THE PRESCHOOL SYSTEM

A rocky start

An announcement on the City of Reykjavík website advertises employment at the city’s many preschools. In addition to the rewarding work of childcare, benefits such as free lunch, a shortened work week, a swim pass, and prioritised placement for one’s own children on preschool waitlists are all enumerated. On paper, this sounds like an excellent offer, and one can imagine a parallel world in which working in Iceland’s preschool system is highly sought after.

However, this fall has been a chaotic one for preschools throughout Iceland. Teacher shortages, long waitlists, and inadequate facilities have combined to cause something of a crisis in childcare. At the time of writing, some 70 vacancies exist for positions in the preschool system, and 700 children aged 12 months and older remain on preschool waitlists in Reykjavík alone.

In August, parents brought their children to stage a “sit-in daycare” at Reykjavík’s City Hall in protest. Their statement was simple and forceful: if Iceland’s parents are to continue participating in the economy, then the city council must fulfill its promise of preschool placements for all children one year and older.

Preschools in Iceland

The preschool system in Iceland is the first level of public education, intended for children up to six years of age before they start their compulsory education. The current framework for preschools was laid out and reformed in the 2008 Preschool Act, which outlined the social role that the preschool system must play, in addition to the skills and values that must be taught to children in Iceland.

Icelandic preschools are also a very important source of employment throughout the nation, with around 5,500 full-time employees. Working in Icelandic preschools is common among

young people and recent immigrants, with many saying that one of the best ways to learn the language is by interacting with children. There are, however, problems with the current system. Although preschool teachers must undergo a 5-year course of study, much of the work in many preschools is still performed by nonpedagogical staff. During a time of extreme staff shortages, many are wondering if a 5-year degree is necessary, or even if proficient Icelandic ought to be 18,852 a requirement. Preschool positions also pay relatively low wages, providing little CHILDREN ENROLLED IN motivation to pursue a master’s degree. An

PRESCHOOLS obvious solution to the staffing shortage is, of course, to increase the wage and therefore make work in the preschool system more attractive. But given the large number of Icelanders and immigrants employed in preschools, even modest wage increases could lead to budget crises for municipalities.

Bridging the gap

Although the breaking point reached this year has raised particularly strong critique, the lack of preschool places has been a known problem for some time. In the last decade, the capital region of Iceland has seen tremendous population growth and 5,523 infrastructure has struggled to keep pace. This growth is not only due to immigration, FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES but to a steady increase in the birth rate, due in part to a COVID baby boom. From just 2020 to 2021 alone, the birth rate increased by 8%. Clearly, the current wave of children has not emerged from nowhere. Since 2018, the city initiative Bridging the Gap (Brúum bilið) has aimed at a city-wide expansion of preschool capacity. The problem was arguably worsened when, in the last election campaign for Reykjavík City Council, promises were made that children would be guaranteed a spot in preschool from the age of 12 months. The age at which children are guaranteed a spot in preschool

varies between municipalities, with many setting the age at two years, others at 18 months. Ideally, the age at which children are eligible for preschool will correspond to the end of the caregivers’ parental leave, but this is not often the case. Most Icelanders receive 6 months’ paid parental leave, meaning a couple raising a child will have up to 12 months of total leave, with 6 weeks of that total being transferable between the two.

With most preschools only beginning to accept children at 18 to 24 months, these final 6 to 12 months are a gap left in the childcare system. Solutions so far have proved to be a patchwork. Some parents will extend their leave, meaning they receive the same total pay stretched out over a longer period of time. Others rely on paid daycare services or the help of their wider family network to bridge the gap. Both of these solutions, however, favour higher-income natives with social support to raise their children, leaving many lower-income Icelanders and immigrants out in the cold. This gap between parental leave and preschool is the major reason the preschool system became a hot-button issue this last election cycle in the City of Reykjavík.

Increasing capacity

By 2025, the Bridging the Gap initiative plans to increase preschool capacity by at least 2,000, including opening ten new preschools in addition to numerous other expansions of existing preschools. However, the drive to expand capacity is only one part of the solution, and critics would say that it is unfeasible when enough qualified staff cannot be hired for the system as it currently is. Nor will the next graduating class of preschool teachers do much to meet demand, as the majority of pedagogy students pursuing degrees in child development and education are already employed in the preschool system.

Is the solution to simply shorten the training period for preschool teachers to produce new generations of educators more quickly? Most educators would say no, and most parents would prefer their children being cared for by an educated and trained individual. And yet the question remains; what to do with all these children whose parents want to – or have to – return to work?

Consequences and fallout

In addition to the critical role played by preschools in the education and

ISK 2.7 MILLION COST PER CHILD development of children in Iceland, the preschool system has also played an important role in furthering gender equity. No longer confined to the role of caregivers, Icelandic women have been free to pursue their careers, and, as the preschool system reaches a crisis point, many wonder whether it will force women back into domestic roles. It is not clear what the solution is, and every proposal seems like a chess move countered with unforeseen consequences. Some new preschools have already opened this year, and some have been expedited into service to meet demand. Nevertheless, the staffing and facility shortage remains. What is clear, however, is that solutions to the preschool crisis will require long-term planning, not short-term reactions. If preschool pedagogy is to require a

ISK 58.1 BILLION 5-year degree, then it ought to be a wellTOTAL COST OF PRESCHOOLS remunerated position, securing a middle class standard of living. Both teachers’ wages and IN ICELAND general social attitudes towards teaching as a profession need to be reconsidered. At the same time, authorities and municipalities need to plan ahead more carefully, taking demographic trends into account and making decisions at larger timescales than election cycles. Icelandic children – and children everywhere for that matter – deserve to be raised in safe environments rich in developmental, pedagogical, and psychological resources. Of course, all of this will cost money. Where will it come from? Your guess is as good as ours.