The Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) state through the national quality framework that under Element 7.2.3 “Development of professionals” Educators, co-ordinators and staff members’ performance is regularly evaluated and individual plans are in place to support learning and development.
Moving beyond just meeting the requirement, providers & leaders alike should be reflecting on how best to utilise the process that we engage in year-on-year.
If we are to be investing the time, we should be doing it in a way that will see returns for our educators, our services and most importantly, the children in our care.
The Critical Reflection Prompt:
So how can we as a sector promote agency in the process and have individuals contributing more to the planning of their own ongoing learning and development?
In a recent study, we found that over 65% of respondents believed the primary responsibility of ongoing learning and planning their childcare professional development is on the individual, however the majority of all respondents across all roles and positions believed that ensuring that the training is delivered, course fees contributed towards, and provided time release, are the responsibilities of the employer or service.
There is an equal place for both employers and employees of early learning services and workplaces to come together to achieve the mutually beneficial upskilling and ongoing learning for the best outcomes of the children, especially if services are funding the training.
Partnerships are crucial.
Consider ways in which you can support a system that delivers accredited training to educators on what they need, when they need it. Adult learners engage in learning and take more away from the insights provided when there is intrinsic motivation and a clear connection between a self identified need or desire, and a training course that articulates the learning outcomes that best addresses these areas.
To facilitate this, there is a growing call for early learning services to partner with an adult learning institute so that this training and ongoing learning can be flexible, adaptive and contextual to the needs of the stakeholders.
Potential Drawbacks:
Partnering can come with its own set of drawbacks. Building the relationship is key, so to is sector currency and knowledge. Not all education institutes are equal in quality and delivery, and many can become stretched to thin across too many different sectors. This can result in training which is not aligned with the service, poor quality or not value for money.
“A jack of all trades, but a master of none”.
-Old proverb
Overcome the drawbacks:
Find an education institute that are specialists to the early childhood sector. Build the relationship and be sure that the values, vision and educational philosophy match your unique service.
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