For ECT Desislava helping children to grow and thrive is the best part of her role

Early Childhood Teacher Desislava Garcheva came to Australia from Bulgaria, and since arriving has developed a passion for supporting children through play based learning. 

Dessie, as she’s known by her friends and family, has a strong background in both linguistics and marketing, however since starting a family of her own, she has felt a push to work with children. 

“When I had my two children, I started reading more about early childhood development and learning including the different strategies and benefits. Like many mothers, I was inspired to apply what I was discovering to my children’s early learning,” she said. 

“Little by little, I realised what I wanted to do was to make a positive impact on children.”

Alongside her husband, Ms Garcheva began researching the best places in the world to study teaching, and settled on Australia. 

“At the beginning of my research, I was on the fence if I wanted to go for early years or primary, but I realised I enjoy the play and inquiry-based, child-centred learning philosophy of the early learning sector,” she explained.

“I decided to apply for a Master of Teaching Early Childhood at the Queensland University of Technology. I ended up receiving a Merit scholarship. All of these factors influenced our decision to go on this journey.”

Looking for a larger provider to work with, Ms Garcheva first came across Goodstart Early Learning while still studying, learning more about the offerings the provider has in place for ECTs. 

“I learned more about the core values of the organisation as well as the fact they offer a teacher registration program and regular teacher conferences,” she said.

“More importantly, as I fiercely trust my instincts, I also felt like I could see what the culture of this place is, and it aligned with what I want my workplace to feel like: supportive, professional, and a place that puts people first – in this case, the children.”

“So far, I’ve been lucky and I’m thankful to work with beautiful people and professionals at my centre,” she said. 

“This is even more important because, as we know, this is not an easy profession. So having the right people around you can make a world of difference.”

The best part of working in ECEC, Ms Garcheva continued, is supporting children to feel a sense of belonging, and watching them become empowered, confident and respectful learners, explorers and friends. 

“It is inspiring for me to find a way for each child as an individual, to be supported with what they can benefit from and develop by being challenged at their level,” she said. 

“As a teacher and because of my background, I’m quite motivated to come up with strategies and activities and extend children’s interest to support EAL/D learners to acquire English. As well as for all learners to develop their early literacy through play-based learning.”

Learn more about Goodstart Early Learning here.