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Skills shortages and industry renewal
rethinking work and occupational knowledge when recognising prior
learning
Sue Shore: Charles Darwin University
Victoria Whitington and Carol Thompson: University of South Australia
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Context of the reform: early childhood provision
• The need for a skilled and knowledgeable early childhood workforce (OECD, 2006).
• The link between teacher qualifications/training and outcomes for children (Kelley & Camilli, 2007; Siraj-Blatchford, 2003; Sylva, Melhuish, Sammons, Siraj-Blatchford & Taggart, 2010)
Industry renewal – a good idea in theory, what happens in practice ?
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The ECE COAG policy agenda
National Quality Framework•Universal Access requirement – all four year olds will have a 4 year early childhood degree qualified teacher for 15 hours per week, including all long day childcare services•Preschools included in licensing and accreditation (> 2012)•Approved early years learning framework, and development of a national curriculum for children from 5 to 15 years of age
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The South Australian context
• Preschool teacher qualifications 79% have an early childhood qualification 21% have Junior Primary (children 5-8 years)
qualifications
• upgrade needed to provide two aspects of occupational knowledge: 4 year training; and early childhood occupational knowledge
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The Department of Education and Children’s Services (DECD) upgrade project goals
An upgrade program was negotiated with DECD to recognise : a ‘gap’ in knowledge associated with the older 3 year and
more recent 4 year awards in the field; the specialised knowledge associated with early childhood –
as distinct from primary and junior primary development; teachers’ prior (and lifelong) learning which had not always
provided seamless pathways to accredited learning; priority areas consolidated by DECD: early brain
development and working with Indigenous children and families; and
the need for flexible delivery, and opportunities necessary to address rural and remote teachers PD needs.
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The program at UniSAThree intakes over 3 semesters, 87 teachers in total:
Equivalent to 12 months full time study (8 courses), mostly taken part time;
Adapted from an existing in-service early childhood education degree program
Federally funded scholarships Recognition of prior learning (RPL) for a maximum of three courses
in the award; All external/online delivery with some intensive workshops; Core course in ‘foundation skills’; early brain development; working
with diversity, including Indigenous children and families Distinguish early childhood and primary school occupational
knowledge - see the following chart
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The Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (In-service) program
Courses Students without ECE qualifications
Students with ECE qualifications
Foundations for Professional Learning
Brain Development in the Early Years
Education, Change and Society
Developing a Play Curriculum Birth-8 Years
Children Developing in Context 2
A selection of electives to address participants professional interests and contexts individual interest
No electives chosen if 3 courses granted for RPL
Three electives available if granted 3 courses of RPL
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Foundations for Professional Learning EDUC 5138
• Introductory course - recognised the transitions associated with competent professional people, with busy working lives, returning to graduate level university study – and so the differences in associated occupational and academic literacies.
• Bridging a ‘gap’ between educators as learners and educators as workers.
• Provided a supportive and interventionist approach to interrogate teachers’ previous professional learning
• Assignment structure: two assignments, an RPL application and an academic essay using their workplace (school, kindergarten, child care centre) to synthesise the implications of professionally learning and workplace learning literature for developing a culture of learning at their site. 8
‘Generous work’ (Smith 2005, 151-2)
Navigate tensions, responsibilities and outcomes of related but different learning: professional learning; workplace learning (on-the-job), professional development, induction, informal learning and mandatory updates by thinking about teachers’ work differently.
anything done by people that takes time and effort, that they mean to do, that is done under definite conditions and with whatever means and tools, and that they may have to think about. It means much more than what is done on the job.
include[s] a whole range of activities that are unpaid, not by any means done exclusively by women, …[an] underground of unpaid and invisible work that people don’t recognise as work nor as a contribution to the economy.
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Data sourcesAssignment 1: a claim for RPL; Assignment 2: an essay. Both
assignments required demonstration of academic literacies• Text responses about their sense of competence during the face-to-
face intensives, focussed on their learning and academic literacies). • Evaluation activities at different points during the course: early on
when uncertainty was high and later, after receiving feedback on assignments and talking with colleagues and staff about ideas presented in the course.
• University course evaluations –institutionally de-identified questions presented to students at the end of the course.
• A de-identified table of data extracted from the RPL applications. • Transcribed semi-structured teaching team discussions exploring
the overall conceptualisation and management of the project and reflective analyses of teaching and learning in EDUC5138.
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Profile of participants• 64% indicated that they were experienced teachers, with ten or
more years in the field, and 33% had 20 or more years. • 66% had a non-early childhood teacher qualification• 34% had a 3 year early childhood teacher qualification• Current roles: 36% preschool teachers, 48% directors/principals,
7% early childhood consultants, (9% did not indicate)
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3 Total
Metropolitan 9 14 13 36Rural 18 8 15 41Remote 5 2 3 10 32 24 31 87
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Structure of the discussion
Occupational knowledge documented Reflections on generous work Negotiating academic literacies Navigating home/study/life balances
Two emergent tensions Splitting words: voluntary and mandatory
workplace renewal Time, choices and new learning experiences
Further issues: skills shortages and industry renewal
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Professional knowledge documented in RPL applications
Domain Frequencies/percentages
Research and inquiry-based practice 14 (5.9%)
Indigenous teaching and education 13 (5.5%)
Curriculum 49 (20.7%)
Pedagogy 56 (23.6%)
Leadership 59 (24.9%)
Children’s development 9 (3.8%)
Community and family engagement 22 (9.3%
Other 15 (6.3%)
Total 237 (100%)Summary of domains of RPL claims including frequencies
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Reflections: ‘generous work’ and RPL
• Obvious curriculum areas identified PLUS wide range of expertise.
• Open design and creation of ‘work’ boundaries presented challenges: Appreciation of cyclic approach I prefer working in defined framework the total package was important in order to create the context for
future learning I learned to think about myself in a different way I have a vast range of skills and I often don’t stop and appreciate it Chip away at it... do the readings... do the activities/tasks and in
time all the elements will fall into place – do more, panic less. Trust the process, enjoy the process
I have gained the ability to articulate the work I do
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Negotiating academic literaciesThe usual challenges:How do I meld my ideas with current research without plagiarising?Some big words – trajectories in ECE; epitimology (can’t even spell it!)
The ICT environment:ICT skills not great. Had trouble unloading my appendicesHow to read effectively, quickerI had to [learn to] negotiate around the UniSA website
Collaborative learning with colleaguesThe collaborative approach to my learning – affirmation, networking/discussing ideas with the cohort who is on common groundThe opportunity to listen to others identify their skills: it made me re-think mine
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Managing competing demands It was hard to calm my head to take on board the
course requirements when other things at work were screaming at me
I need to make time to study on my one day off instead of going into work to catch up on paperwork!
I passed the first assignment under great duress of juggling three jobs and working more than full time
and also I found myself talking about the World Bank at the
breakfast table16
Pressures and in/voluntary participation
Some were very optimistic and embraced the learning – albeit were still challenged:I’m focussed on me (and what I can get out of the process) rather than feel frustrated about “what is imposed”. It’s really about perception, at the end this was my choice.I have learned to get on with the task (not procrastinate) and to time manage – this requires discipline Others, however, were less optimistic and were more bruised by the experience: I thought I was a competent teacher, but found out I was an incompetent student’I have experience that should be recognised at graduate levelI am incredibly anxious about many things – getting my readings read, answering the questions, writing the assignments (especially and finally the results) There were also thoughtful reflections about learning: I am equipped to complete this course despite a few concerns initiallyI still have a lot to learn about EC methodologies
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Just show me vs pedagogical advice vs make it easier to submit a claim
I prefer working within a defined, specific framework. The RPL very difficult. The head work required to define my own topic
Show a claim, how it is done … still feel confused/very unsure Questions could be placed on sticky notes so that thread of input
can be maintained rather than the jumping everywhere and responding to one group of people
Learning and Teaching Unit input – clear digestible, useful, linked well with where I am at as a student
Presenting concepts then revisiting based on participants’ needs/feedback
Logical sequence to material, the pace of the workshop Time to ponder, question, receive answers and re-ask the same
questions for more clarification
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Making time for lifelong professional learning
Previous limited professional development opportunities in the past are likely to have informed teachers’ initial responses to, and capacity to engage in university study:•professional development becomes a pragmatic exercise of attendance.•balancing a culture of lifelong learning against mandatory completion of a minimum five day professional development requirement.•time needed to balance work, family and study; to reflect on new learning rather than just ‘doing’.
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Making ‘slow time’ for learning
• Teacher acceptance of participation in learning that takes time and deep engagement as an ongoing part of their professional role
Excellent opportunity to audit my teaching and learning history and present findings to a critical audience. I have increased my professional articulation. My thinking skills are now working at a more sophisticated level which is happily stimulating
I enjoy the readings. They encourage me to think about my practice and the learning journey I have travelled
The program has made me more argumentative in defence of children’s rights.
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The future: structural and career directions
• Federal Government agenda is towards the horizontal integration of services and education in the early childhood years and this will require advanced professionalism as teachers will be in sites with social, community and health workers who need to reach into each other’s knowledge bases as well as maintaining their own professional area.
• Vertical integration is also underway so that children are more likely to be on the same site as both older and younger children, birth to 12 or 18 years in some cases.
There is a need for early childhood professionals to have the capacity to meet, operate effectively within, and also be creative and lead in this new education and care context. Recognition of ECE ‘work’ needs substantial rethinking for this complex context .
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