Is the Government Actively Devaluing Your ECE Teaching Qualification?

The Early Learning Action Plan (the ELAP) has, as its third objective:

“Teaching staff are well qualified, diverse, culturally competent and valued”

This objective includes this statement:

“Initial teacher education (ITE) equips teachers to effectively implement the early learning curriculum, Te Whāriki, for all children.”

This makes it sound as if the government values your ECE teaching qualification, but actions speak louder than words.

Following on from the recent change to the qualification requirements for a person responsible, it is now possible to have a teacher-led early childhood service open without there being a single ECE qualified teacher on site.

One might hope that the ELAP would help us work towards having a high percentage of ECE qualified teachers in centres, but the Minister has pointed out that this is not necessarily going to be the case. In a letter discussing person responsible dated 16th July 2020 the Minister has stated:

“Action 3.1 of the Early Learning Action Plan refers to ‘qualified teachers’ and ‘certificated teachers’ rather than ECE qualified teachers. Certificated teachers can be both ECE and primary qualified teachers who hold a practising certificate.”

When you read the ELAP and saw the phrase ‘qualified teacher’ did you assume that it was talking about an ECE qualified teacher? I certainly did, but the Minister says that is not the case. He sees ECE and primary teaching qualifications as interchangeable.

The research is clear; teachers with ECE qualifications enhance the quality of ECE. The Minister’s actions are clear; when it comes to staffing ECE services he does not see any difference between an ECE teaching qualification and a primary one. If he did then he would never have asked Cabinet to approve the change to person responsible.

Does this matter? After all, you will all know some primary qualified teachers who are brilliant working with young children. You will also know some unqualified kaiako who are brilliant working with young children, but you wouldn’t use that as an argument to get rid of ECE teaching qualifications.

The Regulations require that 50% of ‘required staff’ must hold an early childhood teaching qualification. The Minister has pointed out that the 80% and 100% targets in Action 3.1 of the ELAP apply to both ECE and primary qualified teachers.

To guarantee that early childhood services have more than 50% of their teachers with an ECE qualification, the Regulations must be amended – but there is no specific mention of changing the 50% requirement in the ELAP. We all thought that would be covered by Action 3.1, but it is not. For the benefit of all children who attend ECE, we must ensure that the 50% of ‘required staff’ who must hold an early childhood teaching qualification is increased to a greater percentage.

If you feel that the Minister should value the contribution that your ECE teaching qualification brings to the quality of ECE in New Zealand, write to him. Write to your MP. Write to all the political parties’ education spokespeople.