Jointly run by SUSS’ Centre for Chinese Studies and S R Nathan School of Human Development, the sixth Singapore Early Childhood Education Chinese Symposium took place virtually on 10 September 2022 and saw an audience of 350 people.
The theme of this year’s symposium was “Turning Challenges into Opportunities: Rethinking Early Childhood Education amid COVID-19”.
Professor Cheong Hee Kiat, SUSS President, highlighted in his welcome address that Singapore had pushed to improve the Early Childhood Education (ECE) curriculum and delivery amid the global pandemic by revising the Nurturing Early Learners (NEL) Framework.
Professor Cheong Hee Kiat, SUSS President, delivering his welcome address.
新跃社科大学校长张起杰教授为论坛主持开幕。“Preschool education enables the holistic development of young children and lays the important foundation for lifelong learning. With preschool education being made available to all our children, every child has the best springboard to develop and realise potential, enabling progress in every sector of our population, be this in terms of ethnicity, social or economic status, family circumstances, and so on,” Professor Cheong remarked.
He concluded his speech by announcing the launch of the ECE Chinese e-journal Xin You Yue Bao (新幼跃报), which presents the latest development and theories in ECE, international practical experiences and studies in preschool education.
Associate Professor Sin Joo Ee, SUSS Head, Master and Bachelor of Education in Early Childhood Education (Chinese) and chief editor of the e-journal, has been working on this open-access journal with her editorial team in the past year. Download the inaugural issue here.
Associate Professor Sin Joo Ee called for contributions to the second issue of the newly launched ECE Chinese e-journal Xin You Yue Bao.
陈如意副教授为《新幼跃报》第二期征稿。
The symposium invited two scholars and experts in both theory and practice in the early childhood education sector as keynote speakers. There were also two practitioners who shared their experiences in redesigning and implementing innovative curriculum in the face of COVID-19.
Professor Jiang Yong from East China Normal University delivered his keynote presentation.
来自华东师范大学的主讲人姜勇教授。 Keynote speaker Professor Jiang Yong from East China Normal University, discussed why cultural existentialism pedagogy should be incorporated into preschool education and how it can holistically engage the young learner to reflect on how knowledge is constructed within cultures.
The other keynote speaker Dr Ge Hui, CEO of 3&3 International Education Corp, explained how their non-profit kindergartens adjusted their curricula and provided support and resources to parents to make sure that children could learn at home effectively through online and offline activities.
Keynote speaker Dr Ge Hui is the CEO of 3&3 International Education Corp.
主讲人葛慧博士是三之三国际文教机构的执行长。 
Wu Ying, Principal of Shanghai Putuo Yichuan Yicun Kindergarten, shares her experience.
海市普陀区宜川一村幼儿园的园长吴莹女士分享经验。 Wu Ying, Principal of Shanghai Putuo Yichuan Yicun Kindergarten, shared how she and her team revamped the curriculum to focus more on the students’ social and emotional competencies, and to develop their aesthetic sense and creativity.
Xie Meng, SUSS Master of Education in Early Childhood Education (in Chinese) student, shared how the organisation she works at turned challenges posed by COVID-19 into opportunities in five areas, namely the inquiry of the children, the relationship of families and schools, the growth of educators, reflections of curriculum specialists, and innovation of the organisation.
Xie Meng, who works as a curriculum specialist at EtonHouse International Education Group, shares the positive outcome of a revised approach to teaching.
在新加坡伊顿国际教育集团任教研员的谢朦女士分享调整教学法之后的效益。 During the two Q&A sessions, the speakers answered questions from the audience by sharing practical methods and resources that would enhance curriculum planning and delivery of lessons, and a lively discussion ensued.
Watch the recording of the symposium here.
第六届新加坡学前教育论坛
由新跃社科大学（简称“跃大”）新跃中华学术中心和纳丹人力发展学院联办的第六届新加坡学前教育论坛于2022年9月10日在网上举行，出席者达350人。
本届论坛主题为“新冠疫情背景下，幼儿园课程的挑战与机遇”。跃大校长张起杰教授致欢迎辞时表示，在疫情期间，新加坡着手更新“培育幼儿：新加坡学前课程框架”，以改进学前教育课程。
他强调，“学前教育关乎儿童的全面发展，也会为终身学习奠下基础。所有孩童都能接受学前教育，让他们都能拥有发挥潜力的最佳起点，令新加坡各个社群都能取得进步，不分种族、社会或经济地位、家庭背景等等。”
张校长也在论坛上宣布华文学前教育电子学报《新幼跃报》正式推出。这份学报的内容涵盖学前教育的最新发展与理论，以及国际的幼教实务与研究。《新幼跃报》主编陈如意副教授与团队过去一年编辑的《新幼跃报》如今正式推出，可点击这里下载创刊号。
本届论坛邀请两位学前教育理论与实践的学者、专家为主讲人，并特邀两位幼儿园工作者来分享他们在新冠疫情下改革和实行课程内容的经验。
华东师范大学姜勇教授在第一场主题演讲时探讨为何要把“文化存在论教育学”纳入学前教育，以及这种理念如何能令儿童了解知识与文化的关系。
三之三国际文教机构执行长葛惠博士则在第二场主题演讲时讲解三之三非营利幼儿园如何调整课程及为家长提供支援，令线上线下活动同步进行，弹性调整，确保幼儿能轻松、有效地学习。
在分享单元，上海市普陀区宜川一村幼儿园园长吴莹女士分享她的团队如何调整课程，以着重培养学生的社交与情绪能力，以及启发他们的美感与创意。
跃大学前教育硕士生谢朦女士则分享她任职的新加坡伊顿国际教育集团如何因为新冠疫情所带来的挑战在五个方面带来契机：加強孩子的学习和探究能力、改善家庭与学校的关系、提升教师的成长、促进教研部的反思和组织的创想。
出席者在两场问答环节中踊跃提问，四位演讲嘉宾一一给予解答，并分享实用的方法和资源。
对于本次论坛，部分出席者分别反馈表示：
- 演讲嘉宾从不同角度探讨主题令我的知识更加丰富，这也将令我的学生从中受惠；
- 每年的论坛都让我能学习到新事物；
- 论坛上分享的理念和技巧对本地幼教非常实用，令我跃跃欲试。
观看本届论坛录影，请浏览。
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