Remembering Dr Charles E. Pascal – long-time Goodstart Special Advisor

Goodstart Early Learning has paid tribute to early childhood education and care (ECEC) academic and long-time Goodstart Special Advisor Dr Charles E Pascal. 

 

Dr Pascal was an internationally respected Canadian educator and early learning advocate who left behind “an enormous legacy” in both his home country in Australia. 

 

In 2014, Dr Pascal, an expert in early and higher education, public policy and leadership, accepted an invitation to create Goodstart’s Thought Leaders Group. Using the “passion and straight talking” he was famous for, he helped Goodstart create an extraordinary group of leading academics from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe to help Goodstart on its journey to support the provider’s broader vision. 

 

Under his leadership the Thought Leaders group fostered ideas, products, projects and processes including: 

 

• Commissioning papers from international experts on key child outcomes to inform and provoke discussion and debate 
• Putting evidence into front-line practice and to influence public policies 
• Identification of tools and approaches to measure and monitor child outcomes, effective professional learning and quality practices 
• Provocation of discussion and debate among sector academics and experts to explore differing perspectives 
• Review of how digital technology can support children’s learning. 

 

In October 2022, Dr Pascal reflected on his time as Chair of the Thought Leaders saying it was “a joy to work with so many brilliant colleagues, many of whom I knew before but now have even deeper bonds of respect and affection. And how about those I only knew before by their world class reputations whom I can now claim as a colleague? My affiliation with Goodstart remains one of the most indelibly meaningful professional experiences of my career.” 

 

Sir Kevan Collins, the current Chair of the Thought Leaders group and Goodstart Board member, paid tribute to Dr Pascal, saying “Charles was a steadfast champion for children. His contribution to the development of early education and social justice was magnificent. He will be fondly remembered for his leadership in learning across the world and the massive contribution he made to children, educators, and communities.”  

 

Fellow Goodstart Board member and longstanding Thought Leader June Mclaughlin said Dr Pascal will forever be remembered for his passion and tireless efforts in education and leadership, and the success he led that ensures all children in Ontario have access to quality ECEC in the year before school.

 

“We will miss him,” Ms Mclaughlin said.

 

For more information about Dr Pascal, his contribution to public life, education and his publications, please see here. 

 

The University of Toronto has created a Memorial Scholarship which will support teacher candidates and early childhood education researchers in the Master of Teaching and Master of Arts in Child Study and Education programs at OISE to honour Dr Pascal’s commitment to education and positively impacting young learners’ lives. Learn more about the scholarship here.