At the launch of the Early Childhood programme were Emer Ring, Head of Department of Reflective Pedagogy and Early Childhood Studies, Mary Immaculate College; Deirdre Breatnach, Course Co-ordinator, Mary Immaculate College; Aisling Sharkey, Department of Social Sciences, IT Tralee; Dr Oliver Murphy, President, IT Tralee.
IT Tralee and Mary Immaculate College in Limerick have joined forces to deliver a BA Early Childhood Practice programme.
The new programme was launched at the IT Tralee on Saturday. The level 7 degree programme will be jointly delivered over four semesters by both the Faculty of Education at Mary Immaculate College(MIC) Limerick and the Department of Social Sciences at the Institute of Technology, Tralee.
The BA in Early Childhood Practice has been designed specifically to up-skill staff currently working in the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) field, who have a level 6 qualification in childcare.
“The launch of the BA in Early Childhood Practice is a wonderful example of the collaborative work between IT, Tralee and Mary Immaculate College,” said Dr Oliver Murphy, President, IT, Tralee.
“The Institute is delighted to jointly deliver this programme which showcases both organisations blended learning formats, providing our learners with flexible and innovative routes to achieving a third-level qualification while also recognising their work, family and life commitments. I would like to wish the first cohort of students the very best of luck with the programme”.
Twenty-five students have registered on the programme, which will be delivered in a blended format with the greater part of the programme being delivered through an on-line format.
Students will attend IT, Tralee on six Saturdays in semester 1 for lectures and will receive weekly hour long live tutorials on Tuesday and some Thursday evenings. They will access further module content online.
The following semester, the students will attend Mary Immaculate College for Saturday lectures. The second year of the programme will be delivered in a similar manner. On successful completion, participants will be conferred with a University of Limerick Level 7 Bachelor of Arts Degree in Early Childhood Practice. (BA ECP).
