Ei-iE

ECE Educators Graduate in Tanzania

The Taiwanese government is widening the social gap and encouraging the privatisation of the early childhood education (ECE) sector. That’s according to the National Teachers’ Association (NTA) in its yearly summary.

Education unions in Germany have asked public authorities to better recognise the role played by early childhood educators during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have asked for increased resources for staffing and funding in the KiTa – early childhood education (ECE) schools.

The National Teachers’ Association (NTA) of Taiwan is concerned about the installation of surveillance cameras in early childhood education schools. It argues for more effective action against important preoccupations.

The 10,000 home daycare workers affiliated to the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) began an indefinite general strike on 21 September. They have been holding rotating strikes in the regions of Quebec since 1 September and this increases the pressure.

The General Union of Workers in Kindergarten and Private Schools is enhancing its capacity to organise and represent early childhood education sector workers thanks to development cooperation with other education unions.

“It is often argued that the purpose of early childhood education is to prepare children for school, so that schools, in turn, can prepare children for adulthood and for the work force. This approach reduces childhood to a waiting room.” -- Steffen Handal, President, Education Union of Norway (UEN).

An international conference entitled, “The Nordic Way –Early Childhood Education & Care”, was organised on 26-27 March, 2019 in Oslo. It was convened by Union of Education Norway (UEN), in partnership with the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research and the Nordic Council of Ministers.

At last Early Childhood Education (ECE) is on the agenda of an International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP). At this year’s Summit, ISTP 2019, the importance of ECE for lifelong learning and well-being is now, for the first time, one of the Summit’s three plenary themes.

Humanity is faced with many threats including climate change and threats to the environment. A vision is needed for these problems to be solved. Changing lifestyles and consumption habits can contribute to solving these problems but at the heart of helping humanity to survive is education, training and research.

At their Federal conference, Australian Education Union’ leaders and activists welcomed the commitment made by the Labour party to greatly increase funding for public education, and reaffirmed their determination to ensure that the upcoming federal election focus on education issues.

Little support and recognition of the profession of early childhood educators is leading to a dangerous lack of staff, according to a German union.

Education International’s member organisations have firmly reminded governments that early childhood education is a fundamental human right and a public good, which must be made available to all young children.

The relationship between education and equity is the focus of this year’s ‘Education at a Glance’ (EAG) report.

The Finnish education union Opetusalan Ammattijärjestö proposes that the scope of pre-primary education be expanded by a year to include five-year-old children.

The Namibia National Teachers' Union has denounced the private sector role in the pre-primary sector, and demanded that qualified teachers be recruited in this education sector.

The Education Trade Union in Finland, Opetusalan Ammattijärjestö has welcomed the support given by parents and citizens to the status and living and working conditions of early childhood educators.

The World Development Report (WDR) recognizes the importance of the formative years, which is a positive step toward addressing many problems facing children and families. It was refreshing to read that issues like poverty, malnutrition, pre- and post-natal care, and parent education (pp. 9, 21, 112) are acknowledged as powerful...