Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education - Teaching [DECCE-T] (English / Chinese)

Principles and Practices in Early Childhood Care and Education 

This module provides an overview of the development of and perspectives on early childhood care and education. Students will gain an in-depth understanding of historical and current philosophical perspectives of early childhood care and education. Their study will include identifying various appropriate practices for local and global early childhood care and education and the Rights of the Child (UN-CRC).

Human Growth and Development, 0-8 Years

The module on Human Growth and Development (HGD) is devoted to the study of children from infancy to the onset of formal schooling. Students will study infants and toddlers, and proceed to examine preschool children both at home and at school.

The emphasis of the module is on the development of young children in all major areas of functioning, including their physical, cognitive, social and emotional development. Students will describe typical children at different points in development in terms of their characteristics, feelings, thoughts and observable behaviours.

Also, various theories in child development will be introduced to help students understand how these theories have influenced thinking about children‘s development. In addition, formal observation and recording techniques are used to interpret and analyze their behaviours.

Infant and Toddler Behaviour and Development

This module examines the theoretical and empirical research and practical experience relating to the first three years of life in different perspectives. The chronological sequence of development in terms of physical, social/ emotional, cognitive, and language development will be discussed. In addition, the developmental, programming and family needs/advocacy issues such as parent/child interactions, attachments, teacher/child interactions, parenting concerns, culturally and developmentally appropriate programmes, care-giving curriculum and play development will be addressed.

Inclusionary Practices for Educating Exceptional Children

This module examines the trend of the increased number of children with special needs enrolling into regular preschools and mainstream school classes, necessitating closer collaboration between teachers trained in special education and those teaching mainstream classes. The content coverage provides regular classroom teachers with the knowledge and skills which were traditionally seen as belonging to special educators and/or paraprofessionals. Students will acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to adapt and modify programmes to cater for the inclusion of all children.

Visual and Performing Arts for Young Children

This module is designed to help candidates provide Creative Arts experiences for young children from 2 to 8 years old. Students will encounter a variety of music and art experiences such as singing, playing percussion instruments, listening to music, moving to music (dance), dramatization, drawing, painting and other visual arts activities like craftwork. Through these experiences, students will be empowered to create an interesting and effective environment to foster the growth of creative potential in every child. In addition, the students will also gain the necessary knowledge and skills to plan and implement age appropriate activities for young children.

Students will also experience a specific musical/art form in more depth, giving them the confidence to express their creativity and artistic potentials more naturally, and grooming them to become a skilful early childhood practitioner in the arts

Environmental Awareness

The module examines the environment that surrounds us, and introduces students to the scientific, sociological, historical and geographical world which is an important and integral part of education for young children to help them make sense of the world that they live in. Emphasis is given to three critical facets of approach to this knowledge and understanding. They include: processes, concepts and content. Discussion will focus on the how the philosophy and goals of the Constructivists’ approach and its teaching strategies guide the way children construct knowledge. The module also identifies processes of learning, and helps students plan developmentally appropriate environment/science goals and activities for pre-schoolers aged 3+ - 6 years. Through the experiential environmental awareness activities conducted in class, students will analyse the philosophy, environment and the pedagogy required to help children develop self-directed inquiry skills as well as foster creative communication techniques.

Curriculum for Early Childhood Care and Education

In this module, students will plan, implement, and evaluate developmentally appropriate preschool programmes for children ages 3-5. Topics will include:

Standards and practices of an early childhood developmentally appropriate curriculum;

Designing and developing an early childhood curriculum to meet the range of children's needs and interest in a kindergarten/childcare classroom setting;

Different models of early childhood curriculum and programmes;

The role of play in young children’s learning and its implications in designing early learning experiences; and

The role of the teacher in promoting young children’s learning.

Language Arts in the Early Years

This subject provides a detailed understanding of the components of language arts and how they are incorporated in the development of language and literacy acquisition in young children. Language development will be explored with reference to psychological theories such as learning theory, Nativist theory, cognitive developmental, Social Interactional theories and their more recent modifications. The subject will raise students’ awareness to the current international research on emergent literacy and how care givers can design a nurturing environment to develop children’s reading and writing and skills for future school readiness. Students will understand the literary elements of choosing appropriate children’s literature. They will also understand the concept of biliteracy, that is, the use of more than one language and the role of media literacy in language development.

Topics to be covered include the child's developing phonological, awareness, the developmental stages of writing and reading in young children, the importance of invented spelling, incorporating language and literacy in the setting up of learning environments and how teachers can integrate language arts experiences into other areas of learning such as Numeracy, aesthetic and creative movements and self and social awareness.

The role of the family in literacy development- Home – School partnership for literacy development the subject will also include the current developments of performance assessment and the importance of including various assessment strategies of performance assessment to evaluate children’s language and literacy development.

Play and the Young Child

This module examines the importance of play in the early childhood curriculum and the theories and perspectives underlying the development of play in terms of physical, social/emotional, and cognitive development. It will address the role of teacher in observation, facilitation and assessment of play strategies and activities for young children. The preparation of play environments, selection of toys and equipment will also be discussed.

Developing Self and Social Awareness

This module is designed to help students understand the importance of helping children develop a positive regard for themselves as they respond to different changes and situations in their world. Students will also acquire theoretical knowledge and examine the perspectives underlying the development of social competence and coping skills that will help children manage stress. It will also address the role that the teacher plays in helping children develop prosocial behaviour as they begin to understand and manage their emotions. Students will examine, determine and develop appropriate strategies and activities to promote social competence in young children and help them build coping mechanisms to manage changes and stress that they may encounter.

Designing Preschool Learning Environments

This module focuses on developing a process of designing a developmentally appropriate learning environment for young children. Participants will redesign the space in their own center as a result of addressing issues related to how, what and where children learn. Participants will be expected to select, organize, create and evaluate educational materials and environments for children.

Mathematics for the Young Child

The module explores the mathematical content and methodology for teaching mathematics. The emphasis is 2-tiered:

• Working out a sequential mathematical curriculum content appropriate for our local preschoolers aged 3 to 6 years; and
• Adopting teaching methodologies that nurture children's mathematical thinking, helping them to become problem solvers and abstract thinkers.

The module will review the pre-school math curriculum based on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) curriculum standards from USA and the New Math approach adopted in Singapore's primary schools. It will discuss the theoretical framework of how children learn mathematics; set up a math environment and examine assessment strategies appropriate for specific age groups.

Sports and Fitness for Young Children

This module focuses on equipping students with the following knowledge and skills:

Understand that physical play and sports provide preschoolers with regular physical activity, something many kids don't get enough of these days. Sports can also help young children learn about socials skills, motor skills, teamwork, fair play and persistence. For many children, their experience in sports at childcare and kindergarten is their first interaction with somebody other than their family members;

Provide a safe and structured sports environment is a great way to make friends and get some exercise. Young children also learn about taking turns, standing in line and playing safely;

Understand and be able to employ child-centered methodologies and instructional strategies to promote the development of both fine and gross motor skills through movement and simple sports-related activities; and

Basic skills for observing movement patterns and plan activities and experiences to promote development of appropriate motor skills.

Design and Technology as Teaching and Learning Tools

Students will learn to select developmentally appropriate and culturally diverse learning and teaching materials for use in the early childhood classroom. They will be guided on the range of options available for them to use non-print materials and resources (photography, online learning, video recordings, internet, CD-Roms, etc.) for teaching, learning, documenting and reporting of children’s progress and development. Opportunities will be provided for students to prepare creative prints, media and other materials for classroom displays and use ICT as a learning and teaching tool.

English Language Studies and Academic Writing

The module helps the students understand the functions of language in different contexts and provide them with the rules of the English language in terms to the theory of language structure, meaning and grammar use. In addition, students are equipped with the skills to write effective summaries, abstracts and reports. For the purpose of course, students will be guided through the process of academic writing, in particular the adherence to the APA style of citations and referencing.

Personal and Professional Development in Early Childhood Settings

This module is designed for students to gain awareness in self-development and professional development. In this module, students will explore issues and challenges in personal and professional lives and be prepared for the challenges. Students will also learn to acquire skills in effective communication, reflective practices and developing professional portfolio.

Safety, Health and Nutrition

This module is designed to help students understand the information on the basic needs on nutrition and health for young children, to understand the principles and applications of first aid, symptoms and signs of common childhood illnesses, how to provide for their nutritional needs and how to respond to situations of illnesses and accidents. It also addresses the issues of child abuse and how to detect child abuse.

Partnership with Families and the Community

This module explores the dynamics of families and their role in an evolving society. Students will have an understanding of the interdependence between home and school. Both schools and families share the responsibility of increasing every child’s motivation and success in school. It emphasizes using different approaches and strategies for building bridges between the home and school. Students will explore different models and strategies to help them develop their home-school partnership programmes.

Supervised Teaching Practice

The supervised teaching practicum is designed to help students gain their practical teaching skills in preschool classrooms with a focus on curriculum development. Students will design, implement and evaluate a curriculum project that explores the integration of several subject areas. Students will also apply the theories and principles in their respective work settings and experience guided supervision practice by mentors, lecturers and field supervisors.

DECCE-TCP10 (Chinese - PART TIME)

1 Jul 2013 - 30 Feb 2015

1 Jul 2013 - 30 Jun 2016

15 Jul 2013 - 30 Jan 2015

29 Jul 2013 - 30 Jun 2016

Mon to Fri :

9am - 5pm

Mon, Wed, Fri: 6.30pm - 9.30pm/10pm

Mon to Fri :

9am - 5pm

Mon, Tue & Thu : 

6.30pm - 9.30/10pm

Jul/Aug

Mon to Fri: 6pm - 7pm

Sat: 9am - 6pm

• Course fee (after 70% WDA Funding) - $3,940.28 (includes 7% GST; For Singaporeans & PRs only) 

• Course fee after 90% WTS Scheme - $1,313.43 (includes 7% GST; For Singaporeans aged 35 yrs old & above + earning between $1,401 to $1,700 per month)  

• Course fee after 95% WTS Scheme - $656.71 (includes 7% GST; For Singaporeans aged 35 yrs old & above + earning $1,400 & below per month) 

Note: Up to 95% Funding applicable (Terms and Conditions Apply)

31 May 2013

31 May 2013

31 May 2013

31 May 2013

Late Payment Charges

As and when required by lecturers

REFUND POLICY % of the aggregate amount of the Course Fees and Additional Fees paid