The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Nova Scotia office (CCPA-NS) has released Unappreciated and Underpaid: Early Childhood Educators in Nova Scotia. In the report, authors Christine Saulnier and Lesley Frank provide a snapshot of what it is like for Early Childhood Educators (ECE) to work in the Early Learning and Child Care sector in Nova Scotia.
Understanding which factors influence ECE recruitment and retention is critical because we know that high turnover affects the quality of the care provided. The study found that 67% of the surveyed ECEs felt that their salary does not adequately reflect the work that they do and 39% said that they would not choose the profession again and are not encouraging others to do so.
“There is an urgency for our government to rethink its approach to this sector. We cannot afford to lose our highly-educated ECEs,” says Christine Saulnier, co-author of the report and Director of CCPA-NS.