Early Childhood Educators

Highly Demanding Job with Low Wages !

Though I am a full time early childhood educator, still I have to work on Saturdays to make ends meet.

by Tazeen Siddiqui

?It is not a myth that early childhood educators are among the poorest paid professionals. Early childhood educators (ECEs) are professionals who provide quality care and meaningful learning experiences to children to help them develop socially, emotionally, cognitively, and physically. Despite the pivotal role that early childhood educators play and increased public demand and extra support for high-quality early learning, making a living as an early childhood educator is challenging.? They make an essential contribution to the lives of the children and their families, yet their efforts are never acknowledged. ? Early Childhood? Educators' professional pay of $25 per hour is substantially associated with high quality in ECEC and remains a crucial component of preventing staff turnover and improving job satisfaction.?

?Early Childhood Educators(ECEs) are professionals who provide quality care and meaningful learning experiences to children to help them develop socially, emotionally, cognitively, and physically.? Ontario's childcare sector faces a shortage of skilled childcare workers. Childcare centers across the country encounter a problem to fill vacancies to help hopeless parents. That's because most childcare jobs don't pay enough to keep employees. Once qualified teachers leave , who is going to take care of young children? Unfortunately,? the government has also turned a deaf ear to this sensitive issue. According to Halfon and Langford (2015) , “the substantial body of research that indicates educational qualifications, pay and working conditions of child care program staff as the most important indicators of quality, no province or territory has adequately dealt with these issues” ( p. 132).?

Quality is a fundamental component in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), and multiple studies have demonstrated that the importance of quality child care cannot be understated. High-quality ECEC programs may have a? long-term effect on children's wellbeing. A high-quality learning experience in those programs is projected on a qualified early childhood educator who understands how to create a responsive, inclusive and accountable learning environment (National Association for the Education of Young Children, n.d.).? Children who attend high-quality learning centres under the supervision of qualified educators are better equipped for academic and life success. Research has proved a statistically significant positive correlation between educators' qualifications and ECEC quality (Manning et al., 2017).?

ECEC settings require well-qualified educators who have acquired necessary and continuous training to carry out their professional responsibilities. If a better wage and benefits are offered, early childhood programs may attract professionals with more formal education and skills (Barnett, 2003). Well-trained and experienced Early Childhood Educators can help children achieve better social and cognitive outcomes—an improved salary level of $25/hour? minimum can make employment in an ECEC environment more appealing and attract more highly skilled educators. Low pay in ECEC settings harms quality by preventing competent and motivated individuals from contemplating working in child care or early education in the first place (Manlove and Guzell, 1997).? Qualified educators are capable of developing warm and respectful relationships with children and their families, which aids in the improvement of ECEC quality. According to research, the most critical factors of quality in ECEC are the educational qualifications, remuneration, and working conditions of child care workers (Halfon and Langford, 2015).?

Although many organizations provide more excellent remuneration for ECEs, such as high hourly pay, paid curriculum planning, and paid passional learning time, they are still not committed to the field. Many employers provide additional bonuses and vacation pay. Despite all of these strategies, minor improvement in the ECEC industry has been observed. Quality is not exclusively dependent on the educators. Physical environment and curriculum are other essential tools for increasing quality in an ECEC setting.??

Nevertheless, setting an environment for positive experiences, designing the curriculum, and implementing it within the centre's framework necessitates competent early childhood educators who consider the strength and needs of the children, their parents, and the team. Moreover, wage increases and other paid possibilities are only available to ECEs who have worked for the organization for more than five to ten years. To recruit professionals in the field, the raises are also small to non-existent.? Undereducated and underpaid early childhood educators harm the quality of ECEC and children's learning. A professional pay of a minimum of $25 may help attract qualified educators, resulting in high quality in ECEC settings. Supporting children’s healthy socio-emotional development is vital for Early Childhood Education and Care’s (ECEC) responsibility. The formation of sustained positive relationships between Early Childhood Educators (ECE) and children is essential for children’s healthy socio-emotional development. The instability of ECEs in ECEC is a barrier in this regard, and “…turnover is meaningfully and negatively associated with children’s language, literacy, and socio-emotional development” (Markowitz, 2019).

Educators work in a field that is paid less than its real value and unfair reward, leading to a high rate of turnover in the industry. Turnover of highly qualified ECEs may impact the quality of Early Childhood Education and Care, and low compensation and lack of benefits are important factors for this turnover. “Research has consistently identified low salaries as the major contributor to high teacher turnover rates in centers and showed that high staff turnover predicts low quality” (Friendly et al., 2006). Increasing the wages can reduce the rate of ECEs’ turnover and prevent the negative effects this could have on children’s development. A strong relationship between children and their caregivers is critical for high-quality early childhood education. “Attachment theory asserts that children who have a secure bond to a teacher or caregiver are more likely to engage with the developmental opportunities around them and have positive peer interactions and are therefore more likely to progress academically, socially, and emotionally” (Markowitz, 2019). It seems that turnover of ECEs has a negative impact on this “secure bond” between a teacher and a child, and increasing the professional pay to 25$ per hour may prevent this turnover and protect ECEs and children’s well-being and morale.? In addition, leaving ECEs has a negative financial impact on the expenses of early childhood centers because they must pay for the training of new ECEs to fill the vacant positions, and it is essential to know that “Staffing is the highest cost in a childcare budget” (Fern & Beach, 2015).

?Another point of view argues that the turnover of ECEs is not due to the low wages they receive, and other factors like stress, exhaustion, and personal characteristics are responsible for this turnover. This view is the reason that there are some ECEs who receive higher wages compared to other educators. However, these highly-paid ECEs still leave their job due to other reasons, as mentioned above.

?Although negative factors such as burnout, pressure, and individual attributes may affect the turnover of ECEs, the most important factor impacting this turnover is low wages. The critical point in this argument is the impact of low wages on the turnover of ECEs and the negative effect of this turnover on children’s well-being and morale. Offering compensation and benefits that reflect the importance of ECEs can help retain teachers who are integral to maintaining a healthy environment for child development and promote a stable learning environment. “Research shows that the workforce — the staff — is at the center of any quality equation. Training specific to early childhood education, wages and working conditions all combine to shape quality” (Friendly, 2015).

Early Childhood Education is a professional and vital field that is an integral part of the childcare system, yet the role of ECE is significantly undervalued. They are not compensated well, nor is their hard work acknowledged as a result, they suffer from job dissatisfaction which can further lead to mental stress and lack of motivation. As cited by Thorpe et al., (2020) "Educators in the ECEC sector, including those with degree qualifications, are the most poorly paid in the education workforce."?

Most jobs that pay minimum wage are entry-level jobs like cashier; however, ECE requires you to attend higher education and attain a diploma/degree and continuous training/learning to get and maintain your job. When you pursue higher education, you expect to be paid more than an entry-level job. Despite many feeling passionate about their work as ECE, the low wage is a huge deterrent as it does not reflect their level of training or experience in the field. The current wages that ECE makes are not considered a livable wage for even one adult in the current economy (McLean et al., 2019). The fact that they need higher education to become ECE already means they most likely have accumulated student debt. The fact that the job is not properly compensating them for their skills means they are most likely struggling in more than one way. The low wages significantly affect ECE's job satisfaction and quality of life as they make it considerably difficult for people to support their families; this can be said for not only single but dual-income families (AECEO, 2016). Studies have shown that when educators have economic insecurity, the stress they experience can sabotage their focus and interfere with the quality of education that children receive and that when educators have higher economic well-being, there is also better education and positive interaction with children (McLean et al., 2019). ECE deserves a fair wage, and $25/hour is more than fair compared to their current amount, which is essentially minimum wage. Many ECEs struggle to make ends meet or depend on family or social services to help support them (Thorpe et al., 2020). Profession pay of $25 can greatly relieve some of their stress and burdens, which greatly increase their quality of life and increase their job satisfaction as one of the biggest and detrimental obstacles they face is low wages. Educators can experience greater job satisfaction when they have a handsome salary along with benefits. Investing in ECE is the same as investing in the future of the next generation. It enhances the quality of care and education and ensures more people will come into the field.?

Job satisfaction is not always proportional to the amount of money an employee receives. When we delve further, we may uncover that many early childhood educators are unsatisfied with several aspects of their current work environment. Educators are dissatisfied because their working conditions may not be optimal. They were given insufficient additional benefits, did not get enough time to program, and most significantly, had a philosophy diverged from their own. The misconception of ECEs as "glorified babysitters" and society's conventional attitude toward ECEs, contribute to their job dissatisfaction. However, becoming an Early Childhood Educator is an extremely competent job, and when a person's salary does not reflect their level of competence or industry experience, it leads to job dissatisfaction. Low pay adds to economic instability, which, in turn, affects job satisfaction. The job satisfaction of early childhood educators has a significant impact on the quality of care provided by early childhood educators.?

Recommendations

1. The Ontario government should raise the wage enhancement from $2 to $4 per hour for all ECEs, regardless of their profit or nonprofit sector.?

2. Qualified Early Childhood Educators are an essential component in childcare centers, and their role is nurturing children who are founders of a country's future. Government must support ECEs through standardizing a wage rate and raising the benefits equitably.

3. The government should increase funding for public childcare programs so they can better pay ECEs and other childcare employees?

Conclusion: Job dissatisfaction has an impact on educators' professional commitment, self-determination, and exhaustion. Improving educators' pay contributes to better ECEC quality by attracting skilled professionals, preventing turnover, and increasing job satisfaction. A professional salary of $25 per hour may help educators attain work-life balance and career progression. Skilled and knowledgeable ECEs are fundamental to the field of early childhood education and care.? However their skills and knowledge are always undermined. Many ECEs continue to get?worse pay and have poor socio economic status in society as compared to other public school teachers. As a result this sector lacks qualified educators. The government must realize that our children need? properly trained and committed ECEs. It is rather an ethical duty of the government and the higher authorities to save the future of young children .?

References

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