A snapshot of substitute early childhood teachers in Sweden and Australia: Differences in training, regulation and quality

Abstract

Substitute teachers play an important role within early childhood education. They are expected to take on the roles and responsibilities of working with children and parents when the regular teacher is away. While they have an important role, they have received little attention within the research literature. This study helps to fill this void by providing a snapshot of early childhood substitute teachers in Sweden and Australia. A comparative analysis was used to find similarities and differences across the two contexts. Findings show that while the role may be similar, there are many differences in the training, regulation and quality assessment of early childhood substitute teachers. These differences are important for investigation to help improve the quality within early childhood education.