The Child Care Community has come a long way since its first inaugural Child
Care Seminar in 1999. To celebrate ten years of collaboration between the
Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) and the
Association for Early Childhood Educators, Singapore (AECES), this year’s
seminar was a 3-day long event with the theme “Riding the Waves of
Professionalism: Outcomes for ECCE”. The seminar called on early childhood
educators to focus on professionalism – an issue topmost on the child care
agenda. It also provided educators a useful platform to network and be kept
abreast of current trends in early childhood education.
3 Mrs Yu-Foo Yee Shoon, the Minister of State for MCYS began her speech
by giving recognition to the contributions of early childhood educators for the past
3 decades. She also stressed the importance of raising the standards of the early
childhood sector. Shehighlighted the new academic qualification requirements for
early childhood educators, and the provision of new bursaries and scholarships
for child care teachers to uplift the level of professionalism. More details on how
to apply for these scholarships will be released at a later date.
5 Close to 400 guests attended the Welcome Dinner and more than 800
participants will participate in the 1½ day seminar on the 22nd and 23rd August
2008. The guests and participants included government officials, child care
centre providers, early childhood professionals and practitioners from the child
care and kindergarten sectors, and parents, including participants from other
countries.
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