Educators urged to give importance to early childhood development

The Education Ministry has collaborated with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to launch a national sensitisation workshop for early childhood development.

The two-day workshop, which commenced on Wednesday at Parc Rayne, Rahaman’s Park, Greater Georgetown, targeted education officials from across the country to introduce the Early Childhood Good Practice Guide that is currently being disseminated in several countries in the Region.
Delivering the feature address was Education Minister Nicolette Henry, who reminded that such capacity-building ventures would improve performance in the classrooms and, moreover, enhance the country’s abilities to function commendably.
She believes that the workshop would ensure that Guyana stayed relevant within the context of a changing education system since poor childhood development affected a person throughout their educational life and beyond.
“The knowledge, skills, and practices of early childhood are important factors in determining how much a child learns and how prepared that child is,” Henry told the gathering, as she admitted that educators were being asked to have a complex understanding of early childhood development.
Notwithstanding those expectations, the Minister said a detailed process undertaken by the stakeholders to develop the guide was important in offering research. This will assist educators in framing the most suitable methodology to be used in Guyana.
Chief Education Officer Marcel Hutson was also present as he reiterated that transformation of the education sector was only possible if the guide was used properly by educators and policymakers.
Additionally, the CEO said that educators should set standards that children would be willing to achieve and work towards.
The workshop is being conducted by two of the leading early childhood development specialists in the Region, Sian Williams of Jamaica and Leon Charles of Grenada.
This engagement is intended to develop an understanding of the specific principles that have to be addressed in programming each area of good practice covered by the guide.
Ideas on how to explore principles that can be applied to the specific national setting and whether or not the applications in the guide are appropriate for Guyana’s context were also examined.