Admin's blog

AGECS members can now download presentation Powerpoint slides and papers from the Foundation of Graduates in Early Childhood Studies.

They can be found here and if you're not a member, JOIN HERE to access them.

Expressions of interest for Early Childhood Teacher Mentors and Mentees are being accepted for the new Pilot Professional Mentoring Program for Early Childhood Teachers, delivered by Victoria University and Deakin University on behalf of the Department for Education and Early Childhood Development.

The first cohort of up to 180 Mentees and 36 Mentors will commence the program in August 2011 and complete in June 2012. A second cohort will participate in the program from February-November 2012. The program will involve Mentor training, three Shared Learning Days for Mentors and Mentees, four workplace visits from Mentors to Mentees, and additional telephone, email and online support.

The Program of events for Saturday 6th August 2011 is attached for download.

We hope you enjoy the day and will see you there :)

'Performing against the odds: how working class kids succeed in education'

Presenter: Iram Siraj-Blatchford (PhD) is Professor of Early Childhood Education at the Institute of Education, University of London and Partner Investigator on the E4kids study. Her recent research projects have included: Evaluation of the Foundation Phase across Wales and she is a principal investigator of the major DCSF 15-year study on Effective Preschool, Primary and Secondary Education (EPPSE 3-16) Project (1997-2013) and of the influential Researching Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years project (REPEY). She is a specialist, early years advisor to governments and ministers in the UK. Iram is the President of the British Association for Early Childhood Education and is currently an Honorary visiting professor at the Universities of Melbourne, Hong Kong IEd and Swansea.

Time: 10:00am - 11.30am

To give more access to our event tomorrow evening we have set up an online tv channel where you will be able to watch a live internet broadcast of our professional development discussion. You can follow this link:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/association-of-graduates-in-early-childhood-s=tudies

To watch the event which will be on between 7pm and 9pm on the 29th June 2011.

Our twitter account will also be active with someone checking the tweets on the night and responding or accessing your questions (if there arent too
many). This can be accessed here:

http://twitter.com/#!/agecsorg.

The Foundation of Graduates in Early Childhood Studies Conference, to be held on the 6th August extended places for the event due to high demand. Those places have all been snapped up and the event is now full to the brim. if you are interested in placing your name on the waiting list, it's still worth registering. It looks like it's going to be a huge success.

The Warrawong Chairperson, Anne Houghton said, "It's wonderful to know we're providing something that is so obviously needed in the EC community."

The Association is pleased to see the charitable work of the Foundation is finding a need within the community.

One of the primary aims of AGECS within it's constitution has always been to perpetuate and maintain the professional ideals, traditions and standards established by the Melbourne Kindergarten Teachers' College. This includes the support for early childhood professionals in a play-based learning philosophy for children.

I came across this article from a blog, written in 2009, but felt it's still relevant as an ongoing debate between the 'play-based' versus 'academic' teaching methods employed in pre-schools around the world.

Amanda Morgan, of www.notjustcute.com states: