Overview

But in 1997, I was completely naive and oblivious to these tensions. I was instead overjoyed that I was now a business owner, albeit one who cared very deeply about the education of young children. MEET DR DENISE LAI CHUA.THIS IS HER STORY But this is more than just a story about Denise's time at the helm of one of Singapore's premier early childhood centres. This evocative autoethnography weaves her memories and subjectivities as a woman, mother, teacher, and female leader with pedagogical and policy discussions about early childhood education in Singapore. Blending narrative, poetry, and aspects of her professional mind, it depicts Denise's journey through the barrenness of early childhood provisions in Singapore throughout the mid-1990s and 2000s. Written with a raw honesty and in a manner that instantly draws you into her world, Denise relates how she navigated through this wilderness and emerged a stronger, wiser person with a successful business. Experience her exhilaration and pain, her joys and frustrations, her challenges and achievements, her struggles and triumphs as she provides a snapshot of the early childhood education landscape of that time.

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9789811707872

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Whether you are an educator, parent, entrepreneur, policymaker, Singaporean or otherwise, you will find Denise's autoethnography to be a gloriously beautiful yet painfully familiar-or perhaps cathartic-read. - Dr Lydia L. S. Chan Member, Board of Governors and Chairperson, Council, Yew Chung College of Early Childhood Education Whether we read to listen to the voice of an early childhood educator in Singapore, or to ponder on the changes and issues that are part of our nation's journey in early childhood, there is something to prompt us to reflect on who we are in this early childhood community and our place in this wilderness. - Dr Hanin Hussain Senior Lecturer/Assistant Head (Early Childhood), Psychology and Child & Human Development Academic Group, National Institute of Education-Nanyang Technological University Though this book is written with parents, academicians, and policymakers in mind, many operators and principals, especially those who value quality early childhood education, will be able to identify with Denise. All early childhood educators, whether they are principals or practitioners, as well as parents, will benefit from this book as it provides so many insights into the operation of early childhood organisations, which include parents' aspirations and demands, staff well-being, and regulatory requirements. - Datuk Dr Chiam Heng Keng Founding President, Early Childhood Care & Education Council, Malaysia This book is a must-read for at least three groups of people: devoted professionals, policymakers, and parents of young children. It demonstrates the workability of a business model for running a new kind of preschool. Denise documents her innovative and enduring endeavours, with strong personal reflections, to operate Wee Care in a way that was financially self-sustainable, creative, honest, and most of all, committed to prioritising children's and parents' needs. - Professor Ly-Yun Chang Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan Denise's memoirs document the challenges that many entrepreneurs face and having to navigate regulations that often seem as onerous as they are insufficiently catered to ground realities. But Denise also describes-in down-to-earth, crisp prose-how passion and idealistic conviction can make all the difference in one's journey as a preschool educator and also as an entrepreneur. That passion was lovingly woven into Wee Care's practices, processes, and ethos; and can be found on every page of this book. - Leon Perera Member of Parliament, Aljunied GRC Singapore This book offers a captivating first-person account of an early childhood professional, giving voice to a teacher, one whose role is critical in the life of almost every person, yet whose voice is not given the hearing it deserves (and needs). It is also the voice of a woman, a mother, a female leader, and employer-with each role adding another layer to create a rich, nuanced, eventful, and reflective representation of the multiple dimensions that add up to a preschool. - Dr Priti Joshi Associate Professor, Department of Human Development & Childhood Studies, Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi, India

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