France

Professionalisation of Childcare Assistants in Early Childhood Education and Care: Pathways towards Qualification . NESET II / Analytical Report

Summary:

European Commission identified staff professionalization as one of the key issues for the ECEC field. In many countries, part of the workforce is represented by low-qualified ECEC assistants. Studies have shown that assistants have fewer chances for qualification and professional development and are not taken into account in policy documents. Improving the competences of all staff (core practitioners and assistants) would improve the services’ quality, which would in turn help eliminate barriers in front of families in using ECEC services. This analytical report emphasizes the role of investing in the professionalization of assistants in quality improvement in ECEC and presents findings from the analysis of ECEC assistants 15 European countries. Lastly, the report provides recommendations on how to develop coherent pathways toward qualification and continuous professional development for ECEC assistants accompanied by country examples.

Authors:

Peeters, J.; Sharmahd, J.; Budginaitė I.,

Year of Publication:

2016

The Education and Care Divide: the role of the early childhood workforce in 15 European countries

Summary:

The early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce plays a critical role in the quality of provision. There has been growing interest by policymakers at the local and international levels and ample research has shown a clear consensus about the importance of quality in ECEC. This research article focuses on the role of assistants in ECEC based on a holistic conceptualization of education and care and examines 15 European country profiles. The authors argue that the concept of schoolification might lead to a division between education and care resulting from the divided roles between assistants and core practitioners. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for practice and policy.

Authors:

Van Laere, K., Peeters, J., & Vandenbroeck, M.

Year of Publication:

2012

Resource web file:
www.researchgate.net

Workforce Profiles in Systems of Early Childhood Education and Care in Europe

Summary:

Below you may download one of the 30 Workforce Profiles (country reports) on the current status quo regarding the qualification requirements for early childhood education and care professionals (pedagogues, teachers, educators), the composition of the workforce, the systems of initial professional education and continuing professional development, current reform initiatives and research projects and selected aspects of the working conditions of staff in each of the 30 participating countries.The initial Workforce Profiles in Systems of Early Childhood Education and Care in Europe were provided by mostly long-standing cooperation partners according to a research specification which they received for comment before compilation of the data. The final versions are based on a long period of close collaboration between the editors and the authors. The reports vary in length between approximately 25 pages and 80 pages.SEEPRO-R takes a look at many of the new fundamental reforms including, qualification and competence requirements for early childhood workforce and the structures of professional studies and continuing education. More on the SEEPRO-R project here.

Resource web file:
www.seepro.eu

Realising Children’s Rights: A training manual for care professionals working with children in alternative care

Summary:

SOS Children’s Villages has been working to embed children’s rights within care settings for many years. Our approach has been multifaceted, embracing structures and institutions, care professionals and young people themselves. One gap identified in the course of this work has been the absence of effective training programmes for care professionals which have children’s rights at the core. This manual has been produced to fill that gap. The two-day course outlined in these pages is designed to familiarise groups of care professionals with the international standards and principles surrounding children’s rights – and above all, to relate this to the daily experience and challenges arising in the field of alternative care. The course is intended to provide participants with the information, motivation and strategies that they can use to carry children’s rights into their daily work. The aim is to contribute to higher quality care and a culture of respect for children’s rights.