Policies of kindergarten under fire from K.T.A.

Press, 27 August 1979, Page 6

Policies of kindergarten under fire from K.T.A.

Administrators in the kindergarten movement did not sufficiently reflect the views or needs of children and families, the Kindergarten Teachers’ Association was told at its annual meeting in Christchurch last week. The association’s president (Mrs R. Houlker) said that kindergarten policies did not allow local communities to control their own kindergartens effectively. She said that as an employee group the Kindergarten Association was not sure what sort of employing structure would be most effective but believed that parents should be actively involved in decision-making, including the employment of teachers. Voluntary organisations, however, were in difficulties because social and economic conditions had limited the number of voluntary workers, and changing attitudes were questioning the value of voluntary work, said Mrs Houlker. She urged the Government to apply the appointments and appeals scheme, which she said would be a big step towards more just employment. At present all kindergarten appointments are made by local associations who can hire and fire at will. Under the appointment and appeal procedure regional committees would 1 be formed each consisting of two members of the New Zealand Free Kindergarten Union, a member of the Education Department, and a member of the K.T.A. Mrs Houlker said that one of the most critical factors affecting the direction of the kindergarten movement was the conflict between those working in the centres with children and families, and those who were administering from the outside. Implementation of the appointment and appeal procedure would mean that the administrators would no longer be the only group making decisions on which teachers to employ, especially as head teachers. At the Government and Education Department level the distance between deci-

sion-makers and those on the receiving end of the decisions was even greater, said Mrs Houlker. The K.T.A. had been saying for the last five years that those who actually worked in the field should be able to effectively participate in the decision-making processes, and those who currently hold the power should be prepared to share it, she said. “It seems appropriate that in the week of the K.T.A.’s annual meeting two eminent visitors to New Zealand have both received considerable publicity for saying that the quality of the deci-sion-making here is impaired by the lack of women and non-Europeans amongst the decision-makers,” said Mrs Houlker. “It is also somewhat ironical that what K.T.A. has been saying for yearn should suddenly become news when two men say the same thing.” The K.T.A. was at a point where it needed to analyse what the future of the movement would be. The organisation had problems because it was small in numbers but faced increasing costs of administration and communication Affiliation with the New Zealand Educational Institute, as has been suggested, would provide the' movement with an advantage in terms of administration, said Mrs Houlker. “However, like all institutions of power, the N.Z.E.I. is run by middleaged men and the K.T.A. is one of the few groups which reflect the views of women many of whom are quite young,” she said. “How does this difference affect policy issues?” Kindergarten teachers considered that group sizes in kindergartens were more important than salary increases and that parents and children were more important than buildings. “A federation of all teacher organisations also has administrative advantages but again the special features of early childhood education may well be-sub-jugated to the priorities of the larger groups,” said Mrs Houlker. Other teacher organisa-

tions appeared to be very concerned about their professional image and status whereas early childhood people tended to de-empha-sise the gap between professionals and parents, she said. A further possibility was broadening the association’s membership to a wider group already working in early childhood centres, said Mrs Houlker. The association was already being asked to represent early childhood workers who had no organisation to act on their behalf. “A wider membership would bring workers of different projects together and n:.'.y put au.*nd to the accusations that the K.T.A. is always stirring up discontent amongst other early childhood workers who. if left alone, would be delighted with low pay, no sick leave, no annual increments and little control over their work,” she said. She told delegates they

should consider carefully what motives they had for changes. The sole motivation of changes in the K.T.A. was for the well-being of childr She questioned the motives of those who opposed her suggestions, and asked whether it was because of their concern for children or tf . preservation of systems and structures in which they felt powerful. Mrs Houlker said the meeting would decide on priorities and further action needed to gain improvements in staffing in kindergartens. The present staffing is two teachers for a roll of 80 children in a Grade one kindergarten and one trained and one untrained teacher in a Grade O kindergarten with 5C children. The Minister of Education (Mr Wellington) seemed unable to accept the need for staffing improvements and had refused to meet or discuss the situation with the K.T.A.