Kindergarten Union Recruitment Drive

Press, Volume C, Issue 29637, 6 October 1961, Page 2

Kindergarten Union Recruitment Drive

An all-out drive to recruit more trainees for kindergarten teaching will be undertaken by associations in the New Zealand Free Kindergarten Union. The very existence of the kindergarten move-

ment depended on a substantial increase in the number of trained staff available, the union’s conference was told yesterday.

The union executive was empowered to spend as much money as it thought fit, within the scope of its income, to promote the campaign. The number of graduates coming out of kindergarten colleges every year did not fill the vacancies in the service, said a report read by Mrs F. B. Keys (Palmerston North) from a special subcommittee.

“To strengthen our case for increased student grants from the Education Department, we must ensure that the quota of each of our colleges is filled —and with a surplus of applicants,” said the report.

Each association in the union was asked to conduct an active recruiting campaign, with a national coverage.

The report recommended that sufficient literature on kindergarten work be sent out to post-primary schools: that application forms emphasise the availability of accommodation for trainees; and that fifth form schoolgirls be allowed to visit kindergartens early in the year. Applicants must be notified of their acceptance before the end of the school year, the report said. Parents’ Influence

“Direct this campaign to parents,” said Mr R. A. Dickie (Auckland). His association had used all devices for recruiting trainees, including television and it had been very costly. “It came back to this: parents influence their daughters in choosing a career and parents create public opinion,” he said. Mrs E. M. Stevenson (Hastings): “Get first-year students to talk to schoolgirls and tell them how interesting the work is.” The emphasis of the campaign should be on a combination of the girls, their parents, and their schools, said Miss L. M. C. Ingram (Motueka). "Girls themselves are very strong-willed about what they want to do,” she said. Salary Scale Mr D. Wylie (Lower Hutt) said he was convinced that improved recruitment depended a great deal on an increased salary scale for kindergarten teachers. "The kindergarten teacher’s salary is a miserable pittance,” he said. "A girl in an ordinary office job can earn £545 a year at the end of two years. After two years’ training a kindergarten teacher, if under 21, receives only £390.”

Supporting Mr Wylie. Mrs A. F. Johnson (Christchurch) said that all avenues of recruitment should be explored. "But parents are concerned about salaries because they have borne the burden of a girl’s education,” said Mrs Johnson.