Excerpts
A five-year investigation into high-quality early childhood services in Australia has identified strong leadership and professional development builds a top workforce able to tackle increasing complexities of the job.
Led by QUT Associate Professor Megan Gibson, (pictured right), Shining a Light on Early Childhood Educators' Work report examined in depth what exemplary educators do across positions including directors, teachers, room leaders and educational assistants.
"Quality counts for staff as well as children," Associate Professor Gibson said.
"The study draws a picture of the decisions and actions that make high-quality early childhood settings and for children and their families' experiences that make a difference not just in their day-to-day but in outcomes over time."
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The findings illustrated the complexity of the work, the multiple tasks and responsibilities involved in teaching young children.
It also found ratings of feeling rushed, stressed, and having multiple demands were significantly higher for those who worked in preschools but there was no difference in ratings of satisfaction by type of childcare setting.