Early Childhood Care and Education is one of the most important and valuable professions anyone can enter; however, males make up less than 2% of the workforce in NI. For a number of years, Stranmillis University College has identified as a priority the need to increase the number of males entering the profession. We feel it is important to recruit men into the sector and we wish to cement its significance for Universities and Colleges, Government and policy makers, Schools, Early Childhood Care and Education Providers and stakeholder organisations, so that they target and prioritise the issue of gender imbalance in the workforce.
To address the issue, on Wednesday 14th September, 2022, the Early Childhood Studies department hosted a virtual webinar entitled ‘Males in the Early Years’.
The event, organised and chaired by Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood Studies, Dr Barbara McConnell, featured a keynote address from Dr David Brody, Associate Professor of Education and former Academic Dean and Chair of the Early Childhood Department of the Efrata College of Education, Jerusalem. This was followed by shorter presentations and discussion from Ms Pauline Walmsley (CEO, Early Years organisation), Dr Joanne McHale (TU Dublin), Mr Conor McArdle (Surestart, South Armagh) Mr Kevin Duggan, Childcare Partnerships) & Stuart Dickinson (Stranmillis University College).
Speaking after the event, Dr McConnell said “Since the conception of the ECS degree in 1996, with the first cohort’s graduation in 2000, we have had 2116 Graduates from Stranmillis with a BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies degree, but only 23 of these graduates have been male. This is a very low number, and it is something that we have been thinking about in Stranmillis for a number of years. The Early Childhood Studies team at Stranmillis are really keen to encourage more Males onto the degree, and ultimately, into the sector and we look forward to working with Colleagues who attended the webinar to progress this issue.”
“Following the success of this webinar I hope we can come together as a group of academics, practitioners, training providers and employers, to put together an action plan to address this very important issue. We were delighted that the event reached capacity and that we had over 100 delegates on the webinar. This interest is testament to the need to action this issue and we at Stranmillis will be considering how we can play our part to increase the number of males working in the sector.”
If you would be interested to find out more about the BA (Hons) ECS Degree, or wish to get involved in recruiting more males into the sector, please contact Dr Barbara McConnell; b.mcconnell@stran.ac.uk.
A recording of the seminar is now available to watch here.
Mr Edgar Jardine, Chair of the Board of Governors
The Department for the Economy, with funding from the Northern Ireland Office and the Department of Finance, has developed a new programme, SKILL UP, to provide upskilling and reskilling opportunities, to improve the skills profile of our local workforce. Working in partnership with the Department for the Economy. The Postgraduate Certificate in Blended Learning at Stranmillis University College is one of the fully funded postgraduate courses available through SKILL UP, the flexible skills fund. We have 30 FREE places available on the programme. You are advised to apply as early as possible due to high demand.
The results of the latest National Student Survey have been published and the College is delighted to be able to announce that Stranmillis has been ranked as the number one HEI institution in Northern Ireland for student satisfaction, with n overall student satisfaction rating of 82%. This is a well-deserved outcome and a recognition of the hard work and commitment of every member of staff to providing an outstanding learning experience for our students. The College scored particularly well on Learning Community, highlighting the valued contribution everyone makes to our College experience.
Friday marked a second day of celebration with the Class of 2022 BEd Primary and BEd Post-primary students enjoying a memorable day with friends, family, classmates and the Stran family . Our congratulations on graduating and our best wishes for the future. Following the Graduation ceremony, our graduates, along with some of our 2021 cohort of graduates, were able to join together and celebrate their achievement together back on campus at our Celebration Lunch and the Awards ceremonies for those receiving awards, prizes and 
Degree Enhancement Certificates.
