"My ECE Assignment" series is meant to demystify ECE and make it a more pleasurable endeavour for those of us who are willing to commit to it :
Module: “Involving Parents and Community Agencies (IPCA)”
Date: 08 August
Reflective Journal I
One of the things teachers have to recognize is that they likely have some images and feelings related to the nurturing role that could get in the way of full acceptance of parents. Consider how you feel about men as nurturers - are you as comfortable seeing fathers in the nurturing role as mothers? Consider how you feel about mothers who leave their small children in the care of others? Do you worry about their children’s attachment?
Fathers in the Nurturing Role
The traditional role of nurturing children at home has long been taken up by mothers, while the father assumed the role of provider for the family, be it for food, shelter or money. Today, the reversal of roles has become even more evident. This is precipitated by the trend of more and more women taking up employment, and with that, having correspondingly lesser time to look after their children at home. Seeing fathers taking the lead in nurturing children at home today is therefore not an unusual phenomenon. In Singapore, the trend towards fathers as the primary nurturers of their children is getting stronger as the working mothers increase their financial earning power at work. I expect this trend to continue.
However, the picture changes dramatically when one considers the number of male teachers in the early childhood education (ECE) sector. Female teachers in ECE sector dominates, in terms of their numbers in a typical childcare centre in Singapore, when compared to male teachers. The two childcare centres near where I live are cases in point.
Not a single male teacher is in sight in these two centres.
I therefore wonder why there is this huge chasm between the growing numbers of fathers taking a bigger role as nurturers in their homes, but yet, there are hardly any male teachers in the ECE sector. Is this a simple case of a biased mindset of parents, who prefer female teachers to look after their preschool children? Or is there more to it than meets the eye?
I feel that the reasons for the lack of male teachers in the ECE sector are many. The attractiveness of this profession to males is one major factor. As mentioned earlier, the traditional role of nurturing young children is very much the domain of women and mothers. It will take some time for men themselves to view the profession of teaching young preschool children as a noble and worthwhile occupation to pursue..
However, more and more men are getting into this ECE scene, as the writings of one male ECE educator in Singapore have revealed (LearningVision, 2008). Here, Mr. Patrick Lim not only survived as a male teacher in ECE, but he even thrives in it. His experience will no doubt be emulated by other men.
I fully expect that more men will take the role of a male teacher in ECE in the years to come. As an early childhood educator myself, I believe that children in a childcare setting should be exposed to both male and female teachers, so that their views of the roles on males are not biased, when they grow up as adults. Additionally, I am of the view that male teachers can be just as nurturing and effective as a teacher, if not more so, than a female teacher in any early childhood education environment.
Mothers Who Leave their Children in the Care of Others
As mentioned earlier, with more mothers working today, they need to find alternative care arrangements. With that, the issue of the attachment of their children to other caregivers instead of to their mothers should be addressed.
I feel it is necessary to strike a balance between the quality time a child spends with her mother and the need for the mother to be away when at work. If this is done, the child’s attachment to her mother, and therefore the positive values that this attachment brings to both the child and the mother, will not be compromised. Many mothers in Singapore are practicing this balancing act everyday.
Grandparents have become a ready source for providing alternative care. With most living under the same room as the mother of the child, grandparents can provide excellent nurturing for the child, without losing that sense of attachment between the child and the mother, given that they are mostly living together. My view of a live-in maid as a caregiver for a young child is however more guarded. My own personal experience shows that the inexperience of maids in understanding the need for a mother-child attachment and bonding can get in the way of a healthy mother-child relationship.
The third source for alternative care is the preschool network in Singapore. There are many quality childcare centres which augment very well, the dual objectives of mothers for providing both the care and teaching of a young child. The understanding of attachment theory by the preschool professionals will go a long way towards ensuring that the mother’s attachment to her child is not compromised.
These are my views of mothers who leave their children in the care of others and how that will impact their attachment with their children.
References
1. LearningVision Childcare Centre website (Online). Retrieved August 07, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www.learningvision.com/Careers/life_patrick.aspx
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