The Early Childhood Studies Degree Network came into existence in 1993/4. It arose out of the Early Years Training Group which met at the Early Childhood Unit of the National Children's Bureau. The training group itself had started in 1991 when University lecturer (Pamela Calder) and two Local authority advisers from Southwark (Linda Osborn) and Camden (Jenny Williams) approached Gillian Pugh who was head of the Early Childhood Unit, to suggest that we needed to find ways to develop higher education and degree level courses for early childhood workers, since they were often expected to undertake demanding jobs which required, high skills and a flexible and critical approach and for which their current training was inadequate. Gillian Pugh had at the same time been forming the Early Childhood Education Forum, and members of this group were also concerned about training issues. These two groups came together to form the Early Years Training Group. The group comprised of leading early childhood researchers with university links and with perspectives that spanned both care and education, and also practitioners from local authorities and from the education and child care sector and included representatives from other early childhood training organisations such as CACHE, Montessori, High Scope and the Pre-School Learning Alliance. Together over the next few years they produced two papers on new training developments (NCB 1992, Pugh 1996) in which they argued for the setting up of Early Childhood Studies Degrees.
By 1993/4 several degrees were in existence and more were planned but there was no organisation to represent them. Thus the network was born. It was initially set up only as an e-mail network, but soon also began to hold regular meetings at the National Children's Bureau. The first conference in which the network was involved was the one to launch Abbott, L. and Pugh, G. (Eds.) (1998) Training to work in the Early years Developing the Climbing Frame Open University Press, a book to which several of the network members had contributed.
From the initial two degrees that by 1993 were set up at Bristol University and at Suffolk College there was soon an increase, so that by June 1996 there were five in existence with more planned. Since then the network and the number of degrees offered has expanded enormously. The election of the Labour government in 1997 and in particular the launch of the Childcare Strategy in 1998 provided the context in which new early childhood studies degrees became much easier to set up and in 1999 at least seven new degrees were started or planned. Early Education published an article (Calder 1999a) outlining the position at that time. The European Early childhood Education Research Journal also published an article outlining the arguments for Early Childhood Studies degrees (Calder 1999b)
The network continued to meet regularly. The members included the course directors of most of the new Early Childhood Studies degrees, as well as those researching in the area and advocating change. They included participants from Universities in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales as well as in England. We have held two international conferences, in 2004 entitled ‘The Early Years Workforce: A Graduate Future’, and in 2006 entitled ‘Research to Reality: ECS Degree Quality and Professionalism’. We have recently held a symposium entitled ‘Reconciling Diverse Agendas in Early Childhood Policy, Systems and Practice in the UK’ at the EECERA 2009 Conference in Strasbourg.
The network has needed to deal with many issues concerning the recognition of an ECS degree as an important early years qualification. For example, initially early childhood was not considered as a subject area that would allow entry onto a PGCE course. We lobbied education representative from the DFES and from the TTA and invited representatives to our meetings. At a following meeting in 1998 we were very pleased to learn that the rules were to be changed and that a new circular, Circular 4/98, (DfEE1998) was to be issued which would allow our graduates to meet the new PGCE entry requirements.
We also held meetings with representatives of the DFES, the QCA, and the then Early Years NTO to discuss the other issue, that our graduates were not necessarily recognised as being eligible to work with children in childcare settings. After much discussion this was resolved with the recognition and introduction of practitioner options in 2004. In 2005 we began the process of developing Early Childhood Studies Benchmark statements as a subject area with QAA. The definitive benchmark statements for Early Childhood Studies degrees were published in 2007 (QAA, 2007).
We have worked closely with the CWDC since its inception contributing to many of the recent initiatives such as the development of the early years workforce and introduction of the Early Years Professional Status (EYPS); and as advisors for continuing early childhood professional development.
On the 27th November 2002 we agreed a new structure to the network, set up an elected committee, with chair/coordinator, minutes secretary and treasurer and became a paying membership organisation, and agreed our network aims.
In 2008 we revised our aims and they are as follows:
In so doing we will seek to:
For this purpose we will work towards:
Rererences
Abbott, L. and Pugh, G. (Eds.) (1998) Training to work in the Early years Developing the Climbing Frame. Buckingham:Open University Press.
Calder, P. A. (1999) More than degrees of change: early childhood education and training. Early Education. 29 Autumn 1999. 3-5. British Association for Early Childhood Education. ISSN 0960-281X
Calder, P.A. (1999) The Development of Early Childhood Studies Degrees in Britain: Future Prospects. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal Vol. 7 1, 45-68 ISSN1350-293X
DfEE (1998) Teaching: High Status, High Standards Requirements for Courses of Initial Teacher Training. Circular Number 4/98. London: DfEE
QAA (2007) Subject Benchmark Statement Early Childhood Studies 210 1207. London: QAA.
© 2007
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