PRESCHOOL TEACHING, A GROWING, AND MUCH NEEDED, PROFESSION

Employment of preschool teachers is projected to grow 17% from 2012 to 2022, which is faster than the average for all occupations. The importance of early childhood education is starting to get its just emphasis. Early Childhood Development is seen as one of the most cost-efficient investments in human capital which leads to a country's sustainable development. Additionally, the population of children ages 3 to 5 is expected to increase, further heightening the demand for qualified preschool teachers.

Knysna Education Trust is in their third year of presenting FET accredit Pre-school teacher Qualifications. With a strong service provider, Professional Child Care College, KET offers part-time courses for students to work while simultaneously accessing quality training within the Garden Route.

We have students showing incredible enthusiasm, passion and dedication in their assignments and practical application.

“The Knysna Education Trust (KET) Training Centre is so far the best opportunity choice I have made. They are very helpful and understanding specific needs for each student. I enjoy being in class because our lecturer Angelina Smith is very clear, helpful and supportive throughout lectures. The KET Training Centre is convenient for me, due to the fact that they are locally situated. I find great value in the training centre, not just to be career driven but it also helps me with my personal life and raising my two children. I feel confident that in the future I could make a difference in someone’s life and be able to teach someone else by becoming the best teacher I can be. All thanks to KET and their personnel.” ~ Student, Nadine van der Walt, May 2018

Article written by Angelina Smith (Education and Training Manager, KET)

Click on these links to view the course content or download an application form. 

Published: 29 October 2018

IIP (Intensive Intervention Programme) - Therapy Groups

The Intensive Intervention program had a lot of fun with the theme: My clothes. The children enjoyed washing the clothes and roleplaying all the steps of washing, rinsing, drying and hanging the washing up on the washing lines.

The children exercised their fine motor skills through all the activities involving the washing pegs. We counted our clothes and sock and improved our number recognition and consistency that way.

Visual perceptions skills were used and improved through matching games using socks. This theme lent itself to the use and expanding of the children’s vocabulary – not only did they have to build on the “my body” theme using and naming all the body parts they had to explain and reason where and why each piece of clothing must go and how to put it on their persona dolls.

In-between all this fun, we had our first parent observation sessions. The parents were invited to come and observe a Therapy group of their child with us. This was a big success and the parents were very grateful for what the program does to help their children’s scholastic development.

The feedback from the parents was very positive and the team members had the opportunity to talk and help and assist some of the parents who have concerns regarding their child’s skills and abilities.

Published: 23/08/2018

Persona Doll Training at KET ~ with Kim Adrioli from PDT

KET greatly values Skills Development.  We love growing our teachers and our staff.

Training of Trainers and Leaders Anti-Bias and Adult Education Programme

Persona Doll Training (PDT) South Africa provides anti-bias training, materials and support for adults working with children in a range of settings, in partnership with key stakeholders in the NGO sector and the Departments of Education and Social Development. The Persona Doll approach offers a practical, innovative and effective way to teach important life skills and encourage diversity, inclusion and respect for human rights. It originated in anti-bias work in the United States in the wake of the civil rights movement, and was adapted to tackle the persistent apartheid legacy of discrimination and prejudice in South Africa during the early 2000s.

Our ‘hands-on’ experiential training assists adults to deal with issues of poverty, violence and abuse, racism, and stigma in their own lives and the lives of the children and young people they work with using the unique Persona Doll approach.

Persona Dolls are hand-made 70-cm tall cloth dolls each with their own identity, life history, family and cultural background, likes and dislikes, fears and abilities. They are used by ECD practitioners, teachers, social workers, community health workers and NGOs to help children and youth:

• Accept and value their own identity
• Embrace difference and diversity
• Express their feelings
• Develop self-esteem, confidence, empathy and emotional intelligence
• ‘Unlearn’ prejudice on topical issues including racism and xenophobia, sexism, disability and HIV/AIDS stigma
• Develop critical cognitive, language, communication and problem-solving skills.

PDT is an accredited training provider and NGO in the early childhood development (ECD) and education sector. We offer a range of training courses, including a 4-day training of trainers (TOT) programme, designed specifically for trainers and leaders. The core curriculum covers basic principles of adult education and the values underpinning anti-bias / diversity work, in addition to practical training on how to use the Persona Doll approach – and can be tailored to meet the specific needs or challenges of an organisation or institution.

EXAMPLE OF TOT TRAINING PROGRAMME

The optimum size for training groups is 25 participants. We provide a training manual for each participant (in isiXhosa, English or Afrikaans), a training DVD and other materials. Clients provide the training venue, which should accommodate small and large groups, preferably with access to a TV, DVD or data projector. Training excludes the cost of Dolls, which should be ordered on our website before the training session (3 weeks’ production time).

Since 2004, we have trained over 8,800 trainers, ECD practitioners, teachers, social workers and home visitors in using the Persona Doll approach to explore culture and identity, uncover and address negative bias, and promote psychosocial development. If you would like more information about PDT or to book a training, you can contact them at:

Telephone: +27 (0) 21-797-1204
Email: info@pdt.org.za
Website: www.pdt.org.za

Published: 19/07/2018