Encouraging diversity in the early childhood education and care workforce

Early childhood education and care is recognised as extremely important for the health, education and welfare of all children. As Australia is a multicultural society then the early childhood education and care workforce needs to reflect the proportion of the population who were born overseas in non–English-speaking countries, often referred to Culturally and Linguistic Diverse individuals. With the staff shortages in the sector, we propose that supporting students in initial teacher training from a CALD background is important. Several ways to accomplish this goal are discussed.