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Contextualising the early childhood workforce

17 October 2024, 12:00 pm–1:00 pm

Nursery class group circle with male teacher. Credit: .Shock via Adobe Stock

Join this event to hear Pamela Oberhuemer present findings from the project 'Systems of early education and professionalisation in Europe (2021-2024)'.

This event is free.

Event Information

Open to

All

Availability

Yes

Cost

Free

Organiser

Sonya Sharma

Location

Room G03
55-59 Gordon Square, University College London
London
WC1H 0NU

It is widely acknowledged that staff working in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings are the key contributing factor towards ensuring sensitive interactions with young children, enhancing their individual and group wellbeing and providing a stimulating environment for exploration and learning.

The 'Systems of early education and professionalisation in Europe' study investigates core characteristics of the ECEC workforce in 33 European countries. Pamela will discuss its findings which focus on both system and staff-related issues – also briefly linking these to features of the ECEC system in England. In a current context of acute staff shortages across countries, workforce-related policy initiatives and challenges in Europe will also be highlighted. 


This in-person event will be useful to researchers and educators in early childhood education, policymakers and those interested in aspects of care, gender, work, family and education.


Related links

About the Speaker

Pamela Oberhuemer

Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Thomas Coram Research Unit, University College London.

Pamela Oberhuemer moved from England to Germany in the mid-1970s and worked for 35 years as a researcher at the State Institute for Early Childhood Research and Media Literacy (IFP) in Munich, latterly leading projects on European ECEC systems and workforce professionalisation.

Together with Inge Schreyer, she completed the SEEPRO-3 study (2021-2024) on ECEC Workforce Profiles in European contexts with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Family and Youth Affairs, the fourth in a series of projects based at the IFP spanning multiple countries over a period of 30 years.