Becoming an Early Childhood Educator

ENTRY-TO-PRACTICE REQUIREMENTS IN ONTARIO

In Canada, training standards and licensing requirements for Early Childhood Educators vary from province/territory to province/territory, thus the acceptance of an individual’s license or credentials in one province/territory is not necessarily automatically transferable for employment purposes in Ontario. Job Descriptions and Labour Market information for this profession can be found on the Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) website. For individuals with credentials outside of those described below see section on Equivalency.

EDUCATION
Regulated Early Learning and child care settings

An Early Childhood Educator (ECE) must have a minimum of a post secondary Early Childhood Education diploma or its equivalent as recognized by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services (MCYS) to work in a licensed child care setting in Ontario. The Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario (AECEO) is recognized by the Ministry as a body that evaluates credentials of individuals who do not hold a recognized Ontario Early Childhood Education diploma and/or degree. The AECEO Equivalency Process determines individual eligibility requirements to work as an Early Childhood Educator (ECE) in the province of Ontario. The AECEO Program Accreditation Process evaluates ECE programs and determines the eligibility of the program to be deemed equivalent to current program and vocational standards. Graduates from “AECEO Accredited ECE Programs” are considered by the AECEO to be equivalent and thus able to work as Early Childhood Educators in the province of Ontario.

MCYS currently requires in each Ontario licensed early learning and child care program, a minimum of one staff in each classroom, the supervisor or director in each centre, and the resource teacher, to hold one of the following required documents:

1. a diploma in Early Childhood Education from an Ontario College of Applied Arts and Technology,an academic qualification that a Director considers equivalent to a diploma (eg.an AECEO Equivalency Certificate, diploma from an AECEO Accredited ECE Program), or
2. A Director’s Approval based on a conditional letter of employment issued by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services.

Above and beyond the stated credentials:
Supervisors must also have a minimum of 2 years work experience in a similar program.

Resource Teachers must also have an additional post secondary program of studies with both theoretical and practical knowledge of children with special needs as well as standard first aid/cpr training.
Non-regulated early learning settings

Other early learning and care programs that do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Day Nurseries Act but may hire Early Childhood Educators in various positions (e.g. Family resource programs, parent drop in centres, Ontario Early Years Centres, Boards of Education) set their own credential standards for employment purposes.

LEGISLATION

Ontario legislation (Day Nurseries Act and its Regulations) currently does not require additional licensing, qualifications or testing beyond the above minimum educational requirements to work as an Early Childhood Educator in Ontario.

However, the AECEO strongly believes in a need for an entry to practice standard after graduation and ongoing commitment to professional development as a means of maintaining training standards, quality staff and in effect quality programs. To this end, the AECEO:

1. Administers its own voluntary Certification process
2. Provides ongoing Professional Development Opportunities
3. Advocates for the establishment of a College of Early Childhood Educators

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Early Childhood Education Assistants
The DNA only sets minimum standards for licensing, and thus adult:child ratio requirements for early learning classrooms canmean that the other staff in the room, outside of the one ECE teacher, requires no credentials. These non-credentialed staff are employed in the capacity and position of Early Childhood Assistants (ECA).

Early Childhood Assistants cannot hold lead teacher positions in a room but, as part of the teaching team, provide care and activities for the children under the supervision of an Early Childhood Educator (ECE).

In practice, some early learning centers, who go above the minimum requirements, hire in these ECA positions, credentialed Early Childhood Educators or ECAs with previous experience working with children or with some formal training in early childhood (eg. Post secondary studies from a recognized training institution or early childhood training in a related field of study).

The AECEO strongly believes, as research shows, that a direct correlation exists between quality programs and the qualifications of the staff. The AECEO acknowledges that Early Childhood Assistants currently play a vital role in early learning and care programs across the province. The limitations of present government funding and affordable and accessible training, make it difficult for many programs and individuals to obtain much needed training and ECE credentials. To this end, until proper funding and supports are available, the AECEO highly recommends that ECA’s should work towards obtaining training and eventually their ECE credentials through the following means:

1. Register only in Early Childhood Assistant programs offered through the Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology or AECEO Accredited ECE Programs,
2. Register only in ECE Apprenticeship Programs offered by the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities through Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology programs, or
3. Apply for AECEO Equivalency through the AECEO Equivalency Process.

Each of these paths will lead towards gaining a recognized ECE diploma or its equivalent and thus enable the individual to eventually work as an Early Childhood Educator in Ontario. Please note the following for each of the above paths:

1. ECA diploma programs offered by OCAAT Colleges or AECEO Accredited Programs gives advanced standing towards a recognized ECE diploma program.
2. ECE Apprenticeship certificate holders, after completion of the program, must take the prescribed general education courses to obtain an OCAAT ECE diploma to be considered equivalent to an ECE
3. AECEO Equivalency applicants, depending upon learning gaps identified, must successfully complete upgrading courses through an OCAAT program to gain their Equivalency Certificate.