Education International Research
In Germany, the GEW81 estimates that 300,000 more ECE educators must be recruited by 2025 to maintain current quality standards; the current shortage has resulted in some ECE institutions being shut down. The union views low teacher status as a key contributor to this shortage — ECE training in Germany can take up to five years and must be financed by students, unlike male-dominated sectors, which enjoy better reputations and have tuition fees paid for by the government.
ECE teachers have low status, poor working conditions and precarious employment contracts ECE teachers reported a few improvements to working conditions since 2015. In Tanzania, the government is developing a new scheme of service for ECE teachers, and in India, unions report minor increases in ECE teacher wages. However, over half of unions surveyed reported that no improvements had been seen in the working conditions of ECE educators since 2015. On the contrary, their low status is highlighted by low pay, inadequate access to and/or low-quality continuing professional development (CPD) programmes, excessive workloads and lack of time for preparation and planning, lack of opportunities for career progression, poor employment conditions including lack of social protections, precarious employment and exploitation by private employers. According to EI research on the Status of Teachers, 14% of teachers in ECE work under “another type of legal status”, short-term appointments being a key indicator. Less than 17% of ECE teachers reported receiving “fair salaries”. The ECE workforce is predominantly female, meaning gendered, unfair labour norms influence the prevalence of poor ECE employment conditions, and these poor conditions negatively impact gender equality. In some countries such as Trinidad and Tobago, ECE educators are “not recognised as teachers and therefore do not have the same opportunity for collective bargaining as enjoyed by primary and secondary teachers”. In Kenya, KNUT82 has gone to court with the aim of ensuring that ECE educators are recognised as “teachers”. Without this status, they cannot be employed by the Teachers’ Service Commission. The minimum qualifications for ECE educators vary greatly between countries, but also according to the type of ECE. For example, in Canada, ECE day centre staff must undergo 45 hours of training and mandatory professional development each year, whilst kindergarten educators must have a bachelor’s degree. In Kenya, there are no standard minimum requirements to teach in an ECE setting, nor is there a legal framework for minimum qualifications to enrol in ECE courses. In Malawi, it is not uncommon for ECE to be taught by unqualified volunteers.
ECE teachers lack sufficient quality teacher training, support and CPD opportunities ECE-specific, high-quality initial teacher training is crucial to equip teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide quality education. In Nigeria, unions are pleased that the government has recently introduced ECE as a specialisation in teaching colleges; prior to this, primary and ECElevel teachers received the same training. GRO.EI-IE
Access to CPD for ECE educators is incredibly varied due to the diversity of the sector. However, ECE unions across the world report inadequate relevant CPD opportunities. ECE educators in the Democratic Republic of Congo say that they lack any quality CPD and are forced to “fend for themselves”. In Germany, CPD is generally provided on an individual basis at a fee to the educator, whilst in Australia, teachers covered by a collective enterprise agreement have a good degree of autonomy in determining suitable learning and development, but those not covered by such an agreement have minimal or no access to CPD. In response to such deficiencies, some unions like the Nigeria Union of Teachers provide CPD to ECE educators.
0302 NOITA CUDE 81 Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft 82 Kenya National Union of Teachers
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