Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education - Leadership [DECCE-L]

Course Description

The Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education Education - Leadership is developed by SEED Institute and Wheelock College, Boston, USA. This is a 850-hour programme validated by Wheelock College. Upon successful completion of the programme, graduates will be awarded the Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education - Leadership. 

Objectives

The Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education–Leadership (DECCE-L) is specially designed to extend the skills and knowledge of senior pre-school personnel. 

• It provides opportunities for candidates to extend, develop and further the knowledge of theories and practices of early childhood education.
• Throughout the course, students will gain knowledge and understanding of recent developments in teaching and learning, education changes and expectations and training, and acquire skills and attitudes expected of senior personnel in pre-school settings.  They will participate in critical discussions, reflect on professional practice and develop skills to be leaders and mentors in their pre-school centres.
• In addition, it aims to equip them to provide instructional leadership and guidance to pre-school teachers, and develop skills to undertake action research in pre-school settings.

Structure

The part time course duration is about 24 months for DPT holders; Students(DPT holders) are required to complete 650 classroom hours and 200 practicum hours. 

NOTE:

• For part time courses, students are strongly encouraged to satisfy a Minimum Service Period ("MSP") of 6 month by working in the Early Childhood Sector upon course completion.

Course Content

*To be subjected to PQAC's approval

Modules	Synopsis
Current Issues and Research in Early Childhood Care and Education	Focuses on awareness of current issues and research in pre-school education. Students will learn to critically review and debate on recent research, policy issues and findings in child development, best practices of learning for young children, teaching practices for teachers, issues related to parents of young children and curriculum areas related to early childhood education. Students will also learn to critically appraise reports on Action Research, understand and identify various tools of data collection in reports and learn aspects of identifying database and literature sources.
Child Assessment and Programme Evaluation	Aims to help students to understand the important tenets of assessment for young children, the importance of authentic assessment and to develop children's portfolio assessment. Further it gives students an overall overview of various tools that can be used for assessment. The portfolio includes assessment in different curriculum areas, including language, numeracy, science, art, music and movement, cognitive and social development and facilitates opportunities for students to understand the ways of collecting, documenting and reporting for assessment.
Managing Quality Preschool Education Curriculum	Provides an overview of quality in early childhood programmes and examines the different curriculum models including the Pre-school Curriculum Framework in Singapore. Students will learn the guiding principles and discuss issues pertaining to planning and managing anti-bias curriculum that is bilingual and developmentally appropriate. Students would also discuss the possibility of setting up inclusionary programs that promotes all children’s growth and development.
Managing Early Childhood Resources	Developed to help students plan, select, collect and manage early childhood resources such as materials, educational, finances and IT resources within the centre. It also seeks to facilitate students to learn to tap on community resources to enhance pre-school programmes and support children and families.
Introduction to Teachers as Researchers	Focuses on how to determine research focus in their workplace, understanding research design and tools for collection, with emphasis on classroom action research in the area of early childhood education.In the process of understanding the meaning of research, students will understand the principles and characteristics of action research, learn to formulate research statement and questions and write up the related literature review.
Action Research	This module will be based on knowledge and skills gained from “Current Issues and Research in Preschool Education” and “Introduction to Teacher as Researcher”; students will continue to understand theoretical terms such as Ethics, Validity and Reliability in Action Research. Further, prepare informed consent decree, understand data analysis both quantitative and qualitative. Implement the action research study, understand the implications of the findings and finally write up the report.
Leadership in Early Childhood Education	Designed to help students gain an understanding of the meaning of leadership and its functions, and to recognise the fundamental differences between leadership and management. Various concepts and skills in relationship to leadership will be studied. Different theoretical models of leadership styles will be examined. Students will also explore the issues and challenges that leaders are encountering in early childhood settings.
Staff Development and Supervision	Acquire knowledge of supervising other adults in an early childhood setting. This knowledge will enable them to accurately interpret the principles and processes of effective supervision and explore different issues, methods and models in supporting and assessing the professional development of staff in the setting.
Administration and Management of Programmes for Young Children	Designed to introduce students to concepts in management and administration of programs for young children in preschool settings. Students will obtain an overview of the general operations of a childcare centre and kindergarten that include financial management, legislation, safety and health issues, local policies and operation procedures.
Professional Development as a Leader	Designed to help leaders in the early childhood field to enhance their awareness of the global trend and current event in early childhood profession. In this module, students will further understand their professional roles as organizational and instructional leadership. They will also learn to write effective reports and proposals to various partners in the community. As leaders will also acquire knowledge and skills to manage stress and achieve work-life balance and harmony.
Building Family and Community-Centred Partnerships	Designed to help students understand the purpose and importance of supporting children and families through parent education programmes. A variety and range of parent education and support programmes in the community will be discussed and reviewed. Students will learn to design simple group parent education programme that emphasizes on matching needs of the parents through hands-on learning.
Supervised Leadership Practice	The supervised practicum is designed to help students gain field experience in supervision and mentoring. It culminates the research and supervision theories and principles that students learn throughout the course and facilitates students to adopt a reflective supervisory approach in their field practice. Students will also apply the theories and principles in their respective work settings and experience guided supervision practice till the end of their course.

Assessment

Assessment will be based on students' performance in assignments - in the form of field research, case studies, journal writing, reflection, classroom discussions, presentation and practicum. Some modules are examination-based. 

Part-time students will have to find their own practicum centres (at registered childcare centres or kindergartens)when they have received the letter of acceptance from SEED Institute. 

• Listing of Childcare centres registered under MCYS: http://www.childcarelink.gov.sg/ccls/home/ChdCccSrch.jsp
• Listing of Kindergartens registered under MOE: http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/preschool/find-a-kindergarten/

Applicants can try approaching the principals/supervisors to seek approval in doing practicum at their centres. Please note that practicum cannot be done in Playgroup, enrichment centres, tuition centres and international schools.

Admission Requirements

Pre-school personnel who have completed Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education - Teaching (or its equivalent; e.g. DPE-T)

HEALTH CLEARANCE Requirement: Please refer to the following link under childcare link for health clearance requirement:
http://www.childcarelink.gov.sg/ccls/uploads/CCC_Guide.pdf (Refer to page 12 of document) 

Course Code

• DECCE-LP03 (English) 

Date

DECCE-LP03 - 18 Oct 2010 to 30 Nov 2012 (Part-Time)

Time

Mon, Wed & Fri: 6.30pm to 9.30/10pm

Course Fees

For Singaporeans & PRs only

Course fee after 90% SPUR Funding - $1,132.06 (including 7% GST) 

Application Deadline

• 18 Aug 2010 

Funding

• SPUR Funding of 90% will be available for all Singaporeans / PRs.
  
• Workfare Training Support (WTS) Scheme is only available for Singaporeans aged 35 years & above, and who are earning up to $1,700 per month.
   

Click here to download Course Brochure

Click here to download application form

All submitted applications are subjected to approval by SEED Institute.