Episode 3: Foundations of Excellence: The Importance of Early Childhood Educators

[MUSIC] Welcome to Better Together podcast series. I am Dr. Misek Barri, a researcher in early childhood policy, and a professor and program coordinator at the School of Early Childhood at George Brown College. Together with my co-host Carrie McQuake, a researcher at the University of Toronto, we have put together an eight episode series exploring the importance of investment and support in high quality early childhood education. This is episode three where we are joined by Kim Hiscott, Child Care Director and Kathy Knight Robinson, Director of Program Operations, both at Andrew Fleck Child Care Services in Ottawa. Elise Patterson, an early childhood educator who mentors other new educators and me, Amisek Barri, discussing the college level training and early childhood educator receives. We begin our conversation with Carrie and Kathy. What brought you to early childhood education as a career? When I took my ECE, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but I was interested in the field, I was interested in learning alongside children, but I never necessarily thought that it was going to be permanent. I always thought that it would be kind of a stepping stone, and yet here I am 25 years later, still in the field because I just fell in love with the idea of collaborating with children, with families, and with colleagues. What is it that an early childhood educator does? Parents tend to know what teachers do, they might even know what education assistants do, but when it comes to early childhood educators, there's a bit of a gap in the knowledge of what special you bring to the table. As an early childhood educator, I think everybody thinks of us as ensuring the basic needs of children are met, such as making sure that they are safe, they are well fed, they are supervised, but it is so much more than that. I think that it is the influence that we have on children's development, and not only their development in terms of physical and emotional, but it's also seeing children being empathetic to other children, seeing children look at the world in a different way caring for the world. So you're really looking at the whole child, and I suppose the child in the context of their families? Absolutely, and that's a good point, Carrie, because every child brings their own unique perspective, their own lived environment, and there is no one size fits all. Kim, Andrew Fleck is one of Ottawa's largest child care providers. I assume that you do the hiring of new staff. What do you look for when hiring a new early childhood educator? First, we look for enthusiasm. So individuals who demonstrate that they're compassionate, passionate, wanting to be in the role that are welcoming the interactions that they're going to have daily with children. We also would be looking for a commitment to communication and collaboration with families, with the children themselves, and of course with their colleagues because they are working as a member of a team, also individuals who are able to be reflective. Because we're a sector that is always evolving, always learning, and that's what's exciting. I'm not the same early child educator that I was 30 plus years ago. I believe that I've evolved and I've developed new skills and competencies, and I think that every early child educator looks to and inspires to be that reflective learner throughout their career. And how do you help your staff in fact grow? Because what I'm hearing you say is there's an expectation that really staff will grow alongside the children that they are learning and caring with. As somebody who manages a program, what do you do in order to help your staff stay abreast with the new new research? Let's just take the pandemic as an example. I'm sure that the children and families that came back to your program following the pandemic were a little bit different than those that left. What did you do to help your staff make that transition? We want all of the staff who working alongside well trained professional colleagues. Because then they have an opportunity to coach, model, and mentor alongside each other. But then we also provide individual non-contact time and team meeting times that's built into their schedules so that they have that opportunity to do some reflection. But then we also invest a lot in professional learning. So that could be done on an individual basis. It could be coaching alongside their program coordinator or amongst their team members. It could be engagement with a commitment to 10 professional learning. And then all that is linked to and supported by a performance review process as well. The responsibility of a teacher is to ensure that their students have engaged with the curriculum as they move into the next grade in childcare. You've got infant rooms, toddler rooms, preschool rooms. Could we think about that transition of children in the same way as educators in schools would think about the transitions of children? We do actually absolutely think about that transition and plan for them and engage in them really effectively. We're committed to how does learning happen as our pedagogical framework. And we engage with families to support families understanding of children's learning. And it's a reciprocal opportunity through the story part platform that we use because families can actually respond as well. And then that follows the child from one program to the next. And that gives the educators the opportunity to get to know the child a little bit before they even arrive. Kathy, I understand from your work that you're actually leading teams of educators. What are their main frustrations? Oh, that's a good question. Educators are curious and looking at opportunities to find time where they can collaborate and being educators in the program room. They don't often have those times to have those side conversations. But I think that they would absolutely welcome more. And just like we listen to the needs of children, we need to also understand that educators are looking for opportunities to grow their skills. They are also frustrated that they are not always necessarily seen as professional or paid as professionals. And so I think that's another piece that we need to pay attention to and ensure that the funding is flowed appropriately to fund them as the professionals that they are. So I'm glad that you raised that because there definitely has been a lot of discussion in the media and among educators about the poor value, which is put on the profession that sometimes their skills are not recognized or devalued. And that there are these steady complaints about pay and working conditions. So give that Kathy. Would you encourage a friend or family member to pursue a career as an early childhood educator? I still would because I do believe in the profession. I do believe that there's opportunities to continue to advocate. And I think that the Canadawide Early Learning and Care Plan is going to be supportive. I mean, there's still lots of work to do. But I think there's very few profession that provides the reward of being an early childhood educator. I think that we do need people, as Kim said, that have a commitment, but also critical thinking skills of how can we support our next generation? And so Kim, as a director, how do you respond to the bad rep that child care often receives? Well, first off, I like to point out that it's not the same everywhere, that there are some really strong employers and encourage any early childhood educator or any individual who's stepping into the sector to really do the research and understand the differences. Also get involved in the intentionality of advocating. As we're moving towards a much more publicly funded sector, we do have an opportunity to continue to showcase just how valuable the role is, what a difference we make in the lives of children and families. And how do you encourage your staff to get involved on that side of things? How do you encourage them to be advocates for their own profession? We share a lot of information. So they will receive information from me. If I am doing something, let's say, having an opportunity to present, for example, in the Senate or with provincial funders or policymakers at our local city, I will let them know what's happened and why and share policy developments that have come out. I'll often be sending messages saying, "Oh, so if you're having a chance to have a conversation, is just sitting around at a family barbecue?" Perhaps you'd like to point out "X," those kinds of things. And staff, welcome that. It helps them to feel in the loop. I also have to ask them for their stories to say, "Well, tell me what's happening so that then I can use those stories when I'm trying to also explain what is directly happening." And those stories really matter. They are impactful. Well, that's beautiful. So give me your best story. Oh my gosh. Okay. From a family, when I was reading these, I had to have a tissue in my hand. Like, honest to goodness, the impact has been significant. But I'm going to tell you more than one because they so matter. Families were telling us that they could now afford to buy nutritious food for their children. Another family shared that they're now thinking of having another child. So this is not just impacting them now. It's impacting the neighborhood. next generation. And I remember another family saying that they actually now have some free cash to enjoy activities with their children on the weekends. Like, I can imagine. And then some, of course, we're sharing that they paid off debt. They were able to return to work full time. Their child was able to experience an equality early learning program that they didn't think that they were ever going to be able to access. So every one of those stories, they're impacting families today, but also tomorrow and long-term. Well, I think that's a beautiful note to end on. And I'd like to thank you both for your contribution to this discussion. And I'd like to thank you both for everything that you do for children and families. With me today is Elise Patterson, a registered early childhood educator in Ontario. She has recently completed her bachelor's degree in early education. Thank you for joining us today. Let's begin by telling us what you do and where do you do it? Thanks for having me, Elise. As you said, I'm an early childhood educator. So currently, I am working as on call with George Brown Lab Schools as an educator. I also am supporting building blocks for childcare this summer as the executive assistant. And I am also supporting a research project on indigenous perspectives in early childhood education. So those are my current projects that I'm doing right now. Parents in public know what teachers in schools do, but often have no or little understanding of early childhood educators and the knowledge and skills that they bring to children and families. How would you describe the role and the work of an EC to a parent? To a parent, I would describe being an EC as a very diverse position. Of course, we strengthen relationships with the children we work with and the families we work with and often the community at large in where we work. And so we're kind of like a connection between all of those things. And of course, we provide care to the children. So we definitely have a large background in health and safety and making sure that children in our care are appropriately supervised and things like that. But I think something that the public doesn't necessarily know much about is also our background in a lot of different things. Educators often do a lot of education on equity work and professional learning on equity work. So things like reconciliation, looking into LGBTQ+ rights and how we can ensure those in our classrooms. There's a lot of things that ECs do and they definitely center around ensuring that the children in our care are provided with the best start to their lives. So it's definitely social, it's developmental, it's science, it's a lot of different things. And that's just what I love about being an early childhood educator. I wear many hats and I get to do a lot of those things. To the point that we were discussing earlier is that many parents kind of see it as glorified babysitting as opposed to really scaffolding and teaching and supporting the learning and development of children. You are an early childhood educator with a degree. Now in Ontario, to be registered with the college, you acquire a diploma. You've chosen to pursue a degree. Tell us why you chose EC as a profession and why you decided to pursue a degree. It's great that you ask that because after I finished my diploma, I actually had the opportunity to go into a before and after school position with George Brown College. So it was a huge choice for me to decide whether I was going to put a pause on my education and then go into classroom work and be in program or to continue my education. I'm a lifelong learner as all ECs are. And so I knew that eventually I would always finish my degree just because there's so much more to learn about early childhood education from a global perspective, different theories and developmental approaches and things like that. So I always knew that I'm just someone who's hungry for knowledge. And so it was an interest for me to do that. And honestly, initially when I joined George Brown for my diploma program and my degree program, I kind of decided that I wanted to go to teachers college and that quickly changed after finishing my diploma. Going for the degree, it was a point of accomplishment for me, I think, because I am someone who just does value knowledge. And also, I just wanted to make sure that there was other opportunities open for me. So for example, in the future, if perhaps I wanted to aim for a supervisor position or something like that, or I might want to do research in early childhood education, the degree program allows me to have those doors open and also provided me with such great knowledge in terms of diverse approaches to childcare. So in the diploma program, they touch on things like indigenous approaches to early childhood education and queer theory and things like that. But in the degree program, they go a lot more into that. And so now that I'm going into program and working with children directly again, I'm finding that even if I'm not directly going to teachers college or things like that, it still was a large benefit for me in my approach to working with young children. I noticed that your signature line describes you as a peer leader. What does a peer leader do? As a student with George Brown, one of my roles was a peer leader. And so in that role, I was able to support first-year students in their transition into the diploma program. And so I acted as a leader in different ways. So providing them with weekly seminars in regard to learning skills and things like that. And also providing a space where the diploma students could come and talk about their experiences in placement, their approach to designing curriculum activities, how they're doing with working with things like emergent curriculum. And so it was kind of like a mini community of practice of sorts that I was able to develop with the students, which was great. Definitely as a peer leader, my main focus was ensuring that the future educators felt supported and excited about going into early childhood education. And that can be hard, of course, with the current political climate that we're dealing with right now in regard to the rolling out of SeaWilk and the barriers that we have in my home province of Ontario right now. But we should still be excited about it. And so it was nice to have that space for us to talk about our wins and things we were looking forward to putting into practice. You speak with such passion. Would you encourage others to become an early childhood educator? And what would you say to a new graduate entering the sector? So currently I would encourage others to become ECEs. It's hard right now because of course as a feminized profession, we are extremely undervalued. And you know, I did touch a little bit on the political aspects that are going on right now and that are influencing our sector. So it's hard to say with my whole heart, yes, become an ECE because the future is so uncertain, but I am an optimist. And so I still think that if you have a passion for working with people, young children, community members and making connections that way, then I think that anyone who is like that would be a great educator. It's a sector where you can grow as a person. I touched earlier on my work supporting a project about Indigenous perspectives in early childhood education. And that has completely shifted my worldview for the better and changed a lot about me. So it's a profession where you can really come into your own. You can bring your personal life experiences to your work. And that's a benefit, I would say. And it's all about relationships in my opinion. And as someone who's very social and loves making those connections, it's been such a joy to see a child grow and see them develop new skills and seeing their personalities really come come alive in our care. So that's what I would say to people who are thinking about being ECEs and I would encourage others to do so. For new graduates, I would say, hold on, everything's going to be okay. We're fighting the good fight. You know, there's organizations like the AECO, the Coalition for Better Child Care, even the one that I'm supporting right now, Building Blocks for Child Care, who are really pushing for quality early years programming in our province. And I think that we will be able to get there. I don't remember it so well because I was very young, but I remember people talking about when initially, I think it was the Paul Martin federal government announced a universal early learning plan and then it got canceled. And now we're here and we do have it and we just have to keep working towards it and part of that is having new graduates who are excited to be early childhood educators. Thank you so much Elise and thank you for joining me today. Thank you so much Amice. It was a pleasure. So Amice, tell us who you are, what you do and where you do it. Hi, Kerry. I'm a professor and program coordinator at the School of Early Childhood at George Brown College in Toronto and I'm also an adjunct professor in the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at the University of Toronto and the Senior Policy Fellow at the Atkinson Center for Society and Child Development. So I wear many hats, a George Brown I teach in both our diploma program of which I am the coordinator of the second year students and I also teach in our degree program where many of our students go on to leadership roles in the earlier sector or go on to graduate school and at the Atkinson Center as a senior policy fellow I work with various levels of government in their evaluation of policies in early education and support knowledge translation and mobilization of research. So really working to bring together research practice and policy. I'm also the co-author of the early education report and this report is released every three years and evaluates the provision of early education policy in all 13 provinces and territories in Canada. So you're a busy woman but we want to get into I think your role as a program coordinator at George Brown College. Early education is about and for young children so why is it that we spend so much time talking about their educators? Well research points out that the ability of educators and other staff to attend to the needs of children is influenced not only by their level of education and training but also by other factors such as their work environment their wages and benefits strongly associated with stable, sensitive and stimulating interactions with children are the context and conditions in which educators work. So simply put educator work environments are children's learning environments. And early childhood educator is a legal title and ECE requires a two year college diploma and then registration with a professional college of early childhood educators. But given what you've said this is a pretty complicated job that needs a lot of skill sets. Do you think a two year college diploma is enough? Well two years is definitely a good start. However this is just for ECE's much of this workforce is non ECE's with no requirements other than medical and police clearances. There is no province or territory in Canada that requires that all those working with children and early education settings be qualified. In some regions the non ECE needs to have a minimum of 120 hours for example in Saskatchewan or 90 hours in New Brunswick of training. So quite variable across the country we need to ensure that all those working with children in early education are qualified. We would never tolerate otherwise an arcade at 12 system. So why are we okay with this for our youngest children's learning? So when it comes to the aspirations for your students what aspirations do they have? What do they want to do with their education? That's a great question. Many of our students anecdotally speaking are choosing not to continue in the sector. They see what is happening in Ontario. They see the lack of policy and funding attention. How do we teach our students to advocate for themselves in light of the current status quo without scaring them out of the sector? This is a big challenge for us at the college level. The majority of my students have a real passion to work with children to support their learning, to scaffold, to inspire, to shape their development. And those that stay in the sector do so in spite of the current low wages and lack of value of their important work. But they are frustrated and they're definitely burning out. So Blue Sky it for me as a researcher and as a faculty member. What would you like to offer your students so they could be the best early childhood educators possible? I would love to see them valued in the way they deserve to be that reflects their the important work that they do. They literally hold in their hands our greatest resource children the future they deserve better than what we are giving them. They deserve pay that reflects their knowledge responsibility and accountability. They deserve to be able to plan for their retirement and go to the dentist when they need to. They deserve paid sick days. They deserve opportunities for paid professional learning a requirement by the way of their registration with the college of early childhood educators. They deserve a living wage. They deserve pedagogical leadership and support. They deserve paid programming time. They deserve a lot more than they are getting right now. These are just a few of my wishes for my students as they enter the sector. Well we wish that for them too. Thank you very much Mies. And thank you for joining us. There are seven other podcasts in the Better Together series. If you like what you heard, tell a friend or share your feedback with us at [email protected]. Have a great day.