Triad early childhood education conference focuses on the role men play – 88.5 WFDD

Conference on Male Involvement in Early Childhood Education Aligns with Sustainable Development Goals

Event Overview and Contribution to SDG 4: Quality Education

A conference titled “The Triad Men in Early Childhood Education Conference” was organized by Smart Start of Forsyth County in Winston-Salem. The event’s primary objective is to advance Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education), specifically Target 4.2, which aims to ensure all children have access to quality early childhood development, care, and pre-primary education.

• Organizer: Smart Start of Forsyth County
• Location: Intergenerational Center for Arts and Wellness, Winston-Salem
• Objective: To enhance awareness and engagement of men in the early childhood education sector, from birth to age five.

Advancing SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)

The conference addresses critical barriers and opportunities for men in the early childhood education field, directly supporting SDG 5 (Gender Equality) by challenging professional stereotypes and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) by creating viable career paths.

Key Focus Areas

1. Promoting Gender Equality in the Workforce: The initiative seeks to increase male participation in a predominantly female profession, fostering a more diverse educational environment and promoting gender equality. The presence of male role models is cited as crucial for the healthy social, emotional, and cognitive development of young children.
2. Addressing Economic Barriers and Ensuring Decent Work: A significant barrier identified is low pay. To combat this and support SDG Target 8.5 (Decent work and equal pay), a “Career Pathways Initiative” has been established. This program provides:
   • Paid high school internships in classroom settings.
   • Support towards professional certifications.
   • Opportunities for higher wages upon entering the field.

Fostering Partnerships (SDG 17) to Reduce Inequalities (SDG 10)

The event exemplifies SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) by bringing together diverse stakeholders to address a common objective. This collaborative approach is fundamental to reducing developmental inequalities among children, a key aspect of SDG 10.

Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration

The conference featured a range of influential speakers, demonstrating a strong partnership between non-profit organizations, government, and the private sector. Participants included:

• State Representative Amber Baker
• Mayor Cyril Jefferson of High Point
• Mayor Allen Joines of Winston-Salem
• Matthew Marceron, President of Kaplan Early Learning

This collaboration aims to embed men more deeply within homes, schools, and communities to support early childhood development, thereby enhancing social equity and ensuring children benefit from diverse caregiving perspectives.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed in the Article

1. SDG 4: Quality Education
2. SDG 5: Gender Equality
3. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Specific SDG Targets Identified

SDG 4: Quality Education

• Target 4.2: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.
  
  Explanation: The article is centered on early childhood education, specifically for children from “birth through kindergarten.” The conference and the work of Smart Start aim to improve the quality of this education by emphasizing the importance of male role models, who contribute to children benefiting “socially, emotionally and cognitively.” This directly supports the goal of providing quality early childhood development and care.
• Target 4.c: By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States.
  
  Explanation: The article discusses the “Career Pathways Initiative,” a program designed to bring more people, specifically men, into the early childhood education field. By providing “certifications that will allow them to enter into the field,” the initiative directly addresses the need to increase the supply of qualified educators, which is the core of this target.

SDG 5: Gender Equality

• Target 5.4: Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate.
  
  Explanation: The conference’s goal is to “raise awareness about the importance of men in early childhood education” and encourage them to get involved in caregiving roles, “being at home, being in the community, being in the schools.” This promotes the idea of shared responsibility in caregiving, challenging traditional gender roles where care work is predominantly associated with women.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

• Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.
  
  Explanation: The article explicitly identifies “low pay” as a significant barrier preventing men from entering the early childhood education profession. The “Career Pathways Initiative” aims to create an “opportunity of higher wages,” directly tackling the issue of fair compensation and making the profession a source of decent work.
• Target 8.6: By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training.
  
  Explanation: The “Career Pathways Initiative” is specifically designed to “support them towards high school internships.” This program provides young people with paid work experience, training, and certifications, directly addressing the goal of reducing the number of youth who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET).

Indicators for Measuring Progress

SDG 4: Quality Education

• Indicator 4.2.2: Participation rate in organized learning (one year before the official primary entry age), by sex.
  
  Explanation: The article’s focus on improving early childhood education from “birth through kindergarten” implies a goal of increasing both the quality and participation in these programs. The success of initiatives like this could be measured by tracking participation rates in pre-primary education.
• Indicator 4.c.1: Proportion of teachers in pre-primary education who have received at least the minimum organized teacher training.
  
  Explanation: The “Career Pathways Initiative” focuses on providing participants with “certifications that will allow them to enter into the field.” This directly relates to increasing the proportion of trained and qualified teachers in pre-primary settings, which is what this indicator measures.

SDG 5: Gender Equality

• Indicator 5.4.1: Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location.
  
  Explanation: By encouraging men to become more involved in caregiving and early childhood development (“getting their hands dirty”), the initiative implicitly aims to rebalance the distribution of care work between genders. Progress could be measured by changes in the time men spend on such activities.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

• Indicator 8.5.1: Average hourly earnings of female and male employees, by occupation.
  
  Explanation: The article points to “low pay” as a key issue and the initiative’s goal of “higher wages” in the early childhood education sector. This indicator would be used to measure whether wages in this occupation are improving and becoming more equitable, thus constituting “decent work.”
• Indicator 8.6.1: Proportion of youth (aged 15-24 years) not in education, employment or training.
  
  Explanation: The “Career Pathways Initiative” targets high school students for “paid” internships and training. The success of such a program would be directly reflected in a reduction of the proportion of youth not in education, employment, or training within the community it serves.

Summary Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: wfdd.org