Good Practice for Good Jobs in Early Childhood Education and Care

Description

Recruiting and retaining skilled staff is a long-standing challenge for the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector. OECD countries are increasingly demanding that ECEC staff be highly skilled and highly qualified, but a combination of low wages, a lack of status and public recognition, poor working conditions, and limited opportunities for professional development mean that recruitment and retention are frequently difficult. What can countries do to build a highly qualified and well-trained ECEC workforce? What is the best route to increasing staff skills without exacerbating staff shortages? How can countries boost pay and working conditions in the context of limited resources? Building on past OECD work on early childhood education and care, and drawing on the experience of OECD countries, this report outlines good practice policy measures for improving jobs in ECEC and for constructing a high-quality workforce. Acknowledgements Executive summary Attracting and recruiting highly-skilled staff Retaining and developing highly-skilled staff 1 Introduction and overview 1.1. The ECEC workforce challenge 1.1.1. ECEC careers are too often seen as unappealing 1.2. Good policies for good jobs in early childhood education and care 2 Attracting and recruiting highly-skilled staff 2.1. Main findings 2.2. Improving the attractiveness of ECEC as a career 2.2.1. Promoting the status of ECEC jobs 2.2.2. Improving wages and rewards 2.2.3. Reducing barriers to entry 2.3. Improving pre-service training and ‘job-readiness’ 2.3.1. Raising minimum qualification requirements 2.3.2. Including practical experience in pre-service training 2.3.3. Providing alternative pathways into the sector 2.4. Bringing men into the ECEC workforce 2.4.1. Using campaigns to attract male workers 2.4.2. Improving male worker support and networking initiatives 2.4.3. Implementing affirmative action policies favouring male candidates 3 Retaining and developing highly-skilled staff 3.1. Main findings 3.2. Improving pay and recognition 3.3. Improving working conditions 3.4. Encouraging in-service training and professional development Annex A. Summary of pre-service training and minimum qualification requirements References Notes