EdUHK Hosts "Roundtable Forum on Education and Care Services for Infants and Toddlers"
With the rapid increase in the demand for infant and toddler education and care services, the Department of Early Childhood Education (ECE) at The Education University of Hong Kong's (EdUHK) held a roundtable forum in November to discuss these services. The forum, hosted by ECE Department’s Assistant Professor of Teaching Dr Chan Wai-ling, attracted nearly 170 practitioners from the education, social welfare, and childcare sectors from Hong Kong, China and Macau.
Currently, Hong Kong offers approximately 1,500 daytime care service places for infants and toddlers. The government plans to increase this number by establishing 15 subsidised childcare centres over the next three years, adding around 1,500 new places, doubling the total to 3,000. Against this backdrop of opportunities and challenges, the forum focused on trending topics such as operational models, training arrangements, home-school collaboration, and quality assurance, enabling participants to explore how to enhance service quality and embrace a new era in infant and toddler care.
Professor Eva Lau Yi-hung, Acting Head of ECE Department, emphasised in her speech that since the last forum in June, this is the department's second industry exchange conference in a short period, underscoring the importance and urgency of the issue. She expressed hope that establishing a long-term dialogue platform could encourage professional sharing and collaboration.
She also introduced the new "Information Platform for Infant and Toddler Education and Care Services," organised by ECE Department, and encouraged organisations to use the platform to exchange the latest information and experiences.
The forum featured five speakers:
- Ms Mary Wong, Deputy Director (Child Care & Education) of Hong Kong Society for Protection of Children;
- Ms Patricia Tang, Service Head of Early Childhood Education Services at the Hong Kong Christian Service;
- Ms Ronnie Cheung, Assistant Principal Social Services Secretary (Child Care Services) at the Po Leung Kuk;
- Mr Angus Chau, Community Services Manager (Youth & Family III) at Tung Wah Group of Hospitals; and
- Ms Daisy Lau, an expert in infant and toddler education and care services.
The speakers shared insights on industry challenges and futures directions from various perspectives, including policy development, home-school-community collaboration, and a child-centered approach to education. They unanimously agreed that services should be family-centered and advocate for cross-sector collaboration among healthcare, education, family, and community to create a healthy and happy environment for infants and toddlers. They also emphasised that talent training and professional development are key to improving service quality.
During the discussion session, participants actively exchanged views on policies, workforce issues, and professional training. More than half of the attendees felt that current industry support and training are still inadequate, and urged the government and organisations to allocate more resources and improve training systems.
The Department of Early Childhood Education at EdUHK will continue to promote cross-sector collaboration and professional development, working hand in hand with the industry towards a new milestone in early childhood education.
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