Early childhood education student teachers from Hong Kong and Mexico met in online groups to learn how kindergartens and families in Hong Kong and Mexico facilitate the development of young children. These online activities were organized by facilitators from the ECE Department, Escuela Normal para Educadoras de Arandas (ENEA), and Escuela Normal para Educadoras de Guadalajara (ENEG). The activities took place from September 27 to December 13, 2024.
In this fourth run of the virtual exchange, facilitators Dr. Anika Saxena and Ms. Sofie Chua from EdUHK, Mtro. Iván Alejandro Lara Gutiérrez and Mtra. Yolanda Fajardo Santana from ENEA, and Mtra. Gretel Lomeli Covarrubias from ENEG planned two activities for their students centered on exploring how child development differs in the two contexts, Hong Kong and Mexico. In total, 18 students from Hong Kong and 15 from Mexico participated.
In the first activity, students shared in their groups about the day-to-day activities and routines in Hong Kong and Mexico kindergartens. In the second activity, each group created a short video in one of the following domains: Language, Mathematics, Physical Development, Social-Emotional Development, Aesthetics and Creativity, Citizenship Education, and Rules and Authority, elaborating on how these aspects were approached in families and classrooms in Hong Kong and Mexico.
In the last meeting, after a short address by the guests-of-honour, Professor Ramón Hernández Hernández (Director of Normales in the State of Jalisco) and Mr. José Antonio Rodríguez González (Director at ENEA), the larger group gathered to watch the seven creative videos together and celebrated the completion of the collaboration.
Despite the 14-hours’ time difference, the groups found time to meet with each other online and to complete their tasks. To thank students for their participation, each student who completed the assigned tasks received a certificate from each of the three institutions.
Here are some comments by the students about the virtual exchange:
“I learned many educational differences between the two places, such as parenting, teaching methods, and the environment of kindergartens.”
“It was a great and meaningful experience because I thought preschool education would be very different on another continent, but there are a lot of similarities. I also enjoyed meeting these girls on the same path as me.”
“It was a chance to get out of my comfort zone, practice my English, and learn about other cultures.”
“The most incredible part of this collaboration was meeting with my Mexican groupmates; I never expected I would make friends from the other side of the world!”