Fireworks safety around young children and pets. Things to teach and talk about with children in conjunction with Guy Fawkes Day and the use of fireworks with children
Should you hold a fireworks display at your early childhood service, or if your children and families are planning to have fireworks at home, these are the rules to follow to kee
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We interview Dr Jacoba Matapo about her career and background – a former ECE teacher and now Pro Vice-Chancellor Pacific at Auckland University of Technology. We appreciate her sharing her time and thoughts with us.
Overseas Teachers. January 6, 2020. Updated 24 June 2020. Before NZ’s border closed due to Covid-19, statistics show that the two national recruitment companies contracted
Too Much, Too Soon? The Multiple Roles and Identities of Newly Qualified Early Childhood by Helen Aitken. Read the full paper below. Or to order a pdf copy of the article go to the main NZIRECE Journal page.
Research on preschool teachers’ and parents’ views on how to best prepare children for school.
FULL REFERENCE: Costales, G.S. and Anderson, R. (2018). Preschool teachers’ and parents’ perspectives on primary school preparation in Singapore. NZ International Research in Early Childhood Education Journal, 21(1), 88 – 99.
Log-in to read the full research paper below. Or order a pdf copy of the article from the main NZIRECE Journal page.
ABSTRACT: The study undertaken in Singapore sought to understand preschool teachers’ and parents’ views on school readiness with regard to primary 1 preparation to provide a common understanding on how to best prepare children for primary school. Nine preschool teachers and nineteen preschool parents completed a questionnaire and, of this group, four parents and four preschool teachers were also interviewed to gain a deeper understanding of their perspectives. The study revealed that domains of Social and Emotional Development and Aesthetics and Creative Expression were rated by the participants as the most and least important aspects of development respectively in preparing children for primary school. It is recommended that children’s transition to school reflects current research that supports the continuity between preschool and primary school with all stakeholders, parents, teachers and the community, involved.
Key words: Transition to school, primary school preparation, school readiness, school readiness perspectives.
INTRODUCTION
Providing children with a positive transition experience from preschool to primary school confers short-term and long-term advantages (Petrescu, 2012; Serry, Imms, Froude, Joffe, Heine, & Merrigan, 2014; Yeboah, 2002) and significantly affects their academic and social performance (Chan, 2010; Dockett & Perry, 2009; Yeboah, 2002; Yeo & Clarke, 2006). School transition has been the focus of numerous research studies and educational policies worldwide (Vrinioti, Einarsdottir & Brostrom, 2010); however, limited research had been conducted on this issue in Singapore.
Nonetheless, emphasis on school transitions is intensely magnified in Singapore, where academic meritocracy is revered as the basis of the country’s growth and development, rewarding the best students on the basis of their ability, performance and achievement (Yeo & Clarke, 2005). The concern is that parents and educators often seem to have differing beliefs on how best to prepare children for their transition to formal schooling (Ang, 2012; Graue, 2006). While preschool teachers urge a holistic approach to preparing children, parents often prefer an academic curriculum in preparing for primary 1 (Ang, 2012). Inasmuch as the community’s belief system inherently determines who is ready for school and how children become ready (Graue, 2006), it is imperative for parents and teachers to concur on a definition of readiness that is most appropriate for their social-cultural context to furnish better support for children’s transition to formal schooling (Noel, 2010). Therefore, based on its findings, this study offers a common understanding from one community of parents and teachers in Serangoon, Singapore, on how preschool children might best be prepared for primary school by identifying parents’ and teachers’ perspectives on readiness and what they deem as important for primary school preparation.
Since becoming associate education minister and taking over the ECE portfolio after the 2023 general election, David Seymour has met with ECE sector groups and representatives about 30 times (that equates to more than once a month, on average).
While on the surface that figure might make it seem like he’s engaging with the key stakeholders of the sector regularly, when you comb through his ministerial diaries more thoroughly you’ll see the same names pop up again and again.
A good sandpit design for an ECE service sees it being large enough to accommodate half or more of the children attending. It should provide enough room for each child to stand or sit and dig without touching or getting sand on another child.
In home-based settings, the sandpit design should make sure it is of sufficient size to accommodate
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