ECEs and FDK Discussion

Early Childhood Educators and Full-day Kindergarten

ECEs and FDK Discussion

4/10/2013

We hope we have shed some light on the roles, responsibilities and benefits of the ECEs in the FDK setting.
Now, here's your chance to be heard! Are you an ECE or do you know an ECE with experience in the FDK setting? What are your views on this topic? Please feel free to post your thoughts, kudos and ideas in this forum.

We have a few netiquette guidelines, which we have adapted from Webopedia (2010):
1) Please stay on topic.
2) Please turn off your 'Caps Lock' key.
3) Please respect each person's views and opinions.

We appreciate your feedback!

Sarah

4/14/2013 08:24:19 am

This website is a great resource for those with children starting in the full day kindergarten. I will be sure to share it with friends and family!

Randell and Tracy Gloria

4/14/2013 08:25:39 am

Thank you for creating the website and providing information regarding the full day kindergarten program and the utilization of early childhood educators.

Our child is currently in a full day kindergarten program, but our eldest child went through the program before ECE's were introduced. When we learned that full day kindergarten and an ECE worker was being implemented at our son's school we were unsure of how it would work with our child. This was because our older child entered the program very shy and still quite attached to us. The way the program was focused on structured activities made her excel in her reading, writing, math, and social skills. We thought the program was effective the way it was so we were unsure why changes were being put into place. We attended the information session at the school about the full day program, and learned about how the new program revolved around "Play based learning" and an individualized learning plan based on the child's interests, development, and learning style.

As we near the end of the school year we can compare the two programs and find that the new program has been effective and beneficial to our son in terms of not only his reading and writing but other skills such as self regulation, self confidence, and ability to interact with peers. We think both programs are effective but find that the fullday program allows the children more freedom to participate in activities that interest them and provide an opportunity for guidance and support from both the teacher and early childhood educator.

After reading the misconceptions of ECEs and full day kindergarten, I find that in my son's classroom, I see that there is an imbalance in "power" between the teacher and ECE. We find that the teacher is the one who interacts with us majority of the time rather than the ECE. It would be nice to have the ECE communicate with us more and share her perspectives on our child's learning and development, given her education and specialty.

Great website and thank you for the information.

Jessica

4/15/2013 05:53:57 am

Hi Randell and Tracy,
Thanks for your feedback and for sharing your experience. Your children have been exposed to very different types of curriculum and I'm glad you have recognized the benefits of the new FDK program for your son. I would definitely seek out opportunities to connect with the ECE in your son's classroom, as I'm sure she will benefit from meeting you.
Thanks again for your input :)

Sandra Fleetwood

4/14/2013 08:54:37 am

As a parent whose child will be enrolled in FDK next year, I find this website and reader comments extremely informative.

Kim R

4/15/2013 07:27:18 am

Hi Sandra we hope that you can come back to this website, specifically this discussion page, and ask questions of others on this site. There is a wealth of information and knowledge from ECEs as well as parents that have experienced the benefits of Full Day Kindergarten, I am sure that they can be very informative and helpful. Thanks for your comments.

Will Jordan

4/14/2013 09:26:31 am

Great website ! As a experienced parent I hope that this can help my children. This is very informative I will mention this to my family and we am very pleased about the FDK and the ECE. Thank you for distributing this.

Amanjit

4/14/2013 09:28:56 am

Thank you so much for sharing this. I have notified my friends and family members about this website. I find this website very beneficial and helpful because I have two children of my own. This new program will help not only children who will be attending full day at kindergarten, but parents and families as well. This plan will help children learn efficiently by developing skills and communication which is very essential for children to have. Great job guys!

Narinder

4/14/2013 10:39:52 am

Hi Amanjit
Thank you so much for visiting this website, and appreciating our work towards the the benefits of ECEs for teachers, families, and young children in the FDK program.
If you have any suggestions or comments, please let us know to improve this website.

Jennifer Warren

4/14/2013 09:34:03 am

We live in Rockwood and our school does not start FDK until 2014. As a parent of 3 school aged children I found the report to be very informative. I had no idea that an ECE was going to be paired with a teacher in every classroom. This could and should be an amazing asset for the teacher, the child and the parents. There are already too many students per teacher and this will only continue to get worse and worse. I have always felt both teachers and ECE are underpaid for the amazing and exhausting jobs they do. Teachers and ECE will need to find a way to work together and respect the knowledge and expertise brought together from both professions!

Brett

4/14/2013 10:16:24 am

I found this website very informative regarding the role and benefits of an early childhood educator as well as helpful in sorting through all the misinformation around regarding full day kindergarten.

Harsarbjit

4/14/2013 11:10:38 am

This is a great source of information I will definitely share it with others!

Narinder

4/16/2013 03:01:04 am

Hi Harsarbjit

Thanks for recognizing the value of RECEs' professionalism in the Full-Day Kindergarten program. I appreciate your time and efforts for sharing our website with your friends and family.

Harsarbjit

4/14/2013 11:12:09 am

I told my one of my family members and they found it very helpful.

Tim L.

4/14/2013 11:23:32 am

Your website is an excellent resource and public education tool that clarifies public misconceptions regarding the ECE role in the FDK setting. As a regulated profession, Ontario's ECEs are held to the highest standard of quality practice in the public interest. The evidence clearly demonstrates that ECEs contribute an invaluable role as part of the interprofessional education team. Working in collaboration with teachers and other education professionals, I feel that ECEs can (and should be enabled to) advance the development of Ontario's growing minds throughout the FDK program. This is a win-win solution for students, educators and the education system as a whole.

Colin

4/15/2013 12:41:20 pm

Hi Tim,
Glad the information we provided on our website is informal to you, I agree with you we are assets in the learning environment. ECE's are assets not teacher assistance.
Thank you for you comment!

Tim L

4/15/2013 01:38:36 pm

Thanks Colin. I definetley agree that ECEs should not be "assistants" to the 'teacher'. It is quite clear from this website that although ECEs may work within collaborative teams, they are autonomous professionals offering unique and incredibly valuable knowledge and skill.

lennie

4/15/2013 12:39:39 am

Kudos to the students who created this website! Aside from the informative content, I found this website to be well thought out!
The titles and subtitles were very clear and bold in terms of the sizes and colours. In my opinion, sometimes I would get lost in a paragraph (just because I have a short attention span when it comes to reading), due to the number of words. But then I would go back and read the subtitle, and I'd be back on track. Just a suggestion, would it be possible to split large paragraphs into a couple little ones? It'll be easier on the eyes for some. Also, your website is like reading an interactive pamphlet, so it would be nice to see all the paragraphs "justified" so that all the lines start and end at the same point. Just a thought.

I really enjoyed how you ordered the titles starting with misconceptions, then roles and responsibilities, and then benefits. The strategy in placing these titles this way was excellent. You started off with the 'negative,' and then reinforced who an ECE really is by defining their professional roles and responsibilities, and then proceed to empower the ECEs with what they have to offer in the FDK program. Well done team!

I'm not sure if there was something wrong with the pixels of the two pictures under roles and responsibilities, but I would have liked to see the faces of the people. They came out blurry when I opened that page.

The overall look of the website is fresh and really reflects children and youth, and really appeals to the masses. Thank you for a pleasant read, and good luck on the submission of this project! Job well done!

Jessica

4/15/2013 06:59:48 am

Hi Lennie,
Thanks for all your feedback! We have taken your suggestions into consideration and have edited the layout of the text. There is a lot of info here - we are just so passionate about spreading the word!
We're glad to hear that you found the layout of the website easy to navigate through and that the overall look was appealing.
Thanks again for sharing your ideas :)

Tracy

4/15/2013 12:43:37 am

Great website!!!
It would be interesting to see feedback if studies are conducted around ECEs maintaining their professional identity within FDK classrooms.

Diane Broughton

4/15/2013 05:45:12 am

This website is well researched, organized and written in such a way that the average layperson should be able to understand the material outlined and to form an opinion.
The ECE Program has a very stringent curriculum and students are taught the skills needed to ‘round out’ a child’s learning experience and help them to develop characteristics that make them socially appealing/acceptable through their attitudes, behavioural patterns and emotional responses in groups as well as one on one interaction. All of these traits are necessary to function in a social setting but also to set the stage for their academic learning. Graduates of the ECE Program have followed and successfully completed a very difficult 2 year course which requires commitment and dedication both to their academic studies but also the ultimate outcome of caring and nurturing our most vulnerable population. I personally believe the addition of ECE instructors to the FDK classroom would be a positive move and benefit both pupils and teachers alike.
Young children are like sponges and respond in kind to patience, understanding, tolerance, kindness, encouragement and affection. If children are shown these qualities in the classroom they learn how to demonstrate them in life. In this regard, I believe it is the personality, in addition to the degree, of both the teacher and ECE instructor that is the most important aspect in the classroom.
I do believe, though, that it is imperative that very clear and concise guidelines are outlined in the FDK curriculum for both teacher and ECE instructor and are developed with all disciplines involved. This will help to even out the playing field (no pun intended), each will know what their roles and responsibilities are and should prevent one from trying to exercise power or authority over the other.

Well done.

Kim R

4/15/2013 07:30:50 am

Hi Diane,
Thank you for this feedback and insight.

A Mom in Brampton

4/15/2013 10:01:26 am

Hi Kim,
First let me say I love the website! Great information presented very well.My daughter is in this program and I am pleased with the change I have seen in her since she started school in September.
I fully support the ECE's in the classroom especially in FDK. ECE's are a very important part of the puzzle for the first year FDK's. Without them less time would be had for the teacher to assess her class and harder to plan fun ways of learning. They should not be viewed as "extra hands" in the classroom or a teachers aide, I have seen first hand the amazing work by the ECE is Erica's class when working with her and other students. The position of ECE is equal to the teacher in my opinion and should be treated as such.

Chad

4/16/2013 03:33:00 am

It is really good to see someone talking about how the ECE and the teacher need to collaborate together to create a positive learning setting. We both bring our own unique styles into the classroom that have a huge benefit on the children's learning experience.

Anissa

4/16/2013 09:10:59 am

Hmmm....where do I start. I am a full time teacher and I also have my ECE qualifcations. First off, I would like to say that this site was well put together but the students at Humber. Easy to navigate, easy to read and the layout is easy to follow. Good use of literature and not overbearing with information but to the facts.

I see the ECE in the classroom as being very helpful in the classroom in terms of the teacher to student ratios as some class sizes can be extremely large in a FDK classroom. They will help with observations, prepping activities as well as doing the day to day tasks that teachers do on a daily basis. I think teachers and ECE's however, need to find a common ground in terms of reporting to parents and respecting the knowledge backgroud each individual professional brings. With that being said, the classroom teacher is the one that plans and implements lessons. They know the curriculum content that needs to be covered as set out by the government and they went to school for this and as a result can be liable for anything under this bracket that takes place in the classroom.

I agree that there needs to be some guidelines set in place in terms of the curriculum for teachers and ECE's so they know their "role" so to speak. Teachers go to school an extra year and need a 4 year degree before going to teachers college. Some ECE programs are only 2 years right out of highschool. I think this is where some of the "power" or "authority" issue comes into play. Even though both professionals are working with the same goal in mind and working in the same classroom one individual may be seen by some as being "in charge". Both programs do have child development courses and practicums that are all beneficial, as I have done both programs.

Teaching Grade 1 and Grade 2 and not being in a FDK school, I can't say I see the benefits of any child coming through the program. However, if play based is done correctly and implemented in the right way I can see how students can succeed. If it isn't, the students come into the grades unable to write their name or read due to all the "playing" in the FKD program.

There are many positives and negatives to having ECE's in a FDK program. Since this program has been phased into schools and as the kinks get worked out and unravelled, I hope all the money put into implementing this program into schools will benefit the students in the long run before the program gets removed!!

Elizabeth

4/16/2013 11:33:43 am

I am not sure where to begin - I have been teaching Kindergarten for five years, with this being my first in the Full Day setting.
I value the ECE partnership but feel that things are not always on an equal playing field.
I have been referred to as the "master" and the ece as the "helper" as much as we have tried to inform the public of the equal roles, the teacher is still viewed in a higher regard.
Often I do more of the communication with parents, the clean up, and set up of the classroom, the large group activities, and supporting the inquiry.
I feel that the partnership between the ELK team is important as if the team is not getting along it can have an impact on the students. The hardest part of FDK is working with another adult!

I also think that for a FDK program to work, the class size needs to be on par with the rest of the primary division or no more than the cap. We currently have 30 children. The class is manageable and easy to handle when we have 24. As soon as we hit 25-30, it becomes more of a claasroom management role and not as educators.

marnie

4/17/2013 01:50:24 pm

I have been an ECE and working in the ECE field for over 10 years, mostly in Quebec where the kindergarten program has already been full day for many years. When I came to Ontario and learned that ECE's were being hired for full day kindergarten programs, I saw it as a great leap for the Early Childhood field. This website is a wonderful resource for professionals such as myself who are new the province to gain a better understanding of this situation. ECE's are not qualified to teach at the Kindergarten level in Quebec and so it sparks my interest as another professional option to consider.

I especially enjoyed the 'misconception' page and found the facts to be quite thought provoking and empowering as an ECE. I think the key to a successful full day kindergarten team is to acknowledge these misconceptions and choose to see the value that both professionals bring to the classroom.

The point about 'heirarchy' was also an important point to bring up as this can have an effect on the ECE as an individual. Being seen as only an 'assistant' can be detrimental to one's confidence and self esteem and can drive the ECE with equally abundant knowledge and insight to a mere drone who follows direction in 'somebody else's classroom'. As ECE's we must be proud of what we do and what we can bring to a kindergarten class yet remain respectful of all the teacher brings with them.

Finally, as a new mom who's son will eventually enter kindergarten, I do hope that ECE's remain in the classroom and that my son will be able to benefit from both perspectives.

I look forward to seeing how full day kindergarten plays out in the future. As we move towards teamwork and collaboration in the classroom, the world will but benefit from well rounded children growing up to be the leaders of tomorrow.

Thank you again to the students for creating such a great site! =D

Sarah

4/18/2013 10:07:12 am

This is a wonderful resource to help parents and educators. There are a lot of questions about FDK from both parties and this provides them with beneficial information to help answer them as well as weighing the pros and cons of having a 5 year old in school all day and what play based is really about. Good job!

Jessica Mina

4/20/2013 12:29:12 am

Thanks Marnie for sharing your insight as both an ECE and mother. We are glad we provided helpful and relevant info as you look forward to your son attending Kindergarten in the future and possibly choosing being an ECE in FDK!

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