The Education Services Union (ESU) reiterates the need to do more to enhance the image of early childhood educators, improve their skills and knowledge, and help them attain key competencies and gain experience. In this aspect, ESU has been actively engaging childcare operators, early childhood educators and various agencies to push for a more supportive environment for early childhood educators to pursue continuous professional development (CPD).
Relief teachers, for instance, play an important role in freeing up full-time educators from their daily duties to attend CPD courses. "We are glad our call for added support such as more relief teachers to help lighten the workload of teachers covering the duties of colleagues who are away attending courses, and more training days for teachers received support from the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF). Capability development in the area of stress management is also much needed. Beyond the government, all of us must play our part too," urged Mr Michael Tan, President of ESU.
In line with these efforts, the ESU has gathered some 800 early childhood educators at the “Getting It Right For Young Ones” event to pledge their passion and dedication to the profession.
“Promoting professionalism amongst teachers requires a change in mindset that starts from the management and pass on throughout the organisation. At our centres, we organise regular visits to other childcare centres both locally and overseas, and also meetings with professionals from local and international institutions, to expound on our teachers’ experiences and help them to develop their own set of values and standards in a wider context,” Ms Loy Wee Mee, Director of Pre-School By-The-Park said.
Besides advocating for a more conducive training environment for early childhood educators, ESU will also work with stakeholders to step up efforts to improve parents’ perception of educators as professionals, and to enhance their understanding and appreciation of the work done by educators to nurture their young charges.
Many parents count on early childhood educators to give their children a proper head-start in education. While early childhood educators possess the passion and professional abilities to nurture our young generation, they require the support from parents and society alike, to be able to give their best at work. Jointly organised with the Pre-school Teachers’ Network (PTNS), the event aimed to encourage closer parent-teacher relationship through the involvement of parents and educators as partners in bringing up the child.
PAP Community Foundation (PCF) Keat Hong is one centre that has benefitted from successful engagement of parents. Parents are encouraged to participate in the centre’s activities such as cookery lessons and field trips, as well as to contribute in the preparation of teaching resources to have a better understanding of what will be taught in class. “I believe the key to good home-school engagement is to maintain open and frequent communication with parents. Mutual respect is important and all stakeholders need to believe in getting it right for our young ones,” said Ms Diana Toh, an early childhood educator with PCF Keat Hong.
As part of the event, pre-schoolers and their parents were invited to a “Learning Thru’ Play” Carnival. Interactive carnival booths were set up by the National Library Board and various kindergartens and childcare centres to engage parents and educators on how to make learning fun for pre-schoolers.
