School of Early Childhood Education

Mambo and asanteni kwa kuni tembelea! Hi and thanks for visiting the blog! To start off, I've written a bit about one aspect of our ministry here in Tanzania. I love receiving mail so feel free to contact me at africaanna@hotmail.com

The School of Early Childhood Education (SECE) was developed as an outgrowth of the need for quality trained preschool teachers in East Africa. SECE is a twenty-one-month course which leads to an Associate of Science degree. Students of the SECE will hear God’s heart for young children and their families, learn to use a biblical curriculum that nurtures young children in the character of God, and explore the many avenues of age-appropriate learning. Much time is given to observe and participate in a classroom setting. They will also assist in establishing a preschool program in another cultural setting. Most of all, they will develop and grow in their calling as a teacher.

Background Information:
The School of Early Childhood Education is under the branch of the International College of Education with the University of the Nations (U of N.) As the first truly global university system, U of N offers unrivaled diversity and training opportunities. Currently there are branches in more than 100 nations, including the Kilimanjaro and Arusha campuses in Tanzania.

Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is the University of the Nations’ parent organization, which is an international, multi-denominational Christian mission reaching out to the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ through evangelism, training, and mercy ministries. YWAM has 12,000 staff working in more than 130 nations. It annually mobilizes tens of thousands of short-term workers for ministry around the world. Each and every worker is considered a missionary, raising his own finances personally.
The School of Early Childhood Education was brought to Tanzania in September of 2005 by Tanya Haakonsen and Anna Ware as a result of their student led field assignment. The initial school educated six students from Tanzania, Kenya and Rwanda. Our current school has 12 students from Nigeria, Uganda.

Goals and Objectives:
* East African men and women will graduate with the confidence, understanding, and experience of early childhood development and education philosophies
* Students will learn human growth and development, learning styles, the discipleship of children and youth, family issues, the role of education in community development and world missions, cross-cultural issues in education, being a living curriculum, early childhood methodologies, classroom management, children’s literature, importance of play, observation and record keeping, methods of discipline, children’s art
* Graduate students will feel equipped to duplicate their training in another area of East Africa and/or develop their own preschools.

Welcome to a part of my world!

I have to admit that this whole blog thing is a bit intimidating. But the ability to stay connected with those interested in our ministry here is exciting. So I welcome you to read a bit of what is happening with our teachers' training program and partner schools.

Karibuni!

Anna Ware