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Nursery staff in Germany are exposed to a high level of stress compared to other countries. This was the result of the second part of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) “Talis Starting Strong” study, presented on Monday.
Nursery staff were interviewed in a total of nine countries, in addition to Germany also in Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Turkey, Israel, Chile, South Korea and Japan. But it’s not just staff shortages that are worrying. The training of kindergarten staff in Germany is also criticized. Educators often feel they are not adequately prepared for digital learning with toddlers and preschoolers.
In Germany, more than 3,000 skilled workers in around 500 facilities took part in the study, which aims to improve the quality of education and nursery education. They answered questions about their education, training and further training, working conditions and well-being, management in daycare centers and what they can do to ensure equal opportunities for children. The data was collected in 2018, that is, before the corona pandemic.
Educators in Germany do not feel appreciated
When the study was unveiled, representatives from the OECD, the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs and the German Youth Institute (DJI) agreed that the crown pandemic had only made many people aware of the importance of daycare for compatibility of family and work. According to OECD Director of Education Andreas Schleicher, the pandemic has increased the company’s appreciation of daycare staff.
Juliane Seifert, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of the Family, called the study “an important indicator of how we can attract skilled workers and keep them in the workplace”. Sufficient staff is the basis for childcare with good quality.
In essence, the study found that, with the training of its home assistants, Germany is one of the best countries to participate in “Talis Starting Strong” due to its “solid focus on pre-vocational education”. However, daycare workers feel they are not adequately prepared for all the challenges of their daily work. This is particularly evident when working with children from disadvantaged families or when using digital media to promote learning. Only about ten percent of daycare educators are adequately equipped for this.
Bernhard Kalicki, head of the department of childcare and childcare at DJI, who led the OECD study, called the lack of preparation for working with disadvantaged children a “frightening” discovery. Not only pedagogical concepts are needed, but also greater support and stabilization of parents.
Overall, daycare staff in all countries are very satisfied with their work. Equally unanimously, however, the crèches of all countries rate their wages too low. It is clear, however, that skilled workers in Germany also feel relatively underappreciated by society. Also, the lack of staff makes them tired. A consequence of this is that in Germany, compared to other countries, the percentage of those childcare workers who think they are giving up their job due to health problems is very high. This is the reason given by a quarter of the nursery schools who play with the idea of finding other ways to orient themselves. According to the study, this could indicate a possible risk of burnout.
The OECD makes recommendations to politicians
“Stress at work stems from the imbalance between job demands, the resources available to meet those demands and the recognition of one’s efforts,” says the study. In Germany, skilled workers would often come under pressure from “additional tasks due to lack of staff”, “too many children in groups” and “insufficient resources”.
The OECD added extensive policy recommendations to its study. From their point of view, further training should be offered within the day center to facilitate “informal and cooperative learning”. In general, continuing and advanced training should be adapted to various career levels and investments in new models of managerial development should be made. Around 40% of day care managers in Germany said they were not adequately prepared for their management position.
Furthermore, it urges to improve the status and recognition of asylum staff “by ensuring that the salaries of specialists are in line with their duties”.
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