Public Policy and Current Issues Unit 1.pptx

Public Policy and Current Issues of Early Childhood Education

1. UNIT 1: PUBLIC POLICY AND CURRENT ISSUES OF CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA

2. Objectives Identify what is current issues and the effect to early childhood. Identify the way to respond to current issues Understand the overview of aim and challenges of early childhood education in Malaysia

3. What are public policy and current issues? Public policy refers to the proposed or actual actions of government and non-governmental organization (NGO’s) to address and solve social issues. It includes such things as laws; federal, state, and local government guidelines and position statements of professional organizations.

4. In Malaysia, early childhood education for the 4-6 years old group falls under the responsibilities of three Ministries, i.e. Ministry of Education, Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, as well as Department of National Unity and Integration under the Prime Minister Department.

5. Within the last two decades, much has happened in the field of early childhood education in Malaysia. Various Acts and Policies have been drafted and implemented to ensure that all children’s progress is track and they meet achievement goals.

6. Child Act 2001 (Act 611) Act 611 provides that every child is entitled to protection and assistance in all circumstances without regard to distinction of any kind, such as race, colour , sex, language, religion, social origin or physical, mental or emotional disabilities or any status.

7. Act 611 has specific documentation on instruction and rules on the care and protection of children including the Court for Children.

8. Education Act 1996 (Act 550) Under Chapter 2 (Preschool Education), it is stated that no kindergarten (preschool) can be set up and managed without being registered under this Act. Anyone found to do so have contravened the law and can be punished. The power of setting up kindergarten (preschool) lies with the Minister of Education. Minister of Education can delegate the authority to the Director General of Education as registrar of schools.

9. Chapter 2 also stated that the “Minister shall prescribe a curriculum, to be known as the National Pre-school Curriculum, that shall be used by all kindergartens in the National Educational System” (Education Act 1996, p. 23). This curriculum will specify the knowledge, skills and values expected to be acquired by the pupils at the end of their respective preschool education.

10. The National Education Policy As of 2007, educational policies related to preschool education can be summarized as below: Institutionalize pre-school education in order to provide education for children aged 5+ children. Preschool education prepares a strong foundation for formal education, enables children aged 5+ to possess a strong foundation in communication, social and other skills as a preparation for primary school education.

11. Enforcing the usage of National Pre-School Curriculum in all educational institutions except at expatriate pre-schools. Enhancing the monitoring and enforcement mechanism of pre-school programmes conducted by all governmental, non-governmental and private agencies.

12. Expanding pre-school classes of the Ministry of Education. Producing sufficient well-trained teachers and training facilities to fulfill the preschool education needs.

13. Ensuring the implementation and supply of pre-school facilities in line with the policy and objective of the National Pre-School Curriculum. Providing an alternative pre-school curriculum for special education.

14. Our practices in the classroom and as leaders must constantly adapt to changes in our communities and our understanding of the world around us, which gives us the opportunity to continue to grow and develop.

15. What is Current Issues something happens in that external world, the place where “life happens,” and our reality changes. Or sometimes it’s a slow shift: you go to a training and hear about new research, you think it over, read a few articles, and over time you realize the activities you carefully planned are no longer truly relevant to the lives children are living today, or that you know new things that make you rethink whether your practice is really meeting the needs of every child.

16. What is Current Issues As leaders in the field, we must learn to expect that we will be called upon to change, maybe even dramatically, over time. Natural events might occur that affect your community, like forest fires or tornadoes, or like COVID-19 Cultural and political changes happen, which affect your children’s lives New information may come to light through research that allows us to understand human development very differently, this change is going to affect the lives of the children and families you work with, and affect you, professionally and personally.

17. Challenge of facing Current issue Anxious? Excited? Maybe just a little tired? What factors impact your response? What were your first thoughts when you sat back and FELT the reality of ever present change? 

18. Thomas F. Crum, who writes about how to thrive in difficult working conditions: “Instead of seeing the rug being pulled from under us, we can learn to dance on a shifting carpet”.

19. Effect of Current Issues Change is uncomfortable. It leaves us feeling vulnerable as we reexamine the ideas, strategies, even the deeply held beliefs that have served us so far. But as a leader, and with the call to support every child as they deserve, we can develop a sort of super power vision, where we can look unflinchingly around us and understand the hidden impacts of the structures we work within. as a fertilizer so that we as educators and leaders in the field have the chance to learn and grow, to bloom into better educators for every child

20. Core value of early childhood educator Appreciate childhood as a unique and valuable stage of the human life cycle Base our work on knowledge of how children develop and learn Appreciate and support the bond between the child and family

21. Core value of early childhood educator (cont.) Recognize that children are best understood and supported in the context of family, culture,* community, and society Respect the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of each individual (child, family member, and colleague) Respect diversity in children, families, and colleagues Recognize that children and adults achieve their full potential in the context of relationships that are based on trust and respect.

22. How to help children respond to changes Does the issue affect children’s lived experiences?  How much and what kind of information is appropriate for their age? How can I best affirm their emotions? What do I hope they will learn? Could I accidentally be doing harm through my response? Which resources do I need and can I gather in a timely manner? How do I gather my team? How can I involve families? Now, I create and enact my plan…

23. How to respond to changes Work to understand your own feelings. Write about them. Talk them through with your teams—personal and/or professional. Take a look in the mirror, strive to see where you are at, and then be kind to yourself! Gather your tools! Get out that dog eared copy of the NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct, and look for other tools that are relevant to your situation. Root yourself in the values of early childhood care and education. Examine your own practices in light of this change. Examine the policies, structures, or systems that affect your program in light of this change. Ask yourself, where could change happen? Remember your spheres of influence.

24. How to respond to changes ( cont ) Who can you collaborate with? Who is on your team? How can you make sure the people being affected by this change help inform your response? Sometimes people use the phrase “Nothing for us without us” to help remember that we don’t want to make decisions that affect a group of people (even if we think we’re helping) without learning more from individuals in that group about what real support looks like). Make a plan, including a big vision and small steps, and start taking those small steps. Remember that when you are ready to bring others in, they will need to go through some of this process too, and you may need to be on their team as they look for a safe sounding board to explore their discomfort or fear. Realize that you are a courageous advocate for children. Give yourself a hug!

25. Aim of early childhood education (ECE) of Malaysia To develop and nurture children’s potentials in all aspects of their development, especially in acquiring basic skills and fostering positive attitudes toward learning. To help pupils to develop good personal characters and strong self-concept that help them to observe and practice virtuous values in lives and to become patriotic citizens (Anderson & Krathwohl 2001; Shin, Lee, & McKenna 2016).

26. Early education in Malaysia with focus on the issues and challenges in providing quality early education for a multiethnic society. Conflicting interests between majority and minority ethnic groups not only cause different educational outcomes and expectations for children and families but also create challenges to the government to provide quality and equality of education to all young children.

27. Multiethnic Related Issues 1. Racial and Religious Differences Issue 1 - The existence of a group atmosphere between races among students causes them to interact less. -For example, the Chinese are among their own races as well as the Malays and Indians Proposal - Teachers play an important role in bridging the gap between students due to racial and religious differences. - For example, teachers need to act to combine them in one form of group in a multi -racial classroom. As a result, they can interact with each other without embarrassment and can further strengthen cultural unity. Pilgrimage activities visit during the festival between the students The activity involved a group of parents of students of various races

28. Multiethnic Related Issues Issue 2 - The existence of a group atmosphere between races among students causes them to interact less. -For example, the Chinese are among their own races as well as the Malays and Indians Proposal - Teachers play an important role in bridging the gap between students due to racial and religious differences. - For example, teachers need to act to combine them in one form of group in a multi -racial classroom. As a result, they can interact with each other without embarrassment and can further strengthen cultural unity. Pilgrimage activities visit during the festival between the students The activity involved a group of parents of students of various races

29. Multiethnic Related Issues 2. Social Class Differences Issue - The existence of feelings of inferiority among students of different family backgrounds. - Influence the culture, practices and interactions of students in school. Proposal - Teachers need to act appropriately in helping students overcome the problem of low self -esteem. - For example, holding counseling sessions with students to give them a positive spirit and aura. - For example, they will feel valued and grateful. - Involve children from various social classes in the same group - Give responsibility to the smarter to help the less smarter friend - The Palestinian Fund- raises concern among children regardless of social class

30. Comparison between Public and Private Preschools The public and private centers are very different in their goals and how they run their programs and centers in many aspects such as on teaching and learning, teacher preparation and qualifications, teacher-child ratio, rules and regulations, and parental beliefs and expectations. (Refer to Table 1).

31. The differences in the private and public preschools' activities and classroom environments.

32. A classroom in a private preschool equipped with modern technology and an appropriate classroom environment.

33. A teacher in a private preschool explains "Yakult Day" using a slide show. Yakult day is the day the children visit factory manufactured cultured milk called Y akult. Before the trip the children watch the show and the teacher explains about the health benefits of drinking the Y akult.

34. Public preschool building in a rural area

35. Children at reading center during free time in a public preschool

36. Through a campaign called  PERMATA  (Every child is precious as a jewel), the government hopes to create awareness among  Bumiputera  parents and families of the importance of early education and care for young children (Jamil, 2010).

37. Contrary to the minority parents, many  Bumiputera  parents lack of commitment to the importance of the early education for their children. As the results their children have minimal attainment in educational preparation to compete with minority children later in the job markets ( Muthu , 2007).

38. The government hopes that these programs would address the issue of educational opportunity and equality among ethnic groups which in reality is the issue of the economic disparity. Therefore, it is imperative for positive inter-ethnic relations that education should be based on equality and opportunity of all ethnicities.

39. End of Unit 1. What have you learned?