East Asia and Pacific

South Australia is committed to providing every child with a strong start by investing $96.6 million over four years to grow and support the early childhood workforce. This investment will prepare for the universal 3-year-old preschool program set to roll out between 2026 and 2032.

Key Objectives:

• Increase Workforce Numbers: Recruit and train more qualified early childhood teachers and educators.
  Support the professional development of the current workforce.
• Ensure Quality Education: Provide access to allied health and community services professionals to enhance early childhood services.
• Support Aboriginal Workforce: Focus on growing and supporting the Aboriginal early childhood workforce.
  Leverage Aboriginal cultural knowledge for the benefit of all children.
• Collaborative Implementation: Work in partnership with professionals, sector experts, service providers, Aboriginal communities, educational institutions, peak bodies, unions, and other stakeholders.

Access the Full Strategic Plan via the download button below.

Office for Early Childhood Development

2024

This 2024 study highlights the importance of maintaining a stable early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce, essential for enabling family employment and positive child outcomes. Globally, retaining qualified early childhood educators remains a challenge. This research explores the factors influencing educators' and center directors' intentions to leave the profession, using survey responses from 713 professionals and detailed feedback from 97 participants.

Key findings include:

• One in three professionals intend to leave the sector, with over half planning to do so within five years.
• Emotional exhaustion is a significant predictor of this intention.
• For center directors, higher personal accomplishment and older age increase the likelihood of intending to leave.
• For educators, lower satisfaction with pay, benefits, and lower qualification levels are critical factors.

Qualitative data reveal that feeling undervalued, increased demands with inadequate support, and workforce issues drive the intention to leave. Addressing these factors through targeted interventions could improve workforce stability. This study is particularly relevant in Australia, where supporting the ECEC workforce is a current political focus, presenting an opportunity for meaningful changes.

Early Childhood Research Quarterly

2024

The Asia-Pacific ECCE Teacher Training Handbook for Social and Emotional Learning (APETT-SEL) including ten modules were developed in partnership with Asia-Pacific Regional Network for Early Childhood (ARNEC), as part of the “Empowering ECCE Teachers with a Transformative Vision of Education” project which was financially supported by the Government of Japan and implemented by UNESCO Bangkok.

The handbook and modules addresses the importance and recognition of social and emotional learning (SEL)’s importance and aims to correspond to the lack of robust and more contextually relevant and culturally sensitive social emotional learning (SEL) program for teachers to effectively deliver SEL in the Asia-Pacific region. The resources consists of 10 modules along with the teacher training handbook:

• Theme 1: Calm, clear and kind teachers (Self-care for teachers) - three modules
• Theme 2: Building a pro-social and responsive classroom (Children’s Social and emotional learning) - four modules
• Theme 3: Celebrating similarities and differences (Diversity, inclusion, cultural responsiveness and equity) - one module
• Theme 4: Zones of knowing and doing (Measurement and assessment) - two modules

Monisha Singh Diwan, published by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - UNESCO

2022

There is mounting evidence on the positive link between high quality early childhood development (ECD) personnel and the physical, social, and cognitive development of young children.

To bring light to these challenges, and potential responses to them, the Early Childhood Workforce Initiative (ECWI) has developed 6 country briefs which highlight efforts to support the workforce across different geographies and services.

These country briefs were informed by desk reviews and information collected through key informant interviews (KII) with country experts from implementing NGOs, multilaterals, and research institutions, as well as program managers and government officials across 15 countries. After identifying six promising country approaches to highlight, we conducted further desk research and interviews to inform the country briefs. These interviews were particularly helpful for clarifying the key enablers and barriers to implementation in each country as well as the policy lessons for other countries.

The sixth of these briefs focuses on Singapore. Developing Career Pathways for Early Childhood Care and Education Workers highlights the Government of Singapore’s efforts to support career advancement in the early childhood care and education profession by creating and investing in competency-based trainings, professional development frameworks, and career pathways.

Michelle Neuman, Results for Development

2019

There is mounting evidence on the positive link between high quality early childhood development (ECD) personnel and the physical, social, and cognitive development of young children.

To bring light to these challenges, and potential responses to them, the Early Childhood Workforce Initiative (ECWI) has developed 6 country briefs which highlight efforts to support the workforce across different geographies and services.

These country briefs were informed by desk reviews and information collected through key informant interviews (KII) with country experts from implementing NGOs, multilaterals, and research institutions, as well as program managers and government officials across 15 countries. After identifying six promising country approaches to highlight, we conducted further desk research and interviews to inform the country briefs. These interviews were particularly helpful for clarifying the key enablers and barriers to implementation in each country as well as the policy lessons for other countries.

The fifth of these briefs focuses on Philippines. Combining Training with Job Security to Improve the Quality of the Childcare Workforce analyzes nationally supported training efforts to improve the knowledge and skills of personnel, as well as local efforts to address working conditions and job security.

Vidya Putcha, Results for Development

2019

2013 National Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce Census, commissioned by the Department of Education as part of a range of Australian Government initiatives designed to improve the quality of information used in developing and measuring early childhood policy and programs. This report was developed specifically to address information gaps in existing administrative data sources, with respect other ECEC workforce, participation in and provision of preschool programs and children with additional needs in child care. The data presented in this census will help policy makers better understand the challenges of providing quality child care and early learning, assess the capacity in the workforce to meet future demand and formulate strategies to support early childhood development policies.

Resisting Neoliberalism: Professionalisation of Early Childhood Education and Care focuses on the professionalization of early childhood in Australia, Chile, England, Germany, Ireland and the United States.

This paper questions how the sector manages the constraints imposed by a neoliberal political and social world and calls upon manages the constraints imposed on it in a neoliberal political and social world. It calls on professionals to take a stand in terms of what is considered best practice. The paper further argues that continued debate is needed around the boundaries of what is called the early childhood profession, considering the ways in which the education, health and welfare sectors contribute to a holistic approach balanced against the requirement for a profession to have an identified and discrete body of knowledge.

Mary Moloney, Margaret Sims, Antje Rothe, Cynthia Buettner

International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education

2019

Pursuing Quality in Early Learning: Early Childhood Care and Education Teacher Competency Framework for Southeast Asia

Recognizing the crucial roles that teachers have in early childhood development, UNESCO developed a competency framework for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) teachers in Southeast Asia. The Framework was realized through a consultative and participatory process, taking into account insights from ECCE teachers, researchers, and practitioners from across Southeast Asia. This document provides: 

• a brief background and a discussion of the purposes and intended audience for the Framework;
• reflections on the regional ECCE landscape;
• a discussion of the ECCE teacher competency framework for Southeast Asia;
• uses of the ECCE teacher competency framework; and
• areas for future action

The aim of this document is to enhance the professionalization and capacity development of ECCE teachers in the region.

Early Childhood Care and Education Teacher Development in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Island Developing States: Project Brief

This project aims to contribute to the professionalization and capacity development of ECCE teachers and practitioners in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The three specific objectives are:

1. To develop baselines of ECCE teachers and practitioners in the countries of Southeast Asia and the Pacific SIDS, in terms of qualifications, standards and required/desired competencies; pre-service education and professional development; status, working conditions and environments.
2. To develop a regional ECCE teacher competencies framework(s) for Southeast Asia and the Pacific SIDS.
3. To support selected countries to upgrade their national ECCE teacher policies, qualification frameworks, standards and/or curricula.

Scope of Practice for Midwives in Australia from the Australian College of Midwives defines the roles, functions and responsibilities that:

• A registered midwife is educated and competent to carry out;
• meet legislative requirements, professional standards, and local or organizational policy;
• are accepted as contemporary midwifery practice by the profession;
• meet women’s and infant’s health needs and enhance their health outcomes;
• aim to provide evidence-informed care; and
• are collaborative through consultation and partnership with the woman and other health care professionals.

The document is underpinned by the International Confederation of Midwives International Definition of a Midwife.

The Child protection workforce strategy 2017-2020 recognizes the difficulties that can be encountered by child protection practitioners and the vital role practitioners play in working with children and families.
In recognition of the fact that a strong workforce must be supported in order to protect children, Victorian Government focused on five major priorities:

• attracting and recruiting the best people;
• building a professional identity for the workforce that recognizes child protection as a valued; profession of the highest integrity and competence;
• growing and developing our people;
• engaging and retaining our people;
• the wellbeing of our workforce – our goal is to ensure immediate and responsive mental health; support and to develop innovative approaches to the health, safety and wellbeing of our workforce.

The three-year strategy aims to deliver these outcomes.