PALOMAS; ESTO ES CUANDO ELLA LO PIDE SE LE DAN PALOMAS CARMELITAS LOS CORAZONES SE COCINAN EN MIEL PERO

Annually the Aurora College Early Childhood Development Program (ECDP)

graduates an average of four certificate level early childhood practitioners and has an enrolment of about 35 students. Data are unavailable to determine if these are

acceptable graduation and enrolment rates.

Among early childhood students and practitioners, and prominent educators and leaders in the field, there is agreement that the ECDP has strong non-academic benefits for students. The benefits include:

More confidence,

More skills or updated skills to work with young children, More opportunities to get a job,

Less burn-out,

Greater job retention, and

In some communities/regions, higher wages.

Many informants identified the ECDP as a model for training early childhood staff in the NWT. Still, significant improvements are required in order for the ECDP to better meet the needs of early childhood programs and staff, and families and communities. Improvements required are broader than changes to the curriculum or delivery model. Changes are required to public policies regarding early childhood in the NWT.

Training for specific roles in the community and within the workforce cannot and should not occur in isolation of the broader values and priorities of society or

community and workforce needs. In the NWT, early childhood practitioners and early childhood training are not valued. This is evidenced by the absence of standards,

regulation, and legislation to guide, develop, or recognize early childhood practitioners. The absence of an overall policy framework for early childhood negatively impacts training and limits the potential of any training program to produce qualified early childhood practitioners.

- 69 - Lutra Associates Ltd. Sixteen recommendations in five areas are offered to improve the quality of early

childhood training in the NWT. Many of these recommendations were also made in research conducted in 2007 (Wright).

1. Investment

The current ECDP does not meet the demand for qualified practitioners in the NWT but it does improve the confidence and skills of early childhood staff and is supportive to the learners enrolled in the Program. The Program is attractive to a wide variety of individuals, particularly those who cannot leave their job, families, and/or communities to participate in a training program.

It is recommended that:

1. the GNWT Department of Education, Culture and Employment continue to invest in the Aurora College Early Childhood Development Program.

Early childhood practitioners are not valued or recognized in the NWT. A professional association is needed to increase the profile of this work, oversee the introduction of standards, create a sense of community among practitioners, promote training programs and job opportunities, and encourage/motivate individuals to become qualified practitioners. Professional early childhood organizations exist in several

Canadian jurisdictions. In the NWT, the GNWT has provided initial support to facilitate the establishment of professional associations.19

It is recommended that:

2. the GNWT Department of Education, Culture and Employment and Aurora College work with early childhood practitioners to establish a professional early childhood association.

- 70 - Lutra Associates Ltd. 2. Policy and Process

Standards can professionalize an occupation; minimize risk, burn-out, and attrition; positively influence training programs; and recognize Aboriginal perspectives and interests. There are no occupational standards for early childhood staff in the NWT. It is recommended that:

3. the GNWT Department of Education, Culture and Employment establish standards for early childhood practitioners that reflect both national occupational standards and Aboriginal perspectives and interests. Credentialing and registration processes for early childhood practitioners in eight Canadian jurisdictions influence early childhood training curriculum and ensure that individuals are qualified to work in early childhood settings. The NWT does not have processes for credentialing and registering early childhood practitioners.

It is recommended that:

4. the GNWT Department of Education, Culture and Employment establish processes for credentialing and registering early childhood practitioners that are supportive to existing early childhood staff and compatible with

processes in other Canada jurisdictions.

There are inequities in the working conditions, remuneration, and supports available to early childhood practitioners in the NWT. Inequities contribute to risk, burn-out, and attrition and dissuade northerners from entering the early childhood field. There are no regulations in place to ensure that practitioners are treated fairly and equitably.

It is recommended that:

5. the GNWT Department of Education, Culture and Employment establish regulations to ensure fair and equitable treatment of registered early childhood practitioners in the NWT.

Linking wages to education and training is a way to encourage individuals to enrol in and complete early childhood training. It is also a way to achieve equality among early childhood practitioners in public, private, and non-profit workplaces. Elsewhere in

- 71 - Lutra Associates Ltd. Canada and in some early childhood workplaces in the NWT, the pay structure is

linked to education and training. Financial incentives are one way to increase and retain early childhood staff.

It is recommended that:

6. the GNWT Department of Education, Culture and Employment establish and support the implementation of a standard NWT-wide pay structure that recognizes varying levels of early childhood practitioner education and training.

Education and training programs can support learner achievement and more quickly produce qualified practitioners by implementing prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR) processes that credit the learning that individuals bring to and develop in the workplace. Currently, PLAR processes are not in place for the Aurora College ECDP.

It is recommended that:

7. Aurora College establish criteria and train assessors to implement PLAR in the ECDP and provide supports for students to help them demonstrate prior learning.