7.1.2.1 Admissions7.1.3 Trainers
7.1.5.1 Qualifications and entitlement to teach
7.1.5.2 Probationary periods
7.1.6 Post-qualification induction periods
7.1.7 Key priorities, innovative practices and research in initial teacher training
7.1.7.1 Current key priorities for initial teacher training
7.1.7.2 Innovative practice in initial teacher training
7.1.7.3 Strategies to support the use of research and evidence in informing policy and practice
7.1.7.4 Current priorities for research into initial teacher training
7.1.7.5 Research that has had major influences on programmes of initial teacher training
7.1.7.6 Recruitment incentives paid to teacher trainees
General/national
In Australia, the staffing of early childhood education centres varies according to the regulatory requirements of each State and Territory. A range of personnel, qualified and unqualified, may be employed according to service type. The number of qualified staff required and the nature of qualification varies according to regulation and jurisdiction.199
Preschools
A teaching qualification is required to teach in preschools. Preschool programmes may be staffed by early childhood teachers but a specific early childhood qualification is not always a requirement.199
Long day care centres
Specifically trained early childhood personnel are required in long day care centres, which usually employ a combination of contact staff, including those with varying levels of early childhood training and some untrained staff. In some jurisdictions, early childhood teachers are a requirement and there may also be a requirement for the supervisor of the daily programme to have an early childhood qualification.199
Family day care
Staff working in the coordination units of family day care schemes are required to have relevant qualifications in jurisdictions where regulations apply. "National Family Day Care Standards" also specify qualifications for staff of coordination units. Family day care carers themselves are not required by regulations to have any qualifications, apart from a first aid certificate. Individual schemes may, however, require carers to undertake orientation programmes before being registered as care providers. In addition, all schemes offer in-service training programmes to carers.199
Outside school hours care
Under national standards, outside schools hours care must employ one qualified staff member for every 30 children including the coordinator of the service who must be qualified. The qualification may be in teaching (primary or early childhood), child care or recreation. Although most outside school hours care is currently unregulated, those services in receipt of Commonwealth (national) funding are encouraged to meet national standards. In-service training is available to the staff and management of these services through Resource and Training Agencies.199
Requirement for police checks on prospective personnel
All jurisdictions either currently require police checks for Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) personnel, or are in the process of introducing mechanisms to do so.199
Queensland
Statutory obligations for the engagement of staff in Queensland child care services are governed by the Child Care Act 2002182 and the Child Care Regulation 2003.181 Currently there are many training opportunities offered by registered training providers in Queensland.202
Victoria
The Children's Services Regulations 1998184 specify that a qualified staff member in children's services must have successfully completed a two-year, post-secondary early childhood qualification, or equivalent.218 Centres that provide care or education for five or more children under the age of 6 years in the absence of their parents are required to be licensed in Victoria. This includes long day care centres, occasional care centres and preschool services.218
General/national
There are two main avenues for gaining relevant qualifications and training:
There are a number of early childhood qualifications offered and a number of pathways to gaining qualifications.199 The main types of qualifications currently recognised by children’s services regulations are:
These qualifications allow for specialisations in either centre-based care, outside school hours care or family day care. The Advanced Diploma focuses on specialist skills such as management.199 Training is offered via nationally-endorsed training packages which set out the relevant competencies to be attained. Training packages can be delivered and competencies demonstrated in a number of different ways, including on the job training and assessment, and long distance education.199
Higher education
Early childhood teaching degrees are offered through the university sector. These may be three- or four-year degrees, depending upon the institution in which they are offered. An early childhood teaching degree enables a teacher to work in ECEC settings for children under the age of 5 and, in some cases, in the early years of compulsory school.199 There is a capacity for articulation between certificates, diplomas and degrees. A student with a certificate is given advanced standing towards the diploma. Those with a diploma, enrolled in a teaching degree, are given recognition for previous study by being credited with a specified number of units towards the degree.199
Many areas of Australia are experiencing a shortage of qualified early childhood staff, including teachers. Changes are occurring in relation to staff preparation and training. Several universities have introduced four-year teaching degrees for early childhood teachers, whilst vocational training and qualifications have moved to a two-year competency based model. The qualifications required to work in early childhood settings are not consistent throughout the country.199
Queensland
There are a number of VET (vocational education and training) and higher education programmes available to individuals wishing to obtain qualifications to prepare them for employment in the child care and early childhood education sectors. These comprise certificate level qualifications, diploma and advanced diploma level qualifications and degree level qualifications.198
VET programmes
The bulk of training in child care programmes is offered in vocational education and training institutions, particularly by Technical and Further Education (TAFE) institutes. Over recent years private community providers have also become active in the provision of VET training.198 Enrolments in VET child care programmes are, in the main, distributed across the four Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) levels at certificate II, certificate III, certificate IV and diploma (http://www.aqf.edu.au). 198
Higher education programmes
Following a decline in the number of students commencing a course in the child care or early childhood fields of study between 1996 and 1998, Queensland has seen a steady rise in the number of students commencing a course in this field since 1998, although the proportion of male student enrolments remains low (at around four per cent of entrants in 1999). The majority of students enrol in Bachelor of Education (early childhood education) programmes.198 In addition, some students follow Bachelor of Education (child care) programmes, and some study early childhood education and care, already having completed a Graduate Diploma in Education.198 To teach in schools including the year before year 1 in primary schools, a person must be registered as a teacher. To be eligible for teacher registration, Queensland graduates must have completed a programme accepted by the Board of Teacher Registration. The same requirements apply for all teachers in all levels of schools - currently either a four-year undergraduate programme such as a Bachelor of Education, or a two-year graduate entry programme after an initial degree.222
Tasmania
The University of Tasmania offers the following initial teacher training courses:
There are two routes through the degree, depending on whether students wish to become an early years/primary school teacher or a secondary school teacher.220
The early childhood and primary education course consists of the following subject areas:
Victoria
The Schedule of Early Childhood Qualifications (Victoria) Children's Services Regulations 1998 includes the name of the qualification and the name of the institution from which a qualification is recognised to work in early childhood services in Victoria.
The Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC) guide (available at http://www.qtac.edu.au) provides details regarding course entry requirements and access information.222
The Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) requires that all initial teacher training programmes include a minimum of 100 days of practical experience, of which 80 days must be in schools and supervised by practising teachers.222
Standards are generally State-based; in Queensland, the Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) (formerly the Board of Teacher Registration) has developed "Standards and Guidelines" for initial teacher training. These provide graduate standards along with guidelines on the design and duration of programmes and on practical experience. Work has commenced at the national level on a National Framework for Standards to provide some consistency across states.222
Tasmania
Bachelor of Education
The Bachelor of Education degree course lasts for a minimum of four years full-time and prepares students for teaching in early childhood education and in primary schools.220 Students undertake a course of study that includes the following elements:
Bachelor of Teaching
The Bachelor of Teaching is a two-year postgraduate pre-service teacher training course taken after the completion of a first degree. The course is intended to provide teaching practice and skills to enable the beginning teacher to cope with the early years of teaching and to lay a foundation for further professional development in both the theory and practice of education.220 There are two routes through the degree, depending on whether students wish to become an early years/primary school teacher or a secondary school teacher.220 The early childhood and primary education course consists of the following subject areas:
The Bachelor of Teaching programme prepares beginning teachers in all of the appropriate major areas of professional competence which have been identified by relevant professional organisations. These include:
The programme aims to enable beginning teachers to communicate, interact and work with students of diverse abilities, interests and backgrounds and to engage them actively in the learning process in an inclusive and non-discriminatory manner. Beginning teachers acquire:
They are enabled to undertake research relevant to the improvement of professional practice and school effectiveness; and to gain an idea of the character of a liberal democratic education and the expectations it imposes on teachers, schools, administrators, governments and the public generally.220
See section 7.1.2.
Queensland
Different employers have different probationary periods. In addition, in the first instance, all graduates receive provisional registration with the Queensland College of Teachers (QTC). Full teacher registration is achieved following approximately one year of successful teaching and is subject to a report by the school principal in which the teacher is assessed against the QTC's standards. The principal may recommend full registration, an extension of provisional registration or cancellation of registration.222
General/national
Although formal induction processes are few, there are examples of other forms of providing support to new graduates and new recruits. These include placing new employees with experienced workers, implementing buddy system arrangements, providing handbooks, policy documents and explanations of workplace health and safety, and general rules that operate in the service. Providing new employees with child-free days in the case of teachers in pre-schools and kindergartens, access to guidance and support from directors, and allocation to shifts which avoid early mornings or late evenings are other examples of how the sector introduces new employees to their jobs.198
General/national
Staff recruitment and retention and the quality of ECEC
A staffing issue which faces ECEC in the non-school sector, and which has implications for the quality of care and education offered to children, is staff turnover and difficulties in recruiting qualified staff, particularly in remote areas. These factors seem to be connected to the levels of stress which staff experience, coupled with poor pay and conditions, and a limited career structure.199
Additional factors seem to have an impact on staffing in long day care centres, where the need to minimise costs in order to minimise fee increases has worked against the employment of teachers where these are not a regulatory requirement. For similar reasons, services report an increasing reliance upon the use of casual and part-time staff. As consistency of caregivers is considered to be an important component of quality, this has potentially detrimental implications.199
Flexible training options
The move to more flexible training options through competency-based training is relatively recent and the subject of discussion and contention in relation to its potential impact upon quality. The inclusion of specialisations in outside school hours care and family day care is generally welcomed for providing formal training options for staff in these areas. In addition, flexibility in course delivery is hoped to provide greater opportunities for staff currently working in a range of ECEC settings to commence or upgrade their training and qualifications. Successful competency-based training is, however, reliant upon the quality of on-the-job supervision and the integrity of assessment procedures. An issue raised in relation to many ECEC settings is that time is limited; therefore adequate ongoing supervision for training can be difficult to provide. Another concern expressed in the ECEC field is that the packaging of training around competencies may undermine the theoretical underpinnings of early childhood practice and the role of reflection in teacher development.199
Finally, regarding staffing and training for indigenous students in remote communities, the introduction of more flexible training options provides an avenue for many such students to access training. However, there is an increased understanding that, if training is to be successful and relevant, it needs to recognise the particular context of each community, as well as appreciate variations in cultural values and skills involving children and child rearing practices.199
Men in ECEC
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 1996 Census indicated that only 3.3 per cent of Australian child-care workers and 2.3 per cent of pre-primary teachers were men. It is believed that the number of men participating in the field is increasing slowly and that men are moving away from contact roles into management positions. In Sydney, a Men in Early Childhood Education Network facilitates the informal mentoring of men enrolled in early childhood professional preparation programmes.199
Queensland
Skill shortages, recruitment and retention
There are considerable skill shortages in the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) sector in Queensland, especially in terms of workers with appropriate qualifications and experience. Employers, practitioners, students, unions, peak body representatives, and training coordinators employed to work with indigenous communities are of the opinion that these shortages are due to low wages and lack of public recognition for the importance of the work that is performed. Regular difficulties in recruiting qualified personnel (especially for group leader and director positions) are also felt to be due to a lack of people with the skills and qualifications within the pool of applicants and within the community, and lack of incentives to attract people to such positions. This is especially the case for rural, remote and indigenous communities. There are also difficulties experienced in keeping workers attached to remote and rural areas once they get there.198
Job turnover is also felt to be due to the lack of appropriate remuneration for the level of responsibility entailed in occupations, limited hours of work available (particularly in outside school hours care and limited and occasional care services), and general frustration experienced in the sector. However, information from employers on reasons for the most recent resignations from director, group leader or assistant positions indicates that, although individuals leave the service for better employment prospects, or a job that pays more money, the most common reasons for resignations are related to life style and family commitments.198
Difficulties in recruitment, especially in regional, and rural and remote areas, can be diminished by the implementation of special incentives for students to fill positions on completion of their studies. The fact that substantial numbers of students are not opposed to going to the country for work may support the implementation of such schemes.198
NCVER report - Training and Employment in the Queensland Child Care and Early Childhood Education Sector
In the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) report, 'Training and Employment in the Queensland Child Care and Early Childhood Education Sector', six major themes for action are derived regarding improving the quality of the ECEC sector. These relate to:
Increasing wages
The findings of the above NCVER study indicate that employers, students, practitioners and stakeholders believe that if the industry wishes to attract and retain qualified staff (and more men), there is a need to increase wages. This is especially true for attracting and retaining qualified staff in remote and rural areas, and in indigenous communities. However, asking employers to shoulder the burden of increased wages may have undesirable consequences. In many cases, employers will not be able to meet the need for increased wages without increasing fees and costs for parents. Increased fees and costs for parents may in turn lead to decreased demands for services. To avoid such repercussions there is a need for the industry to explore alternative avenues for addressing the wage issue. This might include lobbying for government subsidies that are directly tied to wage incentives for workers.198
Benchmarking the wages of workers in the child care and early childhood education sector with workers in other industry sectors performing similar types of functions may also assist the industry to make a case for wage improvements.198
Recruiting and retaining qualified staff for rural and remote services
It is clear that rural and remote areas are especially disadvantaged in terms of qualified staff prepared to apply for available positions and remain in jobs for considerable periods of time. The findings of this study indicate that that some students are willing to go to country areas on the completion of their studies. In view of this, the industry might like to consider introducing training contracts based on incentives for country service for specified periods of time (say two years). An incentive scheme to attract existing workers to country areas might also work in the same way.198
Recruiting male practitioners
The sector continues to be overwhelmingly dominated by females. This is not unusual for sectors whose main role is the care and education of children. However, the low wages and limited career progression opportunities available in the sector may also inhibit male employment.198
In view of the general support available from all sectors of the industry for the employment of more male practitioners in the sector, there is a case for improving promotional campaigns aimed at attracting males into the profession. However, such campaigns must also be held in tandem with campaigns to increase wages and benefits for workers.198
Improving public recognition and status for practitioners
There is a general conviction among all groups that the sector suffers from low public recognition and status. It is also generally felt that this is directly tied to low wages for practitioners. Improving public recognition and occupational status is not an easy task. However, it may be assisted by media campaigns that highlight the important work of practitioners, and the value to the community of having qualified, committed and enthusiastic workers to look after the young.198
Developing contingency plans for dealing with regular job turnover
Apart from disenchantment with wages and conditions of work, young people move out of the sector for a number of other reasons. They leave to pursue other career options, travel overseas, start families, or take up further studies. If the sector is going to continue to rely on young workers (especially for assistant positions) then it must also be prepared to accept such movement as a natural consequence. Establishing contingency plans to deal with such human resource issues can help to minimise the disruption to workplace staffing brought about by regular job turnover.198
Establishing an industry-specific professional association
There is overwhelming support from employers, practitioners, students and other stakeholders for the establishment of a professional association to advocate for the career and professional needs of practitioners. The establishment of such an association, however, will require considerable resources, in terms of getting the association up and running, maintaining administrative and financial accounting functions, and undertaking lobbying responsibilities. The fact that there is not a tradition of collective action and belonging to unions may limit the effectiveness of any new professional association.198
Victoria
Mentoring initiative for preschool teachers
The Mentoring Initiative for Preschool Teachers aims to recognise the skills and expertise of more experienced teachers as an untapped resource, and to provide opportunities for new graduates or less experienced teachers to be mentored in a practical and supportive way.218 This is achieved through:
There are examples of innovative practices at universities in Queensland in areas such as pre-service internships and distance education. There are many examples of articulation of qualifications and recognition of prior learning which provide a form of fast-tracking.222 See section 7.1.7.1 in addition.
NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT PRESENT.
General/national
Acceleration of research effort
There has been a general lack of Australian research in early childhood education, although early childhood education and care (ECEC) professionals do have a long history of contribution to the development and implementation of innovative services, having led the way in many areas relevant to the development of programmes and service models; in the identification of existing and future gaps in service provision; and in policy directions for government. The field has a shorter history of formal involvement in research and evaluation.199
The amalgamation in 1989 of the colleges of advanced education with the universities represented a major shift in the location of education and training for ECEC and followed earlier amalgamations that brought the ECEC institutions into the colleges of advanced education. This movement of early childhood higher education institutions into universities has resulted in a steady increase in research activity in the ECEC area. In 1991, for example, the School of Early Childhood within Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane transformed a resource and consultancy centre that had been part of the Brisbane College of Advanced Education into the Centre for Applied Studies in Early Childhood (CASEC), with a new focus on research and postgraduate teaching. Recent reviews of CASEC have confirmed its status as a university research centre, reflecting the strategic priority afforded by QUT to research in ECEC. Similarly, within Macquarie University, the Mia Mia Child and Family Study Centre continued a longstanding commitment by the Institute of Early Childhood (and the organisations that preceded it) to innovative service development and research. ECEC has been identified as an area of research strength at Macquarie University and senior staff have been appointed to facilitate the development of a research programme. At the de Lissa Institute, a Chair of Early Childhood has been jointly funded by the University of South Australia and the Department of Education Training and Employment, again with a major focus on the development of applied research programmes. It is only since the move to universities that specialist ECEC research training at honours, masters and doctoral levels has been widely available in Australia.199
Another example of the acceleration of research effort was the establishment, in 1993, of the Australian Research in Early Childhood Education Conference, which is held annually in the Australian national capital, at the University of Canberra. Early childhood researchers and policy writers from all States and Territories attend this conference, which provides a forum for scholarly discussion, networking and mentoring of new researchers. The conference is self-funded, producing a research journal (Journal of Australian Research in Early Childhood Education), occasional papers, and is currently developing a website. Notwithstanding these developments, there is still a dearth of Australian research on young children and a reliance on overseas research, particularly from the United States and the United Kingdom.199
The Commonwealth Child Care Advisory Council also commissions research in order to complete the tasks referred to it by the Minister for Family and Community Services. One of the recommendations of the Senate Inquiry into Early Childhood Education (1996) was for the establishment of a National Centre for Research in Early Childhood Development to conduct longitudinal research. In 1997, the Department of Health and Family Services commissioned a group comprising the Institute of Family Studies and the Australian Early Childhood Research Consortium (with members from Macquarie University, the Queensland University of Technology and the University of Melbourne) to conduct a feasibility study of the value of follow-up research on the outcomes of child care. To date, there has been limited Australian research on the outcomes of ECEC. The Australian Institute of Family Studies is an important contributor to research on child care, child development and Australian family contexts. Its work is funded both from its recurrent budget and from competitive tenders.199
The Commonwealth Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA) is another major commissioner of evaluations, reviews and research, particularly related to schools. A recent initiative by the Department involves targeting early childhood in its Research Fellowship Scheme.199
NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT PRESENT.
NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT PRESENT.