JoshuaLoh - CPEE Diploma: Rewarding. Extraordinary. Memorable.
CPEE Diploma: Rewarding. Extraordinary. Memorable.
On first impression, Joshua Loh comes across as any young man you meet on the streets – youthful, social, and without a care or responsibility. Dig deeper and you will find this is a driven youth with a passion – a passion to make a difference in the lives of children.
From young, Joshua had always been interested in working with children. So after finishing secondary school, he decided to choose to take a diploma in Child Psychology and Early Education (CPEEE) at the School of Humanities & Social Sciences (HMS), at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
While making the choice was easy, the expectations and pressure from friends and family were a challenge he had to face. Not surprisingly, as a male in a female-dominated industry, Joshua was often asked why he couldn’t choose another industry. The plucky youth persevered, because of his strong belief that children can grow up to be competent and successful individuals if they were instilled with positive values in their early years.
Joshua is also grateful for the facilities and opportunities provided by Ngee Ann Polytechnic during his studies. In addition, he felt that the career prospects in the Early Childhood industry are extensive, with a career path that lets him focus on doing what he loves best.
Asked what describes his time at HMS, Joshua gamely gave three words: Rewarding, Extraordinary and Memorable. He felt that not only were the lessons interesting, they also included practical field experience through attachments in early childhood centres. Through such learning experiences, he came to develop his own personal skills, including how to interact with the parents of his young charges.
After graduating with the CPEE diploma, Joshua embarked on a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education, under the Child Care Scholarship awarded by the Singapore Institute of Technology and the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA). Today, Joshua works as a Teacher in NTUC’s My First Skool, where he teaches English to young children.
He attended the 2014 ECDA conference where he was a speaker and moderator. He has also been featured in several newspaper articles and held up as a positive example of a male educator in the early childhood industry, and successfully taking the road less travelled.