More training needed to help kids with disabilities, say some early childhood educators in N.S. | CBC News

Child-Care Sector Faces Challenges in Providing Support for Children with Disabilities

Jenna LeBlanc thought she would be fully equipped to enter the child-care sector when she earned her diploma and became a certified early childhood educator (ECE), but once she got into the field, she realized she had a lot more to learn.

When it comes to working with kids with disabilities, LeBlanc said she often feels lost. Her first encounter on the job with a child who required one-on-one support was with a young girl who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair.

Lack of Specialized Education Hinders Inclusion Efforts

“That was incredibly hard to navigate because I didn’t know what I was doing,” she said. “That sounds horrible, but I just did my best.”

LeBlanc got her ECE diploma in 2018 from the Nova Scotia College for Early Childhood Educators (NSCECE), a non-profit private career college in Halifax. She said the two-year program did touch on some intellectual disabilities in two mandatory courses that focused on inclusion, but there was not enough in the curriculum about physical disabilities.

Krista Ahearn, the lead instructor with NSCECE, said by email that their inclusion courses “have been revised and updated quite significantly since 2018.”

“We also focus on providing a wide range of opportunities for students to apply these theories and practise in hands-on ways the skills and strategies they will use in the classroom with children with all needs,” she wrote.

But CBC News spoke to several ECEs who earned their diplomas from different schools across the province. Similarly to LeBlanc, many described feeling ill-prepared to work with kids with disabilities and said more specialized education was needed.

Barriers to Inclusive Child-Care Spaces

Beth Towler is the executive director of Wee Care Developmental Centre, one of Nova Scotia’s leading inclusive child-care facilities. The non-profit centre currently has over 500 families on its waitlist, according to Towler.

She said a lack of resources, training, and education are the biggest barriers when it comes to creating more child-care spaces for children with disabilities.

“If that training was there … then all centres would be able to accommodate these children, alleviating that stress for families with children with disabilities not being able to return to work,” said Towler.

She said most ECE diploma programs touch on autism, but not so much on more “complex needs.”

Moreover, Towler said the responsibility typically falls on parents to come into the centre to show ECEs how to safely care for their child.

“We’re not medically trained. If a child is tube-fed, the onus is on the family to teach our staff how to administer tube feeding, or rescue medication, or suctioning,” she explained.

“It’s imperative that my staff feel confident and able to carry out these procedures.”

Government Initiatives and Curriculum Updates

Krista Higdon, a spokesperson for the Department of Education, said provincial standards require inclusion to be a core part of ECE programs.

“Post-secondary training programs are expected to help students develop an understanding of disabilities and inclusion, and prepare students to plan and implement inclusive learning environments for all children,” she said in an email. “The province will continue to work with our post-secondary partners to strengthen pre-service training related to inclusion.”

She said a new version of Nova Scotia’s early learning curriculum is coming out this spring, and will place greater emphasis on equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.

Professional Development Modules and Workshops

Part of implementing the new curriculum includes reworking a series of professional development modules that are available to ECEs, Higdon said.

Blair Hill is a facilitator of these modules and a teacher with the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) ECE program on the Marconi Campus in Sydney, N.S.

He said NSCC’s program incorporates principles of inclusion throughout all of its courses and has one specific course dedicated to diverse and inclusive practices. However, more specialized care is not a component of the curriculum.

Addressing the Demand for Specialized Education

As of October 2023, there were 571 students enrolled in the ECE program at NSCC across the province, according to a communications advisor for the college. Throughout the program, students have several placement opportunities, which is likely where they would gain hands-on skills, according to Hill.

“I think there’s always more than can be done, but it’s just very limiting when you have a two-year diploma program,” he said. “I always say I learned more in my first year working in the field than I did in my two-year program.”

In terms of the professional development modules, Hill said training for working with kids with disabilities or who require additional support is one of the most sought-after workshop topics.

“That’s one of the topics that staff will look for because they need more resources, and they’re looking for other strategies that they can use to help support these children,” he said.

LeBlanc has attended several workshops through Mount Saint Vincent University and said they were helpful. She’s even finishing up her bachelor’s degree in child and youth studies at the Mount in hopes of gaining more opportunities as an educator.

Moving Towards Inclusive Child-Care

The challenges faced by child-care professionals in providing support for children with disabilities highlight the need for more specialized education and training. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasize the importance of inclusive education and equal access to quality education for all. Goal 4 aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. By prioritizing the development of comprehensive and specialized curricula, as well as providing ongoing professional development opportunities, child-care centers can contribute to achieving SDG 4 and creating a more inclusive society.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDG 4: Quality Education

   • Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including among others through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles.
   • Indicator 4.7.1: Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment.

2. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

   • Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic, and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
   • Indicator 10.2.1: Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income, by age, sex, and disability.

Explanation

1. SDG 4: Quality Education

   The article discusses the lack of specialized education and training for early childhood educators (ECEs) in working with children with disabilities. This issue relates to SDG 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all. Specifically, Target 4.7 focuses on promoting sustainable development through education, including education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles. The article highlights the need for ECE programs to provide more comprehensive education on disabilities and inclusion, indicating a gap in achieving this target. The indicator 4.7.1 measures the extent to which global citizenship education and education for sustainable development are integrated into national education policies, curricula, teacher education, and student assessment. Although not directly mentioned in the article, this indicator can be used to assess the inclusion of disability-related education in ECE programs.

2. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

   The article emphasizes the barriers faced by children with disabilities and their families in accessing inclusive child-care facilities due to a lack of resources, training, and education. This issue aligns with SDG 10, which aims to reduce inequalities and promote social, economic, and political inclusion for all individuals. Target 10.2 specifically focuses on empowering and promoting the inclusion of all individuals, regardless of their disability status. The indicator 10.2.1 measures the proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income by age, sex, and disability. While not directly mentioned in the article, this indicator reflects the economic inequalities faced by families with children with disabilities who struggle to access appropriate child-care services.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

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Source: cbc.ca

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