Kindergarten nannies perform the work of teacher assistants but earn half as much 0 7

According to the union, teacher assistants, often referred to colloquially as nannies, are essentially technical aides to kindergarten teachers, and their main job responsibilities should be related to cleaning facilities, maintaining hygiene standards, performing various physical tasks, and similar duties. This is why teacher assistants, or nannies, are not required to have a pedagogical education.

At the same time, teacher assistants working in schools are employees with special qualifications, knowledge, and education, holding higher pedagogical degrees, whose skills and competencies allow them to implement the educational process for children. However, unfortunately, the responses from survey respondents show that the picture described above is largely theoretical.

When comparing the everyday work of nannies in kindergartens and teacher assistants in schools, it can be concluded that, in practice, the duties of a teacher assistant include about 80 percent of the tasks that teacher assistants perform in schools, despite the fact that these two professions differ significantly in terms of qualification level, knowledge, and salary.

The survey shows that 50 percent of teacher assistants receive the minimum wage, which is 780 euros, while the minimum rate for a teacher assistant is twice as high at 1566 euros. The union's survey confirms that in preschool educational institutions, vacant positions are often partially filled with the help of teacher assistants, assigning nannies tasks that are not typical for them.

Nannies often perform the functions of nurses, administering medications left by parents and treating injuries, substitute teachers in the educational process, as well as take on the responsibilities of leading creative activities, teaching children social skills, basic self-care, resolving emotional and psychological conflicts, and so on. Very often, nannies also work with children with special needs, which requires special knowledge.

"Thus, the union's survey indicates that during the workday, a teacher assistant spends an average of 6.8 hours of their working time on duties that are more related to the functions of a teacher assistant, and only 1.2 hours on technical cleaning tasks and similar duties. As a result of all this, most survey participants acknowledge feelings of burnout, overload, and a sense of insufficient recognition of their work," the union states.