Are you a professional?

The word ‘professional’ suggests many interpretations: expert, competent, qualified, experienced, skilled, proficient, businesslike, top-notch, up-to-speed. Some would say that being professional is the way you dress, act or speak. Whilst others think that early childhood educators are definitely not professionals because all we do is babysit and play with children all day!

Do you consider yourself a professional? Why? Why not?

Of course you are a professional! You educate and care for children in their most formative years, when their brain is developing at its fastest rate in the whole of their lives. Families trust you with the most valuable people in their lives, their children. You have knowledge, a qualification and you seek professional learning opportunities to inform your decision making and practice. You are a professional.

“Professional is not a label you give yourself-

it’s a description you hope others will apply to you.”

     David Maister

Families of the children we care for and educate know we are professionals when we

• Respect that they are the most influential person in their child’s life.
• Talk to them about their child’s learning and development.
• Work with them to plan for their child.
• Share our knowledge around child development and the importance of early learning in our interactions with them.
• Reflect and share the ‘why’ behind what we do.
• Respond to their concerns and questions in a timely manner.
• Seek out professional learning opportunities and share new learnings with them.
• Act ethically in all interactions with them.

Acting ethically is a major aspect of being professional as an educator. Therefore, the Code of Ethics (ECA, 2016) that guides our ethical responsibilities dedicates a whole section to our profession and guides our commitment to respecting and maintaining the rights and dignity of children, families, colleagues and communities.

Take a close look at this section of the Code of Ethics (ECA, 2016) (the one that relates to our profession), and you will understand that being a professional means that we have an ethical responsibility to all those in your learning community and beyond.

But what about the perception of the wider community?

How do we gain the respect that we are professionals?  Having been in the profession for many years, we think the perception of us as educators is slowly changing as the importance of early learning becomes more recognised by governments and media outlets.

But we, yes us as professionals, need to keep advocating for our profession.

• Be mindful of the language you use and the message you are sending. Be proud of who you are: ‘I’m an early childhood teacher/Educator’. Try not to use only the ‘C word’ (‘childcare’!!). Focus on child development and learning, and the importance of the early years.
• Dress the part. Be neat and abide by the service’s dress code. Be mindful that if you are wearing a service uniform, whether you are within or outside the service, you are a walking advertisement for your service. Always act accordingly and be professional.
• Be very aware of what you post on personal social media sites. Remember that families, community members and other professionals can ‘stalk’ you. Always act in accordance with your service’s social media policy.
• Remember to always be confidential …this is a MUST … as the saying goes what happens in your learning community stays in your learning community. No gossip outside!
• Never miss an opportunity to advocate for children and their rights. Participate in community events related to children, like Red Nose Day or Jeans for Genes.
• Support and participate in campaigns to raise the status of our profession such as “Thrive by Five,” which continues to advocate for universal access to high-quality early learning for every Australian child; “Connected Beginnings” who are focused on improving access for First Nations children; and “Early Learning Matters Week” that strives to raise awareness about the importance of early childhood education and care.
• Be seen in your local community by stepping outside the gate. By taking your children out into the local environment, the wider community sees early learning happening and they see the work you do as educators. These small but important happenings can cause a ripple effect of the community’s learning and knowledge around early learning and the professionalism of educators.

Being professional is not always serious ….

We at EYES think that you need to balance being professional with being playful too!

References: 

Early Childhood Australia (ECA). (2016). Code of ethics. https://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/ECA-COE-Brochure-web-2019.pdf

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