are not. 4. Consistency and validation of registered training organisations who provide early childhood training. The inconsistencies are glaring particularly at Certificate III & Diploma level. 5. Cost of early childhood education. In some case it is prohibitive for parents. 6. Definition of early childhood education. In the UK, early childhood education incorporates any early childhood service prior to school, in Australia we tend to focus on pre-school or kindergarten and forget childcare centres. I could go on forever but I’m sure I’ve given you some food for thought. PS I strongly disagree with
Oh I agree, not enough teachers who care and understand the early years in a child’s life. It is not a job that a person can do and be able to support your family. The education qualifications which is a good thing are costing more and takes time to get. You can work sometimes at the profession but once you get your credential or degree you might be lucky to get a 25 cent raise for it. Better pay and benefits go a long way to attract the right people in these careers. Also respect from the community would give the encouragement to consider childcare and preschool to the teachers who care.
