Winter 2015

RECRUITMENT SURVEY
ECEC PROFESSIONALS WANTED
TO COMPLETE A NEW SURVEY ON
RETENTION AND TRAINING IN EARLY
CHILDHOOD CAREERS
High staff turnover and skill loss are common in the Early
Childhood Education and Care sector and limit optimal
outcomes for children and families. A more stable and
qualified ECEC workforce is associated with developmental,
psychological, academic, and psycho-social benefits for
children, as well as facilitating parents’ engagement in the
workforce.
A professional, skilled and engaged ECEC workforce is also
critical to Australia’s economic and social productivity.
A team of researchers led by Prof Karen Thorpe, and
including Dr Susan Irvine, Prof Paula McDonald and Prof Jo
Lunn (Queensland University of Technology) and Prof Jennifer
Sumsion (Charles Sturt University) are researching ways to grow
and sustain a skilled and professional workforce for Australia.
The researchers have created an online survey to identify
the most effective strategies to reduce staff loss and increase
professional engagement in the ECEC workforce.
The online survey explores the personal and workplace factors
that enable and impede recruitment, retention, engagement
and on-going professional qualification of staff in centre-based
ECEC settings (e.g., long day care centres, kindergartens and
preschools) and seeks to identify factors that support workforce
engagement.
The researchers are calling on all educators, teachers and
others who work in ECEC to take part in the online survey to
help provide a better understanding of the factors influencing
retention and training in early childhood careers.
The survey takes about 20 - 30 minutes to complete and
participants will be eligible to enter in a prize draw to win one
of five $100 retail gift vouchers for participating.
The project is supported by an ARC Linkage grant, bringing
together researchers from Queensland University of Technology
and Charles Sturt University, and industry partners: Dr Kate
Liley, Goodstart Early Learning; Dr Pam Spall, Creche and
Kindergarten Association of Queensland (C&K); and Dr Mary
Lincoln and Dr Angela Ferguson from the Department of
Education and Training Queensland.
Visit the website to participate in the online Early Years
Workforce Survey which will be live until the end of September
2015.
For more information, email the project coordinator Shannon
Edmed, from QUT’s School of Psychology and Counselling,
or phone (07) 3138 4615.
This study has been approved by the QUT Human Research
Ethics Committee (approval number 1500000114).
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