MLS Jan 2018 Local Attachment MLS local report final | Page 17

In the heart of the curriculum in KidZania is the student (child)-centred
approach it adopts in play. In any of the establishments that the children
participate in, they are the ones who decide how much they are willing to
step out of their comfort zone, to role-play, and learn. At every location,
KidZania uses real-world fun and learning to ready kids for a better world.
The extent the children interact with the real-life content that the industry
partners bring to the establishments will be dependent on each child. In
schools, they also adopt the student-centred approach and is slowly moving
towards joy of learning. However, the lesson delivered can vary from teacher
to teacher and hence the joy and real-life content element may sometimes be
compromised and students do not have the choice to choose which subjects
or which class they would like to be in. The fun aspects and the ability to
engage the kids to make them happy in KidZania are very important as
parents pay for the admission. Where in school, learning will never be
compromised by the fun aspect. While schools try to move towards more
provision on hands on practice or learning journeys, the bulk of the work on
the students is mainly still very much teaching theoretical work and
imparting knowledge.
2.2.2 Human Resource Management
Recruitment and staffing
In KidZania, they recruit mainly students who are on holiday or waiting for
results known as casuals for short term deployment to meet staffing needs
during the public and school holidays. District leaders are assigned a group
of casuals to plan the staff deployment in advance. These casuals are
usually given a three day training by the KidZania staff. The training
includes a pre-reading on KidZania, a kahoot! session during the training
day to help the casuals recap the important features and elements of
KidZania as well as observations around the establishments for the casuals
to gain more insights. In KidZania, punctuality is important as the
establishments need to be open at a specific time. On days when the staff is
on medical leave or will be late, they will need to inform their district
leaders through a common whatsapp group and the district leaders will
assign a stand in as much as possible. In comparison to schools, teachers
are recruited and trained in National Institute of Education for one year
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