KLCII Team Embarks on Insightful Study Trip to Taiwan

The KLCII senior management team made a learning journey to Taiwan in April 2024. With partners from different universities, the purpose was to visit different pre-school ecosystems all over Taiwan.

While examining inclusive practices, the group learnt from those who had been championing different needs in Taiwan for the last three decades. They also studied their multi-partite support structure and comprehensive approach to enable every child with special needs to develop to their fullest potential.

Academic networks in Taiwan graciously shared their challenges, certification programme and requirements for diagnosis and evaluation of children with additional needs. They affirmed KLCII’s efforts in their mission to shape the future of Early Childhood Education in Singapore for the benefit of children, parents and teachers.

A visit to a village with successful integrated inter-generational programmes, was a highlight of the trip. Older persons in this village were facilitated to acquire new skills while helping children develop social-emotional skills through care for the elderly.

Another valuable insight was the importance of nurturing teachers’ abilities. This included the ability to observe and understand each child’s strengths and growth opportunities, despite learning or behavioural challenges. Contrary to an instinct to create distraction-free environments, one of the key takeaways was learning from an expert on its necessity. In fact, such distractions allow children to develop executive functions like working memory and inhibitory control.

This is coherent with our value that every child is special. Each child has a unique destiny not constrained by current performance, even in a largely meritocratic environment.

In the near future, KLCII hopes that every teacher can design and facilitate learning experiences for a mixed group of children. For children, typically developing and those with additional needs, to grow and learn together. This approach leverages the uniqueness of each child for mutual benefit and fosters increasing respect for one another.

The KLCII research team is currently reimagining the most effective configurations and inclusive classroom practices within our current ecosystem. The aim is to identify the skills early childhood teachers need to be re-equipped with, to realize this vision.