Senior Lecturer/Lecturer

About the Job

Singapore University of Social Sciences is one of Singapore's six autonomous universities and itsmission is to provide lifelong education that equips learners to serve society. Home to more than15,000 students, SUSS provides an applied education that targets both fresh school leavers and adultlearners, with a focus on the social sciences. It adopts a flexible and practice-focused learningapproach and offers more than 70 degree programmes in various disciplines. Applications are invitedfor an open-rank faculty position in the area of Early Childhood at the Singapore University of SocialSciences.

The successful candidate will join the Early Childhood cluster in S R Nathan School of HumanDevelopment and will be expected to teach and conduct research in Early Childhood and closelyrelated fields.
Since 2010, SUSS has been offering Singapore’s first and only locally awarded Bachelor of EarlyChildhood Education (with Minor) programme to part-time, working in-service teachers. Moreover,since 2017 with a government mandate, it started a full-time Direct Honours Bachelor of EarlyChildhood Education with Minor programme to cater to a mix of fresh “A” Level holders and beginningteachers with a polytechnic diploma. 

This 4-year programme is currently the only locally awarded full-time early childhood educationundergraduate degree in Singapore, a significant milestone in the Singapore early childhood teachereducation landscape. The programme is anchored in socio-cultural perspectives, an inclusiveapproach, a strong belief in child agency, and children’s meaning making and inquiry. Moreimportantly, the programme aims to bridge the nexus between theory and practice for pre-service andbeginning early childhood teachers. The programme offers field-based research and collaborativework with teachers in the field to develop child-centric learning experiences. The programme isdelivered in a blended combination of online and face-to-face experiences, with an emphasis on teacher learning through regular placements in local kindergartens, child care centres and otherrelevant settings.

What You Will Be Doing

In addition, and in tandem with developments in the local early childhood sector, our university isgrowing a postgraduate Master of Early Childhood Education programme. Required professional, teaching and/or research areas include:

• Child development for application in early childhood classrooms (infancy through age 6)
• Supporting children’s meaning making through play-based, inquiry-based experiences
• Inclusive pedagogies
• Teacher leadership, classroom coaching, and inquiry for pedagogical improvement

Essential responsibilities:

• Develop course materials and assessments to support a diverse range of pre-service and in-service early childhood teachers
• Teach interactive courses in both face-to-face and online environments
• Write research grant proposals (mixed-method studies that can inform programme evaluation,teacher education and preschool practices)
• Work with the team to shape a research agenda to support practitioners and inform practices inthe EC workforce
• Mentor students both on campus and in their placements in the partner preschools/childcarecentres
• Help build a network of partner preschools and organisations for forging collaborativepartnerships both locally and overseas
• Engage in national initiatives to improve the quality of early care and education in Singapore
• Serve on internal and external committees
• Perform other duties as assigned

Job Requirements

Applicants should have earned a doctorate (PhD) in early childhood education or a closely relatedfield and preferably, obtained some teaching and research experience at a university (e.g., teachingand research assistantships). In addition, we are looking for candidates who:

• Have a global outlook
• Are keen to develop an innovative university teacher education programme that addresses thetheory-practice nexus and issues related to human agency, social equity and cultural diversity
• Have successful experience teaching in teacher education and/or professional developmentprogrammes
• Have successful working experience with children, birth through six years, in diverse earlychildhood settings
• Are able to engage in collaborative work