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Provision for ‘Under 3s’ in Australian Early Childhood Education and Care Policy Commitments: A Metaphorical Canary in the Coal Mine?

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Under-three Year Olds in Policy and Practice

Abstract

In this chapter, I make use of the concepts of events and order-words from philosophers Giles Deleuze and Felix Guattari to ask “What work does the construct or category of ‘under 3s’ perform?” Taking two key events within the Australian policy context [2007–2015] in which under 3s performed an order-word in contrasting ways, I contend that with respect to policy commitments to the provision of a national system of high quality early childhood education and care, the category under 3s may serve similar functions to a ‘canary in the coal mine’. This idiomatic English language phrase refers to an advance warning of danger ahead. It originates from the days when underground miners carried caged canaries. If there were no noxious gases in the mine, the canary would survive yet another day. If noxious gases were present in the mine, the canary would perish before the levels of the gas reached those hazardous to humans. Employing this metaphor, I argue that in the current Australian context, ‘under 3s’ are at risk of being seen by the Australian Government as a category for whom policy commitments, particularly with respect to educator qualification requirements, are as expendable as the miners’ canaries. Endangered policy commitments to under 3 could portend further dangers ahead for efforts to achieve systemic and sustainable high quality ECEC.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The Productivity Commission recommended that the minimum qualification for working with under 3s be a Certificate III, and that Certificate III-qualified educators be supported by an educator with at least a diploma (a significant lowering of the current requirement that at least 50 % of educators have, or be working toward, a diploma, with the remaining 50 % required to hold or be working towards a Certificate III). The Productivity Commission also recommended that requirements concerning the number of early childhood teachers employed in centre-based services be changed, so that they no longer take into account infant-toddler enrolments but are calculated only on the number of children aged 3 years and over attending the centre.

  2. 2.

    These analyses are based on information available on the Parliament of Australia website: http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Parliamentary_Handbook/Current_Ministry_List

  3. 3.

    For submissions, comments and proceedings of public hearings concerning the draft recommendations see http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/childcare#report

  4. 4.

    The Report was submitted to the Australian Government in October 2014. The Government has stated its support for the recommendations but, at the time of writing, the necessary legislation, which would also require the approval of all states and territories, has not yet been passed.

  5. 5.

    From 2010, the target of 100 % teacher qualified staff in teacher-led services was reduced to 80 %. http://www.education.govt.nz/ministry-of-education/budgets/budget-2010/early-childhood-education-initiatives-and-savings/

  6. 6.

    See commentaries in The First Years Nga Tau Tautahi New Zealand Journal of Infant and Toddler Education, 2015, Vol 17, Issue 2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, NSW, Australia

    Jennifer Sumsion

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  1. Jennifer Sumsion
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Correspondence to Jennifer Sumsion .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, University of Waikato, Tauranga, New Zealand

    E. Jayne White

  2. Institute for Early Childhood Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    Carmen Dalli

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Sumsion, J. (2017). Provision for ‘Under 3s’ in Australian Early Childhood Education and Care Policy Commitments: A Metaphorical Canary in the Coal Mine?. In: White, E.J., Dalli, C. (eds) Under-three Year Olds in Policy and Practice. Policy and Pedagogy with Under-three Year Olds: Cross-disciplinary Insights and Innovations. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2275-3_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2275-3_14

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