From Monitoring to Modelling

Dr Geraldine French

ICEC Conference

10/11 November

Berlin 2016

Overview

• Reasons to be cheerful (an Irish perspective)

• CoRe competence; requirements to responsibilities …

• Monitoring to modelling

• Attentive belonging

• The Bachelor of Early Childhood Education, DCU, St Patrick’s Campus

• Values and beliefs

• Our one goal - children as active agents

Dr Geraldine French

Reasons to be cheerful (in Ireland)

• ECEC firmly on the Policy Agenda

• Focus on educational content & pedagogy

• Graduate numbers growing

• Increasing job opportunities

• National frameworks for quality (Síolta) and curriculum (Aistear) are aligning and being shared

• Children’s experiences enhanced

Dr Geraldine French

CoRe Competence Requirements

Knowledge Practices Values

Individual

ECEC

Institutions

(Settings)

Educational

institutions

Bachelor of Early

Childhood Education

- Layers of

responsibility

Bachelor of Early

Childhood Education

- Layers of

responsibility

Bachelor of Early

Childhood Education

- Layers of

responsibility

Inter-

institutional &

inter-agency

Governance

Dr Geraldine French

Monitoring to modelling

Requirements to our responsibilities

Every player within this process must support each

other in order for the system to deliver its full

potential for children.

Monitoring happens – we also need to model

professional practice

Through attentive belonging

If one is part of a

community with a

common purpose

Attentive belonging to that

community requires us to

seek to exploit

opportunities to deliver on

the objectives of that

community

To attentively belong…

Bachelor of Early

Childhood Education

(BECE),

DCU, St Patrick’s Campus

Here’s what our students say….

Learn and develop in context

An intelligent competent beings

Active agents in their lives

Co-constructors of knowledge

Communicators, readers, scientists, artists, musicians, architects & mathematicians from birth

Inquisitive learners, researchers, and experimenters actively seeking to make meaning of the world through relationships with others, as well as direct hands-on experiences

Require space and time to initiate their own creative, imaginative, symbolic worlds

Oriented towards children’s present (their ‘being’) rather than their future (their ‘becoming’)

Our image of participating children

Dr Geraldine French

To love and be loved

To think for themselves

To have imagination and creativity

To have positive dispositions for learning (wonderment, excitement, curiosity, concentration, perseverance and full engagement)

To be flexible - desire to want to continue learning

To be independent and able to solve problems

To make the right choices, take the initiative and lead

To be emotionally stable, socially skilled, literate, numerate

Children enabled to participate as full citizens in society

What do we want ALL children to achieve…..

Dr Geraldine French

Children need educators/significant people who:

– Are imbued with a sense of passion about all children

– Will enliven their innate dispositions for wonderment

– Have high expectations for their learning abilities

– Value play as a pathway to learning

– Will work hard to provide enriching environments and to

plan for fun-filled first-hand meaningful experiences,

building on children’s interests

– Engage in transformative listening to children

What kinds of educators will support ALL children’s learning and development

Dr Geraldine French

Children need educators/significant people who:

– Seize every opportunity indoors and outdoors to enhance

children’s learning and development

– Will give children space and time

– Aim to help parents delight in the educational value of their

child’s play

– Able to research, reflect on and articulate the serious

intellectual content of what children do as they engage with

their world through play

– Respect and value ALL children and their contributions

What kinds of educators will support ALL children’s learning and development

Dr Geraldine French

Bachelor of Early Childhood

Education

…involves knowledge and skills of how best

to care for children and to support

development and learning from birth

• Babies (birth to 18 months)

• Toddlers (1 to 3 years)

• Young children (2 ½ to 6 years

Dr Geraldine French

Four Year Programme

Year 1

Understanding Foundations in

Theory and Practice

Year 2

Exploring Environments for Early Learning

Year 3

Reflecting on Diversity, Equality

and Inclusion

Year 4

Developing Expertise and

Leadership

Dr Geraldine French

Conceptual Themes

Communicating & Collaborating

Understanding Diversity

Developing Professional Knowledge

Engaging in Professional

Practice

Practising Reflectively &

Ethically

Dr Geraldine French

Placement in Early Education Settings

Practice placement experience:

• In all four years,

• 1000 + hours, 25% of the programme

• Four block weeks and two days each week of term time (Semester 2)

• Full range of settings and age-ranges

• Erasmus facilitated and encouraged (in year 3 for our students)

Dr Geraldine French

Early Education Settings

Types of Provision – Private, Community, Public

• Full day care/Crèche

• Preschools

• Playgroups

• Montessori

• Naíonraí

• Early Start

• Prevention and early intervention settings (HSE/Tusla, Barnardos, Daughters of Charity, Family Support Centres)

• Other… (policy placements, special needs settings, hospitals)

Dr Geraldine French

Criteria Early Childhood Settings

Dr Geraldine French

Funded Projects

• Area Based Childhood Programme (ABC)

• National Early Years Access Initiative

(NEYAI)

Funded Settings

• Tusla

• DES

Focus for Placement Assessment

Dr Geraldine French

Collaboration with settings

• Partnership with settings

• Placement Advisory Group in place

• Cycle of learning for everyone involved (BECE teaching team, students, settings, tutors)

• Commitment to Continued Professional Development (CPD)

• Surveys conducted

Dr Geraldine French

CPD Wish list

Quality of relationships

• Interaction strategies to promote children’s learning

• Communication strategies/conflict resolution

• Consulting with children

Quality of planning, learning and development

• Aistear/curriculum planning,

• Supporting children’s creative thinking, problem-solving through open-ended materials, music, drama, art, play

• Outdoor play & communicating its importance/ICT

Quality of professional practice

• Professional practice/professional collaborations

• Leading, team building, effective communication

• Working with diversity of families

• Documentation, learning stories

Dr Geraldine French

From monitoring to modelling

Attentive belonging in our community of

practice with one goal - children as

participating active agents...

Dr Geraldine French