Rethinking Early Childhood Education

Step into her transformative vision for the holistic development of young minds.

Professor Sharon Lynn Kagan is a professor of early childhood and family policy at Columbia University’s Teachers College, and a professor (adjunct) at Yale University’s Child Study Centre. Growing up with parents who were interested in social justice causes, and having worked with young children in America’s Head Start Programme, Professor Kagan’s research was initially centred on childhood development and facilitating transitions for children from low-income backgrounds.

However, her perspective broadened as she recognised the myriad factors influencing public service outcomes, especially the impact of government policies on early childhood education. This prompted a shift in her research focus towards studying the factors shaping the practice of early childhood education.

I think a lot about the conditions in which childhood educators work, and the way in which we collect and use research data to impact the lives of young children and their families. Hence, my unit of analysis is not only the child or the teacher, but the entire context in which a child grows, learns and develops.

~ Professor Sharon L. Kagan

 

Throughout her distinguished career, Professor Kagan has visited no fewer than 98 countries to advise governments on strengthening their education policy frameworks. Her travels also revealed a scarcity of professionals trained in policy formulation related to young children, motivating her to spearhead graduate and post-graduate degree programmes in the field of early childhood policy. Today, Professor Kagan’s work has gained international recognition, empowering policymakers to systematically study how to bring about changes that improve the lives of young children.

Through her appointment as a Lee Sing Kong Visiting Professor of Early Childhood at the NIE, Professor Kagan aims to enrich the discourse surrounding early childhood education in Singapore, urging professionals to excel in engaging with young students and fostering stronger connections with their parents. She emphasised delving deeper into each child’s aspirations, learning objectives, cultural background and family dynamics. This comprehensive approach would enhance the practice of teaching and learning, underscored by policies that prioritised these crucial aspects of education.

The late Professor Lee Sing Kong was a man of vision. Hence, I’m honoured to carry forward his legacy. I believe this Professorship was designed to catalyse change in the intellectual zeitgeist regarding how we think about our work as early childhood educators.

~ Professor Sharon L. Kagan

To illustrate her point, Professor Kagan shared findings from her acclaimed study of six nations (Australia, England, Finland, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea) with highly effective and comprehensive early childhood education and care systems. Three core principles for success had been distilled: (1) the relevance of context, (2) the comprehensiveness of policies and support, (3) the importance of structures and systems. The study also broke down the factors supporting each principle, citing evidence from the respective countries and the implications for future research, policy formulation and implementation.

In Singapore’s context, Professor Kagan noted the NIE’s pivotal role in education research and teacher training. This has helped to accelerate the exchange of ideas, and foster greater opportunities in early childhood education for faculty, researchers and students. She also commended Singapore’s proactive approach in human capital development, highlighting its extensive data archives that have supported crucial studies on early childhood development locally and abroad.

She concluded the interview by urging education stakeholders to prioritise the formative years of childhood and elevate the role of those working with young children.