The Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Jagoda Shahpaska together with the Deputy Ambassador of Great Britain in the country, Julia Smith, the UNICEF Representative in the country, Patricia di Giovanni and the Mayor of the Municipality of Centar Goran Gerasimovski attended the presentation of the “Program for Social Cohesion and Cultural Dialogue” in Kindergarten “Ko ” in Skopje.
Recognizing the importance of early learning and development, as they emphasize, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy launched a reform of the early childhood development sector in order to increase access and improve the quality of preschool education in the country. Collaboration with UNICEF and the British Government has provided support for preschool educators and socio-emotional learning.
– Socio-emotional development at the beginning of life is crucial for the overall further development of the personality and has a huge impact on the quality of life of each individual. As a line ministry, we are continuously working on strengthening the competencies of the educational staff in the kindergartens and raising the quality of the preschool education, said Minister Shahpaska.
Mentoring support by educators for collegial support to the rest of the educational staff is of great importance. It assists other educators in mastering research-based socio-emotional strategies that aim to meet the specific developmental needs of young children.
The program also includes the development of professional competencies in educators, in cooperation with professors from all teaching faculties. Through intensive 4-month processes of lectures, meetings and peer support, 71 kindergartens, 192 active educators for collegial support, 1366 educators, 102 representatives of the professional service and 47 principals were involved.
In addition to the educational and professional staff from the kindergarten, the presentation was attended by parents and children, in order to approach in an interactive way the necessary tools for socio-emotional development of children. Because the program envisages the involvement of families in the whole process so that children will continue to practice what they have learned in kindergarten at home.
Source: MIA
