The College of Early Childhood Educators (The College) has recently proposed reviewing their entry to practice requirements and the establishment of additional membership categories. Consultation has begun with subject matter experts and employers, requesting feedback on their Modernizing Membership proposals. The College has communicated that they are in the preliminary stages of consultation, and broader feedback will be collected in a future phase.
The AECEO is consulting our members, so that they may share their thoughts, concerns, or questions regarding the Modernizing Membership proposals with us. We will reflect those thoughts in our own feedback to the College regarding these changes. Please send responses to [email protected] by March 13, 2020.
This consultation process takes the form of three online surveys that can be completed after watching three 9-15 minute videos.
The first video concerns a proposed new requirement for registration with the College. The College is proposing that it establish a 15 hour online learning “module” entitled Preparation for Regulated ECE Practice (PREP) as an additional requirement for registration. The intent of this registration requirement is to assure the College “that before an ECE begins practising in Ontario, they have sufficient knowledge and understanding of what it means to be an ECE and what an ECE's responsibilities in Ontario are.”
The second presentation and survey concern a proposed new membership group for ECEs. Specifically, the College is proposing developing an Extended Class of membership entitled “Extended Class – Supervision Specialty”. The video states that supervision and administration in the EYCC sector requires additional knowledge and skill. To register with the College in an Extended Class – Supervision Specialty, applicants would require, “A minimum of three years of post-secondary education that includes successful completion of a graduate certificate program in early childhood administration in Ontario”. The College would establish a set of additional standards of practice for the Supervision Specialty which members of this class must uphold. Further, members of the Extended Class - Supervision Specialty would be required to participate in the College’s Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) program with specific requirements for ECE (Extended Class – Supervision Specialty) members.
Mentioned in the French videos and transcript is an additional proposal for the College to create a category for early childhood resource consultants who are not ECEs and therefore do not meet the College’s current registration requirements. To register for this category, applicants must have completed training in early childhood education or in a field related to early childhood resource counseling services.
The final video presents the College’s proposal to establish a Non-Practising Class for ECEs. To maintain membership with the College, members of this Non-Practising Class would pay an annual renewal. These members would be allowed to use the titles of RECE or ECE but would be required to specify that they were part of the Non-Practising Class. These members would be prohibited from practising Early Childhood Education in Ontario as long as they were in the Non-Practising Class. It is stated that the College is “still considering whether it would require Non-Practising Class members to participate in CPL”.
Please note, these are summaries of the proposal initiatives. The full transcripts and links to complete the surveys can be accessed here, and will be available until Friday, March 13th.