SUBANG JAYA, 21 July 2022 - Taylor's has officially launched the Taylor's Centre for Childhood Development and Innovation (CCDI) to contribute to Malaysia's early childhood education aspirations in providing a high-quality learning experience for ECE students in its Diploma and Degree specialisation programmes catering for aspiring ECE teachers, pre-school leaders in the early childhood learning fraternity.

The launch of CCDI was in conjunction with the introduction of the Diploma in Early Childhood Education (DECE) as a field of study beginning this August. DECE is expected to provide a comprehensive understanding on the core knowledge areas, core competencies and values necessary for practitioners involved in early childhood education. The DECE at Taylor's offers value to students as the modules will be taught via the work-based learning model.

This means that the students will have a sizeable amount of time spent learning at actual ECE settings. In addition, the setting-up of a centre for excellence (CCDI) in this area, further supports Taylor's ambition to provide a comprehensive education programme - offering a complete pathway for young aspiring students to excel in the field of early childhood care and education (ECCE) from its diploma course in Taylor's College to degree specialisations in the area and postgraduate studies offered by the School of Education, Taylor's University.

CCDI, other than serving as a simulation classroom also aims to provide a multi-functional space for research and innovations and in multi-disciplinary areas of physical, cognitive, language, emotional and social contexts of children's development. The education framework supporting the new excellence centre will focus on the development and innovation of both academic and socio-emotional learning domains. The framework is expected to provide an impetus into research on further development and innovation in ECE in Malaysia, and globally. It is also set to further develop the core skills and competencies of existing ECE teachers and childcare providers through various community engagements.

The ECE programmes offered by Taylor's also embed community engagement initiatives to support children and parents either at home, in school or within the community.

CCDI was officiated by the Ministry of Education's Deputy Director of Education Policy Planning and Research Division, Dr. Nor Saidatul Rajeah Zamzam Amin. "Evidence from well-established research persistently reiterates the magnitude of early childhood care and education. Apart from serving the conspicuous purpose to prepare children before entering primary education and to ensure school readiness, early childhood care and education lends itself to children gaining significant benefits and prospering fittingly. Early nurturing would stimulate children to realise their potentials and to develop them to the fullest. Hence, setting up early childhood care and education centres of commendable quality should come as the utmost importance for early childhood education providers, by providing conducive learning atmosphere for preschoolers, who are cared and mentored by dedicated and resourceful teachers. Such roadmap developed by Taylor's, I believe, is a step in the right direction to inspire new generation of passionate early learning communities to transform the early childhood system that supports Malaysia's education aspirations in ensuring the effectiveness of quality learning for students and teachers as well as school leaders."

Professor Dr Pradeep Nair Deputy Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer, Taylor's University explained "Early childhood development is a time of tremendous possibility. With the establishment of Taylor's Centre for Childhood Development and Innovation, Taylor's aims to empower the next frontier of childhood studies in the country with a comprehensive, nurturing and collaborative education ecosystem. Through the ECE programmes offered by Taylor's and the availability of a facility that is equipped with innovative technologies, students will gain an immersive education experience that can lead them to breakthrough results in understanding the challenges of the early learning systems, and opportunities to address any gaps within the sector. The use of CCDI in our programmes will offer insights to students to experience and design learning environments that is centred around the need of 21st century learners, equipped with a wide array of hi-tech educational resources such as ActivPanel and observation cameras to capture audio and video for micro-teaching and simulation activities.

"Our partnership with prominent industry partners also provides students with real world experiential learning. Students will have the opportunity to develop their confidence by participating in our Impact Labs and Multidisciplinary Learning Experience. Students will get to explore working with industry partners and other students of diverse backgrounds and discipline to solve real world problems," he further elaborated.

During the launch, Taylor's guests and members of the media were taken on a tour to experience the capabilities of the new centre through thematic learning activities centred on the theme of prehistoric world. The centre was equipped with a 360-degree visual of the pre-historic kingdom, allowing guests to engage in learning activities to help them understand the influence of such skills on children's holistic development. Apart from this, the tour also included other play and learn activities encompassing language and literacy, sand play and science, mathematics and manipulatives, active play as well as arts and crafts to make relevance on the kind of learning strategies that encourages young students to develop their skills.

To learn more about ECCE programmes offered by Taylor's, please visit here.