[In this issue of Early Childhood Matters from the Bernard van Leer Foundation, Michelle Neuman and Mark Roland of Results for Development, share insights on policy lessons for strengthening and supporting the early childhood workforce.]
Despite growing momentum to promote early childhood development around the world, many countries continue to struggle with providing quality education, health, and social protection services for all young children and their families (UNESCO, 2017; UNICEF, 2017). Improving the quality of early childhood experiences depends on strengthening the skills, professional development, and employment conditions of those who work with young children. Yet often early childhood workers are undervalued, underpaid, and inadequately prepared (Urban et al., 2011; International Labour Organization (ILO), 2012; Neuman et al., 2015). This raises a number of questions about how to effectively support early childhood workers: what do early childhood professionals and paraprofessionals need to know and be able to do in order to succeed in their roles? What motivates members of the early childhood workforce in their day-to-day work? What policies are needed to support a qualified, stable workforce at scale?
