Australia’s Ecec workforce pipeline
Who and how many are pursuing further qualifications
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21522456 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sharon McKinlay (0000-0002-0085-6701, Queensland University of Technology, corresponding author), Karen Thorpe (0000-0001-8927-4064, The University of Queensland), Chrystal Whiteford (0000-0001-9598-5233, Queensland University of Technology), Laura Bentley (0000-0002-7979-3319, Queensland University of Technology), Susan Irvine (0000-0001-8760-9852, Queensland University of Technology) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 295-314 |
| Publication date | 2025-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Australian Educational Researcher (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0311-6999 • E-ISSN: 2210-5328 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s13384-024-00715-2 |
| OpenAlex | W4396652893 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 17 |
The significant shortfall of staff in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce identifies an imperative not only to recruit educators but to support ongoing qualifications and career advancement of those within. Indeed, Shaping Our Future, Australia’s workforce strategy for 2022–2031 identifies qualifications and career development as key focus areas. Taking this imperative, we asked Who ? and How many ? within the Australian workforce are committed to ongoing study? Analysing a national survey ( N = 1291), we examine characteristics of those studying (20.5%) intending (52.3%) or wavering about further study (18.7%). Study and study intention were associated with being younger and at early career-stage, identifying a positive message for career growth. Those who were older or working part-time were less certain about ongoing training. Those with long tenure in ECEC had higher rates of studying for non-ECEC qualifications. Implications for qualification pipeline, career pathways and workforce strategy are discussed
Career development · Economic growth · Economics · Higher education · Medical education · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Workforce · Workforce development · Early Childhood Education and Development · Education Systems and Policy · Engineering · Medicine · Psychology · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics
The Early Care and Education Workforce
Early Childhood Educators’ Wellbeing During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Building teacher professional capabilities through transformative learning
A crisis in search of a narrative
Support to stay and thrive
How ‘flexible’ are careers in the anticipated life course of young people
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |