ERIC Number: EJ1051609
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0300-4279
EISSN: N/A
Where to Now for Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Graduates? A Study of the Experiences of Irish BA ECCE Degree Graduates
Moloney, Mary; Pope, Jennifer
Education 3-13, v43 n2 p142-152 2015
International definitions of early childhood locate the field with the care and education of children between birth and six years. In Ireland, this definition applies to both pre-school and the infant classes of primary school. While primary school teachers in Ireland must hold a Bachelor of Education degree, there is no minimum training requirement for those working within the early childhood care and education (ECCE) sectors in crèches, pre-schools and so on. Consequently, the ECCE sector is characterised by a mix of trained, semi-trained and unqualified teachers. Many third-level Colleges, Universities and Institutes of Technology offer a degree programme in ECCE. One such college is Mary Immaculate College, offering a BA degree in ECCE since 2003. Drawing upon a BA ECCE Graduate Occupational Profile Survey, distributed to all graduates from the programme between 2007 and 2010, this paper explores a graduate's experiences with regard to their experiences of working within the ECCE sector. Although the majority of respondents were gainfully employed within the sector, the overarching finding across all graduate cohorts from 2007 to 2010 was that in Ireland, "ECCE is an undervalued under-appreciated profession" (2009 graduate).
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Early Childhood Education, Preschool Teachers, Teacher Qualifications, Bachelors Degrees, College Outcomes Assessment, Graduate Surveys, Work Experience, Professional Identity, Questionnaires, Employment Level, Teacher Salaries, Work Attitudes, Teacher Attitudes, Recognition (Achievement), Teacher Persistence, Career Development
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Ireland
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A