Private sector’s early childhood learning offers alternative to government-funded universities for early childhood learning

Those interested in studying early childhood education can now choose alternative tertiary institutions to government-funded universities.

For example, Yew Chung College of Early Childhood Education (YCCECE) offers a four-year bachelor’s degree programme in early childhood education, after moving into its new campus in Aberdeen this year. It used to be known as Yew Chung Community College, and was opened 10 years ago to offer higher diploma and diploma programmes in the subject.

Graduates from the new programme will attain four early childhood education qualifications: registered kindergarten teacher, childcare worker, special childcare worker and supervisor. Those who have completed a higher diploma in early childhood education may also apply to study years 3 and 4 of the degree programme.

YCCECE president, Professor Shir-ming Shen, says the college is Hong Kong’s only tertiary institution focusing solely on early childhood education. It also benefits from being part of the ecosystem of Yew Chung Education Foundation, which has run bilingual international kindergartens for 85 years.

As a home-grown international education organisation, it also prides itself on having pioneered play-based early childhood education in Hong Kong, and boasts a long history of a bilingual curriculum that stresses the skills of reading, writing and speaking Mandarin as well as English.

Shen says these filter into the strengths of the programme, which offers a genuine English-speaking environment as it is the medium of instruction.