Early Childhood Education: Collège Boréal broadens training opportunities with support from the ACUFC
The early childhood education sector in Francophone minority communities is building its future. Collège Boréal is part of a project that aims to provide training to educators and build capacity in the sector. Titled Formation et renforcement des capacités des éducateurs et éducatrices de la petite enfance (training and capacity-building for early childhood educators), the project is administered by the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne (ACUFC) and funded by the government of Canada. It will lead to the offer of two new online training opportunities in September 2020.
The Action Plan for Official Languages – 2018-2023: Investing in Our Future has led to the development of training programs that adapt to the needs of minority Francophone communities and strengthen a sector challenged by the shortage of Francophone educators.
More access to continuing training
With its established expertise in the field of training and research in early childhood education, Collège Boréal was selected to lead two of the 24 initiatives across Canada that make up the project:
- A diploma in children’s services. Boréal’s initial early childhood education program has been adapted to a new diploma called Modèle intégré et cheminement personnalisé (integrated model and personalized pathway) aimed at workers in the sector. This program offered through distance education will help with staff retention while also providing the sector with professional development opportunities.
- Four micro-certifications in leadership and administration in children’s services. This project draws upon the content of the Administration en services à l’enfance (children’s services administration – code AGED) post-diploma program to offer a array of micro-certifications in pedagogy, communications and public relations, human resource management and governance. The seven-week distance education courses will allow professional early childhood educators to acquire skills which prepare them for administrative or supervisory positions. Participants who complete four micro-certifications obtain the AGED post-diploma.
Reinforcing the early childhood education sector in minority Francophone communities
The ACUFC has sounded the alarm about the lack of initial and ongoing training in the early childhood education sector in some minority Francophone communities, as well as training that is not adapted to the realities of minority communities. In response, Collège Boréal’s School of Business and Community Services and its partners have developed a joint strategy for on-the-ground solutions. By facilitating access to training through these two distance education programs, the goal is to enhance the expertise of the sector’s professionals and thereby foster staff retention.
Registration for the programs is now open.
About Collège Boréal
Established in 1995, Collège Boréal is a French language post-secondary training and learning institution dedicated to the development and growth of communities throughout Ontario.
Collège Boréal offers comprehensive programs and services in seven campuses and 38 access centres located in 26 communities throughout the province. Since 1995, approximately 120,000 clients across Ontario have benefited from Collège Boréal’s expertise relating to post-secondary education, training programs, immigration and settlement services, and employment services. Collège Boréal has established over 120 articulation agreements with other post-secondary institutions.
According to the Key Performance Indicators recognized by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, Collège Boréal holds the top rank in two of the five areas surveyed: graduation rate, and, for a fourth consecutive year, student satisfaction. These results are proof that investing in human capital is Boréal’s strength.
About the ACUFC
The Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne (ACUFC) brings together 22 Francophone or bilingual post-secondary institutions located in eight provinces. Our vision: to increase access to post-secondary education in French in order to establish a true continuum of French-language education, from early childhood to post-secondary education, in Francophone minority communities.
On the national and international scenes, the ACUFC supports its members, who have a three-fold vocation: an educational and research mandate, a firm commitment to the vitality of Francophone minority communities, and a role as an economic and immigration catalyst across the country. The ACUFC also supports the initiatives of the Consortium national de formation en santé (CNFS) and the Réseau national de formation en justice (RNFJ).
Learn more
To find out more about Collège Boréal’s programs and services, please visit our website at www.collegeboreal.ca or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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