Who We Are

Hello, we are Alicia and Reese, two passionate Early Childhood Educators in British Columbia, Canada. With the support of the Early Childhood Educators of BC’s Leading Change Program, Women and Gender Equality Canada, and the Social Research Demonstration Corporation, we are implementing a change project focused on understanding inclusion from early childhood educator perspectives. In our experience, inclusive care practices are often an afterthought. We wish to change this. We are looking for input from other Educators in BC on this important issue, as we seek to better meet the rich diversity of families in our province. To us, an inclusive space is readily staffed to meet the needs of children with diverse abilities, welcoming to all gender expressions and sexual orientations, and excited to engage in cultural exchanges.

Our Purpose

This survey was designed to gather insight from Early Childhood Educators about existing inclusion spaces and experiences in childcare. From our perspectives, the assignment of an inclusion support worker is often limited to children following a lengthy process of diagnosis and time waitlisted for funding. We are curious how many employed in this role hold the corresponding Special Needs Educator credentials. Do others in our field believe this education is valued, and fairly compensated? We plan to take the input from this survey to write a proposal to BC government on how the sector can respond to better meet the needs of children and families proactively, instead of reactively.

This project is being done with the support of the Early Childhood Educators of BC’s Leading Change Program, Women and Gender Equality Canada, and the Social Research Demonstration Corporation. 

Disclaimer

This project is independent of the work of ECEBC, WAGE, and SRDC and does not necessarily  reflect the views or opinions of ECEBC or the program partners.