Nurturing Well Being in Early Childhood

In celebration of having completed the first cycle of 12 lectures in the SGC-Whytehouse Early Years Lecture Series (now known as the SEGi-Whytehouse Early Years Lecture Series), we are pleased to organise the SEGi-Whytehouse International Conference in our continual effort to inspire our community with ECCE good practices as we work together for quality ECCE services in the country.

THEME: NURTURING HOLISTIC WELL-BEING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

This Conference is guided by :

• United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 : Good Health & Well-being that states “...promoting well- being for all at all ages is essential to sustainable development”, and
• United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 : Quality Education that states “obtaining a quality education is the foundation to improving people’s lives and sustainable development.”

It is inspired by and will expand upon the seventh lecture in our series (Teacher’s Well-being) by Dr Justine O’Hara-Gregan of the University of Auckland.

Well-being has also been on our national agenda, as an educational goal. According to our National Education Policy (Education Act 1996 (Act 550), education in Malaysia is an on-going effort ... designed to produce Malaysian citizens who are knowledgeable and competent, who possess high moral standards and who are responsible and capable of achieving high level of personal well-being as well as being able to contribute to the harmony and betterment of the family, the society and the nation at large. (p. xii, Kurikulum Standard Prasekolah Kebangsaan, 2017)

Well-being is also reflected in Penang 2030 initiative, that is to impact lives in a visibly positive manner.

As a term “well-being” seems simple enough on the surface. However we need to recognise well-being as a complex and multifaceted concept. It seems to evade clear definition due to its various interpretations in country policies and centre programmes which have lead to various dimensions and indicators of well-being in current literature. To ensure sustainable development and to achieve our educational goal, what we need is a practical working definition and clear guidelines and strategies on how to nurture holistic well-being for young children. This is a key step in our efforts to strive towards quality ECCE.

CONFERENCE AIMS

The Conference seeks to reach diverse stakeholders (practitioners, thought leaders, advocates, parents and policy makers) in an effort :

1. To create awareness of holistic child well-being as we explore perspectives on its importance for sustainable development
2. To strategise practical ways to nurture well-being in early childhood in a concerted effort to work towards quality ECCE services