October 17, 2006 - 5:00pm
Educators half-a-world away are helping enhance learning for young Indonesian children, thanks to a collaborative project between Malaspina University-College in Nanaimo and Widya Mandala Catholic University in Surabaya, Indonesia.
In October, educators from Indonesia visited Malaspina as part of an ongoing project to develop a new Early Childhood Education (ECE) curriculum for Indonesian teachers and child care workers.
"We learn the Canadian style of early childhood education. We can see the good points of the practices we have discovered in many centres we have visited, " said Susana Teopilus, who heads the English department at Widya Mandala.
Teopilus and her colleagues are working with faculty at Malaspina to develop curriculum that blends western ideas with the traditional needs of Indonesian families.
Malaspina faculty working on the project include Beverly Revin, chair of Malaspina’s Early Childhood Education department, colleagues Linda McDonell, Nancy McInnes and Lorna McCrae, and Varley Weisman, from Child and Youth Care. Spearheading administration of the project is Sheila Swanson, Director of International Education.
Their counterparts are Widya Mandala faculty members Teopilus, Agnes Maria Sumargi from the Psychology department, and Maria Goretti Retno Palupi, from Teacher Training and Education.
One of the new concepts being integrated into Indonesian Early Childhood Education is the importance of play in learning. Unlike Canadian classrooms, where play is part of learning and children are encouraged to share their ideas, education in Indonesia is more formal.
"The learning in Indonesian programs is more highly structured, " said McDonell. "In our programs, learning is advanced through play. "
Despite the differences, the collaboration revealed that educators in both countries share similar values. They want good training for pre-school educators, and education which gives children the best start in life.
"With proper early childhood education we ensure children grow more optimally. We have positive impacts later in life, " Teopilus said.
The Indonesians noted Western children appear more independent than Indonesian children, perhaps because North American culture encourages independence and Indonesian culture values interdependence.
Those involved in the project expect the impact of the new curriculum will spread beyond the school system.
"Those who join the course will have more knowledge and spread that knowledge to others, so they can promote the development of the child, " Palupi said.
Sumargi anticipates the newly-trained teachers will spread their understanding of how children learn. In addition, since many early childhood teachers are women, they will also be parents.
At present, there is no standardized training and certification for instructors in pre-school and daycare centres. This initiative is expected to help establish standardized training and certification for early childhood educators throughout Indonesia.
"We are collaborating with the regional Ministry of Education, " Teopilus said. "We are having advisory meetings together. "
The partnership between Widya Mandala and Malaspina began in 2000. In 2001, Widya Mandala’s Vice-Rector Veronica Diptoadi and Malaspina’s Linda McDonell and Lynn Traynor began developing the curriculum.
The group managed a few exchange visits between 2000 and 2004, but was hampered by budget. In 2005, the project received a Canadian International Development Agency grant, which allowed for a formal launch in April 2005, exchange visits, and appointment of advisory committees in both Indonesia and Canada.
Since then, the Indonesian faculty have come to Canada twice, for seven weeks in the fall of 2005 and for three weeks this fall. Malaspina faculty and students last visited Indonesia in May 2006.
Courses based on the new curriculum are expected to begin at Widya Mandala in 2010.
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