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Singapore Highlights New Early Childhood Degree Course

Source: Government of Singapore
Posted on: 24th November 2009

Speech by Mr. Masagos Zulkifli, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Home Affairs, at the MOE Kindergarten Learning Forum on Thursday, 24 November 2009, at Republic Polytechnic.

Colleagues from MOE

Kindergarten Leaders

Teachers

Ladies and Gentleman

Good morning.
Introduction

It gives me great pleasure to be here at the Kindergarten Learning Forum. Two years ago when I attended the Learning Forum held at St. Andrew’s Junior School, the forum was open to only kindergarten leaders, and consisted of a briefing session followed by 3 concurrent sharing sessions for its participants.

Today, I am happy to know that the Learning Forum has grown into a platform open to all teachers, showcasing innovative efforts and the sharing of best practices among kindergartens, with 35 exhibition booths and 56 concurrent sessions, put up not just by kindergartens, but also Government agencies offering programmes and services relating to the kindergarten sector. There are also many presenters from the academic field to share their knowledge and experience with teachers.

Besides sharing best practices, the Learning Forum also aims to honour the contribution and success of outstanding teachers and kindergartens. The platform celebrates the continuous effort kindergartens have contributed in providing quality early childhood education to our children. I am glad to note that many kindergartens are keeping pace with the latest developments in technology, curriculum and pedagogy. It is heartening to see the improvements the kindergarten sector has made over the past few years. These improvements are possible because of the joint efforts of kindergarten leaders, teachers, MOE officers, teacher trainers and stakeholders.

I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to what kindergartens have done in the fight against H1N1 earlier this year. Kindergartens rallied together — kindergarten leaders, teachers, administrative staff and cleaners. All have worked together as one and went the extra mile to safeguard the well being of your pupils. To contain and slow down the spread of the disease, kindergartens rose to the occasion by embracing the MOE H1N1 portal to send information to MOE, and to receive advisories, standard operating procedures and instructions from MOE. Your efforts assured parents and contributed to the high level of confidence that the public had in the way Singapore fought H1N1. So on this occasion, I would like to say a very big thank you to all of you kindergarten leaders and teachers for your extraordinary efforts in fighting H1N1 in our kindergartens. Thank you all for your good work.

Teacher professional development and training

At the heart of quality kindergarten education is the quality of its teachers. Just as you aim to nurture in your pupils the skills and dispositions to be lifelong learners, you as kindergarten leaders and teachers, need to be lifelong learners yourselves and to pursue avenues to upgrade yourselves professionally. Various training opportunities are available. For example, this Kindergarten Learning Forum opened its door to all teachers for the first time, giving all 3500 teachers across different kindergartens the opportunity to network and learn from one another. Other opportunities for professional development include the Kindergarten Conference which was organised in June this year for 800 participants from the kindergarten sector. A variety of workshops for kindergarten teachers and leaders were also available throughout the year.

MOE also offers various schemes for kindergarten teachers to undergo professional upgrading. Scholarships and bursaries are available to teachers who wish to obtain a Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education-Teaching. In the last 2 years, MOE has awarded about 50 scholarships and bursaries leading to early childhood education diplomas.

In addition, I am pleased to announce that MOE is providing scholarships and training awards for a new Bachelor of Early Childhood Education with Management course at UniSIM. From among the first batch of applicants for the course, about 30 have been given scholarships and teaching awards. I encourage all kindergarten leaders and teachers to make full use of these schemes to obtain higher professional qualifications. Application for new intakes for these courses will be open in the coming months, so do look out for them.
Resources for kindergartens to enhance their programmes

Apart from efforts in encouraging professional development of teachers, MOE also supports kindergartens in their efforts to enhance their programmes. For example, MOE provides a Teaching and Learning Resources grant to not-for-profit kindergartens to enable them to build up their teaching and learning resources. In 2008, a total of 344 kindergartens benefited from the grant and the total sum provided to these kindergartens amounted to $2.4 million. The kindergartens had used the grant to purchase resources such as books, teaching aids and manipulatives, art materials, musical instruments, outdoor play equipment, and IT equipment. This year, another 352 kindergartens have successfully applied for the grant to purchase teaching and learning resources amounting to about $2.2 million.

To encourage kindergartens to try out new ideas and promote a culture of innovation in kindergartens, MOE provided an Innovation Grant in 2008. All kindergartens are eligible to apply for the grant. The grant provides a subsidy of up to 95% of the project cost, capped at a maximum of $5,000 for kindergartens to pursue innovative projects in categories such as educational programme, pedagogy, professional development of staff, physical environment for learning, use of technology and administrative excellence.

In its inaugural year in 2008, a total of 88 applications were received from 86 kindergartens, of which 50 projects were approved. In February this year, over 70 kindergarten practitioners attended Innovation workshops to learn more about the strategies and tools for innovation.

To encourage more kindergartens to apply, the Innovation Grant was opened in 2 phases in 2009. MOE received a total of 357 applications from 232 kindergartens, of which 94 projects were approved for a total sum of about $340,000. I understand that some of these projects are being exhibited in the adjacent hall. I am encouraged by the spirit of innovation that kindergartens have, and the enthusiasm that drives you and your teachers to try new ways of enhancing the education provided to your pupils.
Quality teaching and management

In 2008, MOE announced that a voluntary quality assurance and accreditation framework for kindergartens will be introduced from Jan 2011 to encourage providers to strive for greater excellence in the holistic development of the child.

I am pleased to note that the draft quality assurance instrument has been developed, and I understand that almost all kindergartens have undergone training on its use. This instrument enables kindergartens to conduct self-appraisal of their own structures, processes and outcomes on an annual basis. Based on their findings, kindergartens can then prioritise the areas for improvement, draw up action plans and monitor the progress of plans over time. I strongly encourage kindergartens to use the draft instrument for self appraisal. Do give us your feedback on the draft instrument as you refer to it for your planning for 2010.

MOE-AECES Kindergarten Awards

The Kindergarten Innovation Award is given out today for the first time. About 275 projects were considered for the award, some of which were nominated by members of the public. I am heartened to know how these innovation projects had a positive impact on the learning of our young children. At PCF Punggol Central, the children who attended their Life Skills Camp were reported by their parents to have become more independent after the camp. Parents were also impressed that the children learnt important life-skills such as social skills, self-help skills and problem-solving skills through the 3-Day 2-Night camp. As a result, they became more appreciative of teachers’ efforts. The teachers too, developed important skills such as facilitation, planning, decision-making, and teamwork through organising the camp.

Let me give you yet another example of innovative practice. At Far Eastern Kindergarten, the children were very excited and confident about using the Interactive Whiteboard. Their confidence was also displayed during their presentation to parents, when they answered questions from the parents during the Q&A session. Some of the teachers involved in the innovation project were initially not too conversant with technology but became more comfortable with the use of technology as the project progressed.

Children learn best under a skilful teacher. The Outstanding Kindergarten Teacher Award is the highest recognition given to acknowledge and honour kindergarten teachers for their outstanding contribution towards the development of our young children. I am happy to note that over 170 nominations were received not just from kindergartens, but also from parents and other stakeholders. This shows that kindergarten teachers are gaining more recognition for the key role they play in the holistic development of young children. I encourage more of you to nominate your teachers and colleagues for the Outstanding Kindergarten Teacher Award. For your teachers, the knowledge that they have been nominated is, in itself, heart-warming because it means that their good work have been noticed and is appreciated. Every nomination is an instance of recognition of your teacher or colleague for his or her good work.
Conclusion

In conclusion, I wish to commend kindergartens for your hard work and dedication in giving your pupils a strong foundation for learning. I also thank all the external partners represented here for collaborating with us for the benefit of our young children. Through your dedication, passion and can-do spirit, I am confident that we can provide a strong start for every child. I congratulate all the winners, finalists and nominees. You are held in high regard by your kindergarten leaders, colleagues, parents and pupils, and you have much to be proud of.

I wish you all a fruitful day ahead. Thank you.

Topics: culture of innovation, early childhood degree course, education, educational programs, Governance, innovation, kindergarten, learning, MOE-AECES Kindergarten Awards, professional development, scholarships, Singapore, skills, teacheers, teacher professionals, training