Category: early childhood education

Introduction

In early childhood education, play has been seen as a central concept that underpins the areas of teaching and learning (Fleer, 2013). Play also provides a supportive environment which offers children rich learning experiences that allows them to make sense of their world, to express their thoughts and feeling, as well as extend all levels of development (Crowther & Welhousen, 2003, P. 12). However, the concept of play is changing over time. Firstly, this essay will compare the classical theories of practice and relaxation and recreation play with contemporary theories of emotional and cognitive development in play. Secondly, it specifically analyses how cultural, social and spatial environment factors impact on children’s play. Meanwhile, in order to understand the importance of children’s play, relevant theoretical perspectives and philosophies can provide guidelines for early year professionals to support children’s growth and learning through play, as well as evaluate the roles of teachers (Ebbeck & Waniganayake, 2017).

Fleer (2013) proposes that classical theories of play explain the reason why children play and the meaning of play in nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and physical aspects involved in play. Two types of classical theories of play will be outlined. First, the practice theory of play (Groos1898, 1901), which emphasizes that play has an adaptive purpose. For instance, children will imitate the behaviours of adults in play, in order to prepare themselves for adult life (as cited in Fleer, 2013). Children role-play as parents during pretend play, such as they pretend to cook food in the kitchen or drive a car to go to work. Groos advocates that children are more likely to be interested in mimicking the behaviours of adults who are important in their lives (Mellou, 1994). Meanwhile, this pretend play supports interpersonal development because it allows children to learn about the different roles people play in society (Fleer, 2013). Additionally, through role play, children enhance their imagination. The second classical theory of play is the relaxation theory of play. Lazarus (1883) proposes that the purpose of play is to restore energy expended in work which is evident when children enjoy a relaxing activity without any learning purposes (Fleer, 2013). However, this theory of play seems that there is a debate about whether play store energy or consume energy. Mellou (1994) argues that play might lack of a cognitive function. These classical theories are believed to be inadequate today because they did not focus on the variation of children’s play activities (Biddle et al., 2013). Nevertheless, the importance of children’s play was acknowledged in these theories and they served as foundations for the development of contemporary theories of play (Biddle et al., 2013).

Ebbeck, & Waniganayake, (2017) argue that the contemporary theories of play are more about understanding children’s physical growth and abilities, social skills about knowledge of self and relationships with others, emotional competence about self-esteem and self-regulation, and cognitive skills of learning and problem-solving in play (p.205). Unlike the classical theories of play, contemporary theories increase our understanding of play phenomenon through the explanatory power of the theoretic perspectives, and also provide emphasis on the psychological value of play (Mellou, 1994, p. 93). There are two main theorists who clearly outlined a complex picture of play and its benefits. The first theorist is Erikson’s psychosocial theory (1950), which focuses on how children can use play experiences to foster social and emotional competence at different stages (as cited in Heidemann & Hewitt, 2010). For instance, in the infant stage, babies, although helpless, begin to interact and engage more in a wide range of social play with others when they establish a trustworthy relationship with their educators (Ebbeck & Waniganayake, 2017). Consequently, Erikson advocates the importance of responsive care and support at this stage of life. This theory explains how children’s social and emotional development occurs through play. Young children experience a range of emotions, that can influence their interactions with others, as well as their general wellbeing (Arthur et al., 2012). The second theorist is Piaget. In the cognitive theory (1978), play contributes to children’s development, and it is a method of consolidating concepts and skills, as well as combing thinking and actions. In Piaget’s theory, children do not retain their level of understanding in play but often engage with new knowledge that supports their development of a higher level of cognitive understanding, which is also known as the assimilation process (Heidemann & Hewitt, 2010, p.5). For instance, when a two-year-old plays with a car, her/his understanding of a car might be that it can be driven on a road, however, as the child grows, she/he develops new understanding where she/he learns that car needs petrol to move, showing her/his assimilation of knowledge where she/he built new understanding based on her/his prior knowledge of cars.

Contemporary theories of play provide more insight into play, supported by empirical research, such that it is more persuasive. These theories see play as a medium for nurturing children’s development across various domains and explain why play benefits children’s development (Mellou, 1994). In contrast, none of the classical theories of play provides an in-depth and clear identification of the existence of different contents and variations in children’s play (Bergen, 1998). Despite that, Verenikina et al. (2003) maintain that both classical and contemporary theories of play have the potential to affect children’s physical wellbeing, as well as enhance their cognitive, social and emotional development in many ways.

With the growing diversity of cultures and language in early childhood settings, Corason (2015) finds out that children’s choice of play and interactions might be influenced by their cultural background. Heidemann & Hewitt (2010) maintain that a child’s linguistic background can also affect children’s play. For instance, a non-English speaking child might find it hard to communicate with English-speaking children. In lights of these situations, play also can be used as a medium to overcome such cultural and language barriers. It is a motivating activity that can assist children to learn English or physically interact with others. Through play children are encouraged to communicate with their peers, allowing them to develop new language skills in a non-threatening play environment. By using play as a context for learning, children can also become effective communicators as they engage in interactions using verbal and non-verbal language in play, and attend cultural cues that they are listening to and understanding what is said to them (DWWER, 2009, P. 40). Therefore, educators play an important role in acknowledging and understanding the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the children in their room, so that they can plan play experiences which accommodates their cultural needs and promote inclusion of all children.

Fleer (2013) argues that play is first learnt in families and it has an economic value. Children do not only need time and space to play and practice skills but also need parents who are willing to put aside time and resources to assist their children in developing skills (Moyles, 1994). Carlsson-Paige (2008) raises concerns that ‘entertainment media are often replacing activities, child-centered play and social time with peers and families’ (as cited in Ebbeck & Waniganayake, 2017, P.18). For example, if parents are exhausted when they return home from work, they might allow the television, phone or ipad to occupy their children. This can pose a negative effect on the relationship and interactions between children and parents. Additionally, that might even give rise to other unavoidable issues such as emotional problems occurring in which children might access to the violent events through the internet. Evidence shows that parental involvement in children’s play is strongly associated with children’s intellectual and emotional development (Moyles, 1994). Briggs & Hansen (2012) suggest that parents are a significant group of people who should be involved in children’s development and learning. When playing and interacting with their children more often, they will able to inform the teachers what their children’s interests, needs and strengths are. This is further supported by Bronfenbrenner in his bio-ecological system theory (1986) which outlines the significant relationship between parents and children’s development. The significance of this relationship is highlighted in his bio-ecological model where parents or families are located in the microsystem, which is the most immediate surrounding for a child (as cited in Ryan, 2001). If parents provide opportunities and experiences that can shape children’s sense of being and becoming (VEYDL, 2016).

Play and learning have been discussed extensively from a range of theoretical perspectives (Fleer, 2103). Contemporary theories of play emphasize that play can meaningfully support children’s cognitive and social-emotional development. In the twenty-first century, play-based pedagogy is underpinned in early childhood education (Arthur, 2012). The EYLF places a specific emphasis on play-based learning approaches, and highlights the benefits of play for children’s learning across different areas of development such as communication, physical, and social and emotional skills (Kennedy & Barblett, 2010). Through physical play, children develop muscle control and eye-hand and foot coordination skills when they jump a distance or catch a ball between extended arms. Also, when children play with others they learn to use language to express their feelings, to communicate with peers, as well as begin thinking critically and judge fair and unfair behaviour (DEEWR, 2009).

Play also helps early year professionals recognize the complexity, features, and potential of play to foster children’s holistic development (Arthur, 2012). This allows teachers to be aware of the multiple forms and types of play which can support children’s development. Early year professionals play an important role as effective managers, co-learners as well as players. According to Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development [ZPD] theory (1978) and Bruner’s scaffolding theory (1978), intervention of knowledgeable adults in student play is crucial for the success of play-based learning approach (Briggs & Hansen, 2012, p.73). However, before intervening in children’s play, it is necessary for teachers to consider the intentions behind their intervention. There are many reasons for intervening. For instance, to manage dangerous situation, accept challenging activities, extend children’s future play, or as a mediator in play.

As an important resource in early childhood education, the environment plays an influential role in children’s play. Some contemporary theories and research are informed by the Reggio Emilia approach which value the environment as the third teacher, supporting children’s learning and play in general (Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority, 2016). This is further supported by Kam and Ebbeck (2010) who argued that ‘Children need an environment in which to express, explore their ideas in a playful’. They believe that the environment which provides stimulating materials can further motivate children to explore the world, particularly the natural environment, where children are able to be in contact with various natural resources such as leaves, stones, sand, mud and water. These open-ended resources are often inspirational and their value as play resources form the fact that no one can determine what their outcome should be (Fisher, 2013, p.47). This gives children the opportunity to connect with nature and develop respect to the environment (DEEWR, 2009, p. 16). Playing in the natural environment also offer opportunities for children to explore the Aboriginal cultures which shows great respect and connection to nature, such as how they lived in the natural environment, or how they control the use of natural resources to promote sustainability (Kingsley, Townsend & Henderson-Wilson 2013, p. 3). The potential for natural resources can facilitate children’s imagination and enrich creative play (Fleer, 2013). During outside play, when children engage in the natural environment, a variety of sensory elements can easily be introduced, such as the smell of flowers. Children also showed interested in mixing sand and water to make a birthday cake and put some sticks on the top as candles. Utilizing the Reggio Emilia approach, teachers can bring natural materials to the activities in the room, to support children in developing a sense of value and respect for their community (Fraser, 2006)

Conclusion

In conclusion, by comparing classical and contemporary theories of play in the field of early childhood education, it is evident that there might be a lack of understanding about the relationship between learning and play in classical theory. The contemporary theories of play seem more suitable for today’s educational concepts. There is no doubt that diverse cultural and complex ecological factors can influence children’s play. The environment also plays supportive role for children’s learning and development. As early year professionals, knowing the intentions for intervention in play and having the capacity to changing roles is equally significant. However, it is undeniable that our views of play might change and new theories and beliefs of play may arise from current theories of play as when we progress into the near future.

The world has evolved, and so has the criterion of life. With the invention of technology, which has been the driving force behind recent discoveries, it would be a disgrace if it is not integrated into our daily life. Technology has revolutionized healthcare, agriculture and our transport systems; forever banishing all the mayhem associated with the sectors as mentioned above. As to whether or not it should be incorporated into early childhood education, that is entirely dependent on merits as discussed hereunder.

Technology cannot substitute the tutor in class, but rather act as a tool to facilitate the learning process. It was proposed by (Moss, Peter, Gunilla, and Alan, 34) to abandon the monopoly of teacher, chalk, whitewall in the classroom environment and reap the benefits of animated tutorials on screens. This guided, curriculum tailored approach will hasten language development and enhance socialization skills among the toddlers.

Secondly, only appropriate developmental modules should be embraced in the early stages of learning. In kindergarten, most pupils are struggling with pronunciations and other trivial learning processes. In this regard, (Pegrum, Mark, Grace, and Robert, 9) proposed the technological approach sought-after, at this level, should aim at strengthening the mental development of the pupils.

The concentration span of children is very volatile. Without the necessary attention, children can easily be distracted from their studies. However, studies have shown that other modes of learning such as audiovisuals and e-books have managed to lengthen the concentration duration. Adopting such methods of teaching will fundamentally improve the quality of education and retention capacity through proactive learning (Stahl, Gerry, Timothy, and Daniel, 5).

Technology has been identified as the perfect aid to children with special needs. Education is a basic need and therefore should be accessible to all children irrespective of their capabilities. To level the playing field, and ensure equity, (Moss, Peter, Gunilla, and Alan, 45) highlighted the invention of gadgets such as hearing aids, alternative keyboards, touch windows and power pads assist the visually and hearing impaired children.

Lastly, the technology used should connect to the real world context of life. Developers of the programmes used in school should synchronize them with the curriculum to ensure our children are in touch with reality as they grow and not lost in the animated world. This can be best achieved by regulating the applications used at different levels of learning as discussed by (Moss, Peter, Gunilla, and Alan, 48). It can be even more effective through supervision by an adult in the absence of a teacher.

Fredrick Froebel Historical Background

Fredrick Froebel was born in Germany 1782, as the youngest of his family. Fredrick had a difficult childhood after suffering from the loss of his mother when he was a baby and felt withdrawn from his father. Fredrick decided to live with his uncle, he attended school and excelled in his studies but especially enjoyed the outdoors more.

When his schooling was done Fredrick took up an apprenticeship along with some part time classes, he soon formed an interest in philosophy. In 1808 Froebel worked a few jobs, after a sudden career change Froebel started to teach, this is where his interest in early years education began. In 1813 schooling was topped due to an ongoing war – this inspired him in 1816 to open his own school in Griesheim.

In 1818 Froebel moved permanently to Prussia where he set up his school – during this time Fredrick started to work on his educational ideas, he concentrated on the early years education and believed they needed a curriculum where they could explore the outdoors, learn nursery rhymes and do art activities to enhance their development.

Whilst doing other work such as teaching and running an orphanage Froebel published a book in 1826 called ‘’The Education of Man’’ where he wrote ‘’let us live with our children, let them live with us, so we shall gain through them what all of us need’’ (Linda Pound, 2005). In 1852 Froebel later passed – this sparked the Froebel approach and in 1857 this inspired many schools to follow his education method.

Core Concepts of the Froebel ECEC Approach

The core concepts for Froebel’s approach to ECEC setting are the stages of child development, kindergarten environment (indoor and outdoor), kindergarten curriculum, the role of the teacher, gifts and occupations and the importance of family.

The stages of child development are built up on three stages; infancy, childhood and boyhood. Children aged 0-2 (infancy) are like sponges and listen to our words. It is encouraged to read to them to help develop their language and sensory skills. During childhood (2-7) is an important time for language development – during this time children should be guided by the adult. Froebel believed that boyhood (7-12) is more curriculum based learning and regular manual work.

Froebel believed the development of the early years was vital to help shape them into respectable human beings. The key principles of their development were self-activity this would give them the chance to be as free as possible and make their own decision on what they want to do. The next principle was creativity, children are very imaginative and creative and should be given the materials they need to express themselves in a healthy way. Social participation is a very important stage for a child this stage needs the help of the adult, the adult must encourage the child to interact and play with others to help develop their communication skills. Motor expression is hands on activities such as art and gardening – this is there to help develop our motor skills.

The kindergarten environment offers children a holistic approach to learning and gives children the freedom to explore and use materials in the classroom – this makes them feel comfortable as if at home. Froebel encouraged indoor and outdoor activities such as gardening, physical play, art activities and story-time – this would enhance their curiosity and help develop their social skills and communicate effectively with each other. Froebel believed the kindergarten approach helps the child become independent and confident in themselves, he encouraged working closely with the parents to build trust and work together in the best interest of the child.

Gifts and occupations is a term that Frobel came up with to describe the wooden materials he made for the children. The gift can be used with children ages between 2-8. He made these gifts to help children recognise shapes and develop their language. With each gift there is an occupation such as clay, wood carving, painting and drawing. Occupations allow freedom and encourages children to be creative.

Fredrick believed that a child needed a curriculum to learn effectively. The kindergarten doesn’t have a strict curriculum it is manly hands-on activities, creative and physical play and sing-songs. The curriculum built up on two principles such as games and songs, gifts and occupations – the curriculum is manly play activities both indoor and outdoor and toys that Fredrick designed himself to stimulate the child brain. This way of learning was very effective because children learn best through play.

The role of the teacher in a kindergarten setting is to encourage the children and to always acknowledge them, to be a role-model and sensitive to their feeling. The teacher should observe regularly and work with the child on improving their developmental skills. They should be patient so the children can feel safe and approach them anytime. The importance of family is empathised so the child can feel supported and encouraged. Froebel believed that parents and kindergarten teachers must work together to be more involved and to help the child reach their potential.

Bibliography

1. Flood, E. & Hardy, C. (2013) ‘Early Childhood Education & Play, Dublin: Gill & Macmillan.
2. Linda Pound, 2005, ‘How Children Learn’.
3. Early Childhood Curriculum FETAC Level 6, Eilis Flood & Catriona Hardy 2013, Gill & Macmillan.

Language and literacy skills are an important and necessary ability required to drive a person’s ability to think and learn as without these skills an individual’s developmental growth can decline due to their critical thinking and learning skills being reduced. An educator plays a significant role in assisting children in an early childhood environment to positively develop and enhance their diverse learning skills. Various planned experiences and methods are used in an education and care environment in order to assist and encourage the developments of children from diverse language skills as in a diverse environment the most important concept that an educator must keep in mind is the need to assist the children in their own individual way in order to encourage their learning growth, and this is done through observing and assessing the child and analyzing the several factors (strengths/weaknesses) so that they can gradually learn and enhance their diverse language and literacy skills. There are various types of diverse learning skills such as bilingual which is the ability to speak two languages, multilingual which is the ability to speak more than three languages, Aboriginal English which is the various dialects of English spoken by Aboriginal people in Australia, delayed speech which is children not being able to meet the language development milestone for their age and advanced language which is the ability to say words/communicate ahead of their developmental milestones for their age .

Contemporary Approaches

Some diverse learning styles that can be adapted for the early childhood students, which will be beneficial for the children to communicate and easily teach them are, based on the three most important learning styles- visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. These are completely based on the developing stage and learning process of the child. As the child develops, they are able to perceive and analyze things therefore the processes needs to be changed and revised frequently. Again the process of learning can be traced back to the child’s individual developmental needs and according to the centre routines. Hence the important factors based on this criteria are- verbal, logical or mathematical, social. The visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning style the student is given focuses on their sensory attributes and the styles are based on their needs. The visual style focuses on the use of the visionary senses of the child, whereas auditory learning style includes the use of their auditory senses and finally kinesthetic style includes the use of the physical attributes of the students which includes several activities and physical training as well. In case of the verbal, logical and the social learning styles the educator uses several approaches in how they should analyze and on what strategy or the mode or subject the child requires based on their diverse learning ability or delay. (Whorrall & Cabell, 2016).

There are various approaches that educators can implement in their daily routines and play experiences to help encourage the development of children with diverse learning abilities and needs such as the use of books and reading corners, verbal expression through songs and phrases from different languages, flashcards, inclusive play experiences, asking the children questions whilst reading them a book, using books with big words and bright colours/pictures, using books with different languages, playing games through using words from different languages, asking people from the child’s cultural community to come in and talk about the language and teach the children about it.

Inclusive Teaching Strategies

Teaching strategies that can be included, are knowing the child’s culture, analyzing their cultural language or their mother tongue, this can be done by analyzing what culture they belong to and knowing them deeply. Thus, they will be able to learn their cultural languages and will be encouraged to communicate using that language as well. Aboriginal English is a notable factor that needs to be looked after and the actual terms and conditions needs to be analyzed by the educator and this will help the child to understand their mode of communication and in what ways that they should be communicating in order to impose their actual cultural language (Tran, Luchters & Fisher, 2017). The process of communicating regularly in class and developing habits of correcting their habits is a very efficient strategy to rectify the Aboriginal English speaking. Both bilingualism and multilingualism can be processed by teaching more than one language to the student so that they can be able to perceive and practice several other languages together. The study of linguistics is very essential for the teacher and the student as well. The child will be encouraged to be proficient in their mother tongues and then Language 1 (L1) that is the First Language and the Language 2 (L2); second language and Language 3 (L3); third language will be decided and taught. The language delays and the language advancement can be taught by categorizing the students according to the number of languages and their fluency in the language and also proficiency in the respective languages they speak or know (Hardy & Woodcock, 2015).

Importance of Diverse Learning environment

A diverse learning environment is needed so that children can easily learn and analyze several other languages together as there will be children belonging from various cultures speaking various kinds of languages. Therefore the educators are required to provide inclusive training on their class that will enable them to look after and observe each and every child separately and gather the information needed to create the play experiences to further the children’s development. Therefore, optimal language learning is important and hence it helps in the diverse learning and teaching processes (Hodge, Lieberman, & Murata, 2017).

Literacy is a vital factor for which the family of the students will be aiming for in their early childhoods. Factors needs to assessed according to the mode of the development of the student as well as their ability to grasp the studies and also to learn fast. Thus the students are mainly taught by following several modules that will help them to work in a group and also be in a schedule and be in the mode of learning a process, which will be important for the student to learn quickly and easily (Elango, García, Heckman & Hojman, 2015). These methods and modules are followed and also are frequently changed and revised specially to analyze the students’ improvement and capability and also help them in learning and assisting them in their problems. According to Watson & Wildy (2014), there are certain methods and modules followed and the authors performed certain activities that helped the students gain knowledge easily. The authors selected four participants for analysis of their literacy pedagogy from the questionnaire data, that they were provided and all the various data and the mode of the task that is made to be applied. The participants demonstrated each of the pedagogical methods, that are- play-based, student-centered, teacher-directed and co-constructed learning. In another situation the authors described the number of the narratives that were taken into account and reflected on the varied and the daily experiences of the participants with the regard to the early literacy education pedagogical practices. The narrative are discussed addressing the research question that has been highlighted and also supported with literature (Westwood, 2018). The Documenting Learning is one of the most important factors that has been taken in to account to analyze the student’s outcome. The support provided is focused and is centered towards the students, thus the factor of understanding and helping the students with their problems is matter that was served by following the method or the module. Multiple pedagogical supports were included which served to be very helpful for the students as well as the teacher concerned (Sim & Berthelsen, 2014).

Diverse approaches has been included in the lesson plan prepared by the teacher. Experiences of a teacher has been included in the research work who has gone throughout the process, according to the teacher, along with an assistant they prepared lesson plans according to the interest of the students. They included three programs simultaneously to make the students associated with the teachers and learn accordingly. The teacher being novice handled the students by depicting the intentional and rigorous in the pedagogical approach that included the planning, communication, relationships, classroom design, interactions with the students. The teacher focused and continued professional learning as well as along with an assistant they analyzed several factors that are essential for teaching (Watson & Wildy, 2014).

Another example of the teaching experience has been analyzed that has been made by an experienced teacher, who is compatible with handling students and actually how to lead a class despite of the class being chaotic or restless. Therefore though the class may seem to be chaotic she brought in the productiveness from the students. Thus the handling of the students is also an important factor that a teacher needs to understand and analyze to continue with the class (Evans & Green, 2018). The pedagogical practices included therefore by the teacher are linked with the experience and qualifications therefore the mode of teaching that was framed by the teacher was quite unique compared to that of the novice teacher thus the inclusive mode of the teaching is very important for the diverse student base. The common themes that the teacher took in preparing the lesson plan for the class are- rich demonstration, stimulating environment and adaptive instruction. All these modules were identified through the data analysis, for highlighting the practice and shape the abilities of the students accordingly (Morgan & Sellner, 2017).

Conclusion

The two important areas of early childhood development are language and literacy, although they are connected, and both lead to the intellectual development of a child they refer to two distinctive areas and needs. Language development aims towards developing the skills needed to communicate with others through languages and words, whereas literacy development aims to provide the child with the ability to read and write. Babies are born with the capabilities for development in diverse learning skills and there are many ways that educators can support this development and help ensure that children with advanced language and literacy skills are encouraged and carefully planned experiences enable educators to keep track of how far the child has advanced and how they can further be assisted. Educators are also responsible for the care of children with common communication disorders, which may cause delays in their language and literacy development, it is vital for the educator to be able to create individually planned experiences and plays to assist these children to reach their language and literacy milestones gradually in order for the child to experience a healthy developmental environment.

References

1. Elango, S., García, J. L., Heckman, J. J., & Hojman, A. (2015). Early childhood education. In Economics of Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States, Volume 2 (pp. 235-297). University of Chicago Press.
2. Evans, V., & Green, M. (2018). Cognitive linguistics: An introduction. Routledge.
3. Fellowes, J., & Oakley, G. (2011). Language, Literacy and Early Childhood Education. Oxford University Press.
4. Hardy, I., & Woodcock, S. (2015). Inclusive education policies: Discourses of difference, diversity and deficit. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 19(2), 141-164.
5. Hodge, S., Lieberman, L., & Murata, N. (2017). Essentials of teaching adapted physical education: Diversity, culture, and inclusion. Routledge.
6. Morgan, J. L., & Sellner, M. B. (2017). Discourse and linguistic theory. In Theoretical issues in reading comprehension (pp. 165-200). Routledge.
7. Newman, L., Arthur, L., Staples, K., & Woodrow, C. (2016). Recognition of family engagement in young children’s literacy learning. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 41(1), 73-81.
8. Roskos, K. A. (Ed.). (2017). Play and literacy in early childhood: Research from multiple perspectives. Routledge.
9. Sim, S., & Berthelsen, D. (2014). Shared book reading by parents with young children: Evidence-based practice. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 39(1), 50-55.
10. Tran, T. D., Luchters, S., & Fisher, J. (2017). Early childhood development: impact of national human development, family poverty, parenting practices and access to early childhood education. Child: care, health and development, 43(3), 415-426.
11. Watson, R., & Wildy, H. (2014). Pedagogical practice of early childhood teachers: Explicit enhancement of students’ literacy. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 39(2), 82-90.
12. Watson, R., & Wildy, H. (2014). Pedagogical practice of early childhood teachers: Explicit enhancement of students’ literacy. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 39(2), 82-90.
13. Westwood, P. (2018). Inclusive and adaptive teaching: Meeting the challenge of diversity in the classroom. Routledge.
14. Whorrall, J., & Cabell, S. Q. (2016). Supporting children’s oral language development in the preschool classroom. Early Childhood Education Journal, 44(4), 335-341.

Language and Literacy development is the foundation of how well the child is going to be at school, in communicating and socialising with others, developing independence, working and many more; hence, it is an important part of a child’s development (Morrow, 2012). A child must play with building blocks to further their literacy skills which includes the ability to understand, listen, watch, speak and draw. The development of learning language starts as a new-born when a mother starts non-verbal communication with a child. As a child progresses with their age, they further their language and literacy skills through the spoken words and the connection between the letters of the alphabets; but this development is possible if a child has been exposed to plenty of experiences with letters, words, sounds, pictures and objects – this includes how the words are chosen and talked about with children, how are the letters’ sounds, names and patterns and how the words rhyme, start and finish with similar alphabets, how their broken into syllable parts and so on (Ashton et. al., 2013). Providing children in early years with quality resources is very vital as it is will build the foundation for their children’s development and will further their learning to be ready for school.

HOW PHYSICAL AND AESTHETIC CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUR RESOURCE MAKE IT A SUITABLE EDUCATIONAL ARTEFACT

The educational psychology refers to an ‘artefact’ as a lasting and materially present constructed resource to make learning and gaining knowledge as its central motive – this could be in the form of sculptures, models, books, paintings, board game, poem, dance, song and many more. The physical and aesthetic characteristics of any form of an educational resource contributes to the child’s development and their way of learning through it (Gorard et. al., 2004).

During my 20-day placement at an early childhood centre, I noticed behaviours of the children; some of them would cry when they are upset, some were scared of their educators, some were shy, some were very energetic and naughty at times, some would stay quiet and sit in a corner if they felt scared, some of them got angry and sometimes, they would just come to an educator for a cuddle to make themselves feel better. I approached every child and took the time to speak to them independently away from other children and tried to know why and what made them feel the way they did – some of them replied with, “I don’t want to talk to anyone”, “I’m scared of the teacher”, “I am sad”, “I want mommy, I feel sad”, “I feel very angry because he (or she) took my toy”, and many more. They expressed their emotions through the ways they knew best, and I tried helping them in every way I can. During Show and Tell in the class, some of the children would not like to come at the front and would start crying because they would feel embarassed, the educators would tell them that it’s fine if they didn’t want to come at the front. Therefore, the educational resource that I graphically designed is for the children (particularly from ages 3-5) who feel all these emotions and to send the message across that “it’s okay to feel the way they feel” in form of different colours. I, Monica Sokhal, am the author and the illustrator of the book titled – “It’s Okay… Roarie!”. “It’s Okay…Roarie!” is a colourful book which will be attractive to children and they would want to read it; it has simple illustrations, exciting and funny monster drawings, and have simple and easily understandable literacy elements like lines, shapes and colours (Lopatovska et. al., 2016). Vygotsky (cited in John-Steiner & Mahn, 1996) quotes that “sociocultural process that manifests itself through language that is supportive of children’s artistic intelligence” hence I have designed self-explanatory illustrations, say for example – when a happy emotion is being talked about, the happy monster is drawn and it’s similar for the other emotions mentioned in the book. The children can easily understand and identify through the drawings itself (Danko-McGhee & Slutsky, 2011), as they are still in the process of learning how to read. Furthermore, cut outs of Roarie (book’s character) have been pasted on popsicle sticks to be raised to the children while they read the book – these props will add excitement as children learn quickly through multi-sensory learning (Pugh & Girod, 2007) which also makes my self-designed book.

ITS EDUCATIONL POTENTIAL THAT WOULD MAKE IT A VALUABLE LANGUAGE AND LITERACY ARTEFACT

I believe that my book, “It’s Okay…Roarie!”, is a valuable language and literacy artefact as it possesses educational characteristics required for a child’s learning and development; most importantly, to make a child understand that it is fine if they are feeling a particular emotion. This will not make them lose their confidence and motivation, instead, they will feel safe, secure and confident and will trust their educators enough to share their feelings. This book is engaging as at every page, it says, “Let’s all say…’it’s fine to be sad, Roarie!’”, after “Let’s all say…”, children will say it out loud. This will not only make them interested in knowing what’s next but also will personally pass on the message to them that we are like Roarie too, who sometimes gets sad or upset and it’s fine. I had related the colours to emotions which will allow their cognitive conceptual development to grow and which will be a primary tool for children’s language comprehension as they see the colours, hear the words and repeat accordingly (Neuman & Wright, 2010).

To deliberately catch children’s attention, “It’s Okay…Roarie” will be read by an educator to the children with a high-pitched voice and exaggerating the intonation to help further their zone of proximal development which will support a child’s existing knowledge while building up on emergent literacy after reading the book (Levine & Munsch, 2010). Before reading the book to them, the educator may start with open-ended questions like, ‘Are you okay?’ or ‘Does someone want to share anything that has happened to them today?’ – questions like these will help bring out a child’s emotion and then they could read the book to understand that we all have different emotions and it’s importance of sharing it with our elders. Barclay (2010) demonstrates how a child learns patterns while a book is being read to them pointing the words out as the educators speak and Chow & Mcbride-Chang (2003) underlines the importance of reading a book to a child as they learn language and literacy through learning the sound of letters and words, how they are put together and their meanings; reading will also promote a child’s vocabulary (McLachlan, 2007).

AN INDIVIDUAL CHILD

I can read the book, “It’s Okay…Roarie!”, to a child individually and engage myself in one-on-one conversation with them to know more about their perspective, how they feel sometimes, if they can relate to the character in the book and to help them build a trust with their educators. Their language and literacy learnings will be scaffolded through pointing out the words as they are read to learn sounds and to put the letters of the alphabet. The book will be read repeatedly to build on their memory further extending their learning (Snell, Hindman & Wasik, 2015). Whitehurst et. al. (1988) demonstrates the importance of open-ended questions while reading a book to extend a child’s language and literacy development as it will allow them to critically think and analyse, in this case, the children will most likely share their feelings in relation to Roarie’s – the more they speak, the more they will build up on their language.

SMALL GROUP (2-6 CHILDREN)

The props (single cuts of Roarie) could be used in either small group of children or a large; these props will engage more children and will be interested in reading the book as they see the physical Roarie (out from the book) raised up as they read. This will encourage their literacy development through pointing out the words as they read and will further their language learning as they repeat what the book asks them to say, after “Let’s all say…” (Konza, 2011). After the book is read, the educator can ask, “Who feels the same way as Roarie feels?” or “Does someone wants to share any feelings?” – questions like these will not only help them in developing their language skills but it will help the educator observe and know how the child is doing emotionally, talk to their parents about it and if there is any way the child can be helped by both the parents and the educator collaboratively.

LARGER GROUP (7+ CHILDREN)

The way I will use this book is very similar to how I will use it with a small group – the props will be used to engage children; open-ended questions will be initiated by the educator to further a child’s language development and to know more about them emotionally. Apart from these, I can use the props as a role-play in a larger group of children; the book speaks about six common different emotions a child goes through so six children can be chosen at a time to enact Roarie through short dialogues, like an Angry Roarie can say, “ARRRRRGGGGH! I’M AN ANGRY ROARIE!” – this will not only make learning fun but will also help them to understand the sounds and tones that we normally use while having different emotions.

CONCLUSION

The early childhood (birth-5 years old) learning stage is very critical to help and support children’s learning and development; most importantly, their Language and Literacy skills is essential as it helps them understand words and alphabets, what they mean, what their relationships are and how they should be spoken. This will not only advance a child in the academics but will also help a child have the knowledge of what’s around them – both abstract (emotions and feelings) and concrete (matter) – and will start comprehending, critically thinking, analysing and using their imagination.

REFERENCES

1. Ashton, J., Fellowes, J. & Oakley, G. (2013). Language, Literacy and Early Childhood Education. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 13(1), 131-137.
2. Chow, B.W.Y. & Mcbride-Chang, C. (2003). Promoting Language and Literacy Development through Parent-Child Reading in Hong Kong Preschoolers. Early Education & Development, 14(2), 233- 248.
3. Danko-McGhee, K. & Slutsky, R. (2011). Judging a book by its cover: Preschool children’s aesthetic preferences for picture books. International Journal of Education Through Art, 7(2), 171-185.
4. Gorard, S., Roberts, K. & Taylor, C. (2004). What kind of creature is a design experiment? British Educational Research Journal, 30(4), 577-590.
5. John-Steiner, V. & Mahn, H. (1996). Sociocultural approaches to learning and development: A Vygotskian framework. Educational Psychologist, 31(3), 191-206.
6. Konza, D. (2011). Spotlight: Research into Practice. Supporting Oral Language and Reading Development in the Early Years (Part 1).
7. Levine, L. E. & Munsch, J. (2010). Child Development: An Active Learning Approach. Sage.
8. Lopatovska, I., Hatoum, S., Waterstraut, S., Novak, L. & Sheer, S. (2016). Not just a pretty picture: visual literacy education through art for young children. Journal of Documentation, 72(6), 1197- 1227.
9. McLachlan, C. (2007). Literacies in Childhood: Changing views, Challenging Practice. Australia: Elsevier.
10. Morrow, L.M. (2012). Literacy development in the early years: helping children read and write. Hoboken, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
11. Neuman, S.B. & Wright, T.S. (2010). Promoting Language and Literacy Development for Early Childhood Educators: A Mixed-Methods Study of Coursework and Coaching. The Elementary School Journal, 111(1), 63-86.
12. Pugh, K.J. & Girod, M. (2007). Science, Art and Experience: Constructing a Science Pedagogy From Dewey’s Aesthetics, Journal of Science Teacher Education, 18(1), 9-27.
13. Snell, E. K., Hindman, A. H. & Wasik, B. A. (2015). How Can Book Reading Close the Word Gap? Five Key Practices from Research. Internal Literacy Association, 68(7), 560-571.
14. Whitehurst, G. J., Falco, F. L., Lonigan, C. J., Fischel, J. E., DeBaryshe, B. D., Valdez-Menchaca, M. C. & Caulfield, M. (1998). Accelerating Language Development through picture book reading. Developmental Psychology, 24(4), 552-559.

Introduction

There are three main reasons why I think this post has added value to the Discussion of topic Reflection.

Firstly, I shared an example from my own practice experiences, it will remind my classmates who have read my post to avoid a similar problem occurs in their future practice.

Secondly, I did the reflection from the perspective of improving my partnership with my associate teacher who is also one of my colleagues, because effective communication with colleagues plays an important role in the collaboration of early childhood education.

Finally, I connected my example to the relevant viewpoints and strategies in Vicars (2010), which underpins the conclusion of my reflection professionally.

Essay

Vanderah and Gould (2016) states that the brain develops the majority of its neurons between birth and 3 years old, which means a child owns the highest potential for learning new things in his/her early years. As the core of professional education and care service for young children, early childhood practitioners have extensive responsibilities for maximizing children’s valued learning and future development (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2017). This essay will give an account of a few responsibilities of early childhood educators for young children, their families/whānau, and the wider learning community base on the value of wellbeing, respect, communication and professional knowledge.

First of all, I regard wellbeing of children in early childhood education as the paramount value in my teaching philosophy. According to Bradshaw, Hoelscher and Richardson, the definition of child wellbeing is “the realisation of children’s rights and the fulfilment of the opportunity for every child to be all she or he can be in the light of a child’s abilities, potential, and skills” (as cited in Garvis & Pendergast, 2017, p.7). MoE (2017) emphasizes that every teacher should be the gatekeeper of children’s right of experiencing wellness protected. In addition, Licensing Criteria (Ministry of Education [MoE], 2018) requires the whole licensed early childhood education service providers to pour a significant attention into and comply with the health, safety and wellbeing practices standard.

I would like to come up with some examples of wellbeing promoting practice that I can engage in. The first one could be designing and creating a safe, aesthetically pleasing and meaningful learning environment for young children (Isbell and Exelby, 2001). Never leaving a child alone, always keeping children in sight to ensure that children playing safely and being familiar with the potential risk is another instance (Education Council, 2017b). “Always being intentional about watching for the physical and behavioural signs of maltreatment” (Sorte, Daeschel, & Amador, 2017, p. 528) is also an example of wellbeing protection for young children.

Wellbeing promotion derived by early childhood practitioners can actually benefit all the stakeholders in early childhood education (ECE). From the perspective of children, it is the escort for children to explore and learn. It lays the foundation for their growth and future development as well. From family/whānau’s point of view, it is an important guarantee of harmony and happiness. For the wider learning community, it fastens the trusted role of an early childhood profession in our society. Further, it is the embodiment of respecting human right (Education Council, 2017a).

Secondly, I believe in respect in the care and education for young children. Gonzalez-Mena and Eyer (2015) highlight the meaning of respect children is regarding every child as a worthy people. They explain further that caregivers should respect children’s right to have feelings and to express them. Furthermore, respect diversity is one of the professional responsibilities expected by the Education council (2017a) that all early childhood caregivers should celebrate differences of all learners, families and whanau, and colleagues. As New Zealand has been a typical multi-culture country, the dividends that respect diversity brings to the ECE field have become increasingly apparent.

Some examples of respect that I can work on come out in the scenario below. Trying to understand from different angles about the characteristic of each child and the tradition and culture of his or her home (Education Council, 2017b). Providing sufficient time and spaces for young children to do the activities that they are interested in (MoE, 2017). Before doing anything to a young child, explaining to the child what would happen next. When a child crying, offering support without gushing sympathy, and being able to pay attention to what was going on inside of the child (Gonzalez-Mena and Eyer, 2015).

There are plenty of advantages of showing care providers’ respect in childcare. In terms of the young children, it strengthens their self-identity and confident. It’s also a good opportunity to encourage a child’s respectful and responsive relationships with others. For the families/whānau of children, respect diversity can shorten the distance between teachers and families/whānau and enhance the sense of social belonging of families/whānau. On the side of wider learning community, celebrating diversity with respect is conductive to promote the social cohesion and harmony. In addition, it is an important manifestation of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (MoE, 2017).

Thirdly, I think communication is another crucial value in ECE profession. Gonzalez-Mena and Eyer (2015) advocate that all teacher should consider communication as a major responsibility from the first day. The reason is that communication is a great approach to establish relationship with children, children’s families and colleagues. For a caregiver, “one early job is to find out the needs of the child and family and then decide on a service plan” (Gonzalez-Mena and Eyer, 2015, p. 314), and commutation is an effective way to understand the needs. Swick also claims that “trust-building is essential to having authentic, meaningful and growth promoting communication” (as cited in Hedges, 2010, p.32). Additionally, communication is one of the stands that MoE (2017) guides teachers to set a holistic curriculum. It is a responsibility highlighted by MoE (2017) that all teacher should stimulate young learners to use both verbal and non-verbal communication skill during learning.

In the following, some examples of communication scene in ECE that I can take part in will be quoted. Explaining a comment or an expectation to a young student with a positive communication statement (Vicars, 2010); utilizing different and effective communication ways to assist parents in getting involved in their children’s learning and providing information about their children’s performance and achievement to them (Education Council, 2017b); and sharing knowledge on students and their families/whānau or other resources with colleagues (Gonzalez-Mena and Eyer, 2015).

Effective and efficient communication has been a great influence on the relationship among early childhood teachers, younger learners, families/whānau and other stakeholders. From the standpoint of younger learners, communication can help caregivers to maintain interaction with them and to ensure learners’ meets met. In terms of families/whānau, the effective communication is more likely result an open and trusting relationship between parents and teachers, so that children can get the consistent and best care possible from educators. From the perspective of other stakeholders, it may maintain the trust and confidence of the public in the teaching profession (Education Council, 2017a).

Last but not least, I value professional knowledge is one of the vital values that teachers should include in their philosophy and practice. “Demonstrating a commitment to providing high-quality and effective teaching” is one of responsibilities of teachers aspired by Education Council, (2017a, p. 10). In order to help educators to fulfil the responsibility, Education Council (2015a) proclaims that all graduating teachers should gain deep understanding and knowledge in what to teach, how to teach and how contextual factors affect the ECE community. It also proposes that as a teacher it is necessary to have a good grasp of variety of educating approaches to meet different needs of young children intentionally and responsively. Further, early childhood practitioners are not only educators but also learners, they guide little children and obtain knowledge from the children and wider community at the same time. It can be seen that the publication of Our Codes Our Standards (Education Council, 2017a), Te Whāriki (MoE, 2017), and other ECE industry authority literatures are continually being updated, then the professional understandings and practices of every ECE teacher should be ongoing as well.

The following are some examples related to how to obtain professional knowledge on ECE that I can strive for. Taking the initiative to be involved in conversation and programs about professional development and applying the fresh achieving into practical life (Education Council, 2017b). In addition, adopting reflection on daily teaching and learning regularly in order to “avoid the impulse to do the same old things in the same old ways” (Cividanes & Lebo, 2010, p. 48) is another idea.

Mastering the specialized knowledge on child care is not merely a sizable contribution to the little children a teacher is delivering care for, but also brings advantages to the whole ECE population. From learners’ point of view, the professional and appropriate guidance ensures the healthy growth of young children. From the angle of families/whānau, they feel really at ease and assured to sent their kids to a teacher-led service centre where qualified and registered ECE teachers are required (Ministry of Education, 2014). From perspective of the wider learning community, it can help to raise the quality and standard of the whole ECE industry.

In conclusion, early childhood care providers are bearing great and glorious responsibilities for young learners, their families/whānau and the wider teaching and learning community. I believe the values of wellbeing, respect, communication and professional knowledge are relatively important to fulfil the majority of the responsibilities. As a student teacher currently, and a future qualified teacher hopefully, I will make a great effort to complete my mission and responsibilities.

Reference List

1. Cividanes, W., & Lebo, D. (2010, November/December). Cultivating a reflective disposition for teaching and learning. Exchange, (196), 48-50.
2. Education Council New Zealand/ Matatū Aotearoa. (2015a). Graduating teacher standards: Aotearoa New Zealand. Retrieved from: http://www.educationcouncil.org.nz/sites/default/files/gts-poster.pdf
3. Education Council New Zealand/ Matatū Aotearoa. (2017a). Our code, our standards: Code of professional responsibility and standards for the teaching profession. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/sites/default/files/Our%20Code%20Our%20Standards%20web%20booklet%20FINAL.pdf
4. Education Council New Zealand/ Matatū Aotearoa. (2017b). The code of professional responsibility: Examples in practice. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/sites/default/files/Code%20Guidance%20FINAL.pdf
5. Garvis, S., & Pendergast, D. (2017). Health & Wellbeing in childhood. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
6. Gonzalez-Mena, J., & Eyer, D.W. (2015). Infants, Toddlers, and caregivers: A Curriculum of Respectful, Responsive, Relationship-Based Care and Education. New York, United States of America: McGraw-Hill Education.
7. Hedges, H. (2010). Through the kaleidoscope: Relationships and communication with parents. The First Years/Ngā Tau Tuatahi. New Zealand Journal of Infant and Toddler Education, 12(1), 27-34.
8. Isbell, R., & Exelby, B. (2001). Early Learning Environments that work. Beltsville, MD: Gryphon House, Inc.
9. Ministry of Education. (2014). Choices. Retrieved from http://parents.education.govt.nz/assets/Parents/Documents/Early-Learning/ECE-Choices-Booklet.pdf
10. Ministry of Education. (2017). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mo ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Author.
11. Ministry of Education. (2018). Licensing criteria for early childhood education and care services 2008 and early childhood education curriculum framework. Retrieved from https://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Early-Childhood/Licensing-criteria/Centre-based-ECE-services/ECE-Licensing-Booklet-Early-Childhood-June2018.pdf
12. Sorte, J., Daeschel, I., & Amador, C. (2017). Nutrition, Health, and Safty for Young Children – Promoting Wellness. United States of America: Pearson Education, Inc.
13. Vanderah, T., & Gould, D.J. (2016). Nolte’s The Human Brain E-Book: An Introduction to its Functional Anatomy. [Google eBook version]. Restrieved from https://books.google.co.nz
14. Vicars, D. (2010, January/February). “What we seem to have here is a failure to communicate…”. Exchange, (191), 16-17.

Reflection

I would like to utilize the Smyth model to do a reflection on my communication with one of toddlers in my home centre.

· Describe:

Emira is a girl who likes drawing. One day, we gave our young children some chalks to let them make drawings on the blackboard in outdoor area. However, I found Emira just drew something on the children slide close to the blackboard. Then I just came to her quickly and said “Don’t make drawings on slide, it will dirty your clothes when you play with the slide.”

· Inform:

I feel an early childhood caregiver is accountable for helping young children to change their wrongdoings because we are “supporting them to prepare for their future” (Education Council, 2017a, p. 6). Therefore, when I noticed Emira’s inappropriate behaviour, my natural reaction is to point it out and stop it at once without thinking of a better communication approach.

· Confront:

In the scenario I described before, I thought the sentence begins with “don’t do” is an explicit expression for Emira. However, according to Vicars (2010), it is challenging for toddlers to understand the concept of negatives. Emira might miss the word of “don’t”, and just translated “don’t make drawings on slide” into “make drawings on slide”. In addition, Education Review Office (2016) states “adults should use positive guidance in managing the behaviour of children. Encouraging good behaviour usually works better than focusing on poor behaviour”.

· Reconstruct:

When reflected upon my practice, I concluded how significant it is to communicate positively. It is really a wakeup call for me because negativity has often overpowered positivity in my conversation before. Henceforth I will replace “don’t” with “do” in my words to tell young children what they can do. For example, “Chalks are for drawing on blackboard”.

Finally, the goal for my future is to be a more competent and professional early childhood educator to help young children to realize their potential.

Reference List

1. Education Council New Zealand/ Matatū Aotearoa. (2017a). Our code, our standards: Code of professional responsibility and standards for the teaching profession. Retrieved from https://educationcouncil.org.nz/sites/default/files/Our%20Code%20Our%20Standards%20web%20booklet%20FINAL.pdf
2. Education Review Office/ Te Tari Arotake Mātaurange. (2016). Early childhood terminology. Retrieved from: https://www.ero.govt.nz/publications/early-childhood-education-a-guide-for-parents/early-childhood-terminology/
3. Vicars, D. (2010, January/February). “What we seem to have here is a failure to communicate…”. Exchange, (191), 16-17.

Throughout our adolescence parents teach children the basic essentials to eat, walk and talk with the hopes of becoming self-sufficient. Our parental figures themselves instill in us the philosophies of respect, kindness and humanity. From there we are able to be provided opportunities such as education and extracurriculars. However, as we are afforded these amenities, they are faced with disparages that diminish a person, family, community and possibly an entire race.

Historically, Black communities were not allowed to engage or have any connection with academia and education. Slavery was the first system set in place that granted inequalities against the imprisoned and enslaved. Generational discrimination impacted Black minds to benefit from the wave of scholastic learning in households and schools like that of their white counterparts. As the white society used their powers of privilege and access, Blacks would gain strength in their faith-based rituals to guide them in the skills of reading and writing, which was forbidden of Blacks to master.

Reconstruction and redlining brought upon a change and continued corruption in new freedoms for Blacks who were once enslaved. Yet in still Blacks were reminded of being less than in spaces that were to be granted by birth such as human and civil rights. The inevitable impact this had on Black communities at large only attributed to the notions of that time being backed by Black Codes, segregation and the failures of the Reconstruction Era. While abandoning ministries institutions to have a place of their own worship double as a place of multipurpose gathering such as social to political events and schools. The desire of education was seen as an improvement for the Black community in preparedness for an economic marketplace, stability and political freedoms having the establishment of the Freedmen’s Bureau. Soon enough the Freedmen’s Bureau would so fail short of its objectives and goals set in place for the betterment for people of color. Due to these failures it challenged the legitimacy causing racial tension, violence and other measures of inherited inequalities. Plessy vs. Ferguson was an 1896 case that declared to be separate, but equal for all between whites and Blacks though segregation only violated the principle of having equal liberty.

For most Blacks, the belief was that of former slaves who were now freed people in the American society to have the rights to participate fully and equally. The outcome only displaced Blacks with having a to be ill-equipped with the tools needed to survive in a thriving world education being one of them.

Legislation would be used in order to ensure education for Blacks and enforced laws that schools both segregated and newly desegregated schools would abide by. The Brown vs. Board of Education case of 1954 was a ruling by the Supreme Court against the public schools in unconstitutional racial segregation of children that was a violation of the equal protection clause in the 14th Amendment. Granting such access to Blacks allowed them a chance to possibly be able to earn a deserving chance at academia and gaining intellect. Provisions that ascended from this new law gave Blacks the risk by retribution in the emergence of Freedom Schools and an extreme cry out for “Freedom now”.

The Freedom schools were a new wave of a temporary and alternative free schooling outlet in the South. Prior to that many made bridges in the gap for providing education to all Blacks from Institute for Colored Youth founder Richard Humphreys, Frederick Douglas of the United Negro College Fund and Booker T. Washington of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute along with NAACP founder writer and educator W.E.B. DuBois. Racial desegregation of schools has been, historically, one of the more ambitious attempts to redress educational disparities. As the education for Blacks was becoming a system in (partial) place it was not until 1960’s when students start entering predominately white schools in significant numbers. Inequalities remained as the rising Black consciousness efforts were producing a force that created the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power era. The average Black family was still at a great disadvantage economically when in comparison to whites by earning less income, lacking established social status or class and having inadequate education still.

Unfortunately, Black and brown communities are stereotyped as poverty stricken and low-income livelihoods due to the facing of many inequalities at socioeconomic disadvantages with education and opportunities.

An important entity of the educational system that host children prior to grades Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade is that of the Early Childhood Education. The input of the Early Childhood Education program for all children is to experience education prior to public school entrance. Many programs have made strives to readdress the educational disparities through federal and state programs including Head Start that challenge the inequalities with income differences. Most of these efforts are effective to say the least in the reduction of disparities with opportunities to the Early Childhood Education program due to societal levels. The access can be limited in quality and early efforts could possibly require continuous follow-up moving forward in schools to become beneficial to reduce what is already fully acknowledged. Childcare resources and Early Childhood Education programs alike service various goals in the support and promotion of development both in optimal and care. Early Childhood Education programs provide a goal of socialization and opportunities in learning to atone for the many limiting factors including low-income families, home and their environment.

It is a known fact that the Early Childhood Education program and its respective distinctions from preschool to prekindergarten programs provide a service, however there are existing racial and ethnic disparities in privileges to Early Childhood Education programs. The existence due to administrative factors including funding mechanisms even governmental authority assigned responsibility for the that Early Childhood Education programs honor.

Voices for Illinois Children, an organization focused on the advancement in academia for all children in Illinois, researched, the disparities in Early Childhood Education closely related to family resources and access. Lisa Christensen Gee and Larry Joseph, authors of “Disparities in Access to Preschool in Illinois: Overview of Key Findings,” report, “preschool enrollment varies. significantly by family income and parental education, with children of affluent, well-educated parents being the most likely to be enrolled in preschool programs” (4). The informational research gathered exposed a traditional marginalization towards communities of color through inequalities in educational access based on family financial status and levels of education. Children from more affluent families and children who are white are more likely to be enrolled in these more general Early Childhood Education programs and less likely to be involved in Early Childhood Education programs that targets child or family interventions, relative to ethnic and racial minority families (Barnett, 2011).

Early Childhood Education programs that target low-income children are primarily publicly funded oppose to non-low-income children. It is done disproportionately through private funding considered to be not-for-profit or profit-making programs at large. Working poor families that do not qualify for publicly funded programs may considered a privately funded for-profit programs. Publicly funded Early Childhood Education programs have a higher eligibility rate for children from low-income families compared to families that are of higher income levels even when proclaimed to be open to all or universal. Constraints can limit enrollment from low-income families due to finances which can be assisted by vouchers, but even as low-income families are provided a service it does not guarantee engagement with a program of high quality.

Lisa Christensen Gee and Larry Joseph, authors of “Disparities in Access to Preschool in Illinois: Overview of Key Findings,” further explain, “Preschool enrollment varies significantly by family income and parental education, with children of affluent, well-educated parents being the most likely to be enrolled in preschool programs” (4). The value of inequalities is perceived both in cycles of being underprivileged and living in poverty. Gee and Joseph had discovered, “Based on data from the National Household Education Survey, 87 percent of 4-year-old children whose mothers had a college degree were enrolled in a preschool program, compared with 63 percent of children whose mothers had only a high school degree. Possible reasons for these disparities include different levels of purchasing power and different valuations of formal early learning opportunities. Parental education can often serve as a proxy for a family’s economic ability to provide early education opportunities for their children. Parental education may also reflect beliefs about formal learning experiences, with more highly educated parents valuing similar experiences for their children” (4/5). As situations could be considered outliers it is known that children whose parents are well-educated supply a superiority in contrast with children whose parents are not well-educated. Parents that are educated have an advantage along with children who live in a two-parent household. It has been known that when unfortunate situations occur in the household such as a single parent household, single to low income or having a parent not highly educated can prepare a student for a disinterest in surpassing inequalities. Two parent homes are able to establish a solidarity in schedule and position throughout the week having balance plus a thriving two-person income providing for than enough for their family. Oppose to single parent homes that more than likely have the mother as the head of household. Among the mother being a single parent, she is more than likely unable to further pursue (personal) goals to finish their education or unable to afford a suitable livelihood. Most single parent homes are unable to provide full stability and self-sufficiency having financial to personal educational struggles of the parent. The family structure has a huge part in the enrollment for center-base care and as it also is relevant to their location. Families at this level reside in dwelling places publicly supported by and administered to developmental plans in housing for low income families. The insurance for having a shelter in place and proper housing that necessarily houses Black bodies for a housing incentive and not opportunities of betterment in academia. Imagine if local, state and federal entities in government were able to efficiently execute a plan in action for legislation that ceases the ideals of aiding people of color with housing without the urgency for equipping them with excellent educational and economic access like those who are not living in supported housing projects or single parent homes.

Aim

The general aim of the present study is to explore the policy paradigms that support public investment in early childhood education (ECE). Some scholars have made the case that paradigms regarding public investment in ECE have shifted within liberal welfare states to reflect “social investment” policy thinking (see for example Moss and Dahlberg, 2008; Tan, 2014). The argument suggests that policy makers, interest groups, and other education stakeholders legitimize expenditures on early learning programs, largely to generate a financial return in the form of human capital. Policies thought to be emblematic of the social investment strategy include: promoting maternal employment in order to make use of capable and lower paid citizens within the labor force; public investment in ECE and care infrastructure, that will in turn bolster academic success and eventually human capital; and early education curriculum that emphasizes cognitive develop (as opposed to socio-emotional development) to improve later academic outcomes (reference; Brown, 2012; Moss, Dahlberg, and Pence, 2000). Conversely, some academics challenge this idea and contend that while funding and governance in liberal welfare states has improved, programs and policies relating to ECE vary widely in their goals, settings, and instruments making it hard to discern if their approach is informed by a “social investment” paradigm (White, 2012; Pasolli, 2015).

Past researchers in this area have employed quantitative, critical discourse analysis, or a comparative case study approach to clarify the human capital phenomenon in ECE policy (see for example reference; Bundy, 2012; reference), while few studies attempt to explore its alleged influence from the perspective of the policy actors with real adjudicative power. Accordingly, the present research project attempts to use a qualitative, systematic grounded theory approach to answer: how do provincial Canadian policy actors perceive value, relating to the provision of full day kindergarten (FDK)? By examining the roll out of FDK, using qualitative approaches and involving provincial policy actors with direct experience, we can better understand the underlying values and beliefs that justify reform and compare these with the archetypical policies associated with “social investment” thinking. With this knowledge, researchers, policy actors, and other education stakeholders are better equipped to determine the influence of the social investment paradigm and make conclusions about its impact on ECE policy, infrastructure, and design.

Background

Across the last twenty years, discourses regarding early education and its importance have changed. As a result, many liberal welfare states have placed further emphasis on government intervention through social policy to bolster support for young children (White, 2012). The concept of the liberal welfare state was coined by sociologist Gøsta Esping-Andersen and denotes a method of social policy (services and benefits) delivery characterized by specific norms concerning the proper roles of the states, social services and entitlement to benefits, markets, economic and social outcomes, and the formation of social welfare state institutions targeted at families (Esping-Anderson, 1990). The responsibility of childcare in these regimes have historically been delegated to the private market and families; while state intervention/assistance is limited to high-risk or lower socio-economic families. Liberal welfare policies typically do not emphasize labor force participation and may provide some tax benefits for child care fees, provided that parents are employed (White, 2009; Prentice, 2009). With this in mind, have countries with a traditionally liberal welfare policy ethos (e.g., Canada, Australia, England) strayed from its definitional model, and further, are these changes the result of a contemporary social investment policy paradigm?

A policy paradigm can be understood as an “overarching set of ideas that specify how the problems facing policy makers are to be perceived, which goals might be attained through policy and what sorts of techniques can be used to reach those goals. Ideas about each of these matters interlock to form a relatively coherent whole” (Hall, 1992, p. 92). In Canada, there is evidence to suggest that policy paradigms have deviated from fundamental liberal welfarism. For example, in 1997 Quebec ratified a series of family policy initiatives that limited parent fees for regulated children to $5 per day and began directly funding child care programs for children 0-12; a policy decision motivated in large part by the desire to increase mother’s participation in the labour force (Tougas, 2002). As of 2019, seven of the ten provinces and two of the three territories offer FDK to five-year-old children, compared to only four provinces/territories in 2009 (Akbari and McCuaig, 2017; Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development, 2014). Federal and provincial funding to ECE has increased by almost $1 billion since 2014 (Akbari and McCuaig, 2017).

Concurrently, rhetoric around these changes have led some to believe that public investments in ECE are too frequently substantiated by the economic returns they may generate for a nation-state; another sign of the “burgeoning” social investment strategy. To demonstrate this paradigmatic shift, scholars look to examine the prevalence of human capital discourse, and by extent, social investment discourse embedded with government, policy, and education literature. Bundy (2012) argues that With Our Best Future in Mind: Implementing Early Learning in Ontario, an action plan commissioned by the province of Ontario to support the implementation of full day kindergarten programs (Pascal, 2009), reinforces a view that governments should be required to invest in human capital, so long as it generates a monetary return. White and Prentice (2016) analysis of the commission processes that led to the delivery of FDK across five provinces revealed that every jurisdiction used human capital as reason for investments in ECE, each citing later socioeconomic returns as an advantage. Pashby, Ingram, and Joshee (2014) contend that K-12 policy/curriculum in Alberta and Ontario use individualism as a guiding philosophy to frame citizenship and character education; in this model, outcomes are discussed explicitly in reference to the individual as opposed to the social collective. The authors argue that this framing is consistent with neoliberal agendas that look to minimize social justice, culture, and socio-emotional education, and maximize cognitive education (e.g., science, technology, math), because these skills can be commodified in future modes of work and/or wealth accumulation.

References

1. Akbari, E., McCuaig, K. (2017). Early childhood education report 2017. Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
2. Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development. (2019). Full day kindergarten in Canada. Retrieved from https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/atkinson/UserFiles/File/Policy%20Commentaries/PolicyUpdate-FDKinCanada.pdf
3. Brown, K. (2012). Insider perspectives on influence and decision making in the Australian political sphere: a case study of national quality policy in ECEC 2006-09. Australasian Journal Of Early Childhood, (4), 54
4. Bundy, J. (2012). Rendering (gender) invisible: Early childhood education and care in ontario as a biopolitical social investment apparatus. Discourse: Studies In The Cultural Politics Of Education, 33(4), 591-605.
5. Hall, P. A. (1992). The movement from Keynesianism to monetarism: Institutional analysis and British economic policy in the 1970s. Structuring politics: Historical institutionalism in comparative analysis, 90-113.
6. Moss, P., Dahlberg, G., Stockholms universitet, & Lärarhögskolan i Stockholm (LHS). (2008). Beyond quality in early childhood education and care – Languages of evaluation. New Zealand Journal of Teachers’ Work, 5(1), 3.
7. Moss, P., Dahlberg, G., & Pence, A. (2000). Getting beyond the problem with quality. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 8(2), 103-115. doi:10.1080/13502930085208601
8. Psacal, C. (2009). With Our Best Future in Mind: Implementing Early Learning in Ontario. Retrieved from http://ywcacanada.ca/data/research_docs/00000001.pdf
9. Pasolli, K. E. (2015). Comparing Child Care Policy in the Canadian Provinces. Canadian Political Science Review, 9(2), 63.
10. Prentice, S. (2009). High Stakes: The “Investable” Child and the Economic Reframing of Childcare. Signs, 34(3), 687-710. doi:10.1086/593711
11. Tan, E. (2014). Human Capital Theory: A Holistic Criticism. Review Of Educational Research, 84(3), 411-445.
12. Tougas, J. (2002). Reforming Quebec’s Early Childhood Care and Education: The First Five Years. Toronto: Childcare Resource and Research Unit.
13. White, L. A. (2012). Must we all be paradigmatic? Social investment policies and liberal welfare states. Canadian Journal Of Political Science, (3), 65
14. White, L. A., & Prentice, S. (2016). Early childhood education and care reform in Canadian provinces: understanding the role of experts and evidence in policy change. Canadian Public Administration, (1), 26.

As part of this assignment, I am going to reflect on the extent to which engaging in philosophy has led me to ‘rethink’ my understanding of the nature and purpose of early childhood education and my role as a childcare practitioner in it.

Early Childhood Education has a huge role to play in the life of children and society, it is an ongoing journey to obtain knowledge, skills, and the ability to be social and be part of society. Because children turn into adults over some time. Children are the beginning of our future society; they are our future politicians, educators, doctors, and other professions that contribute to sustaining society and the world around us. Education is therefore a big part of life to create a society of democracy where all views are respected. Early Childhood Education serves a great purpose in educating children. Kilderry (2004) stresses the importance of Early Childhood Education in building a future society. There is a need for guidance from the Government which could be established by putting appropriate policies in place. Childcare professionals must be able to think critically and able to evaluate their teaching and the child’s learning.

Having completed the module ‘Philosophy in Early Childhood Education’ my knowledge and understanding have changed. I have learned that modern society is changing and steering towards listening to different points of view, learning how to do critically thinking and evaluate, and improving all the time, aiming to do things better. The global society recognizes the importance of lifelong learning. UNESCO (1996) states that life-long education is contrasted on four components, ‘Learning to Know’, learning to do, ‘learning to be’, and ‘Learning to live together’. Learning to know is where the child develops an interest and a taste for learning. ‘Learning to do’ is where what is learned is applied and practiced. Learning to be is where the child learns to embrace who they are and develop the ability to communicate. Developing an understanding of how to live with others is learning about diversity and respect for others even though they may be different within your social sphere. Irish society places great value on children and gives them due respect, they see them as active citizens and acknowledge that children have a voice and their opinions matter. Siolta, The National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education CECDE (2006) Recognises and promotes that children have the right to have choices and make their own decisions, and their decisions need to be respected. However, with all the progress in society sometimes things are moving at a slower pace than desired. Sometimes it is hard to make the changes that are needed. The evidence shows that children are still taught about philosophy rather than actively doing it, one reason for this is the size of classes where numbers are too large. Another reason is a lack of training in philosophy. Kilderry (2004) states that within the western society education system, it can sometimes just be about learning to read, write and live in the contemporary world The Education system can be lacking connectivity and respect. Everyone within society both children and adults will always have questions and need help to understand life and make sense of the environment that they are in. From the times of Plato, the Greek philosopher who discussed and explored political philosophy and the philosophy of language philosophy has existed. According to The School of Life Press, the word ‘philosophy’ when translated from Greek means ‘the love of wisdom’. Philosophy is often overlooked and seen as being difficult to tackle and this is due to a lack of knowledge and experience.

Before I started this module, I thought that philosophy was a complicated subject and that it was only suitable for older children and adults. I have learned that young children can also do philosophy. It is simply about doing philosophy with children rather than teaching them about philosophy. Doing philosophy with children could consist of introducing a stimulus to the children in the form of a book, picture, or video, followed by a critical inquiry based on what they have seen using an open-ended question which would lead to discussion or dialogue. Fisher (2007) suggests that philosophy is the exploration and discovery of day-to-day truths the exploration and discovery of the environment they are part of. This builds curiosity within children and teaches them to be analytical and critical thinkers through questioning and exploration. This links in with Aistear the Irish national framework. Aistear has been developed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. Aistear has four themes well-being, communicating, identity & belonging, and exploring and thinking. The 4 themes of Aistear provide guidelines and encourage early years childcare settings to facilitate children’s learning about the world around them (NCCA, 2009). Dialogue is a big part of doing philosophy with children as it forms a platform for children to express their views and concepts. They share their concepts and ideas from their mind. NCCA (2009) states that children process their concepts by investigating and analyzing their environment and socializing and exchanging ideas with their peers and adults around them. Another point that I learned from starting to do philosophy with children is the importance of answering with a question rather than just giving an answer as this sparks philosophical inquiry and can lead to different types of discussions that I wasn’t even expecting. Lipman (1988) suggests that the teacher can’t know beforehand how children will respond.

There are a lot of benefits for children from doing philosophy. Children learn to think logically as they are involved in discussions and they share their opinions out loud which also promotes their language skills. MacNaughton and Williams (2009) discuss that philosophy promotes problem-solving skills and gives children opportunities to think for themselves and builds on their language skills. Children learn about the differences of others; the different cultures, traditions, and other ways of thinking, this is sparked through group discussions and done from philosophical inquiry in the group. Lipman (2003) suggests that a community of inquiry enables children to think about and consider the thoughts and opinions of others, there can be an expansion of one another’s thoughts which serves to bring a challenge to one another.

My role as a childcare practitioner is very important to teach children how to promote and facilitate philosophical thinking within my setting. One of the things would be to prepare stimulus material that is age appropriate for reflection before a dialogue or critical inquiry occurs. It is vital that children’s views are listened to and they feel they are respected and not judged. The evaluation process after doing philosophy with the children is very important as I can reflect on what aspects of the philosophical inquiry worked and what didn’t. From personal experience, sometimes you have to try different types of stimulus before it works to extent that is desired. Fisher (2007) argues that good philosophy times need the right environment where children feel comfortable and stimulated to share their thoughts and ideas about the world with those around them. This involves a careful selection of stimulus materials and asking appropriate questions.

I have found that gaining new knowledge in how to do philosophy with children and encouraging the children to explore their concepts and theories in different ways has developed new individual learning and children were also able to learn from each other. It has also helped them to respect each other’s points of view. I found that the children gained more confidence and it helped them with their self-esteem. It is also developing their thinking skills as we continue to do more philosophy with children CEDCE (2006) in standard 7 encourages the importance of quality of adult-child interactions which is based on listening and respect. I feel that the children are our future generation and it is important that we help and support them in their learning. I think that I and other childcare professionals need to be constantly aware that we need to give children opportunities to express their views and beliefs and provide learning opportunities for philosophical thinking. By encouraging children in this way, we can help them become independent and confident thinkers and make the world a better place. This links to UNESCO (1996) one out of the four pillars of education is about learning to live together; this process involves exploration and discovering new cultures and ideas from other people, building respect for their differences, and communicating with one another at the heart of his journey of learning to live together. The knock-on effects are that children learn to live respectfully of each other and also the environment and learn the beauty of diversity. Farquhar & White (2016) advocates that it is important for children to learn philosophy from an early age and that philosophy and pedagogy should go hand in hand. They also promote involving and engaging a wider community in teaching children the philosophies of life and the world around them. It is a very fundamental aspect to involve parents, guardians, and the wider community in the children’s learning journey. The promotion of children’s critical thinking occurs through influential figures in their lives rather than childcare professionals and teachers. Parents and Guardians have a greater knowledge of the child and can promote philosophical thinking within them. It is part of the responsibility of childcare professionals to involve parents and the wider community in children’s learning. Delors (2013) stresses promotion of philosophical thinking is not just the role of teachers such as childcare professionals and those in formal education but rather the larger community of which they are part.

This module of philosophy has opened my mind to the whole area of philosophy. My thinking has been challenged which has resulted in starting to think more critically and analytically. I have also begun to use my reasoning when in discussion with others on different topics and I am more respectful of the views of others as they matter just as much as my views. I think it is vital to learn how to think critically and use dialogue as it creates democracy and helps to facilitate reasoning, especially in the present world where there is so much aggression and differences of opinions that are forced rather than dialogued.

I strongly believe that early childhood education is more than preparing young children for primary school. Early childhood education targets the holistic child’s development of physical, emotional, social, and cognitive needs for building a reliable and comprehensive foundation for lifetime learning and well-being. It has the potential to raise caring, proficient, and liable future citizens. The majority of children start receiving formal education at the kindergarten through the latest scientific research that proves that learning and psychological development begin after birth. The brain and the nerves of a child develop during the first three years. Therefore, the child widely benefits by gaining education before joining kindergarten.

Children who are taught at an early age have the following benefits: developed social skills, better school grades, special education instructions are less necessary in later years of school, and advanced attention spans. Some scholars have concluded that young kids who undergo early childhood education graduate from high school, join college, have fewer behavior problems, and are less involved in crimes in their teenage and young adult years.

As a teacher to young kids, embracing certain qualities that aid kids in working and finding happiness and joy in everyday life is essential in early childhood education. My main philosophies that support learners include the following:

1. Enthusiasm for children. The two most essential characteristics of early childhood education are interest and passion for kids, which goes beyond loving being with kids. It entails wanting to make a change in children. A teacher should be passionate about opening every child’s entry to learning while overcoming any difficulty a child could be having.
2. Creativity and flexibility. Planning for learning lessons, engaging children, and educating them requires a lot of creativity. Adjusting lessons to an individual learning style needs flexibility. A teacher has to stay flexible to tackle the hitches that might occur during the day in school. A teacher must be in a position to change strategies and ideas as required.
3. Communication skills. Effective skills are necessary for dealing with young kids and for communication purposes. A teacher should communicate effectively to a child’s parent concerning his achievements, necessities, problems, and skills for both parties to help a kid with no immoderate emotion.
4. Respect for differences. Every kid enrolls in a learning center with a distinctive personality and style of learning. To teach each child effectively, teachers are required to respect each kid’s dissimilarities and work with the style of each kid independently, rather than forcing a child to adjust to another method. In the worldwide society, teachers should be ready for multiethnic classrooms with different cultures, ethnicity, and customs represented. A class that welcomes differences and embraces them establishes an open and exciting atmosphere for learning.
5. Patience and humor. A high level of patience is required to work with children. Naturally, young children have short spans of attention and slight self-control. Every kid is different hence making the job more demanding. After a long tiresome day filled with challenges, teachers must come back again the following day to deal with the same challenges. Patience and humor enable a teacher to take challenges of the day at pace while concentrating on the end targets.

Developing children’s intellectual and social skills required for future achievement in school is best supported by parenting. Parents have to provide a solid foundation for the ideal development of their kids. Providing high verbal input, and maintaining and growing the child’s interests provide the necessary support for a child’s learning.

In many cases, the early childhood teacher plays the same role as a guide. The role of a guide is to lead others through the pathways. A guide is supposed to walk beside, not in front, and also ensure others are safe and free from harm. As an early childhood education teacher, you guide children and travel in a direction exciting to children.

As a teacher, allow children to decide on their learning and play style while ensuring the safety of your primary concern. Do away with the idea that possibly a teacher knows everything. Be a companion in learning and motivate children to get their answers, rather than issuing answers to them. Being a companion to kids, you get to learn with kids and share in their understanding.

Early childhood education teachers support the learning process by engaging kids in activities and providing materials that kids find pleasing. Through facilitating learning, providing a developmentally suitable environment, and enough time to explore, intermingle, and play, kids find learning to be cool and fun. Nurturing a child involves all development aspects, i.e., social, physical, emotional, and cognitive. A teacher is required to cultivate proper growth and development. Keenly listening to a child and interpreting their actions and words is essential for teachers in determining the needs and further development of a child.

In my view, early childhood education is significant in improving society socially and economically. It is essential, therefore, that children should receive quality pre-kindergarten education since they experience significant brain development during these early years.