- National Institute of Early Childhood Development Conference 2024 celebrated its 5th anniversary.
- Minister Chan Chun Sing emphasised the importance of social-emotional development in education.
- A new Centre of Excellence for Leadership in NIEC was announced.
Singapore’s early childhood education sector gathered to discuss its future and celebrate achievements.
Early-Childhood Education Conference Highlights Future Plans
On 17 Oct 2024, Singapore’s early-childhood educators met at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre.
They were there for the National Institute of Early Childhood Development (NIEC) Conference 2024.
This event marked NIEC’s 5th birthday.
Minister Chan Chun Sing spoke at the conference.
He called the early-childhood educators “guests of honour”.
Chan said this because they take care of children every day.
Minister Chan’s Vision for Early Childhood Education
According to MOE, Chan shared his plans for NIEC.
He wanted to name it “NICE” at first.
But it became NIEC to show its bigger job.
Chan said early-childhood education should teach more than just school subjects.
It should also help children grow emotionally and socially.
| What Early Childhood Education Should Include |
|---|
| 1. Academic learning |
| 2. Social development |
| 3. Emotional growth |
New Leadership Centre Announced
At the conference, a new Centre of Excellence for Leadership in NIEC was announced.
This centre will help early-childhood educators become better leaders.
It will also share good ways of teaching young children.
Challenges in Early-Childhood Education
Chan talked about new problems in teaching young children.
Parents expect more from schools now.
Teachers need to use different ways to teach different children.
Minister Chan said, “Without strong social emotional development, it will be much harder for us to build the rest of our education journey.”
This shows how important it is for children to learn about feelings and relationships.
It’s as crucial as learning to read or do maths.
Working Together: Schools and Parents
The conference also talked about schools and parents working together.
This teamwork can help children learn better.
Chan said, “The school, the classroom, cannot be our world. Instead, the world must be our classroom.”
This means learning should happen everywhere, not just in school.
No One-Size-Fits-All Approach
There was talk about having one national curriculum for all early-childhood schools.
But people decided this wouldn’t work well.
Different children need different types of teaching.
- Some children learn faster
- Others need more help
- Each child has unique interests
Future of Early Childhood Education in Singapore
The new Centre of Excellence for Leadership will help train better teachers.
It will share good teaching methods with all early-childhood schools.
This could improve education for young children all over Singapore.
The focus on social and emotional learning is expected to help children in their whole school life.
Early-childhood education is vital for Singapore’s future.
It helps parents work and contributes to the economy.
Most importantly, it gives children a strong start in life.
Do you think social-emotional learning should be given more importance in early-childhood education?
