Lack of qualified childcare staff linked to poor working conditions

A recent survey by the Association of Kindergarten Teachers in Finland reveals that the shortage of qualified kindergarten teachers is becoming increasingly acute. Almost a quarter of child day-care centre directors report serious difficulties in finding qualified candidates, even for permanent jobs. It is feared that a deterioration of day-care services will negatively influence the employment of mothers of small children and increase inequality between families.

In 2007, the Association of Kindergarten Teachers in Finland (Lastentarhanopettajaliitto, LTOL) conducted two surveys directed at the directors of day-care centres. The first survey was conducted in the spring of 2007 and included questions on the management and organisation of work in day-care facilities. The survey sample covered some 1,200 directors of day-care centres and the response rate was 58%. The second survey was carried out in September 2007 and concerned the availability of qualified kindergarten teachers. In this survey, the sample covered 1,000 directors of public sector day-care facilities and the response rate was 40%.

Acute shortage of kindergarten teachers

In relation to LTOL’s most recent study concerning the availability of qualified kindergarten teachers, almost a half (49%) of day-care centre directors who participated in the study reported that the day-care facilities under their supervision had an open position for a kindergarten teacher in 2007. According to the study, several of the directors had faced serious difficulties in filling these positions. Almost a quarter of the directors cited difficulties in finding qualified candidates for a permanent position. The lack of availability of qualified candidates was compounded if the position offered was temporary. More than half of the directors reported difficulties in finding staff for long-term substitutions, while as many as 90% had problems finding suitable candidates for short-term substitutions of less than three months.

The situation is even more worrying regarding kindergarten teacher positions for children with special education needs arising from a developmental disorder or due to learning difficulties. Over 60% of the day-care centre directors reported that even permanent positions for specialised kindergarten teachers are difficult to fill due to a lack of qualified candidates applying for the positions.

Poor working conditions act as deterrent

The day-care sector is still suffering from the consequences of the financial cuts and restructuring of the public sector during Finland’s economic depression in the early 1990s. Low pay, stressful working conditions, insufficient resources and temporary employment relationships have acted as a disincentive to kindergarten teacher graduates, who prefer to pursue their careers elsewhere or continue studying to become school teachers. This is reflected in the educational structure of day-care staff: previously, 50% of day-care staff were qualified kindergarten teachers, whereas today this proportion has dropped to 30%. The remainder of the staff are childminders, who are usually trained as kindergarten practical nurses but lack teacher training.

Management shortcomings

The spring 2007 survey conducted by LTOL examined the management arrangements of day-care centres. Almost 70% of the day-care centre directors who participated in the survey found their workload to be excessively or unreasonably high. About one in four directors were responsible for two or three different day-care facilities. This has led to situations where directors’ job descriptions have been too broadly defined, thus leading to many problems and confusion in relation to their responsibilities in the daily work of the day-care centres. Almost 90% of day-care centre directors were of the opinion that each individual facility should have its own director.

Commentary

One of the main aims of publicly organised childcare has been to balance out differences in children’s social background, as well as to offer parents the opportunity to take up studies and participate in the labour market regardless of their income level or geographical location. In Finland, the high employment rate of women (67.3%) is associated with the full-time working culture and a relatively high fertility rate. Finland’s gender employment gap is the narrowest (3.9%) among the 27 EU Member States. The affordable and high-quality public day-care service has been a major factor enabling the high full-time employment rates of Finnish women. However, it is feared that a deterioration in day-care services will negatively influence the employment of mothers of small children and increase inequality between families.

References

Vuolle, A. and Ilves, V., Lastentarhanopettajapula pahenee [The shortage of kindergarten teachers is worsening], Helsinki, Trade Union of Education in Finland and Association of Kindergarten Teachers in Finland, 2007.

Kekäläinen, A. and Ilves, V., Päiväkodin johtajuus huojuu [Management of day-care centres falters], Helsinki, Trade Union of Education in Finland and Association of Kindergarten Teachers in Finland, 2007.

Noora Järnefelt and Hanna Sutela, Statistics Finland