In April, Taylor's School of Education (SoEd) has organized two hybrid seminars focusing on Homeschool Literacy Practices Connection & Developments of Education. The first seminar on “Indigenous Children and Early Literacy: Connecting Home and School” was held on 9th April 2022.
The first webinar focused on the home and school literacy practices, and the connection between these practices. The Opening Remark was delivered by Dr. Logendra Stanley Ponniah, Head of School, School of Education, Taylor's University. The two invited speakers were Dr. Karen Martin, Deputy Chair of the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children at Australian Government Department of Social Services and Dr. Suria Selasih Angit, Assistant Professor at University of Nottingham, Malaysia. The session was moderated by Dr. Kamal Solhaimi Fadzil, Lecturer, Department of Anthropology & Sociology at University Malaya.
This seminar was attended by 160 participants including Taylor’s University staffs and Postgraduate students. The School of Education are currently working on two projects involving literacy for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. One is a research project funded by the Ministry of Higher Education, Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) which focuses on situated literacy and numeracy practices of Temuan children; and another one is Projek BacaBaca, which focuses on reading for children living in poverty.
The second webinar focused on recent developments of education in China entitled “The Future of Education – Perspectives from China”. The session was moderated by Prof. Dr. Moses Samuel, Senior Research Fellow at the School of Education, Taylor's University. The three invited speakers were Taylor’s School of Education PhD students who were based in China. They were Shao Wenqia, Zuo Dan and Chen Ying.
Chen Ying spoke on the double reduction policy and family education legislation and its impact on teacher’s lives. Whereby, Shao Wenqia focused on Higher Vocational Education while Zuo Dan spoke on New Engineering Education reforms in China. The three presenters generated active discussion among the participants. Over 150 participants attended the session including some from China.