Szombathelyiné Nyitrai Ágnes, Apor Vilmos University College

COMPETENCES ECEC STAFF AS A
TEAM


EU Presidential
conference
„Excellence and
Equity in Early
Childhood Education
and Care
February 21-22. 2011,
Budapest


Agnes NyitraiSzombathelyi
Apor Vilmos Catholic
College,Vác
OUTLINE
 Theoretical
background – concept of
competence
 Training
 Competences
in practice
of the staff as a team
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND –
CONCEPT OF COMPETENCE
 Competence-model
of Nagy (2000):
Tasks



To define, to identify the most important
professional competences
To create their structural and functional
model
To define criteria for the evaluation of
function and development of competences
TRAINING
Types of basic qualification in Hungary:

Infant childcare worker (secondary school
+ 2 years course)

Post secondary training

Bachelor
Infant childcare worker training and post
secondary training:



Professional competences are defined as
knowledge and skills on five levels
Personal, social and methodological
competences
Theoretical background is incomplete
Bachelor:

Knowledge

Aptitudes for practice

Professional attitudes

There are not any levels of competences defined

Theoretical background is incomplete
Contradictions between traditional
professional training and competence based
approach
Traditional:
 What to know



Methods: lecture,
seminars, training and
practice
Transferring teaching
contents
Exams: minimum
performance is
enough
Competence based:
 Support of the
development of
competences
 Methods: problembased learning,
microteaching,
thematical group
talking, etc.
 Mastery Learning
(Bloom)
 Exams: optimum level
of competences
 Problems
in definition and evaluation
of input-competences of the students
 Contradictions
between traditional
exams and competence based
approach: can we really evaluate the
output-competences of the students
on the exams?
COMPETENCES OF THE STAFF AS A
TEAM IN PRACTICE
Who is counted as staff?
1.
Persons who have direct contact with children
(early childhood educators, technical assistants,
parents)
2.
Persons who help directly the 1. staff (doctors,
psychologists, directors of the centre, welfare
officers, remedial teachers, etc.)
3.
Experts (policy makers, researchers, lecturers
of trainings and further trainings)
Different trainings have different preferences

Infant childcare workers‘ training  health
preferences

Post secondary training  social preferences

Bachelor  pedagogical preferences
How can the same competences be expected?
 About
changing competences during
a lifespan
 New
theoretical-methodological
issues and competences
Thank you very much for your
attention!
Agnes Nyitrai
[email protected]