During my contact with Iris from Ireland, she
revealed that many of the issues that are present in the ECE field here in our
country are the same issues that are prevalent in Ireland.
Poorly paid staff is
one of issues that seem to hit home for Iris. She stated that teachers in ECE
are the lowest paid teacher in Ireland, much like the United States. She said
that this seems to be one of the main reasons for staff turnover in the ECE
field. According to Education International, “two main staffing profiles can be
identified in ECE across Europe…usually qualified teachers can found working
with children over 3 to compulsory school age. These teachers increasingly have
a three-year tertiary degree and are often education as (primary) school
teachers that may or may not have a specialization in early childhood”
(Education International). This seems to be the same case in this country. Another
issue that she mentions is the lack of men working within early childhood
education. It is still viewed as “women’s
work” in Ireland. The number of men in ECE educational programs is sparse in
Europe.
Much like the United States, funding for ECE
programs poses a big problem. She also stated that there seems to be an issue
with the decision makers deciding what would be what we refer to as a good
child/staff ratio in the classroom. There is no consensus on the issue.
When I
mentioned the various program monitors that we have here such as NAEYC accreditation,
she stated that they have a program that resembles this. The accreditation
program is known as Higher Capitation Eligibility. The link to this
organizations website is http://www.earlychildhoodireland.ie/childcare-training-and-childcare-education/information-for-students-and-learners/. A large amount of the teacher qualifications
are the same as NAEYC accreditation.
Ireland has no national system of pre-school
education and consequently, the fees paid by the parents are the primary source
of funding. Costs to parents are among the highest in Europe and average over
30% of disposable income for the average worker.
It would seem that providing quality care and
hiring and keeping quality teachers are two of the main issues facing ECE
professionals in Ireland.
References:
Aloha Sonya,
ReplyDeleteI probably need to work in Ireland for a while as a male in the field. I love the attention and wild thought processes that people get when I explain my passion of advocating for those that have no voice in politics. I hope that one day the powers that be can imagine a world of highly paid professional child developers both male and female. Until then I shall keep adding my very male voice to the mix.
Hello Sonya,
ReplyDeleteSounds like Ireland faces challenges similiar to the U.S. Many families here in Tulsa resort to lesser quality care due to the high cost and lack of government assistance. It is very hard to get assistance here if you are employed, even at the minimum wage level.