(From left) Taylor’s College School of Pre-University Studies head Dr R. Sivabala Naidu, Taylor’s College campus director Josephine Tan, Taylor’s University deputy vice-chancellor and chief academic officer Prof Dr Pradeep Nair, Education Ministry deputy director of Education Policy Planning and Research Division Dr Nor Saidatul Rajeah Zamzam Amin, Early Childhood Care and Education Council Malaysia president Datin Prof Dr Mariani Md Nor, Taylor’s University Faculty of Social Sciences and Leisure Management executive dean Prof Dr A.R. Neethiahnanthan and Taylor’s University School of Education head Dr Logendra Stanley Ponniah at the official launch of Taylor’s Centre for Childhood Development and Innovation.
THE importance of early childhood education (ECE) can never be disputed.
A child’s developmental years are the best time to start nurturing him towards realising his potential and this is also the period when the foundation is built and set towards future success.
In recognition of the important role that childhood education plays in bringing up the generation of tomorrow, Taylor’s recently launched its Taylor’s Centre for Childhood Development and Innovation (CCDI) – to provide ECE students quality learning experience on the diploma and degree specialisation programmes. These programmes cater for aspiring ECE teachers and pre-school leaders in the early childhood learning fraternity.
The launch of CCDI was in conjunction with the introduction of the Diploma in Early Childhood Education (DECE) as a field of study beginning this August. The public can expect various on-ground and digital activations from the hybrid campaign, which was launched in July 26 and is ongoing until Sept 30.
Taylor’s Centre for Childhood Development and Innovation provides a high-quality learning experience for students who aspire to be the next generation of early childhood educators in Malaysia.
DECE is expected to provide a comprehensive understanding on the core knowledge areas, core competencies and values necessary for practitioners involved in early childhood education.
The DECE at Taylor’s offers value to students as the modules will be taught via a work-based learning model.
The setting up of CCDI further supports Taylor’s ambition to provide a comprehensive and complete pathway for aspiring students to excel in the field of early childhood care and education (ECCE) with its diploma course in Taylor’s College to degree specialisations and postgraduate studies at the School of Education, Taylor’s University.
Other than serving as a simulation classroom, CCDI also aims to provide a multi-functional space for research and innovations in multidisciplinary areas of physical, cognitive, language, emotional and social contexts of children’s development.
The education framework supporting the new excellence centre will focus on the development and innovation of both academic and socio-emotional learning domains.
The framework is expected to provide an impetus into research on further development and innovation in ECE in Malaysia, and globally. It is also set to further develop the core skills and competencies of existing ECE teachers and childcare providers through various community engagements.
The ECE programmes offered by Taylor’s embed community engagement initiatives to support children and parents at home, in school or within the community.
The recent CCDI launch was officiated by the Education Ministry’s deputy director of Education Policy Planning and Research Division Dr Nor Saidatul Rajeah Zamzam Amin.
“Evidence from well-established research persistently reiterates the magnitude of early childhood care and education,” Dr Nor Saidatul said.
“Early nurturing would stimulate children to realise their potentials and develop them to the fullest. Therefore, setting up early childhood care and education centres of commendable quality should come as the utmost importance.
“Such roadmap developed by Taylor’s is a step in the right direction to inspire the new generation of passionate early learning communities to transform the early childhood system that supports Malaysia’s education aspirations in ensuring the effectiveness of quality learning for students and teachers as well as school leaders,” she said.
Taylor’s University deputy vice-chancellor and chief academic officer Prof Dr Pradeep Nair said: “Early childhood development is a time of tremendous possibility. With the establishment of Taylor’s CCDI, we aim to empower the next frontier of childhood studies in the country with a comprehensive, nurturing and collaborative education ecosystem.
“The use of CCDI in our programmes will offer insights to students to experience and design learning environments centred around the need of 21st century learners, equipped with a wide array of hi-tech educational resources such as ActivPanel and observation cameras to capture audio and video for micro-teaching and simulation activities.
“Our partnership with prominent industry partners provides students real world experiential learning. Students will have the opportunity to develop their confidence by participating in our Impact Labs and Multidisciplinary Learning Experience, and explore working with industry partners and other students of diverse backgrounds and disciplines to solve real world problems,” he said.
A panel discussion during the CCDI launch with (from right) Dr Logendra Stanley Ponniah, Datin Prof Dr Mariani Md Nor and Dr Nor Saidatul Rajeah Zamzam Amin, moderated by Sheahnee Iman Lee.
The CCDI launch featured an interesting and informative panel discussion on “Learning And Working Together: Transforming Early Childhood Systems Through Effective Collaboration” with Dr Nor Saidatul, Taylor’s University School of Education head Dr Logendra Stanley Ponniah and Early Childhood Care and Education Council (ECCE) Malaysia president Datin Prof Dr Mariani Md Nor, moderated by influencer and content creator Sheahnee Iman Lee.
The discussion touched on ECE policies in Malaysia, as well as other relevant issues and challenges faced by the industry.
The new CCDI centre showcased thematic learning activities centred on the theme of a prehistoric world.
After the discussion, Taylor’s guests and members of the media were taken on a tour to experience the facilities at the new centre and thematic learning activities centred on the theme of a prehistoric world.
The centre was equipped with a 360º visual of the pre-historic kingdom, enabling guests to engage in learning activities to understand the influence of such skills on children’s holistic development.
The tour included other play and learn activities relevant to strategies that encourage young students to develop their skills. Learn more about ECCE programmes offered by Taylor’s at university.taylors.edu.my
(From left) Taylor’s College School of Pre-University Studies head Dr R. Sivabala Naidu, Taylor’s College campus director Josephine Tan, Taylor’s University deputy vice-chancellor and chief academic officer Prof Dr Pradeep Nair, Education Ministry deputy director of Education Policy Planning and Research Division Dr Nor Saidatul Rajeah Zamzam Amin, Early Childhood Care and Education Council Malaysia president Datin Prof Dr Mariani Md Nor, Taylor’s University Faculty of Social Sciences and Leisure Management executive dean Prof Dr A.R. Neethiahnanthan and Taylor’s University School of Education head Dr Logendra Stanley Ponniah at the official launch of Taylor’s Centre for Childhood Development and Innovation.
Taylor’s Centre for Childhood Development and Innovation provides a high-quality learning experience for students who aspire to be the next generation of early childhood educators in Malaysia.
The new CCDI centre showcased thematic learning activities centred on the theme of a prehistoric world.
A panel discussion during the CCDI launch with (from right) Dr Logendra Stanley Ponniah, Datin Prof Dr Mariani Md Nor and Dr Nor Saidatul Rajeah Zamzam Amin, moderated by Sheahnee Iman Lee.
