european conference krakow oct 2014 report

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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


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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 4050 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 fromkindergartens.

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 supportzero!

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 havemanaged 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 workforcestarting 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 havebeen representation from a government minister.

Lauk Woltring from the Netherlands promoted a new publicationMen 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 Clubas

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 Krakow s

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 whichwe can work together going forward.


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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 andretaining 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 thatthe 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.

european conference krakow oct 2014 report

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