Executive Summary

Statistics New Zealand’s 2013 Census recorded 23,580 people as having worked as ECE teachers in March 2013. They had the following characteristics.

• ECE teachers tend to be younger than the general working population and a lot younger than teachers in the other education sectors.
• While most ECE teachers are European, their proportion of Māori, Pasifika and Asian teachers is higher than for the general working population and for teachers in the other education sectors.
• Māori teachers tend to be younger than other ECE teachers, and Pasifika teachers tend to be older.
• Very few ECE teachers are men.  European teachers have the lowest percentage that is male and Māori teachers the highest.
• ECE teachers tend to work fewer hours a week than the general working population and teachers in other the education sectors.
• Likewise, the annual income of ECE teachers tends to be lower than the general working population and especially compared with teachers in other education sectors.
• The proportion of ECE teachers with a bachelor degree or higher qualification is higher than is the case with the general working population but lower than for teachers in the other education sectors.
• The proportion of ECE teachers with a bachelor degree or higher tends to be higher for:
• Younger teachers (apart from very young teachers)
• Asian teachers
• Teachers working longer hours a week
• Teachers with higher annual income.