Every educator matters: Evidence for a new early childhood workforce strategy for Australia

This paper provides a brief overview of contemporary research on the Australian ECEC workforce, to inform the development of the national ECEC workforce strategy. The focus on Australian research is designed to illuminate challenges and opportunities specific to the Australian context, which the national strategy may aim to address. The paper condenses current policy issues into four stages of workforce development: Choosing to enter the ECEC sector; Preparing for quality ECEC practice; Thriving as an ECEC professional; and Building a rewarding ECEC career. It draws on recent Australian research to identify possibilities for policy action at each stage. This paper was compiled by systematically examining the research outputs of Australian researchers whose focus is ECEC workforce development. These researchers were identified primarily through the collaborative research network established following the ECEC Workforce Research Forum hosted by Queensland University of Technology in 2018. It builds on past Australian reviews of ECEC workforce research, with a focus on options for reform.