On Tuesday 30th January Education Department students were invited to attend a guest lecture on the ‘Globalisation of Education – China Opportunities’ hosted by Fran Cornwall and delivered by Dr Sarah Gong of Inspire International Education.
The lecture explored how the early education systems in the UK and China compare, and why the relationship between the two countries is growing in strength within our sector. Pertinent was the need for knowledge and skills pertaining to providing a balance of adult-led and play based curricula, a taste of UK strategies to teaching and delivery, and approaches to facilitating phonics and the English Language. Skills our students are certainly developing or secure in. This was an interesting lecture relevant to course content, for example; for any students studying on modules such as ‘Doing Education Differently’, or preparing to study the ‘Collaborative Working’ module.
The wow factor was the facilities in the settings students would be deployed in, think; roof top play areas, swimming pools and water corridors, modern large play rooms, eateries and comfy bedrooms… now that is a contrast with a typical early education environment here in the UK!
But the real take home message is that students could hear of how their skills sets are highly sought after, and were introduced to employment opportunities available to them in Sichuan China.
Jobs on offer to them included working in nursery and primary provisions as teachers, and the benefits on offer from taking up these opportunities included but were not limited to; a competitive salary, many living expenses already taken care of e.g. accommodation and food, socialising, and developing professional connections. Alternatively, students could work flexibly based in the UK as English teachers. With students developing their abilities with technology through their own Microsoft usage, and engaging with technology enhanced learning within their own degree, it was easy to see how they themselves could facilitate interactive short daily phonics activities via distance learning.
There are more possible opportunities in the pipeline being developed for students, so this was by no means an isolated event. Therefore, we look forward to keeping in touch with Dr Sarah Gong, and she will indeed be visiting again for those who did not attend the event on this occasion, and for those looking to apply for the available positions.