Promote and support the addition of appropriate Indigenous content in early childhood education, including cultural practices, stories, languages, and land based activities. 

AECENL & First Light: Training developed and more in progress

The Association of Early Childhood Educators of Newfoundland and Labrador (AECENL) has been an active partner with First Light on training early childhood educators (ECEs). AECENL and First Light had already begun providing foundational training to all early childhood educators in the province, which created significant momentum. Building on this, AECENL and First Light established a formal agreement in November 2023 to develop specialized training for ECEs which aims to (1) address ECEs’ understanding of the distinction between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation; and (2) enhance professional development opportunities for ECEs by helping them to gain knowledge about Indigenous cultures, improve self-awareness, and introduce effective strategies for working with Indigenous and non-Indigenous children and families. Phase one of the project is well underway, and the launch of specialized training is due to begin in Fall 2024. 

Two further phases have been proposed to support the training created in partnership between AECENL and First Light. Phase 2 will involve researching, creating, and distributing activity kits for ECEs to use culturally-appropriate and age-appropriate learning activities in their work. Phase 3 will involve refreshing and expanding the activity kits on an annual basis along with quarterly support sessions for child care operators. Funding for these stages of work has not yet been secured.

College of the North Atlantic: Course developed and made mandatory in ECE degree program

College of the North Atlantic (CNA) launched their degree program in Bachelor of Applied Arts in Early Childhood Education in Fall 2023, which includes the course EE4040, “Indigenous Peoples and Education”. Developed during the 2022-2023 academic year, EE4040 was designed alongside numerous First Nations and Inuit contributors in the province, instructors in Indigenous Studies at Memorial University, representatives from three post-secondary institutions elsewhere in Canada which run similar courses, and individual ECEs working in diverse communities. The course had a high level of uptake in its first year and CNA is continuing to revise the course in response to feedback from various Indigenous contributors, including Indigenous students in the program.

First Light: Research conducted on needs

First Light has conducted research to help guide initiatives in ECE training. This has involved a review of models of Indigenous-led ECE programs and a survey of existing Indigenous cultural teachings in ECE in NL which was conducted in April 2024. Survey respondents reported that the most common challenges to incorporating Indigenous content were the lack of resources, gaps in knowledge, and concerns about cultural sensitivity. These results confirm that developing culturally appropriate resources and training for ECEs must be priority areas for the upcoming year.

Department of Education: Relevant requirement added for daycare licensing

The Department of Education now requires that operators, licensees, ECEs and administrators working in regulated childcare settings under the Operating Grant Program must attend community-based anti-bias training. This training must be completed each year and documentation of participation must come from an approved organization. First Light’s Indigenous Cultural Diversity Training is named on a list of eligible training programs that early childhood educators can take to meet this requirement.

For the Department of Education:

• Allocate funding in the upcoming budget cycle for the creation of Indigenous-specific professional development and curriculum resources for ECEs. 
• Acknowledge the training that AECENL and First Light have developed specifically for ECEs and support phases 2 and 3 of resource and training development.