Early childhood education (ECE) should be among the priority agenda for any country anticipating to develop and end poverty. Early childhood education begins as early as the child starts to walk and proceed up to five years. The way a child is introduced to early education determines their future success in school and life, hence the need to ensure early childhood staff are well trained and qualified. For the past decades, Canada has been facing an issue of poor-quality education, especially for beginners. The system of early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Canada is ranked poor when compared internationally. The shortage of qualified staff to work in Canadian schools is a major crisis affecting the quality of childhood education compared to other developed countries. Canada has approximately 2.4 million young children aged five and below who are at the age of beginning school ( Mahon, 2020) . The paper will focus on the issue of qualification of early childhood staff in Canada while addressing the influence of government systems on the subject and the laws, policies, and regulations affecting the issue.
Despite the growing need for building a strong early foundation of early childhood education in Canada, the issue of shortage of childhood staff remains a concern. Teachers and other childhood staffs need to have excellent foundational knowledge on the development of children. According to OECD (2020), “there is a complex interrelationship between staff-child ratios, staff qualifications, quality and type of provision that makes it difficult to single out the effect of a particular characteristic of working conditions”. Adequate knowledge and training guide the staff towards promoting the learning of students stage by stage and understanding the differences in the capabilities and cognitive development. According to Workman & Ullrich (2017 ,) staffs need to be compensated and given benefits comparable to childhood teachers, which helps in the recruitment and retaining of competent and educated teams to promote a healthy learning environment. The quality indicator of staff working with early childhood education is determined by the staff-child ratio, the number of working hours, wages, and maximum working size ( OECD, 2020) . These factors determine the ability of the staff to deliver quality work in schools. Unfortunately, in Canada, attracting, training, and retaining qualified ECE staff is a significant challenge, with most staff quitting to job to work in other developed countries. Failure of the government and policymakers to offer healthy working conditions for the team has contributed to a crisis of qualified ECE staff in Canada with low-income children fallen primary victims ( Prentice, 2007) . As the Canadian government moves towards enhancing the quality of education for all children, there is a need to look deeper into the qualification of staff.
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The number of staff present in ECE determines the quality of education. The shortage of teachers in Canada has been a significant issue, with the ratio of teacher-child in some regions been very high. The few teachers present in rural schools occupied by low-income immigrants cannot focus on the individual needs of children like engaging them in interactions. The ECD workforce working in classrooms and planning should be adequate to allow every child to interact with them as they develop their skills and cognitive for better decision and problem-solving. The ECD staff need to reflect the growing diversity of children population in Canada and ensure that every child access a teacher whom they can relate to reflecting their background.
Why the Issue Matters and Research
The issue of qualification of early childhood staff continues to receive attention from policymakers, politicians, and voters. Every day when parents drop their children to school or daycare, they leave with the hope that their children receive the best care and education that help in their cognitive development. According to Friendly, Grady, Macdonald & Forer (2015), “all jurisdictions require some of the staff working with children in regulated child care to have some early childhood education (ECE)” Qualification of staff in ECE matters since they determine the quality of education for the children. The brain development and foundation of future learning are determined by the child's experiences and interactions in the firsts three years of life. Various studies have come with a universal stand that the qualification of staff in ECE determines the quality of education and future learning and career lives of children. According to Workman & Ullrich (2017 ), qualified staffs know how to create a warm and responsive interaction and a stable environment that ensure secure attachment between teacher and child. The attachment created helps the child to develop a sense of self and start to understand emotions that help them in building and establishing relationships.
Research conducted by Halfon & Langford (2015 ) shows that for the past ten years, the Canadian government has shown interest in early childhood education and care. Although there have been tremendous changes from the government like coming up with programs, the education qualification of staff remains a big issue. According to “new Child Care Act enacted July31, 2017, a caregiver in a regulated setting (centre or home) must have Trainee Certification at minimum, and is required to upgrade to a higher level within five years” (Friendly et al., 2015). According to research, the quality of education is determined by the qualification of the staff and their working condition ( Halfon & Langford, 2015) . However, in Canada, no province has adequately dealt with the issue of staff qualification. Hiring qualified staff for ECE enhance “ “an understanding of the values and practices of care–engrossment, sensitivity, trust and reciprocity — and a view of children as capable of full participation in the social and cultural life of the early learning and care setting” ( Halfon & Langford (2015) . Continues investments in the initiative have been compromised by inadequate human resources policy to support child care staff. Research conducted by Prentice (2007) shows that only one out of seven Canadian children have access to regulated ECE. Poor and radicalized children are disadvantaged and always rely on the few volunteer staff from non-governmental organizations to provide for education. Many immigrants, parents from low-income families cannot afford to pay for quality staff for their children. Most of the staff are not trained on the issue of child development; hence by the time they start going to school, they are much behind from those children who grew up in qualified staff. There is a need for the government to put good policies that ensure every child in Canada gets qualified staff from as early as one year.
How do governmental systems influence this issue?
The Canadian government has a great influence on the issues of qualification of staff teaching child early childhood education and daycare. The government plays a key role in setting up programs and curriculum for childhood teachers to ensure they achieve adequate knowledge and training. From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, the Canadian government has been in the forefront to improve education for childhood. For the past few decades, the government has enhanced ECE by integrating the program into public policies by shifting responsibilities into the Ministry of Education. The ministry of education manages to convince parents that the qualifications of staff are equally important in enhancing quality. The system came up with qualification requirements for childhood teachers to promote quality. According to Halfon & Langford (2015), “Provincial governments have taken steps to address wages for the child care workforce through public funding in the form of specific wage grants and operating funding that goes directly to providers”. It is the role of government to ensure all registered schools and daycare has adequate staff who have achieved education and training requirements to teach children (Mahon, 2020). The government has a great influence on this issue through the ministry of education since it set the minimum qualifications of teachers and participate in the formation of curriculum and programs. Today, the government, through the ministry of education, requires every early childhood staff to attain a minimum qualification of diploma from a recognized college. The staff needs to undergo intensive training in on basics of health, safety, and behavior and understanding of children’s behavior.
Other qualifications set by the government include clean police records, health certificates, immunization, and admission testing. Social, economic needs of Canadians also influence the requirement of childhood staff. Failure of the Canadian government to ensure equality of social and economic factors has affected the quality of staff, especially in regions with a majority of low-income individuals and immigrants. These regions have inadequate colleges to train early childhood teachers. Also, since the ECE program is under the government, many qualified teachers are underpaid, and others exposed to poor working conditions.
Who can make decisions about this issue?
The government, through the ministry of education, plays a crucial role in deciding on the qualification of early childhood staff. The state also decides on where to construct ECD schools and daycares and the hiring of teachers from minority races and cultures. The state legislatures are involved in the making of decisions on the best programs that promote quality childhood education. The state legislature is responsible for funding essential programs that determine the qualification of ECE staff (Friendly, Grady, Macdonald & Forer, 2015). United Nations, through UNICEF, makes crucial decisions on the qualification of ECE staff to ensure every Canadian child has access to quality education. Also, UNICEF gets involved in curriculum formation of ECE staff and ensures the staffs are well paid and work in a healthy environment.
What are the policies, laws, and or regulations that may affect this issue?
In Canada, qualifications for early childhood staff are guided by several policies, laws, and regulations put in place by the government and the United Nations under its UNICEF program. The policies and regulations governs the requirements for every staff working with child care or ECE across the country. Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 (CCEYA) is one of the policies put in place to govern child care in Ontario. The act issue rules and regulations to be followed by early childhood staff, among them certification in health and first aid admission, clean police record, and experience in handling children. According to the Canadian constitution, early childhood education and care programs are under provincial/territorial jurisdiction. The new Child Care Act enacted on July 31, 2017, has come up with new laws governing the qualification and minimum trained certification for early childhood staff. Level one staff requires a minimum of one year certificate in Early Childhood Education from postsecondary education. Level two requires a minimum of two-year diploma in ECE while leveling three two certifications plus ECE-related post-diploma specialization. Level four staff requires an ECE-specific university degree plus an ECE diploma. Another policy is the Ontario Early Years Policy Framework, which comes up with collective progress to ensure every child below six years in Canada, has the best start in life.
The ministry of education in Canada has placed regulations on child care licensing, placing minimum requirements of various staffs. A supervisor of a child care center is expected to be a member of good standing and recognized College of Early Childhood Educators with a minimum of two years in a licensed child care setting. Section 53 of the Ontario Regulation also posits that a director is responsible for planning and directing programs of the child care center ( O. Reg. 137/15, 2015) . “Qualified staffs for licensed early childhood centers need to be a member in good standing of the College of Early Childhood Educators and be approved by a director”. Section 54 of the Ontario Regulation requires staff in ECE to have a “diploma or degree in child and youth care and recreational services and be a member in good standing with the Ontario College of Teachers” (O. Reg. 126/16, s. 36 (1) ( O. Reg. 137/15, 2015) . Other regulations include the provision of license with health assessment and immunization records and current first aid certification.
Conclusion
In summary, the qualifications of early childhood staff are a significant issue affecting all the provinces of Canada. There are very few qualified staff to take care of millions of children under the age of five. The recruitment level and in-staff-training level of these staff are very low compared to other developed countries. As the government continues placing quality education among the primary agenda, there s a need to focus more on the qualifications of early childhood staff who create a basis for cognitive development and learning of children. The federal government in Association with UNICEF has come up with informed decisions to solve the shortage of qualified staff and ensure every child irrespective of socio-economic status access quality early childhood education. Various policies and regulations have been put in place to ensure every ECE staff has a maximum qualification.
References
Friendly, M., Grady, B., Macdonald, L., & Forer, B. (2015). Early childhood education and care in Canada. https://www.childcarecanada.org/sites/default/files/ECEC-in-Canada-2016.pdf
Halfon, S. H. A. N. I., & Langford, R. (2015). Developing and supporting a high quality child care workforce in Canada. Our Schools, Ourselves. Summer , 131-144. https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2015/09/OS120_Summer2015_Workforce.pdf
Mahon, R. (2009). Canada’s Early Childhood Education and Care Policy: Still a Laggard?. International Journal of Child Care and Education Policy , 3 (1), 27-42.
Mahon, R. (2020). 2. Governable spaces of early childhood education and care: the Canadian case. The Policies of Childcare and Early Childhood Education: Does Equal Access Matter? , 6.
O. Reg. 137/15: GENERAL under Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, S.O. 2014, c. 11, Sched. 1. (2015). Retrieved January 30 2020, from https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/150137#BK69
OECD (2020). Encouraging Quality in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). Retrieved January 30 2020, from http://www.oecd.org/education/school/49322250.pdf
Prentice, S. (2007). Less access, worse quality: New evidence about poor children and regulated child care in Canada. Journal of Children and Poverty , 13 (1), 57-73.
Workman, S., & Ullrich, R. (2017). Quality 101: Identifying the core components of a high-quality early childhood program. Center for American Progress , 1-16. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/early-childhood/reports/2017/02/13/414939/quality-101-identifying-the-core-components-of-a-high-quality-early-childhood-program/
