4th Summit Report
Men in Early Childhood Education Summit 2010
The summit is excellent professional development for all men working or studying in early childhood. Come along and meet other men who are involved in this exceptional work, contribute your own stories and be inspired.
13-14 February 2010, Auckland University of Technology
The New Zealand Teachers Council state that “ it doesnt matter what gender the teacher is – what is important is that they are a good teacher”. Well we disagree – we believe that good teachers are both male and female and that not enough has been done to find the good male teachers that are out there …..and that is why we have such a low participation rate of men in teaching within New Zealand. Want to know more ….well….
EC-menz (men in early childhood ) are hosting their 4th annual summit this weekend at the AUT Campus On the North Shore . Over 60 participants from across New Zealand will gather to share ideas and strategies on how to address New Zealands woeful statistic of having only 2% of the workforce being male – one of the lowest participation rates in the western world. One of the worlds most internationally recognised advocate for increasing male participation in the Early Education workforce Bryan Nelson from menteach.org (USA) will address the summit sharing his ideas and strategies on how we can improve this. There will be presentations on how men are portrayed in recruitment information, the importance of collaborative play for boys, and the experiences of men working in samoan centre. Dr Sarah Farquhar, New Zealands most authoritative researcher on gender paticipation in the early childhood workforce, will also present a paper highlighting the New Zealand context. There will also be a report from the mens group from the world forum in early childhood education that was held in Ireland late last year .
This will be an opportunity to hear an international perspective of why the early childhood workforce is so gendered and what can be done to change this at a local level.
Great conference in New ZealandMon, 2010-02-15 20:13 | Bryan G Nelson
I spent this last week attending a great conference in New Zealand coordinated by the ECE Men in NZ.There were several presenters besides myself. Dr. Sarah Farquhar shared her research about the current situation in New Zealand. Interestingly, the percentages are going up in New Zealand. Not as high as it was back in the 1990s but there is an increase.
There was a great crew of leaders that made the event go so well. Simon and David (who coordinates the NZ website) Gerald, Robin and the President of the group – Russell. And of course, Adam Buckingham who put many hours into making the event a success and brought me around to several early childhood programs to get a personal experience with New Zealand.
One of the most fascinating and meaningful things about this event and New Zealand is the work towards acknowledging the Mairo people’s culture and history. The conference began with a opening prayer.
In addition, at the end, there was a presentation by men who teach in a Pasifika school.
Adam Buckingham did a great job coordinating the conference with his crew of men and women. He also was able to get a TV3 New Zealand interview to happen.
There’s a strong group of men and women in New Zealand working to recruit more men. And I think we will continue to see great things happening in the future.
I want to thank both Robin and his family and Adam and his family for all their generosity in hosting me. I hope to post more photos from the events. It continues to be clear to me that women continue to be our best champions and make a big difference both big and small ways. Thank you!
4th Summit 2010 “Great conference in New Zealand “
These are the words Bryan Nelson used to describe the recent Men in Early Childhood Summit, held at AUT’s Akoranga campus on Auckland’s North Shore. It was a great experience, with over sixty delegates from all over New Zealand gathered to share their EC experiences. The men and women came along to meet other men who are involved in this work; we shared our own stories, encouraged and inspired each other. Bryan Nelson, the keynote speaker, is recognised internationally as an advocate for increasing male participation in the early education workforce. Bryan Nelson from menteach.org (USA) shared his ideas and strategies on how we can improve the low level (2%) of male participation in New Zealand. We were able to get Bryan on TV3 for an interview. Dr Sarah Farquhar shared her research about the current situation in New Zealand. Interestingly, the percentages are going up in New Zealand. Not as high as it was back in the 1990s but there is an increase. The presentations were interesting and informative; Alex Williams described his research about how men are portrayed in recruitment information and Dr Brent Mawson shared the importance of collaborative play for boys. Stuart Birch talked about how to find your ideal job in early childhood. We heard the international perspective of why the early childhood workforce is so gendered from delegates who attended the world forum in early childhood education in Ireland last year; and what can be done to change this at a local level. To finish there was a presentation by three men who teach in a Pasifika centre sharing their experiences. In New Zealand we have a strong group of men and women working to recruit more men. And I think we will continue to see great things happening in the future.
www.ecmenz.org
Yours Adam Buckingham
