Research has
proven that from the age of zero to three a child’s brain experiences the most
growth therefore everything that a child experiences in that time has a huge
impact on the brain (New Zealand Tertiary College, 2013). In other words having
children surrounded by teachers who are qualified will be of great benefit
(NZTC, 2013). “An example of such research is the longitudinal study entitled
Competent Children, Competent Learners, conducted by the New Zealand Council
for Educational Research (NZCER) (NZTC, 2013, p. 1).
In 1993 the
study was started which 500 children were a part of, all between the ages of
zero to 20. From the studies it was found that the children who went to early
childhood settings that were 100 percent qualified scored “significantly higher
scores in literacy and maths tests” (NZTC, 2013, p. 1).
With majority of
the children under five in New Zealand attending early childhood centres (95%
of them) it is only crucial that the teachers teaching them are qualified and
knowledgeable (NZTC, 2013). Some of the many things that a qualified early
childhood teacher can offer a child is that are able to notice interests,
extend on them by providing further learning experiences, ask open ended
questions to enable the child to think more in depth, and have rich
conversations (NZTC, 2013).
To improve
quality care in early childhood centres there is a need for more qualified
teachers (Field, 2011). A non-qualified teacher does not have the same
knowledge that a qualified teacher does and therefore is unable to offer the
same degree of quality care (Field, 2011). A fully qualified teaching team is
able to offer children more than a centre with 50 percent qualified teachers
(Field, 2011). Qualified teachers are trained to respond to children in certain
ways and cater for developmental needs whereas a non-qualified teacher may not
even recognise that a child’s developmental needs require responding to (Podmore, Kerslake & Hendricks, 2000).
References
Field, J.
(2011). Supporting families, extending free ece. Retrieved from: https://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/equity-ece_final_21072014.pdf
New Zealand
Tertiary College. (2013). Quality early childhood teachers make a
difference-for life. Retrieved
from: http://www.nztertiarycollege.ac.nz/news-events/news/qualified-early- childhood-teachers-make-difference-%E2%80%93-life
Podmore, V.N.,
Meade, A., Kerslake Hendricks, A. (2000) Aspects of quality in ECE. Retrieved
from: http://www.nzcer.org.nz/pdfs/5885.pdf
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