VISS participates in early years research programme

The Victoria International School of Sharjah participated in a research project that measures how effectively the early learning programme from the Australian State of Victoria is being applied in international school settings.

To investigate the past and current early childhood education practices within the school, the pilot study will use VISS as a case study to identify successful strategies for the implementation of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF).

Given the diversity of nationalities among students at VISS, the study will analyse best practice approaches when implementing the framework in an international environment.

With a targeted group of 15 teachers from VISS, the research involved a mixed method study for data gathering such as surveys, one-on-one interviews, round table discussions and observations in classes for insights into strategies used for classroom learning.

Commenting on the study, Dr Megan Adams, a lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Melbourne's Monash University, said: "With the increasing mobility of populations across countries, it is imperative that national and international early education institutes are able to successfully implement context specific curricula to support quality programmes in the early years.

"It will also benefit Sharjah and Australian communities faced with significantly diverse cultural populations. I also believe this study will add value nationally and internationally to the 21^st century knowledge economy in relation to education as a discipline."

VISS executive principal Dean Pyrah said: "As our focus on early years education continues, we are looking to see ways in which we can improve on the emotional development of children transitioning internationally. Through this research, we will be able to identify ways to help young students cope with change while improving their overall learning from an early age."

Dr Adams' research and key findings is expected to be published by the end of the year.