The childcare landscape has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. As more and more childcare settings spring up, the opportunities for jobs have never been better.
New structures and policies are falling into place, and with them a need develop qualifications. A new BA degree in early childhood care and education is in its first year at the Dublin Institute of Technology.
Margaret Kernan is a tutor on the course. "The development of the degree will offer greater expertise to the early years sector and improve the quality of provision for children. It will also improve the status of people working in the sector and help highlight the importance of early childhood education for children".
Until last September the DIT's School of Social Sciences offered a two-year certificate and one-year diploma in childcare. The three-year degree will now incorporate the certificate and diploma and the school is looking at mechanisms whereby people currently taking the diploma will be able to progress the degree stage.
There is a strong focus on the child throughout the course; the child in the family and society and the relationships between the three. What marks the course out as unique is what Anne Fitzpatrick, course co-ordinator, describes as "the normative nature of the focus. The trend throughout the EU is to move early childhood education and care to a professional level and the development of this degree is part of that trend."
Eileen McDermott is in her third year of the diploma course. "The most interesting thing about the course has been the relationship between theory and practice. We spend quite a lot of time on placement, so we have plenty of opportunity to put the theory we learn at college into practice."
A range of placements in services for up to eight-year-olds is offered, including creches, playgroups, naionrai, and health board nurseries.
Each student is expected to complete three supervised placements ranging over a variety of settings during the course. The placements increase in level of difficulty in accordance with increasing levels of competence over the three-year period.
"If the students have a particular area of interest, we try to facilitate them with an appropriate placement. They are given very clear guidelines of what they are expected to do while on placement, and they get ongoing structured feedback from the placement supervisor and tutors who visit while they are on placement," explains Margaret Kernan.
According to Maire Mhic Mhathuna who lectures in early education and research methods, "the theory opens their minds to see what happens on placement and to be critical about what they see".
In the first year of the course students become familiar with developmental psychology, principles of professional practice, early education, and the role of drama, art and music. Second years continue developmental psychology, early education, take two options from the drama, art and music module and also look at various sociological issues. In third year, students study abnormal psychology with an option in counselling or therapeutic play skills. They also study developmental play, early years curriculum, working with families and either drama, art or music.
The course also covers communication, computer skills, research methods and health studies.
"We try to put early education in its social context," says Mhic Mhathuna. "We look at early education principles in terms of the whole child, and the importance of play."
Students in third year do a major project on an area of their choice. "This year we have students working on the development of physical education, bereavement, marital breakdown, families of prisoners, and the influence of television on children's play," says Mhic Mhathuna.
Dorit Deering lectures in psychology and the counselling skills option in third year. "In first year we look at developmental psychology among 0-7 year olds. "Second years examine development of seven-year-olds up to adolescence, while third years are introduced to the notion of abnormal behaviour.
"The third years can also take the counselling skills option, which has a strong emphasis on working with parents. The other option for third years is children's right in the context of current trends away from welfare-based early education provision towards a rights based provision." Eileen McDermott has found that over the three years studying, "you increase your knowledge of early childhood development to such an extent that you can really see yourself move forward in your practical work. You become quite confident with what you are doing because you have the benefit of learning the theory, and seeing it put into practice."
For Martina Shovlin, who has "always had a passion for working with children", the interaction between the staff and the students is brilliant. "You can go and talk to your tutor any time, and it's no problem.
"You're not really treated like a student, you can see that the tutors have a lot of respect for you, they are interested in your ideas, and happy to help out."
Winnie Costello is in the middle of her first year of the degree. "I have really enjoyed the practical work so far," she says.
"I've been working with disadvantaged children in an Eastern Health Board setting, doing a lot of observing, helping out with the daily routine and taking groups for art and story telling.
The BA degree in Early Childhood Care and Education is a taught course leading to an ordinary degree awarded by the DIT.
Entry requirements: Six Leaving Certificate subjects, two of which must be at least grade C3 on higher level papers. Students must have passed Irish, English and maths.
