Blended training: Our Happy Neighborhood in Tasikmalaya City, West Java, Indonesia


SEAMEO CECCEP successfully conducted training for ECCE teachers in Tasikmalaya, West Java, Indonesia. This training was held from November 7 to December 16 in a blended manner. As many as 30 ECCE teachers participated in the "Our Happy Neighborhood" training. On December 16, 2022, training participants evaluated the OHN training at the Indonesian University of Education, Tasikmalaya Campus. This training evaluation aims to analyze and determine the level of effectiveness of the training program. The OHN module discusses the importance of knowledge of children's rights which is the basis for realizing early childhood education free from bullying, intolerance, and violence.

The OHN module discusses the importance of knowledge of children's rights which is the basis for establishing early childhood education free from bullying, intolerance, and violence. Through this module, caregivers must implement care that prioritizes child welfare. The OHN module consists of 5 themes: first, Happy Children, a training topic that discusses children's welfare rights in fulfilling children's health and nutrition needs, and how teachers become promotive agents to open access to children's health and nutrition in collaboration with health authorities.

Second, This module targets teachers to build collaboration between teachers and parents based on children's rights to participation in care. They're each other has a good relationship between teachers and parents, which impacts positive parenting practices from the womb that is free of violence.

Third, Happy Teachers is a topic based on child protection rights, which tries to introduce the pedagogical topic of gender equality and social inclusion as an entry point to create non-discriminatory schools. Fourth, Happy School contains child-friendly schools, where teachers are given information about organizing a safe school environment for children with Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for mitigating bullying and sexual violence.

Fifth, Happy Community is a topic based on the rights to welfare, protection, and child participation that needs to be supported by all stakeholders, including the government. The ECE unit is a hub for meeting stakeholders in the HI-ECD framework. So this module provides a lot of information about management governance. ECCE and technical cooperation with the community.

In the discussion, the participants conveyed the obstacles in participating in the blended training connection problems and disturbances originating from the environment, such as time constraints for the training, which coincided with other activities even though there were several obstacles once the teacher completed this training to the end.

In the Happy Children module, participants said that schools have tried to provide children's rights in fulfilling health through School Health Unit services. However, most ECCE institutions do not have a School Health Unit room due to their lack of space. First aid provided at school is also limited. Teachers also complain that they have prepared a food menu suitable for children's nutrition at school, but this is not accompanied by a parental commitment to bringing food to children. Parents tend to bring snacks that are less nutritious for children's health.

Participants also criticized that the price of staple foods has increased, impacting the provision of nutritious food to fulfill balanced nutrition in children. Children from the lower middle class will experience difficulties in obtaining nutritious food. Therefore, government policies are needed to support children's welfare in the economic field. The role of the teacher will be greatly assisted if government policies can also support the fulfillment of children's rights in obtaining balanced nutrition for children.

On the other hand, early childhood education institutions must be inclusive and provide child-friendly schools. Child-friendly schools are schools that consciously seek to guarantee and fulfill children's rights in every aspect of life in a planned and responsible manner. The main principles of child-friendly schools are non-discrimination, prioritizing children's rights, and respect for children. In supporting child-friendly schools, elements of the family, school, and community are needed. The family is the main center of education and serves the needs of children as a function of financial protection while providing space for expression and creativity.

Schools and the community must also provide services and care about children's condition, health, and nutrition and help children learn to live healthy lives respecting children's rights and gender equality. Participants said that the facts in the field were that there were still learning processes and play activities in early childhood education that were not gender-responsive. Stereotypes are still found in play activities, where girls and boys use play tools that show a segregative dimension. For example, girls play with tools and household roles, while boys use tools and public roles. Girls prefer pink for their learning tools, while boys prefer blue.

Finally, this activity was closed with a group photo and giving token appreciation to participants who were most active in participating in the webinar. In the end, this evaluation is expected to fulfill children's rights.

 

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