| Biography | |
|---|---|
 Dr. Anna Marie Dillon Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
|
| Title: Preschool education for all: a comparative analysis of preschool offerings in the UAE and Ireland | |
| Abstract: Preschool education (within Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE)) has been recognised as a priority for nations worldwide, in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 4. SDG4 seeks to ensure quality and sustainable education for all in the context of lifelong learning, including Target 4.2 which aims to grow the sector of ECCE, with all children having access to quality ECCE to support readiness for primary education. Sustainability in ECCE rests on quality, and part of this quality rests on the professionalization of ECCE practitioners. This talk explores the importance of ECCE professionalism in terms of educating practitioners to engage in culturally relevant developmentally appropriate practices, as well as offering a comparative analysis of preschool provision in two very different countries, Ireland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Preschool provision is well developed in Ireland in terms of government support and a research-based curriculum framework, while preschool provision in the UAE is still developing, having already established quality standards. The contexts of preschool provision in both countries are of relevance, as the UAE is a rentier state with a high population of expatriate workers in private education in addition to a much smaller Emirati population, while Ireland is a country in the European Union with its main population comprised of Irish nationals as well as a smaller proportion of newcomer families. This talk will offer policy recommendations based on these two case studies in order to further develop the vision of SDG4. | |
| Biography: Dr. Anna Marie Dillon is an Associate Professor at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi. She currently serves as the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, having previously served as the Chair of the Department of Education Studies and Director of the Early Childhood Learning Center (on-campus laboratory school). Prior to that, she worked in Al Ain as Head of Faculty in a kindergarten with Abu Dhabi Education Council. In Ireland, she worked as a teacher in dual language settings, as a school principal, and as a teacher educator in Mary Immaculate College at the University of Limerick. She also worked with Hibernia College. Her research interests include bilingual education, plurilingual learners, play-based learning in early childhood, co-teaching, communities of practice and intercultural education. | |
