It’s long been believed that high-quality childcare supports multiple positive child-development outcomes, which was supported by the 91原创 National Progress Report on Early Learning and Child Care in 2017-18.
But according to a Conference Board of Canada report, while Canada does a pretty decent job once kids reach five, only about 58 per cent of 91原创 kids aged between two and four have access to some sort of educational program.
Among developed OECD nations, access to preschool learning programs for children younger than five averages 69 per cent. In some places — including Belgium, Germany, Croatia, Ireland and France — it’s 90 per cent.
And there’s more to the story. Multiple socio-economic studies show that access to affordable high-quality early learning and childcare also provides parents with increased opportunity to participate in further education and training for themselves.
According to economist Craig Alexander, one of the authors of that Conference Board of Canada report, for every dollar spent on early-childhood education programs, the economy gets about $6 in economic benefits down the line. But a critical caveat Alexander adds is that such programs need to be educationally focused — not just child-minding opportunities.
Essential early-learning skills include social and emotional development, cognitive development, language development, early numeracy skills and physical development.
The Conference Board’s report notes that in the two decades after Quebec implemented its subsidized childcare program in 1997, the work-force participation rate for women in the 20-to-44 age cohort increased from 76 to 85 per cent.
The advantages of properly structured childcare programs go well beyond advantages to the economy. Every study of such programs indicates that high-quality early learning and childcare has multiple positive effects on child cognitive and social development, improving school-readiness and creating a foundation for lifelong learning.
In 2021, California advanced its commitment to early-childhood education by announcing a universal preschool program called Transitional Kindergarten. Previously just for older four-year-olds, the Transitional Kindergarten program is to be extended to all four-year-olds by 2025–26.
All good, but none of that is possible without an adequate supply of fully qualified early-childhood educators. Those are the people who are critical to the quality of early learning in licensed facilities.
California is working to recruit and prepare a sufficient number of qualified teachers for Transitional Kindergarten, as well as other early childhood programs.
The state has quite stringent requirements for Transitional Kindergarten teachers, as well as for other early-childhood educators. Educators working in state-funded and private preschools must have at least a Child Development Associate permit, which requires 12 units of early-childhood education and 50 days of work experience, but does not require a degree.
However, Transitional Kindergarten teachers must have a multiple-subject teaching credential, which requires a bachelor’s degree. The must also complete an accredited teacher-credentialing program.
By August 2023, Transitional Kindergarten teachers must additionally have 24 units of early-childhood coursework plus a Child Development Teaching permit, or equivalent experience.
In Transitional Kindergarten classrooms, teachers use a modified kindergarten curriculum geared to children who have not yet turned five. Supporters of Transitional Kindergarten programs argue the program offers time and space for young learners to develop socially and emotionally, while building early literacy and numeracy skills.
Even more importantly, Transitional Kindergarten-type programs provide children with the opportunity to develop social and self-regulation skills that ease the path into kindergarten classrooms.
From 2017 to 2018, British Columbia allocated $10 million to expand and enhance the Early Childhood Educator Bursary Program, which helps recipients reduce the cost of pursuing early-childhood education credentials. The program is delivered through Early Childhood Educators of B.C., the provincial association for the profession.
In addition, the B.C. New Spaces Fund program has been updated to maximize the number of quality community-based childcare programs in areas with the greatest need. Those areas align with provincial priorities and commitments under the Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement.
The Education Ministry offers a helpful online booklet called “When I Go To Kindergarten,” which contains, among other useful pieces of advice, this quote from the B.C. Early Learning Framework: “Families are the first teachers, the primary caregivers, and the knowledge holders of their children.”
To find out what kinds of approved early-learning programs are available in your school district, go to your district’s website and search “early learning.”
Geoff Johnson is a former superintendent of schools.
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