Early Years and Childhood Studies Programme Planning Team
- Keynote Speakers include:
- Dr Ioanna Palaiologou University of Bristol
- Professor Geraldine French Dublin City University
- Maire Mhic Mhathuna Department of Education
- Presenters:
- Music: Michelle Finnerty, Leah Ahern
- Applied Social Studies: Shirley Martin, Lynn Buckley, Deirdre Horgan, Jacqui O'Riordan
- Applied Psychology: Audrey Dunn Galvin, Angela Veale;
- Education: Maura Cunneen, Marcella Towler, Alison Moore, Stephen Curran
- Occupational Therapy: Helen Lynch, Alice Moore
- External Contributors:
- Cork City Childcare: Janet Dennehy
- Educate Together, Cork: Dave Cashman
- Graduate Spotlight Speakers: Jane O'Sullivan MTU Cork; Emily Ahern Evolve Therapy; Jennifer Pope MIC Limerick, Carol Brogan Farmyard Kindergarten Cork.
10 March 2023, Dora Allman Room, Student Hub Building
https://conference.ucc.ie/looking-back-looking-forward/25-years-of-early-years-and-childhood-studies/Site/Register
The early learning and care (ELC) sector has developed exponentially in the past few decades, with increased state involvement, regulation and investment in the sector. The contribution of professional education programmes, such as the Early Years and Childhood Studies (EYCS) degree programme (with equal input from three Schools; Education, Social Studies, and Psychology), is critical in ensuring that graduates are prepared for the complex and challenging roles that they will occupy (as practitioners, researchers, managers, evaluators, inspectors, lecturers), thereby increasing the likelihood that children’s experiences of these settings will positively contribute to their learning, well-being and development in the present and into their future. A graduate led workforce is an important goal that aligns with Professional registration/accreditation and coherent pathways for progression. Related to these developments, the first cohort of the new 4-year EYCS degree programme approved by the QAB in the Department of Education was recruited in September 2021.
The conference comprises keynote speakers drawn from experts in the field and graduates from the twenty-five years of the programme. The focus on past, present and future enables in-depth reflection on the emergence of the Early Years and Childhood Studies in higher education in Ireland, marking UCC as a leader in the field. It will also help to define future pathways.