A US based professor of childhood education, Dr Timothy Frawley, visited Grovelands Childcare in Athlone this week.
Dr Frawley, who teaches early childhood and elementary education at Mercyhurst University in Pennsylvania in the United States, visited Ireland as part of a Gathering event organised by Early Childhood Ireland. Dr Frawley visited Grovelands Childcare to experience a Reggio Emilia inspired childcare facility with a strong emphasis on creativity. The Reggio Emilia approach is a preschool and primary educational philosophy developed in northern Italy that promotes an image of the child as a strong, capable protagonist in his or her own learning, with their own individual rights.
Prior to becoming a university lecturer, Dr Frawley worked for a number of years as an early childhood educator. He also served as a manuscript reviewer for a number of education journals and has been published in peer-reviewed journals.
