2010 press releases
Posted 18 February 2010
Canadian Child Care Experts Meet with AIT Counterparts
Dr Gerard Bellefeuille and Jenny McGrath from the Canadian university’s Bachelor of Child and Youth Care degree held discussions with Dr Marian Fitzgibbon, Owen Ross and Ashling Jackson from the School of Humanities, and with Mary Simpson from AIT’s international office.
Dr Fitzgibbon, Head of the School of Humanities in Athlone said that the meeting had been a “successful” one. “AIT postgraduate students have undertaken research placements at Edmonton in recent years and we are looking to build on that experience. MacEwan University enjoys an excellent reputation for its child and youth care programmes and it is a reflection of the international regard with which AIT is held that they are looking to partner with us,” she said.
She continued: “Child care and social care students at AIT currently benefit from an extensive placement programme, which enables them to apply the knowledge they acquire in lectures in real-world contexts. The opportunity to acquire experience of an international child and youth care environment will not only enhance the learning experience in Athlone, it will hopefully help to produce graduates with a broader worldview and perspective.”
Dr Gerard Bellefeuille received his PhD in the School of Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria, Canada. Prior to arriving at MacEwan University in 2006 to instruct in the Bachelor of Child and Youth Care programme, he was an associate professor at the University of Northern British Columbia. He has spent over 20 years working in the human services field as a front line practitioner and has published widely in this area.
Jenny McGrath is a full-time instructor in the Bachelor of Child and Youth Care programme at Edmonton. She has been in the field for over 10 years and has worked in a variety of child and youth care positions in hospitals, community centres, residential programmes, open custody and family support. Ms McGrath is president of the Child and Youth Care Association of Labrador and in 2006 won the National Child and Youth Care Award.
AIT offers courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level in child and youth care and in social care. Demand for higher certificate and degree programmes in social care and childcare supervisory management have risen dramatically in recent times. At postgraduate level, the institute is recognised as a pioneer in the field and has most recently introduced an MA in Advanced Social Care Practice, offered through Postgraduate Steps, as well as delivering the benchmark MA in Child and Youth Care.
