| Aimed at ensuring that Early Childhood Development (ECD) is given the crucial attention that it requires, some 44 individuals were this weekend certified as Early Childhood Development Practitioners by the University of Guyana. This is the second year that the programme, which is sponsored by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), has been offered by the University.The programme, according to UG’s Head of Foundation and Education Management, Mrs Godryne Wintz, is in keeping with the characteristics of an ideal Caribbean early childhood practitioner.Some of the programme’s participants.In fact, she explained that the design of the programme is grounded on CARICOM’s regulatory framework and training standards for promoting ECD in the Region. As such, the mission of the programme is to provide a standardized education and training programme for practitioners in the early childhood service sector within the context of the CARICOM Regional Qualification Framework.According to Mrs Wintz, “a successful graduate of this programme will be able to employ and promote child-rearing practices which can positively shape children’s attitudes towards learning and influence their overall care and development”.In this regard, she said that the aim of the programme is to develop the relevant knowledge,Cheap Jerseys China, practical skills and attitudes,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, which will allow ECD practitioners to effectively carry out their duties.Two levels of the programme are currently provided by the University, with Level One being designed to provide students with a broad base of foundation knowledge, practical skills, and attitudes which are required for obtaining or performing entry level jobs within the child care provision settings.These foundational competencies, Mrs Wintz said, are also the bases on which higher level training programmes in the area of early childhood are built. Students who successfully complete this programme are eligible for entry into the Level Two Programme. The latter mentioned programme is designed to provide students with practical competencies and attitudes which demand greater involvement and complexity than Level One.Once equipped with the skills of this programme, Mrs Wintz assured that persons will have greater responsibility and autonomy for the children in their care. She offered too that “this programme provides competencies needed for advancement into higher level training programmes in the area of early childhood.”A total of 19 individuals participated in the Level Two Programme and 25 undertook the Level One segment. They were drawn from public and private Day Care Centres and Play Groups across the country, including the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security and municipalities.However, having considered that there are over 215 established child care facilities, Mrs Wintz pointed out that in measurable terms,Cheap Jerseys Online, this figure for the participating institutions remains minuscule. She nonetheless noted that compared to last year’s figure of 13, this means that there has been an over 100 per cent increase since 27 (12.6 per cent) of the established child and institutional care facilities could now boast of having practitioners with the minimum qualification within CARICOM’s qualification framework.The courses offered at Level One are: Introduction to Child Development, Health Education, Introduction to Child Care Curriculum, Parent Involvement, Child Care Profession and Child Care Practicum. The Level Two programmes are just as diverse, including: Child Care Profession, Social Development of the Young Child, General Health Issues and Practice,Cheap Nike Air Max 97 Shoes, Sensory and Motor Development, Cognition and Communication, Curriculum Planning and Evaluation and Child Care Practicum, which focused on the Caribbean Vocational qualification mode of training.Overall,Cheap Air Max 2018 Shoes, 82 per cent of the 44 practitioners successfully completed the programme with the minimum grade point average of 2.0. Eight practitioners are yet to complete or participate in upgrading courses to meet the minimum level, Mrs Wintz said.In keeping with the standard regulation of the programme, for a student to be awarded a certificate with the level of distinction he/she would have had to acquire an overall grade point average of at least 3.4, as well as a grade of B in the practicum component, and at least 2.7 for a Credit, and 2.0 for Pass.The grading of certificates, according to Mrs Wintz, continues to provide the minimum class for matriculation to higher levels and also serves as an initiative to encourage practitioners to strive for excellence.For the Level One programme, out of 25 practitioners, 10 attained the level of Distinction and six the level of Credit. Of the 19 participants who participated in the Level Two programme, six attained distinctions and nine, the level of Credit. They were all certified on Saturday at a ceremony held in the Education Lecture Theatre of the University.In keeping with the philosophy of the 21st Century Learning Initiative, which assumes that education must help to sustain the values of society while also responding adequately to current and future rates of change, Mrs Wintz said that “our programme was modified during its second year to incorporate a module on Disaster Preparedness.”This move, she said, was necessary due to the fact that over the past four years, the Caribbean region reported the second highest number of disasters in the world – second only to Asia. In the last four years, the region has been impacted by six significant hurricanes and three high magnitude earthquakes that have destabilised families and communities and have disproportionately and adversely impacted the lives of young children in early childhood (Regional Workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Response in Early Childhood in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2011).In Guyana, the floods of 2005 and recent unrest have seen similar effect, Mrs Wintz noted.“We are perpetually grateful to Mr Oronde Drakes,Jerseys NFL Wholesale, Environmental Hazards and Geographical Information Systems Specialist, for developing and facilitating the module on disaster preparedness which provided our ECD practitioners with an understanding of environmental hazards and disaster preparedness as it relates to Early Childhood Education and their roles as custodians.”Mrs Wintz regarded the move as a great achievement for the University, since examination of ECD programmes offered, both nationally and regionally, revealed that they are yet to introduce this component. |
