Early Childhood Education: Environments Non-Conducive for Learning

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
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Institution:
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Case study
Q1: The situation and who is involved
An early childhood educator is working in an environment that is not conducive for learning. The facility is understaffed, and a cook is forced to step in at times to help. The cook regularly helps thus confirming that the facility is understaffed and violates the standards of operations pertinent to daycare facilities. It is likely that there are no backup educators. The facility is also non-conformant to the adult-child ratio standards of the provincial daycare regulations.
Several people are involved in this situation. First, the child educator who has not ensured a conducive environment for her children as the adult-child ratio violates the recommended standards. There is also a cook who is regularly part of the program. The cook does not understand how to respond to the unique needs of children. To agree to work as an early childhood educator needs prior training and licensing whereby an individual is taught among other things how to ensure the child is comfortable and has all the necessary tools for learning. Having a cook undertake the role of a trained early childhood educator to an overcrowded class of three-year-old children is against the basic principle of acting in the best interest of the child. There is the director of the facility who is ignorant of the regulations that govern how such facilities are run. He understaffed the daycare and also allowed non-professionals to handle children. It is evident that he/she has not established a conducive child-based learning environment and he/she is ignorant of important standards that are centered on the welfare of the children.
Q2: Values involved in this case
The professional code of ethics for regulated early child educators requires them to have the values of care, respect, trust and integrity CITATION Col17 \l 1033 (College of Early Childhood Educators, 2017). In this case, the value of care is grossly violated. The children are regularly handled by an untrained individual. The quality of care he/she can give is substandard and not in the best interest of the child because he/she has not been trained to do so. The daycare facility also does not ensure the children have the best care possible because the child-care ratio is beyond the standards established by the provincial daycare regulators.
The integrity of the children educator is also substandard. The management and staff seem to be acting ignorantly. The educator is not aware that her class exceeds the stipulated adult-child ratio. The director’s integrity and suitability to run the facility is questionable because he/she is ignorant of the basic requirements of providing a conducive environment for learning for children.
There is an obvious breach of trust in the facility. If a cook can be allowed to play the role of a child educator, it seems the facility is capable of more unthinkable things. They have neglected the basic principles of caring for the children, and they cannot be trusted to act in the best interest of the children. Understaffing a daycare facility signifies more organizational problems. The interests of the children are likely to be overlooked in the facility. If the educator is not acquainted with the regulatory framework of adult-child ratio, then it also raises questions of her competency.
How to address the issue
To resolve the situation, the management must employ competent, registered early childhood educators. This is to ensure the child-adult ratio recommended by the provincial daycare regulators is observed. The facility should be staffed with at least three educators to ensure there is always a competent substitute educator who can step up to care for the children if one of them is not available.
Secondly, a total closure may be necessary. Revocation of a daycare operation license may be in order if the licensing officer ascertains there is a gross violation of the principles that warrant children safety and child-based learning environment under the authority set out in section 23 of the CCEYA CITATION Min18 \l 1033 (Ministry of Education , 2018). The children in the facility can be transferred to other centers until the management streamlines operations and employ competent educators to ensure they comply with the provincial child-adult regulations.
Q5: What I would do.
If I were the educator, I would inform t...