Margaret Sims, Professor of Early Childhood at the University of New England, has added three books this year to a list of publications that the Chancellor of UNE, Richard Torbay, has described as “very impressive”.

The Chancellor officially launched two of those books during a function at UNE last week. The two books are Social Inclusion and the Early Years Learning Framework, by Margaret Sims, and the second edition of Program Planning for Infants and Toddlers, by Margaret Sims and Teresa Hutchins (both published by Pademelon Press).

The Chancellor quoted from appreciative reviews of the books by Professor Sims’s peers, and reported that hundreds of copies of both books had been sold since their publication just a few months ago.

He congratulated Professor Sims on producing such “valuable resources for early childhood educators”, saying: “You are a wonderful credit to this University.”

The third book – Building Integrated Connections for Children, their Families & Communities, edited by Karl Brettig and Margaret Sims – was released just this week.

Social Inclusion looks at early childhood education in the light of the current national “Early Years Learning Framework” (EYLF) introduced by the Federal Government in 2009 for the guidance of early years professionals. A key message of the book is that “being different is part of being human, and we need to value that difference and not be frightened by it”.

“We need to acknowledge that people are different, and help children to identify those differences and talk openly about them,” Professor Sims writes. “Difference is not embarrassing, it is exciting.

“The EYLF asks us to have high expectations for each child, challenge practices that lead to inequities, and make curriculum decisions that promote inclusion and participation of all children.”

“Margaret develops her arguments for social inclusion in relation to the EYLF powerfully and logically step by step, and really does take the reader through a journey of understanding and enlightenment,” wrote one of the book’s reviewers. Another reviewer applauded the fact that “she challenges the standardised view of children’s development and the one-size-fits-all approach to teaching”.

“Inclusion” is also an underlying theme of Program Planning for Infants and Toddlers, which has the subtitle “In Search of Relationships”. The book provides a detailed blueprint for caregivers to ensure that young children develop meaningful relationships within the family and community, as well as with the physical environment.

Building Integrated Connections (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2011) is a collection of papers that examine relationships within both the family and the community in the context of support provision for vulnerable families and their children. It addresses the need for a more integrated model of service provision for such families – a model that not only takes a holistic rather than a “siloed” approach to intervention, but also involves families themselves in the planning and provision of services.

Building Integrated Connections will be launched in Adelaide in October. Professor Sims said that the book would be used as the text for one unit of a new postgraduate course on Integrated Early Childhood Service Delivery that is being introduced at UNE next year.

THE PHOTOGRAPH of Professor Sims and the Chancellor, Richard Torbay, displayed here was taken at last week’s book launch.

The University of New England has repositioned itself at the forefront of distance education in Australia through a deal agreed between UNE and the international education services provider Pearson on Sunday.

The partnership entails world-standard delivery and marketing of UNE online courses throughout the nation and overseas. It is the first partnership of its kind in the tertiary sector outside the United States.

It will provide a guaranteed revenue stream for the University and is expected to increase external student numbers each year.

Through the partnership with the University, Pearson will make its online systems and marketing expertise available to enhance the way UNE delivers its distance education course material.

The UNE Council has also approved the first step towards a staged upgrade of the residential colleges on campus through further partnership agreements with the private sector.

Robb College will be the first to undergo extensive re-development with expressions of interest to be called for this week. All 190 rooms at the College will be upgraded.

The Chancellor, Dr Richard Torbay, said the two deals were integral to the University’s Strategic Plan, which received unanimous support at Sunday’s Council meeting. “We are back at the top of the game, and it’s an exciting development for the University based on two of its outstanding features – distance education and the residential college system,” he said.  “Bringing the colleges up to date will attract greater numbers of internal students to Armidale.

“Through the partnership with Pearson we can grow UNE’s proven excellence in delivering distance education. We will have greater numbers of external students, and that will create more academic and other staff positions in the long term.”

The Chancellor emphasised that UNE would continue to control all course content and academic standards, and that there would be no job losses on the campus as a result of the agreement.

“In effect, it means that the University’s five-star rating for student satisfaction will now be matched by a platform for delivery in the very competitive national and international online environment,” he said. “The competition in the public and private tertiary sector is fierce and the uncertainty surrounding enrolments with next year’s deregulation of the market has created a lot of nervousness.”

The Chancellor said that Council was confident UNE could withstand the challenge by building on its existing strengths through world-class online course delivery and a rounded university education experience through the residential college system.

Pearson is the world’s leading education company. From pre-school to vocational, university and professional studies, its curriculum materials, multimedia learning tools and testing programs help to educate more than 100 million people worldwide.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows the Chancellor of UNE, Dr Richard Torbay (right), with the Chief Executive Officer of Pearson Australia, Mr David Barnett.

Opportunities for educational exchanges and partnerships with American universities were some of the topics discussed when the Consul-General of the United States of America, Mr Niels Marquardt, visited UNE on Thursday, June 9^th.

Mr Marquardt held talks with the Chancellor, the Hon Dr Richard Torbay MP and the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber, before making an informal public presentation at which he answered questions and UNE staff canvassed possible opportunities for the University to engage with the US higher education sector.

Mr Marquardt also participated in an interview on the UNE Radio Station, TUNE FM, which was both broadcast live to student listeners and streamed on the web.

During a visit from the Consul-General of Japan, Dr Masahiro Kohara, on Tuesday, June 7th, UNE joined other Australian organisations and governments in extending a helping hand to people affected by the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Following meetings with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jim Barber, and Chancellor, Dr Richard Torbay MP, the Consul-General outlined in a public address at UNE the scale of the damage wrought, including the 16,000 lives lost and the 8,000 still missing, and the response of the Japanese government and people in rebuilding.

Turning to Japan’s development and the state of the Australia-Japan relationship, the Consul-General identified Japan as being at a crossroads, with quality of life taking increasing precedence. He commented on the great capacity for Australia and Japan to assist each other, with shared values in democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law, and a significant stake in stability in the region.

Welcoming the Consul-General to campus, Chancellor Richard Torbay said ‘We are a University with strong international links, and we value academics and students from overseas as part of our University community. Our relationship at a national level with Japan is one of our most significant.’

The Vice-Chancellor then presented the Consul-General with an offer to assist Japanese students affected by the tsunami and earthquake, and particularly those in the hard-hit Sendai region.

‘Our sympathies and best wishes are extended to the people of Japan at this time of hardship following the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami of March, 2011,’ Professor Barber said. ‘Since that time, the Japanese people have shown great resilience and courage in the face of adversity’.

‘The University of New England would like to play its part by offering places on campus at the University in Armidale for five students from universities in affected areas, including in particular the region of Sendai. We would be pleased to accommodate these students in its colleges and to meet costs associated with their tuition in English language’.

The Consul-General concluded his visit by meeting with students and Japan specialists from UNE’s active academic community, including those specialising in language studies, Japanese music and culture, and strategic studies. The University expects to capitalise on the strong links built by further exploring institutional and people-to-people linkages between UNE and organisations in Japan.