Assignments And Qualification Of Teachers In Further Education For Early Childhood Educators – First Results Of The Research Project KoprofF

Author(s):

Christina Buschle(presenting / submitting)Tanya Freytag(presenting)Aiga von Hippel Carola Iller

Conference:

ECER 2012

Network:

02. Vocational Education and Training (VETNET)

Format:

Paper

Session Information

02 SES 06 B, Professional Qualifications And Identities In Social Services

Parallel Paper Session

Time:

2012-09-19

15:30-17:00

Room:

FCT - Aula 22

Chair:

Andreas Saniter

Contribution

On both the national and the international level, the qualification of skilled personnel in the field of early childhood education is receiving an increasing amount of attention. This is to a large degree due to the constant changes in demands and requirements connected with professional work in the field of early childhood education (cf. e.g. Oberhuemer 2009; Stamm 2010). The changes in tasks and in competences, too, – some of which are, for example, due to the implementation of country-specific educational programs and plans – also involve new demands concerning training and further education in early childhood education (cf. Stockfisch/Stricker/Meyer 2008). With regard to the quality of training and further education for skilled personnel in early childhood education teaching staff plays a crucial role (cf., among others, Kraft 2006; von Hippel/Grimm 2010). So far, only fragmentary information is available regarding recruitment patterns, assignments, or the qualification of teachers working in further education for early childhood educators. Against the background of this heterogeneous landscape of further education, in particular, systematization seems advisable. The project’s theoretical points of reference are formed by theories of competency and of professionalization.

The project “Taking stock of the recruitment, assignment and competence profiles of the teaching staff in further education for early childhood educators (German abbreviation: KoprofF)”, sponsored by the Ministry of Research and Education (June 2011 until November 2013), is a joint venture by the University of Heidelberg (Prof. Dr. Carola Iller) and the University of Munich (PD Dr. Aiga von Hippel) in close cooperation with the Deutsches Jugendinstitut (DJI, German Youth Institute)/Project Further Education Initiative for Skilled Personnel in Early Childhood Education (German abbreviation: WiFF). Due to its significance for the quality of training and further education of skilled personnel in early childhood education, the teaching staff in further education for early childhood educators constitutes the focal point of this project. Its aim is to determine relevant and widespread recruitment patterns and forms of assignment among the teaching personnel and to simultaneously undertake a systematic stocktaking of the competence profiles of the teaching staff. Here, the focus is on the relation to the job assignment and on the professional identity of the teaching staff in further education for early childhood educators. In the context of an institution-analytically grounded systematization and typology of “arrangements of further education”, the project inquires, inter alia, into the following questions: who offers further education in this field, what is the structure of the target groups and the programs offered, and what does the personnel structure of the respective providers look like?

Method

The empirical data will be collected among both the providers of further education and the teaching staff working in the field of further education. Thus, both institutional requirements and competence-related experiences made by the teaching staff can be ascertained and linked with one another so that the respective results will complement one another. In addition to a secondary analysis, the research design comprises a quantitatively oriented online survey based on questionnaires (projected: N= approx. 150) as well as interviews with experts (projected: N= approx. 10) and problem-centered interviews (projected: N= approx. 20). The results will then be analyzed on the basis of a data and perspective triangulation. Furthermore, a typology of assignment patterns and qualification criteria for the assignment of teachers will be developed, based on requirements and the teaching staff´s competences.

Expected Outcomes

First insights gained from the analysis of the WiFF study carried out by Beher and Walter (2010), show that further education in the field of early childhood pedagogy is to a high degree characterized by supplementary work. Almost four fifths of the teaching staff (n=7.073) working in further education are employed on a part-time basis (cf. Beher/Walter 2010). The results of the interviews with experts will be compared to the insights gained from the secondary analysis. It is expected that the empirical results concerning central quality indicators of further education and competences of the teaching staff will equally be used in both the further development of scientific insights on the professional practice of teaching staff working in further education for early childhood educators and the organization of the practice as well as the support of the present debate on educational policy and contribute not only to empiric fundamental research, but also to the development of professionalism in the occupational field of early childhood pedagogy.

References

Beher, K./Walter, M. (2010): Zehn Fragen – zehn Antworten zur Fort- und Weiterbildungslandschaft frühpädagogischer Fachkräfte, Werkstattbericht aus einer bundesweiten Befragung von Weiterbildungsanbietern. Eine Studie der Weiterbildungsinitiative frühpädagogischer Fachkräfte (WiFF); online: http://www.weiterbildungsinitiative.de/uploads/media/WiFF_Studie_6_Walter_Beher_Internet.pdf Kraft, S./Seitter, W./Kollewe, L. (2009): Professionalitätsentwicklung des Weiterbil¬dungspersonals. Bielefeld: wbv. Kraft, Susanne (2006): Aufgaben und Tätigkeiten von Weiterbildner/inne/n - Herausforderungen und Perspektiven einer weiteren Professionalierung in der Weiterbildung. Bonn: DIE. Online: http://www.die-bonn.de/esprid/dokumente/doc-2006/kraft06_02.pdf Oberhuemer, P. (2009): Fachpersonal in Kindertageseinrichtungen der Europäischen Union, Ausbildungen und Arbeitsfelder. Projektergebnisse. www.ifp.bayern.de/imperia/md/content/stmas/ifp/091014_bmfsfj_fachpersonal_eu27_neu.pdf) Stamm, M. (2010): Frühkindliche Bildung, Betreuung, Erziehung. Bern. Stockfisch, Ch./Stricker, M./Meyer, A. (2008): Ergebnisse der Studie „Qualitätsanfor¬derungen an ein Fort- und Weiterbildungskonzept für Erzieherinnen und Erzieher“. Düsseldorf. Von Hippel, A./Grimm, R. (2010): Qualitätsentwicklungskonzepte in der Weiterbildung Frühpädagogischer Fachkräfte. Zusammenfassung der Expertise für das Projekt Weiterbildungsinitiative Frühpädagogischer Fachkräfte (WiFF). München: DJI.

Author Information

Christina Buschle (presenting / submitting)

Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich

Tanya Freytag (presenting)

University of Heidelberg, Germany

Heidelberg

Aiga von Hippel

Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich

Carola Iller

Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg

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