Page 15 - 2022 Feb Report

Resilience
Martin Family Initiative report (3)
UNDERSTANDING THE EARLY YEARS
The EY-1 online course initiative began with a pilot course
and has since expanded with the subsequent development of community-specific online versions of the EY-1 course. The overwhelmingly positive response to the course has led to
the establishment of new relationships with additional First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities across the country. Post-secondary institutions and other stakeholders invested
in improving the access and availability of culturally-relevant early childhood training and materials for Indigenous students and professionals in sectors related to early childhood have also expressed interest in the course. For example, we have received interest from the School of Early Childhood at George Brown College to develop an introductory child development course rooted in Indigenous knowledge to be taken by Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, from the First Nations Technical Institute to develop an introductory child development course as well as resources to be used across their child and family-centred programs in Early Childhood Education and Social Work, and from the Yukon Government Department of Education to develop an Indigenous-centered Level 1 certification course for early childhood educators in the territory to be delivered in collaboration with Yukon University. This is illustrative of the importance of the course, particularly given the absence of national infrastructure and the lack of culturally appropriate training for Indigenous early learning professionals across the country. 1,2
1 Child Care Human Resources Council. (2013). You bet we still care: A survey of centre- based early childhood education and care in Canada. Highlights report. Retrieved from http:// www.ccsc-cssge.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/Projects-Pubs-Docs/EN%20Pub%20Chart/ YouBetSurveyReport_Final.pdf
2 Government of Canada. (2018). Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework. Government of Canada Website. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/employment- social-development/programs/indigenous-early-learning/2018-framework.html
EY-1 is a comprehensive course, accredited at the post- secondary level and accessible to Indigenous early learning professionals in a variety of contexts. This is important given that Indigenous-centered early learning training tends to consist of piecemeal short courses offered by a “variety of vendors
that most often have no post-secondary accreditation”.3 While the traditional post-secondary structure has posed significant challenges with regards to course accreditation due to institutional conventions and regulations, the EY-1 course has been accredited by Red River College and is in the process of obtaining further accreditation at several other local colleges and universities. The goal of offering a widely accredited
course is to build upon Indigenous early learning professionals’ experiential and traditional knowledge through a comprehensive training that also serves as a steppingstone to post-secondary education and meaningful employment.
3 Ball, J. (2014). Improving the reach of early childhood education for First Nations, Inuit and Metis children. Moving Childcare Forward Project .
The following is an overview of the four goals the Early Years made significant strides in accomplishing this year, with the support of Johnson Foundation Scholarship funding.
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