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The Atkinson Centre joined Ryerson University, George Brown College, and the Child Care Resource and Research Unit in sponsoring a Symposium on "Pedagogical Leadership: Lead From Where You Stand" to discuss the recommendations for staffing Ontario's new Early Learning Programs and Child and Family Centre.

Robert Fairholm, a director of the Centre for Spatial Economics (CSE), brings his 20 years of experience in economic analysis, modeling and forecasting to quantify the benefits of new public spending on young children revealing some startling findings.

Excerpt: "If there was one thing the government could do right now for children and families in Ontario, what could that be? ....We have an opportunity to build a foundation for services for children and their families – but that means making a radical move toward something different and innovative. It means moving away from the rhetoric of business as usual, working within the silos that fit like an old sweater but are starting to smell a little mouldy."

Excerpt: "The issue of whether early childhood educators are deemed to be full-time early education professionals like teachers, or whether they are treated as ten-month contract positions is still to be resolved. According to Service Canada (2011), if early childhood educators are considered full-time salaried teaching staff, they will not qualify for employment insurance. However..."

Excerpt: "In 2006, The Association of Early Childhood Educators of Ontario (AECEO) launched The Access to Early Childhood Education Program (also referred to as the Bridging Program) in collaboration with the Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office and the School of Early Childhood at George Brown College.... Since the program commenced in 2006, just over 100 individuals with international education credentials have completed the equivalency program..."

Excerpt: "There are three points I would like to share with the committee today which I hope will influence the committee’s proposal to amend the Education Act to allow third party operators to deliver extended day programs. First, the findings from the Toronto First Duty Program demonstrate the critical value in a seamless approach to early learning and family support..."

Excerpt: "The Full Day Early Learning Kindergarten Program implementation will have a differentiated impact across the province, particularly in rural communities, where the instability of child care services may result in rural children and families bearing a heavier burden of change compared to their urban peers..."

Excerpt: "All children need supports to achieve their optimal development. All young children need parenting, peer interaction, and educational opportunities in order to develop social skills, language, physical and cognitive competence. For many children with disabilities, this also includes early intervention strategies that might come from medical and clinical intervention, therapeutic interventions and/or family supports that increase resilience where there are risk factors for children and their families..."

Excerpt: "The recent news stories in the Windsor Star based on a small scale study by Rachel Heydon, challenging the value and experience of children in full day kindergarten is built on spotty reports from a pilot study in two Ontario classrooms suggesting that the new Full Day Kindergarten program may harm children based on too much academics and too little play. Although recent news stories have acknowledged that a study of two classrooms doesn’t give us a clear picture, some journalists truly believe further study will prove the researchers right."

Excerpt: "I would like to address three issues before you today. 1. The elimination of child care subsidies; 2. The privatization of city operated child care centres; 3. The elimination of quality controls. From an economic perspective public spending on child care is not consumption. In the barest of economic terms it is an investment. Child care delivers multiple benefits to the children and families who use it, but it also plays a multifaceted role in regional economies; as an economic sector in its own right with facilities, employees and consumption from other sectors; as labour force support to working parents; and for the long-term economic impact it has on the next generation of workers."

The current research initiative examines the pathway to employment in the field of early childhood education for internationally trained professionals. In particular, the study's aim is to investigate the experiences of internationally trained professionals in the ECE Bridging Program (first step in the accreditation process in Ontario for internationally trained educators). The study also explored the experiences of participants in applying for jobs prior to and after achieving their ECE equivalency. The second goal was to explore whether international education credentials had any impact on employability.

Lots of studies show us that the early years are crucial for how we manage as adults. We have an election coming up tomorrow. We encourage you to think about research findings about our children’s development. Please cast your vote thinking about what matters for our children.