I was grateful to have had the opportunity to work at the Singapore Experiential Education (SEEd) Academy as my work attachment experience. It saw me working with three of my classmates to create a curriculum map and design lesson plans for Nursery and Kindergarten children (4-6 years). Aside from this, I also had the opportunity of flying to Jakarta for a month, where I was tasked to plan and implement holiday and open house activities to promote the new school. We also created lesson materials and briefed the new staff to prepare for its opening.

The learning opportunities I had here were unique and unlike the practicums that I had for the past three years in SUSS, as I experienced first-hand the process of opening and creating curriculum for a new school. During the work attachment, there were plenty of challenges that my team and I faced. For example, as there was no definitive child demographic in the new school, we initially struggled with creating lesson plans that were developmentally appropriate. However, we were able to overcome it by ensuring we embed differentiated learning so future teachers can adjust lessons based on children’s learning levels. There were also challenges caused by cultural differences. One of them was to adapt to the work culture, replanning our schedules to fit in sudden new tasks while still ensuring we completed the main tasks initially assigned. Additionally, with Bahasa Indonesia as the main language there, my team and I slightly struggled in communicating with the locals, though we were able to pick up Indonesian words along the way.

Despite the challenges, my team and I worked well with one another, staying up at night to ensure that we were prepared for the tasks for the next day. We also looked out for one another and celebrated milestones and achievements no matter how small they were, keeping the spirits up when things do not go our way. My team and I were also able to immerse and thoroughly enjoy ourselves in Indonesia. We were able to taste unique and authentic food, shop, and visit different places in Jakarta as recommended by our Indonesian colleagues.

Overall, the experience was insightful in giving me a different perspective on how quality early childhood education is created. Working in another country also allowed us to practise being open-minded and adaptive as we gained new knowledge on the early childhood landscape in Indonesia. Having the opportunity to work in ECE overseas had brought benefits in the development of my teaching practice as well as personal growth.

Lee Kia Kiat (1st row, 1st from left) with her colleagues