Pedagogy in Early Childhood Education adds 93 new graduates

The Pedagogy in Early Childhood Education ceremony took place on November 30 and 42 graduates of the Early Education major and 52 of Initial Education graduated. The dean called for cultivating mutual learning, marking the beginning of a new bond between colleagues and education professionals.

93 graduates of the Pedagogy in Early Childhood Education UC from the UC Faculty of Education received their degree on November 30, joining the more than 26 thousand graduates of the Faculty.

The total number of graduates was divided into the two majors offered by the degree: 42 graduates in Early Education and 52 in Initial Education. The program also has three minors, which are Interculturality, Childhood Expression and Educational Resources and Play, offering training for interdisciplinary work in the professional field of early childhood education, from a pedagogical practice that welcomes and values ​​diversity.

A professional challenge

The graduates' entry into the teaching profession occurs in times marked by great challenges for national education, the Dean of UC Education mentioned during his speech. Alejandro Carrasco. The pandemic, Carrasco explained, showed the inequality in which boys and girls learn in Chile. 

“The data show the enormous gaps in learning between social groups left by remote education and the pronounced differences that homes offer to promote learning. It is notable that the pandemic will leave learning gaps and socio-emotional challenges for several years. Thus, they will be challenged to do their best, to deploy all their pedagogical repertoires to address the development and learning gaps that the pandemic left in the new generations,” said Carrasco. 

Also, the dean emphasized creating and strengthening networks between the Faculty and graduates. “We want to hear from you and count on you. Education needs training institutions to dialogue and interact with the school system, with the classrooms, with you, from now on educators. We have to learn from each other, that is why our bond does not end here, a new one begins, between colleagues, between peers, between education professionals,” he mentioned. 

Sister María del Sol, graduate of Pedagogy in Early Childhood Education, was in charge of delivering a few words on behalf of her colleagues. There she explained that dreaming is something shared: we dream of changing the world; to make it a more beautiful, fairer and better place. 

“When I decided to be an educator I had a big dream: I wanted to contribute to making our Chile a country where all boys and girls had the opportunity to be happy, to be fulfilled, to play and learn, to grow up healthy, whether they lived in the countryside or the city, in one commune or the other. And I continue to dream about it, from a new perspective, because I believe – as Nelson Mandela says – that 'education is the most powerful weapon to change the world,'” the graduate mentioned.

He also stressed that it is important to do “everything on our part so that children's dreams never go out. Let us be those ladders or those hands that help on difficult steps, so that each boy and girl can reach their star, even if it seems as far away as the sky. We believe in each one, in their abilities and talents! Because we all have a great mission, an original and unique mission, that will make the world a more beautiful place and we, as educators, have a great responsibility.”