Men in Early Years, European Conference, Krakow 24/25 October 2014.

- New
Horizons in Preschool Education.

David & Joseph Wright from Paintpots nurseries in Southampton accepted an invitation from
the Men in Childcare (MiC) Scotland organisation, to attend this international conference.
Initially we were intending to travel on behalf of Southampton Area Men in Early Years, as
well as our own small family run group of nurseries but since we were the only
representatives from England, effectively we were the de facto English delegation.
We were interested to learn more about the European situation, initiatives, thinking and
issues with regard to the involvement of men in the care and education of young children
across Europe. David also submitted a presentation on the subject of Changing Culture
which was accepted for inclusion.
We arrived 2 days prior to the conference in order to see something of Krakow and the
surrounding area. We were not disappointed and can recommend it as a tourist destination.
The city itself comprises historic buildings, the Jewish quarter, parks, the castle and the river.
There is much to see and enjoy with some beautiful buildings, excellent cheap bars and
restaurants and, if you are so disposed, a very full provision of evening and late night
entertainment (so I am told!).
We elected for a full day tour of Auschwitz , Birkenau and the salt mines. Each quite different
and fascinating in their own way. Whilst not exactly a fun day out, I think everyone should
visit the former concentration camps at least once in their lifetime. The trip had a profound
effect on both of us. The salt mines, by contrast, are magnificent and also highly
recommended.
The conference itself took place on the Friday. There were 40 50 attendees from 7
different countries including Poland, England, Scotland, Holland, Norway, Iceland and the
USA. The majority of delegates were Polish and female, primarily head teachers from
kindergartens.
It was a full day of presentations. The theme of New Horizons encompassed various
strands. Our Polish hosts opened proceedings with a warm welcome then handed over to
Kenny Spence from MiC Scotland who gave an overview of the rationale, policy and current
situation in Scotland with regard to their organisations remit to promote and support careers
for men in early years. MiC Scotland receive funding from their government to carry out their
activities. Contrast this with the English government support zero!
Anders Farstad gave an update from Norway. The ratio of male workers across the country
is currently around 10% but dropping. In his community, owing to a local initiative, they have
managed to get it up to 15%. They have a lot of young men passing through but lose them
to higher paid jobs in primary education. Men primarily work with the over 4s.
There were 2 further presentations from Polish delegates discussing the way forward for
Poland. The fact that so many female head teachers of kindergartens across the country had
given up their time to support this event was an indicator of the recognition of the need to
recruit men into their early years workforce starting from virtually zero. There was
agreement that Polish society has a need for more male involvement with its children.
In terms of influencing culture, this event was a significant one. It was unfortunate that it
coincided with a conflicting educational conference in Warsaw otherwise there would have
been representation from a government minister.
Lauk Woltring from the Netherlands promoted a new publication Men who teach Young
Children, An International Perspective by David Brody. Lauk recommended the book as an
excellent profile of 6 practitioners, with insightful conclusions on practice, culture and issues.
I spoke on Changing Culture, with some observations from my own experience and some
thoughts on the issues, challenges and initiatives that can change the status quo. The talk
seemed to be well received, including some of my jokes (after a short delay for
interpretation).
There followed a talk on the success of one Polish group who had started a Daddy Club as
part of their work to engage fathers in their childrens care and development.
Finally, Jerry Parr from Boston gave us a light hearted but nonetheless insightful talk on the
top 15 ways you know you are a male in early childhood, which ended with us all stood up
for a group performance of a Polish version of heads, shoulders, knees and toes.
The following morning, we reconvened, after a very pleasant evening at one of Krakows
pleasant restaurants, to discuss the European Men in Childcare group. We went around the
table discussing the current situation in each country, the proposals for next years
conference to be held in Norway with a focus on recruiting for education and ways in which
we can work together going forward.
Headlines from each country -
Full qualification for teaching in Poland means Masters level and takes up to 10 years. This
is a clear deterrent to new entrants, especially men who choose alternative careers with
much faster payback in terms of salary. There is also a cultural belief that childcare is
womens work.
The situation in Iceland is similar. Since 2008, a Masters degree is needed in order to teach
in all phases. Currently it is estimated that males represent 1% of the qualified childcare
workforce. This rises to 5% if you count unqualified assistants. Salary is not a huge
deterrent as there is parity between kindergarten and primary school teachers salaries.
A Danish film Jagten (the hunter) was recommended as a good watch about a man being
falsely accused of abuse.
The number of men working in early years in Sweden had fallen from 6 down to 2% because
of a focus on equality issues more widely rather than on the specific issue of recruiting and
retaining more men.
I have already addressed the situation in Norway and Scotland. I gave a summary of the
situation in the UK which has not changed substantially. The introduction of EYE and EYT
qualifications goes some way to professionalising the status of the workforce but I am not
sure how this affects the desire of men to work in early years. Certainly, salaries are not
changing as a consequence. There is a greatly heightened sensitivity to child protection
matters in the light of the continuing fallout from the Jimmy Saville investigations and this
could be a deterrent to men working in our sector.
Jerry spoke about the US situation and noted that it was qite regional, state by state but that
the headstart programme had an $8 billion budget nationally and had lead to a raising of
qualifications and more professionalism.
It was agreed that we should be focusing on the rights of the child to have men and women
in their lives.
Belgium had some funding to recruit more men, with success but once the funding dried up
and the recruitment drive completed, number s fell back again.
Denmark was up to 6% males in the workforce but this has fallen back down again to 4%
There was discussion on the critical mass needed to sustain an initiative. For minority issues
to be addressed and projects to have a momentum, it is thought that this figure is around
20% before it stops becoming a minority issue and gains some stability. We have a long way
to go!
There was a suggestion on conducting research into outcomes for children, eg more safe
attachments for boys with men as early years workers? To produce a case for social
investment and political backing, it is necessary to have facts and evidence.