The work that never clocks off: Study reveals the hidden labour of China's early childhood educators

New research tracks the intricate daily activities of early childhood (EC) educators in China using the time-use method (TUD). It uncovers intense multitasking and long hours that extend beyond the working day. This marks the first time the TUD method has been used in a non-Western context.

New study reveals the hidden labour of China’s EC educators

Early childhood (EC) educators work in one of the fields facing increasing demand worldwide, yet a shortage of practitioners remains. “Early childhood teachers might have very low pay while simultaneously working longer hours than other educators,” says Professor Jinjin Lu of the Academy of Future Education at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, lead author of the research paper.

Chinese EC educators in particular are characterised by rapid growth but high vulnerability. There are currently 3 million educators, with 92.73% holding an EC education diploma, yet many report low job satisfaction and salaries that are not commensurate with their workload. The same issues are reported by their Western counterparts.

Professor Lu explained that the paper is part of a larger international research project aimed at understanding and comparing EC educators across countries, to recognise their actual daily work and advocate for improved working conditions.

Testing one method across countries

To maintain consistency across different countries, the study uses the time-use diary method (TUD), a work taxonomy originally developed in Australia to classify and track how early childhood teachers multitask and rotate between tasks.

The data collection was divided into two stages. Participants logged their time using a standardised TUD with 10 predetermined activity categories, and some were then interviewed for follow-up.

One notable finding from the research concerns the appropriateness of TUD usage in China. Participants suggested that the TUD needs to be adapted to the Chinese context, as Western categorical options might not be applicable to them. For instance, they proposed that completing administrative paperwork required by different governments and official bodies be added to the TUD, as it is highly time-consuming in their daily work.

Similarly, designing promotional flyers, providing trial sessions, and replying to parents’ messages are advertising and administrative tasks unrelated to job requirements that Chinese EC educators have to do and are not indicated in the TUD.

The emphasis on direct teaching

Intentional teaching accounts for the largest share of the workload for Chinese EC educators (24.7%) compared with other activities. “Intentional teaching here refers to all teacher-directed learning or group activities designed to develop children’s cognition, social communication, language skills, and others,” Professor Li said.

The time spent on this activity is also significantly higher than that of EC educators in other countries such as Australia (13.6%), New Zealand (17.9%), and Germany (10.6%).

Another key finding was that a large amount of Chinese educators' time was spent on non-child-related tasks (40%). Tasks such as setting up, cleaning, and maintaining the classroom (11.2%); planning lessons, assessing, and documenting children’s learning (8%); and administrative tasks (4%) make up most of their workload. Meanwhile, their German and Australian counterparts spend the majority of their time with children (64.3% and 60.5% respectively).

Differences in prevalent activities spent with kids across cultures are apparent. German EC educators, for instance, spend more time with kids (64.3%) than Chinese EC educators (under 60%); however, the former spend only 10.6% of their time on direct instruction, whereas the latter spend 24.7% on direct instruction, implying that there is a strong emphasis on direct instruction for Chinese EC educators.

Hidden non-teaching workload

“The late afternoon, between 3 and 5 pm, sees very frequent task shifts for Chinese educators. They need to finish different tasks such as admin meetings and communicating with parents,” Professor Lu says. “At first, we thought that after 3 pm, teachers would be much more relaxed because the children had left. But what we saw is that they instead become very busy.”

The research describes educators during this period juggling multiple tasks, such as preparing for pick-up, communicating with parents, completing administrative tasks, undertaking professional development, and organising rooms.

Parent communication represented a significant and recurring demand on educators' time beyond contracted hours. Outside of standard drop-off and pick-up windows, many study participants reported communicating with parents late into the evening, with one participant noting that finishing within an hour and returning home by 7 pm constituted a relatively light workload.

Personal time for Chinese staff was recorded at 3%, whereas it was three times greater in the Australian study (9.95%). Two-thirds of Chinese EC educators reported a working week of 50 hours or more.

Exposing the invisible workload

Building on these findings, the paper aims to provide an empirical record for EC professionals to make a case for better recognition and working conditions.

“Previously, individual early childhood teachers might feel they are very busy, but they do not have a record. They do not have any empirical evidence to show just how busy they are,” Professor Lu says.

The research shows the complexity of EC educators' work. Policymakers and advocates alike should be aware of the demands placed on them to properly address the long-term shortage of EC educators.

Read the study “Using Time-Use Diary Methodology to Explore Work Complexity for Early Childhood Educators in South China” here.

Written by Vionna Fiducia Theja
Edited by Patricia Pieterse