The Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education invites you to the first international conference on "Quality in early childhood care and education". The conference will be held in the Dublin Castle Conference Centre, Ireland from the 23rd-25th September and will be hosted by Mr Noel Dempsey, Minister for Education and Science. The chosen theme is quality in early childhood care and education. Children have a right to have their needs met by high quality services. A lively exchange of diverse views and interpretations of quality from around the globe is expected in this conference.
This conference is aimed at practitioners, policy makers, parents, academics, students and anyone with an interest in early childhood care and education. It will provide a valuable opportunity for all those working with young children to actively participate in a dynamic forum which will address key questions of quality. This is a chance for delegates to share information and experiences of practice; to discuss and debate current research findings; to exchange innovative policy approaches and to network with others who are committed to making a difference in the lives of young children.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
- Dr. Richard Clifford
Dr. Clifford is Senior Scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina and co-director of both the National Center for Early Development and Learning and the National Prekindergarten Center in the US. Dr Clifford's main interests include the public financing of programmes for children and the provision of quality learning environments for young children.
- Dr Mathias Urban
Dr. Urban hails from the Institute of Pedagogy at the Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. He has been involved in the development of quality programmes for many years and since 1999, has worked with the National Quality Initiative.
- Professor Tricia David
Tricia David is Emeritus Professor of Education at Canterbury Christ Church University College. Professor David led the Literature Review team for the Birth to Three Matters project. Her research and writing is mainly concerned with the earliest years (birth to age 6). She is editor of the International Journal of Early Childhood and a member of the national executive of the British Educational Research Association. Professor David is known internationally for her work with I'Organisation Mondiale pour I'Education Prescolaire (OMEP) and with the OECD.
CONFERENCE CLOSING KEYNOTE SPEAKER
-Noirin Hayes
Nóirín Hayes is the Head of School of Social Sciences and Legal Studies at the Dublin Institute of Technology and a lecturer in Early Education and Developmental Psychology. She has a particular research interest in young children learning, children's rights and early educational policy.
