Course promotes new
child care model

T hanks to funding from the
Ministry of Skills, Training and
Labour, Early Childhood
Education students at Douglas College are
able to study the most current schools of
thought in supported child care.

The latest course offering, called
Mainstreaming in Early Childhood
Education, is designed to promote
awareness of the supported child care
model of working with children who need
extra support. It revolves around the
philosophy that the family should be the
prime decision-maker and should be
involved in all aspects of the child’s care.

‘““We’re covering issues such as the
history and philosophy of different kinds
of child care approaches,” says instructor
Vicki Lee. “We’re also studying how

individual communities, such as the Tri-
cities area and Mission, have made the
transition from the special needs daycare
model to the supported child care model.”

Students learn how to work effectively
with other professionals and the child’s
family in order to assist the child’s
development, as well as how to develop
individual plans for children while
integrating the plans within family and
child centre activities.

The course is being offered either for
credit - with the credit going towards a
diploma in early childhood education - or
as a non-credit course for people taking it
out of personal interest.

For more information, call 527-5484. fl

New program in gender
relations interdisciplinary

When most college students register
for classes, they choose a variety of
courses covering a variety of subjects.
The thirty-four students who register in
the Gender Relations program at Douglas
College, however, will be taking a
different approach. They’ ll be studying
the same subject from the perspectives of
three different disciplines.

“This is the second time the College
has run a program like this,” says English
& Communications Chair Lorna
McCallum. “The first was the Study
Green project, which involved a unified
approach to studying environmental
issues. The feedback from both students
and instructors was excellent, so we began
planning a gender relations program.”

Called Reflections on Gender, the new
program will involve studies in
philosophy, psychology, and literature,
with each component examining a
different aspect of how gender issues
affect society and the individual.

In order to keep the various courses
relevant to each other, the instructors

involved dedicate time to consulting with
each other about course outlines and
lesson plans. During the semester, they
share class time and overlap assignments
so that students can see the interrelated
elements in each field.

“Initially, team teaching requires more
preparation and coordination time,” says
English Instructor Meg Stainsby, “but the
rewards are worth it. Certain topics just
don’t fit into traditional academic
divisions which students may see as
artificial. A cross-disciplinary approach
can help make sense of them.”

If student response to Reflections on
Gender is sufficient, a full Women’s
Studies and Gender Relations curriculum
as part of an Associate Degree program
will be proposed. In the meantime,
proposals are being made to offer cross-
disciplinary programs for such topics as
intercultural issues and Canadian studies.

For information about Reflections on
Gender, contact the English Department
at 527-5465. fl

 

 

 

The PGA Tour is coming to B.C. next
summer, and the Douglas College
Golf Team has a wonderful
opportunity fo raise money for golf
scholarships by selling weekly
packages to the Greater Vancouver
Open, August 19-25, 1996, at
Surrey’s Northview Gold and Country
Club. For each package sold, the
Golf Team receives $40.00, and you
get a tax receipt and a free entry
into a raffle for packages to the
event and Canucks and Grizzlies
tickets. Call Gert van Niekerk at
local 5042 for information and order

forms.

Your support is appreciated!
ees