ECE Post-secondary Information

This information was last updated on February 1, 2013 prior to the CCHRSC’s dissolution. For more information, please see the message from the Board. 

What is Credentialing & Certification?

Credentialing (also referred to as “certification”) refers to the practice of documenting a person’s educational qualifications in order to allow them to practice their profession in a particular province or territory. The term can be used for three types of designations:

• A certificate, diploma or degree from a post-secondary institution indicating a partially or fully completed education program.

• A license, certificate or registration with a government regulatory body (or its designate) for an occupation indicating official permission to engage in that occupation. Occupations may be regulated in one province or territory but not in others.

• An industry-recognized certificate (granted by a certification body) upon a candidate’s successful demonstration of occupational competence.

Why is Credentialing & Certification Important?

Credentialing/certification protects the health, safety and welfare of the public in situations where they (e.g. young children) are unlikely to be able to assess the level of competence of the service. Also, credentialing/certification assures the public that practitioners have at least minimum levels of competence, perform their services ethically and are members of the occupation.

It is important for ECE program faculty to understand the relevant requirements in their province/territory.

CCHRSC’s Credentialing Resources

The final results of the Pathways to Credentialing in Canada’s ECEC Sector project included the creation of the following resources:

• Pathways to Early Childhood Education Credentialing in Canada report: this report documents the requirements and processes used in each province and territory to recognize an individual’s ECE credentials in order to be considered eligible to work in that jurisdiction as a qualified ECE.

• An Occupational Language Analysis for the both ECE and ECE administrator role: describes necessary language skills — reading, writing, listening, and speaking — for ECEs and ECE administrators.