Interprofessional Partnership of Early Childhood Educators and Ontario Certified Teachers in Ontario's Kindergarten Program: Perceived Relationship and Responsibility Division

• In Event: Relationships and Partnerships in Early Childhood Settings

Abstract

Ontario’s kindergarten program is designed to expand access and quality of early childhood education through the provision of universal full day programming for Ontario’s four- and five-year-olds. Ontario has implemented a collaborative interprofessional team approach, combining the professional expertise of an early childhood educator (ECE) and a certified teacher (OCT), who are jointly responsible for program delivery within a single classroom. This study examines the collaborative partnership between the OCT and the ECE, and the perceptions that each professional holds about the relationship and the division of classroom responsibilities over time. Currently a parity based interprofessional partnership has not yet been achieved, however over time the professionals have increasingly aligned in their perceptions of the equal sharing of classroom responsibilities.

Authors

• Christina Moore, University of Toronto

• Janette P. Pelletier, University of Toronto