Press Room

Online Program for Child Care Workers
by Cheryl White

The You Bet I Care! study surveyed hundreds of directors and thousands of staff in child care settings across Canada in 1998. The purpose of this study was to assess working conditions in child care centres and to determine whether wages and working conditions had improved since the 1991 Caring for A Living survey. In this study, the National Association for the Education of Young Children notes that the most influential factor to predict overall program quality is the educational background of its director.

“Centres with more experienced directors tend to provide higher quality care and the children in these centres do better on measures of language and sociability. Teaching staff in centres where directors have received specific training in staff development and supervision and general administration express more positive attitudes about their centre as a workplace environment. They are also more positive and supportive when interacting with children and more likely to provide developmentally appropriate programming” (Doherty, Lero, Goelman, LaGrange & Tougas, 2000).

The study concludes that “Canada’s quality child care programs are at risk, and this has serious implications for children’s development, the ability of parents to participate in the paid workforce and economic productivity” (Doherty, Lero, Goelman, LaGrange & Tougas, 2000).

Who has time for professional development?

One issue child care workers face is obtaining further education without clear incentives from the field, such as higher pay and recognition for higher levels of professional development. In many fields, such as nursing and education, ongoing professional development is an accepted part of working as a professional.

Pursuing further education is difficult for most working people, requiring dedication and a willingness to spend time in classes or studying at the expense of time spent with family and friends. The cost of tuition and the extra time required to travel to class also present barriers.

With all of the talk in magazines and newspapers about online education, it seems like it might be easy to sit at home and study over the Internet. But studying online requires that students have access to a computer and have solid computer skills. With these barriers in mind, it is not difficult to see why people who want obtain further education do not pursue it.

The Human Service Administration Program

Some schools are trying to respond to the challenges faced by working adults by making their course offerings more accessible. The Human Service Administration program at Grant MacEwan College offers an applied bachelor degree through a part-time, distance program for people working in human services fields such as early child care, child and youth care, and social work. This applied bachelor’s degree gives individuals with a college diploma an opportunity to obtain a recognized professional credential. The applied degree has a practical focus; many course projects allow students to apply what they’ve learned within their own workplace and two customized field placements in the student’s own community or workplace.

Why is this program innovative?

The innovative delivery of this program addresses several issues facing people working in child care settings and social agencies, such as group homes or family support centres. First, the courses are delivered at a distance using a combination of print-based course materials, face-to-face seminars with teleconferencing for students unable to travel to the college, and an online discussion area to facilitate more frequent communication.

When the Human Services Administration program chair decided to move courses online, she was concerned about creating barriers for students by requiring them to have new, high-end computers with high-speed Internet connections. She opted for a “web-lite” design which takes advantage of the strengths of each delivery mode without being high-tech.

Maximizing benefits and minimizing barriers

Printed course materials are highly portable and can be read at home, at work or while commuting. Face-to-face and teleconferencing seminars provide an opportunity for students and instructors to share their experiences, insights and questions so they can learn in a personal, interactive way. Students have access to an online discussion area where they can send their instructor or classmates questions, information or experiences from work. The discussion area uses a form of email to send and receive messages and stores all of the messages in one place. Students can read messages sent by other students or the instructor and respond without needing to be online at the same time. This way of communicating creates an opportunity for good discussions between people who are communicating from different places at different times.

The cost of continuing education is another barrier for child care and other human service professionals. The Human Services Administration program limits student costs in two ways. First, by limiting the amount of course work done using the Internet, students can use older, less expensive computers to participate fully in the course. Students need access to a computer with a browser, an Internet connection and a modem, preferably a 28.8 speed or higher. Most public libraries and community learning centres have this level of computer.

Second, the program provides bursaries to students based on merit and need. These program-based bursaries acknowledge the economic reality for child care workers — limited support for professional development from employers and low wages in the field.

The Applied Bachelor of Human Service Administration was designed to meet the professional development needs of child care and other human service administration workers. For more information, contact Ev Simpson at (780) 497-5167; by e-mail at simpsone@admin.gmcc.ab.ca or visit their website at www.gmcc.ab.ca/nw/hcs/humanservices.

Cheryl White is research coordinator of the Learn Online project at Grant MacEwan College, Edmonton, Alberta. © CCCF 2001

References

Doherty, G., Lero, D. S., Goelman, H., LaGrange, A. & Tougas, J. (2000). You Bet I Care! Available: www.uoguelph.ca/cfww/

Stuart, C. (1999). Certification and Child and Youth Care: The Past, Present and Future. Available: www.cyc-net.org/stuart.html