(It is ironic that this issue claims on page 2 that “…2020 will be an amazing year to be an ECE…”)
Source: The Early Childhood Educator
Publication: Winter 202
Publication Specs: Vol. 35, No. 1
Locus of Issue: Provides information on current developments in the ECE profession such as the amendments to the BCELF.
Synopsis: Great way for students and graduates to become acquainted with the discourse and issues involved in being an early years educator.
Title: Peer-Mentoring for Early Childhood Educators: Building Capacity and Leaving a Legacy
Authors: Laura K. Doan & Soon Young Jang
Summary:
The title of this article clearly states the goals of this project – to increase capacities and create a legacy for all early childhood educators. The creation of the pilot project began because Ms. Doan was concerned that 50% of educators were leaving the profession after being in the field for an average of only five years. She discovered this was due to the ECEs feeling overwhelmed and unsupported in practice. This lack of professional support then had a domino effect – first of being overwhelmed leading to a loss of confidence with the end result of decreased efficacy and the educator leaving the profession. She also found this to be true for educators who had been in the field for many years but had decided to stay. In an attempt to address these concerns, the authors developed the Peer-Mentoring Project.
The research and the project are based in British Columbia and currently has a Project Manager, three graduate research assistants, and 20 facilitators. The project is connected to local and provincial ECE branches and currently has 17 Peer-Mentoring groups happening in the province. The project works directly with ECEs through group meetings that consists of two facilitators and up to 12 educators (i.e. six graduated and six experienced). The term “community of practice” is used continuously throughout the article because the project’s core principle appears to be early childhood educators coming together to learn from and support each other. The community provides practical information to its members through on-line platforms, access visits to various early learning centres, and opportunities for professional development. Peer-Mentoring groups meet once a month and individualized pairs (ECE newbie + ECE elder) check-in with each other on a weekly basis. Continuous and consistent learning is possible in this format as topic discussion can be revisited and revised as opposed to one-time seminal workshops. Relationships develop and strengthen based on principles of confidentiality. Individuals can share openly as a safe environment is promised. And there is no hierarchy; each member’s contribution is valued.
As this is a pilot project still in its infancy, data-gathering is still in process but the premise and framework design show great potential. The anecdotal evidence of the 196 early childhood educators currently involved in this endeavour will be the guiding voice on efficacy and direction. Areas of infrastructure regarding professional development support in need of expansion will be identified. And a permanent, documented legacy of the early childhood profession will educate and validate the importance of this profession. Just as with children, this project will have many ages and stages of development and will take many paths of inquiry in its efforts to become the peer-mentoring program envisioned by these authors. So, I guess in essence, this too has the same ending as all other development – to be continued…
