Early Childhood Education

Course (3 credits/ course) Description
Critical Literature Review in Early Childhood Education The course is offered to strengthen analytical skills of candidates and develop their background knowledge in being able to undertake a critical examination of current literature in the area of early childhood education. Candidates will develop competence in literature review techniques and in preparing writing suitable for publication. An examination of the philosophical under-pinning of research in one selected area of early childhood education will be undertaken in order to identify methodologies, pedagogies and ethical issues related to the selected topic.
Policies & Practices in Early Childhood This course aims to enable the candidate to engage in a small-scale investigative research project through advanced study into one aspect of early childhood education in the Asia-Pacific region. It provides an opportunity to critically reflect upon major issues relating to the development of a coherent and flexible understanding of early childhood education and the curriculum and pedagogies that are used for the learning of young children. It provides a context for Threshold 1 which focuses on analysing educational policies and practices. It begins this process within the context and experiences of region and on the identification of existing models being employed in the field in this locale.
International Perspective in Early Childhood Education This course aims to enable the candidate to engage in a detailed investigation through study into early childhood educational contexts and provision in at least one international jurisdiction. It enables the candidate to critically reflect upon major issues relating to the international issues and provision in early childhood education and to relate this to localised practices. It links to Threshold 2 which requires that students are able to select, generate and apply theoretical concepts. The focus will be to identify policies and practices within one region and evaluate the range of models being employed to examine the provision of early childhood education. It is envisaged that this might involve a study tour to visit the specified country(ies) where practical.
Provision of Exemplary Early Childhood Education This course will enable the candidate to undertake a project based on the findings from the Asia-Pacific and international investigations. An area of study (e.g. curricula, pedagogies) will be selected for a small-scale investigation in the Asia-Pacific context. Candidates will be expected to critically reflect upon the issue under review and undertake a systematic evaluation and analysis of the implications associated with it locally. Candidates will assess the relevance and implications regarding attempts to innovate local practices based on global issues and trends. It will enable them to consider some of the features that constitute exemplary provision in early childhood education in a number of educational contexts.