SEGi College recently had the privilege of conducting an hour-long webinar on Early Childhood Education. Two EXCO members of Malaysia’s Early Childhood Care and Education Council (ECCE Council), industrial experts in their own rights, Karen Tan and Rosalind Ahju, shared their invaluable insights on the subject.
These experts iterated the importance of the disparity between the expectations and the reality of joining the ECCE industry. While some might expect the industry to be a walk in the park, in truth, the realities of the industry are that parents are now much more discerning than they’ve ever been before, with the help of the ubiquitous media all around us. Parents now expect so much more than they’ve ever done before, and the skills and expertise that they seek in early childhood education personnel and caregivers today are tremendous. Still, this is a challenge that everyone who is interested in the industry should rise up to. Because in reality, we are able to give these modern, educated parents exactly what they want and expect for the betterment of their young children.
The experts also talked about ethics and professionalism within the industry based on the ECCE Ethics Book and NAEYC Code of Ethics. These cover three areas of interest and importance: as an ECCE student, as an employee in the industry, and as a service provider to clients, who are both parents and their children. Once ECCE personnel have familiarised themselves with all these all-important standards, all possibilities abound for those who are truly dedicated to their service and education of our very youngest and most vulnerable of society.
Finally, these experts talked about the career path for ECCE practitioners, giving wonderful advice on forging one’s career pathway in the ECCE industry and very helpful tips on developing each individual’s career pathway, as well as the importance of building relations within the industry – professional connections and affiliations, and joining professional bodies such as the ECCE Council Malaysia.
It certainly looks like our young ones are in for a great education in Malaysia!
- 250++ participants comprising of Certificate, Diploma and Degree students (under the ECE programme), ECE trainers, in-service preschool teachers/principals, as well as prospective students
Link to preview the video: https://youtu.be/6mdL6piRLGQ