WELCOME ADDRESS BY PROFESSOR CHEONG HEE KIAT, PRESIDENT, SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, AT THE 2022 SINGAPORE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CHINESE SYMPOSIUM, 10 SEPTEMBER
Distinguished speakers,
Guests and friends from the industry,
SUSS students and colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen.
Good afternoon to all! I am pleased to welcome you to the 6th Singapore Early Childhood Education Chinese Symposium.
The theme for this year’s symposium is: Turning challenges into opportunities: Rethinking early childhood education amid Covid-19.
According to a study by UNESCO, Covid-19 is not only a global health pandemic but is also a global crisis for education. The pandemic forced schools to close, and transit to home-based learning. In some places, there was no continuation of learning. Studies from the UN Sustainable Development Group showed that 1.5 billion children in over 180 countries had been affected. That is equivalent to about 90% of the world’s learners.
The pandemic has resulted in a steep learning curve not only for students, but also educators and parents. We had to make changes in a very short time. Schools had to pivot from traditional face-to-face teaching and learning to digital online remote learning. Many were not prepared for the switch. Educators were also under pressure to deliver effective pedagogy as well as come up with ways to engage and motivate their students online. Classroom dynamics changed; so also the interaction between teachers and students. Students found they had to do self-learning a lot more. Some were left out because they did not have suitable equipment for online learning or did not even have internet connectivity. With increased digital usage, some children’s mental and socio-emotional well-being were affected.
Thankfully, with every set of challenge, there were opportunities and innovations. For example, online classes became the catalyst of change. It expedited the process of enabling disadvantaged families and students to have access to computers and broadband networks, with help and donation coming from different quarters of society. It opened new ways of learning.
For instance, in the past online learning used to be more asynchronous. That is, content is delivered through recorded video lectures, online readings, and online assessments. Now, we see more of a blend of both asynchronous and synchronous teaching and learning, which allows for more social interaction among students, and smaller group exchanges for learning.
Yet another positive outcome is hygiene habits. Students learn to be more vigilant, wash their hands more frequently, wear a mask when unwell, and become more community-minded. International studies reveal that for students who were bullied in school or were shy to speak up, they fared better in online classes.
What about early childhood learning? How has ECE gained from the pandemic?
Well, I hope that early childhood educators will be thinking about the curriculum – what to teach, what else to emphasise, how to get children to be more adaptive and more importantly, think about the delivery of curriculum - how to teach better? Is the traditional way of instructing, testing and reviewing the best way for online teaching and digital education? How can we unlock the power of technology to transform pedagogy? How do we handle difficulties faced by children in remote learning or when the physical nurturing personal touch of the teacher is reduced? We cannot remain the same after the pandemic, practising the same methods, treating our children’s ability and attitude to learning in the same way.
In Singapore, we have pushed to improve our ECE curriculum and delivery amid the global pandemic by revising the Nurturing Early Learners (NEL) Framework. With focus on strengthening social and emotional competencies, the updated framework reinforces the importance of holistic development of children, and learning through purposeful play and quality interactions. At the same time, it gives more prominence on the importance of inculcating values, developing social and emotional skills, and nurturing positive behaviours towards learning. Preschool teachers are encouraged to incorporate these key aspects across their children's daily learning experiences.
There were five key revisions to the NEL Framework, which seeks to ensure continuity of high-quality care and development for children from infancy right through their preschool years. Three of the revisions are particularly relevant to our symposium today.
Key revision one is Building on our beliefs about children. It reflects our aspirations for the children, and our understanding of who children are, what they are capable of, and how they learn. It influences and shapes our classroom practices and interactions.
Key revision two focuses on foregrounding values, social and emotional competencies and learning dispositions. This review helps children build positive relationships, which form the basis for their development and learning. It also sets the stage for character building, lifelong learning and how children can live harmoniously with their family, friends, teachers and people in their community.
Key revision three is integrating the NEL Framework for Mother Tongue Language (MTL) with the NEL Framework, which promotes the study of MTL as it plays an important role in affirming a sense of cultural identity among Singaporeans, ensuring the transmission of cultural heritage and values between generations.
This updated NEL Framework is timely. It supports our belief that preschool education is not just a preparatory phase for primary school education. More importantly, preschool education enables the holistic development of young children, and lays the important foundation for lifelong learning. With preschool education made available to all our children, every child has the best springboard to develop and realise potential, enabling progress in every sector of our population, be this in terms of ethnicity, social or economic status, family circumstances, and so on. We must not leave out any child from these opportunities.
Today, I welcome two keynote speakers who will be sharing on rethinking ECE amid Covid-19. Professor Jiang Yong from East China Normal University will share on the topic of why cultural existentialism pedagogy should be incorporated into preschool education and how it can holistically engage the young learner to reflect on how knowledge is constructed within cultures. The other keynote speaker is Dr Ge Hui, CEO of 3&3 International Education Corp. Dr Ge will share with us how schools can provide support and resources to parents by incorporating online as well as off-line activities to allow their children to learn better at home.
We also have two “guest sharing”. One by Ms Wu Ying, Principal of Shanghai Putuo Yichuan Yicun Kindergarten, and another by Ms Xie Meng, Curriculum Specialist (Mandarin) from Eton House International Education Group. Ms Xie is also a SUSS student with our Master of Early Childhood Education (in Chinese) programme. Ms Wu will share her experience on revamping the curriculum to focus more on her students’ social and emotional competencies; while Ms Xie will provide a local context and experience on how her preschool turned challenges posed by Covid-19 into opportunities. I look forward to all their presentations.
During last year’s symposium, I mentioned how SUSS intends to be a thought leader in adult education and applied social sciences. Through our efforts in education and research, we aim to create impact in the practice space, as well as to be able to inform policies pertaining to enhancing social good. And this includes the education of children in their early years.
For the past year, Associate Professor Sin Joo Ee has been working on this open-access ECE Chinese journal titled Xin You Yue Bao, which will present the latest development and theories on ECE, international practical experiences and studies in preschool education. I am pleased to announce that the first issue of this e-journal on early childhood education will be launched today. We hope this publication will serve as a platform for Singapore preschool educators to learn, share, and communicate, to promote their professional development and improve the quality of preschool Chinese education in Singapore.
In closing, I’d like to encourage all of us to turn challenges presented by COVID-19 into opportunities for the ECE sector. ECE will continue to be an important social leveller in providing opportunities for every child. At SUSS, we remain committed to collaborate closely with the government and industry partners to provide quality learning for practitioners to upskill and uplift the sector.
This event will not be possible without you, the attendees, for investing a precious part of your weekend with us! Let me also thank my colleagues from the Centre for Chinese Studies@SUSS, and SR Nathan School of Human Development for organising and bringing together this community today. I wish you a fruitful symposium with stimulating discussions, exchange of ideas and hopefully learn something new as well.
Thank you.
各位主讲人、嘉宾、业界的朋友
新跃社科大学的学生和同事，各位女士先生
大家下午好，欢迎大家出席第六届新加坡学前教育论坛。
本届论坛的主题是：新冠疫情背景下，幼儿园课程的挑战与机遇。
联合国教科文组织在一份报告中指出，新冠病毒不只是一场全球瘟疫，也造成全球教育危机。新冠病毒迫使学校关闭，改为居家学习。一些地区的学生甚至被迫停学。联合国可持续发展集团在研究报告中指出，全球逾180个国家有15亿名孩子的学习活动受到了影响，相等于全球约90%的学子。
这场瘟疫令学生、老师和家长都必须学习很多新事物，因为我们必须在极短的时间内应变。学校必须从传统的面对面教学，改为线上远程教学。由于一切相当仓促，许多人都措手不及。在网上教学，老师必须想方设法，采用有效的教学法，吸引学生的注意力并激励他们。师生之间的互动方式也随之转变。学生也必须更勤于自习。由于缺乏适用于网课的器材、配备，甚至无法上网，有些学生的学业落后于人。但是电脑、手机用多了，一些孩子的心理状况和情绪却也受到了影响。
所幸新冠疫情带来挑战，也带来了机会和创新。比方说，网课令一些转变来得更快。在各界的捐助下，许多弱势家庭和学生，都得以使用电脑和宽带网络。这开创了新的学习方式。以往的网课都较难同步，课程都是预录的，学生则自行在线上阅读讲义、做测验。如今的网课在教学方面较能同步，学生比较能互动交流，进行小组活动。
在卫生习惯方面，学生也变得更加警惕、有公德心，会勤洗手、身体不适时会戴口罩。也有研究显示，在学校被欺负或内向寡言的学生，上网课会比较自在。
学前教育又在新冠疫情下获得了哪些机遇呢？
我希望幼教老师能对课程内容作出思考，也就是「教什么」，还须强调些什么，以及如何提高儿童的适应能力。更重要的是「怎么教」，如何改善教学方法？网上教学能否继续用传统的授课、测验和评估方法？我们又能如何善用科技来改进教学法？远程学习、师生之間减少亲近对儿童造成困惑，我们将如何解决？疫情过后，我们不能止步不前，不能以旧有的方式来对待儿童的学习能力和态度。
在疫情期间，新加坡也着手更新「培育幼儿：新加坡学期课程框架」，以改进学前教育课程。此次更新着重于增强儿童的社会情绪能力重视儿童的全面发展，以及通过有目的的游戏和互动来学习。此框架也将更加重视灌输价值、掌握社会情绪技能和培养积极的学习态度。有关当局希望学前教师能把这些元素融入儿童的日常学习活动中。
此框架有五大更新项目，目标是确保儿童从婴儿到学前阶段持续获得良好照护和发展。其中三项与今天的论坛密切相关。
第一项是「建基于对孩子的认识」。这反映了我们对孩子的期许，以及我们对孩子的了解，如他们的能力和学习方式。 这会影响和塑造课堂教学与互动方式。
第二项是「重视价值、社会和情绪能力及学习倾向」。这将有助于学生建立正面的关系，而这是他们成长和学习的基础。这也将影响他们的性格塑造、终身学习，以及如何与家人、朋友、师长及社会和谐共处。
第三项是把母语学习纳入框架中。母语学习对文化身份认同相当重要，这能确保世代间的文化和价值观传承。
此次更新是及时的，也符合我们认为学前教育并非只是小学准备阶段的看法。学前教育关乎儿童的全面发展，也会为终身学习奠下基础。所有孩童都能接受学前教育，让他们都能拥有发挥潜力的最佳起点令新加坡各个社群都能取得进步，不分种族、社会或经济地位、家庭背景等等。学前教育的机会，一个孩童都不能少。
今天的论坛有两场专题演讲，第一位主讲人是华东师范大学的姜勇教授。他将探讨为何要把「文化存在论教育学」纳入学前教育，以及这种理念如何能令儿童了解知识与文化的关系。第二位主讲人是三之三国际文教机构的执行长葛惠博士。葛博士将说明园所能如何支援家长、提供资源，结合线上和线下活动，令孩子能顺利地在家中学习。
另外还有两位嘉宾将分享实际经验，第一位是上海市普陀区宜川一村幼儿园的园长吴莹女士。第二位是谢朦女士，她是新加坡伊顿国际教育集团的教研员，同时也是本校学前教育专业硕士课程的学生。吴莹女士将分享她如何调整课程，以着重培养学生的社交与情绪能力。谢朦女士则将说明她工作的园所如何把新冠疫情带来的挑战化为机会。这四场演讲都令人期待。
我在去年的论坛提到，新跃社科大学矢志于成为成人教育和应用社会科学的先驱。通过提供教育和研究，我们希望在实务层面带来影响，协助制定政策，造福社会。这当然包括学前教育。
过去一年来，本校的陈如意副教授一直在用心编辑《新幼跃报》这份华文学前教育电子学报。这份学报的内容涵盖学前教育的最新发展与理论，以及国际的幼教实务与研究。我在此宣布，这份华文学前教育电子学报，将在今天正式推出。希望这份学报能为新加坡学前教育工作者搭建一个学习、分享与交流的平台，促进教师专业发展，提升新加坡学前华文教育水平。
我确信学前教育领域能化挑战为机遇，继续为每个孩子提供机会，促成社会和谐。本校会致力于与政府和业界伙伴密切合作，为在职人士提供学习机会，提升技能，进而带动整个领域的发展。
我要感谢各位参与者，谢谢你们在周末抽出宝贵的时间参与活动。在此，我要感谢新跃中华学术中心和纳丹人力发展学院举办今天的论坛，令各位能够共聚一堂。相信大家能够通过讨论和交流，学习到不少新知识。
谢谢大家。