Written by Emeritus Prof Marjory Ebbeck, Dr Minushree Sharma, and Dr Sheela Warrier, this is a report presented at PECERA 2022 that investigated the outcomes of a relationships-based curriculum introduced in 20 childcare centres in Singapore. The results indicate that the curriculum had benefited children’s well-being over the three years of the study’s duration.
Written by Emeritus Professor Marjory Ebbeck, this expert article delineates the neuroscience behind children’s growth and learning, and how early experiences foster their early development. This article also recommends that parents and educators provide secure attachments and safe environments for young children to self-discover. In doing so, children have the opportunity to explore, learn and grow at their own individual rate.
Written by Assistant Professor Aw Guat Poh, Dr Connie Lum, Peng Xuan-hui, Chen Yuan and Tong Qi-ying, this paper describes and examines parents’ attitude, perceptions and behaviours towards bilingual education in Singapore. Through the findings, this paper offers insights on the impacts of the “English knowing bilingualism” policies on parents’ linguistic choices and behaviours. It also highlights common misconceptions on bilingual learning, where further research was suggested to explore and investigate these findings deeper.
Written by Emeritus Prof Marjory Ebbeck, Associate Professor Bonnie Yim, Yvonne Chan and Mandy Goh, this paper reported Singaporean parents’ and caregivers’ views on their young children’s access and use of technological devices. Along with the emerging use touchscreen devices, views on the benefits and risks of touchscreen devices were specifically sought and reported as well. Results show that a relatively sizeable number of children were exposed to and used technological devices in their daily lives. This paper also highlights key implications and considerations for parents and educators to inform them of ways to better guide their young children in navigating the pervasive digital space.
Written by Dr Seetoh Peipei and Dr Connie Lum, this report discusses how Little Skool House’s curriculum influences children’s language trajectories in English and Mandarin. This report follows the fourth phase of this literacy development research, in which the children’s receptive and expressive (vocabulary) language development are evaluated at the start (January/February) and end (November/December) of their Primary One school term. Parents’ perception of Little Skool House’s curriculum and their children’s adjustment to primary school as well as their social skills development are also examined in the report.
Written by Dr Geraldine Teo-Zuzarte and Lye Yu Min (Senior Manager for Thought Leadership Development), A Philosophy on Child Development from Birth-to-Three outlines NTUC First Campus’ philosophy on Child Development and offers a framework for raising a Happy Child. The article also presents the Singaporean context in which early childhood education and development takes place. This covers socio-cultural influences on parenting, changing family profiles and household arrangements, shifting demands for childcare and kindergarten services, and the expansion of national policies to support early childhood development.
Awardee Eunice Tay, who is currently a Deputy Centre Lead at My First Skool (MFS) PCC 07, shares with us her journey as an early childhood educator. Tay discusses how she navigates working with young children and their parents, as well as implementing NTUC First Campus (NFC)’s relationship-based curriculum (RBC) in her practice.
Written by Cheryl Ching, Caymania Lay, Hia Soo Boon, Dr Thang Leng Leng and Thian Ai Ling (NFC General Manager of My First Skool and afterschool), this paper describes and explores an intergenerational (IG) collaboration programme jointly developed and piloted by National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) Health’s Silver Circle Senior Care Centre (SCC) and a co-located childcare (My First Skool) in Singapore. The IG programme was designed to meaningfully engage seniors and children through mutual participation in activities and ongoing interactions. This paper provides details on the development, interventions and lessons learned from a senior care perspective as well as discusses the benefits such IG programmes have on the functional abilities and wellbeing of seniors.
Written by Emeritus Professor Marjory Ebbeck, this expert article highlights the importance of identifying a child’s temperament and its influence on early education and development. Understanding children’s temperament can help parents and teachers recognise and understand underlying factors that facilitate or hinder healthy development. This article also provides insights and expert’s advice on the implication this brings to parents and educators alike.
Written by Dr Connie Lum et al., this paper describes and analyses Singaporean children’s English and Chinese bilingual learning environment through a survey administered to their parents. It reported that parents with higher English proficiency levels tend to be more willing to communicate in Chinese to their children. Yet, results also showed that parent’s English proficiency levels are negatively correlated with the frequency of the children’s use of Chinese language. Through the findings, this paper presents possible explanations for the results obtained and suggests that Chinese parents have the capacity to create a conducive bilingual learning environment in their families.
Written by Emeritus Prof Marjory Ebbeck, Dr Geraldine Teo-Zuzarte, Cynthia Tan and Mandy Goh, this paper reported reports on a research study in Singapore that investigated curriculum effectiveness using developmental learning outcomes as a means of assessing children. The research was devised to examine if eight specified broad developmental learning outcomes could measure the effectiveness of the curriculum by assessing children's learning as shown in qualitative data. Practical examples showed evidence of children's learning and the role of the educator in facilitating and documenting developmental learning outcomes.
Written by Emeritus Prof Marjory Ebbeck et al., this paper reported a relationships-based curriculum and how it extended the active involvement of the infants, toddlers, and young children (up to the age of three) in their learning. Conducted over a year using a well-tested, traditional before-and-after methodology, children were observed to show significantly improved active involvement.
