the pioneers and theorists who influenced early childhood education
Introduction
The main aim of this essay is to start by defining and explaining pedagogy, expound on curriculum and recount some of the pioneers and theorists who influenced early childhood education. Then, Link their philosophical ideas to the current practices of early childhood education in Ireland. After that, explore different contexts towards early childhood education and provision in the UK and Ireland and analyze how it has evolved over the last few years. Lastly, discuss different types of curriculum in the UK and Ireland and their key features, outlining their similarities and differences.
Pedagogy is the deliberate process of cultivating development within a given culture or society. Curriculum entails formal and informal experiences, either planned or unplanned and taking place in an indoor or outdoor environment, that contribute to the learning and development of a child.
Main Body
Curriculum and Pedagogy
The curriculum can take different meanings among different people; however, it is centred on the primary purpose of learning. Some practitioners plan for activities and experiences within the role play area, sand or water trays or more generally outdoors. Others may look at experiences that enhance development, such as physical games (motor development) puzzles (cognitive development) or group activities (social development). Others, however, look at areas of learning such as literacy, numeracy, practical life, science, geography, history, etc.
In my setting, we describe curriculum as a process of learning through a carefully planned out set of activities or projects that incorporate the child’s interest, skills and needs.
Aistear, designed in 2009, is the curriculum framework used in Ireland and consists of formal and informal learning administered through planned and unplanned activities or experiences in both indoor and outdoor environment. The Aistear framework is built around the following four main themes; well-being, identity and belonging, communication and exploring and thinking. This framework provides for the creating of an arts-rich environment.
In 2008, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) was established as the curriculum in the UK for children to five years of age. The UK framework (EYFS) share similarities with Aistear as it is designed to provide practitioners with a set of principles to enable them to provide quality education to children in the early years.
In Australia, the early years learning framework, well known as “the framework” equally shares similarities with Aistear. It takes into account the diverse nature of the society in Australia and supports practices that are inclusive regarding the diversity of the Australian culture.
Pedagogy has no clear boundaries limiting its concept, and therefore, many writers have their ideas. However, Pedagogy can be defined as the deliberate process of cultivating development within a given culture or society.
In my setting, we defined pedagogy as the practice or way of teaching a specific subject or curriculum. Moreover, we believe that pedagogy practices are supported by the philosophies and principles of Aistear and Soilta, our curriculum framework and quality standards. By using Aistear, we have comprehensive guidelines which assist us in implementing the curriculum framework efficiently. Pioneers like Froebel contributed majorly in today’s current practices with their ideas and perceptiveness. Much of our thinking in the present day is informed by what has already been written in the past and is influenced daily by the adapting to world we live in today.
Theories
Child-centred learning
John Dewy (1859-1952) described children as innately social beings. He placed focus on education and learning than on development. He was of the view that learning was a collaborative process between an adult and a child. This necessitated a shift from adult-directed to co-operative learning centred on the child and built on the interests of the child.
Child-centred learning can, therefore, be described as placing the child at the centre of the learning process in a learning environment. Early childhood education is vital to a child’s development, socially, verbally, physically and emotionally. To enable knowledge transmission, teachers should employ appropriate methods that best suit specific objectives.
In Aistear, activities are provided to promote social problem-solving processes; for example, adult-child or child-child efforts are preparing a meal or doing a project.
Psychoanalytical theory
Erik H. Erikson (1902-1994) developed a comprehensive psychoanalytic theory that employs a series of eight stages in which a developing child should pass through from infancy to adulthood. In each stage, the child meets new challenges and masters them, and each stage builds on the earlier stage. However, the results of one stage can be altered by later experiences.
According to Erickson, if caregivers of a child in infancy stage are consistent sources of food, love, and comfort, the child learns to trust that others are reliable. However, if they are neglectful, or abusive, the child learns mistrust that others are unreliable and dangerous.
In Pre-school stage, the child learns to master the world revolving around them and acquire necessary skills. They learn how to zip, count and speak. The child also learns to take chances, prepare for leadership roles and success achieving. Pre-schoolers can complete specific tasks on their own. They start taking on tasks that they can easily accomplish; therefore if parents encourage their efforts, children develop independence in planning activities and achieving them.
In Aistear, Teachers who perform psychosocial development in a school setting create an environment where each child feels appreciated and is at ease with learning and building relationships with peers. The following activities can be incorporated into their school’s schedule;
- Enquire what students are interested in and develop projects that take into account their interests
- Let the children take control of the learning process.
- Praise students for their excellent choices
- Avoid ridiculing or openly criticizing students
- Avoid punishing them for trying something new when doing experiments.
- Teach fairness and good sportsmanship by utilizing physical activities
Behaviourism
Behaviourism is majorly concerned with observable features of a child’s behaviour. Behaviourists learning theories insist on the changes in behaviour that arises from stimulus-responses made by the learner. B. F. Skinner (1904-1990) is one of the originators of stimulus-response associations made by the learner. He believed that spontaneous action is regulated through rewards and punishment. In education, teachers have adopted this system of rewards and punishment in their teaching environments by rewarding desired behaviours and punishing inappropriate ones. For example, if a teacher wishes to instil the act of remaining seated while class is in session, the student who emerges victorious might be rewarded by being allowed to do homework at the library. However, the success of this method depends heavily on each student’s stimulus and response. Behaviourists also believe that a behaviour can be unlearned when it becomes unacceptable, and replaced by a new practice which is acceptable.
Moreover, positive reinforcement presents a stimulus that creates the probability of response; for example, in a teaching environment, a teacher may provide positive support by, smiling at students after a correct answer, commending them for their work and praising their abilities to their parents.
Piaget theory of cognitive development
Piaget believed that a child’s interaction within their surrounding and environments is what expands their learning and that learning was not achieved through intrinsic or extrinsic ways. His idea that “construction is superior to instruction” was developed on the foundations of Montessori’s concept that meaningful tasks are essential to cognitive development in childhood. Therefore, like Montessori, Piaget has enabled teachers of young children to see how vital it is for a child to experience what we want them to learn.
Dewey had similar views with Piaget and Montessori as he understood the need for education to be child-centred, involve active and interactive learning and the social features of the child together with their community. He felt that a child learns more when they interact with their peers and adults and the learning experiences coupled with the child’s interest form the foundation for the curriculum.
Vygotsky’s work showed that social cognitive development works hand in hand and build upon each other. His philosophy recognized that a child’s knowledge arises from their individual experiences but also that it is possible to separate personal from social skills.
Reggio and Montessori majorly influence Aistear’s approach. Their educational methods are almost similar, and both welcome the idea of a nurturing child-centric. Both approaches are meant to educate the child and help them to grow together in harmony with others. Montessori’s approach emphasizes maths, culture, language, practical skills, music, geography and sciences using sensory and movement. Whereas in Reggio, the method allows for lessons which are guided by the child’s interest; however, there is no curriculum.
Sociocultural Theory
Vygotsky is well known for being an educational psychologist with sociocultural theory. This theory proposes that social interaction induces continuous step by step changes in a child’s thought and behaviour that varies between different cultures. The development of a child depends on their interaction with people and the tools the culture avails to them help form their view of the world. A culture tool can be passed from one person to another through, imitative learning, and instructed learning and through collaborative learning.
Vygotsky postulated the idea of a zone of proximal development (ZPD) which outlines the difference between the children’s independent learning achievements and the achievements under a more competent person at the task at hand. He viewed adults as a key in this relationship due to their competence in the job.
In Aistear, a student is provided with opportunities to express understanding, and learning tasks polished by the teacher to address individual capabilities. Such teacher support has been referred to as scaffolding which signifies influential teacher’s support which reduces when the student draws near the desired outcome.
Furthermore, the use of language-related activities in a school setting is vital to cognitive development. For example, the development of communication skills may influence the clarity of speech and thought patterns. At a young age, the development of a language will most certainly enable other educational abilities.
Post-Modernist thinkers
Postmodern theory agrees that knowledge is socially constructed through our interactions and relationships with the world.
Piaget, however, believed that children are ego-centric in their pre-operational stage, i.e. Children find it difficult to understand perspectives other than their own due to incomplete development of logic at their stage. Postmodern thinkers criticize Piaget for pigeonholing children into stages of development since his theory views a child as a “loner explorer”. At the same time, Vygotsky emphasized the importance of children learning in a social context.
Moreover, post-modernists thinkers have critiqued the child-centred pedagogy as it places a powerless female teacher and child focusing on inexperienced teachers. Walkerdine raises questions on how women and children are positioned concerning one another and how social relations give birth to specific relations of power that constrain activities of female teachers.
Social Justice and democracy
Community is a backdrop to democracy that calls upon solidarity and also a positive emotional tie that provides an effective platform for democratic relations. In democratic societies, there are values, i.e. tolerance, participation and solidarity that propel the community to arrive at a common understanding. The notion of community is used in early childhood to provide the feeling of a safe environment. In Aistear, the environment that a child grows is vital for his/her development.
Curriculum models
The introduction of policies in the UK, over the last 25 years changed the view of childhood education. The policy changes included, Implementation of the Children’s Act 1989, the National Child Care Strategy in 1998, The Ten Year Childcare Strategy 2004, implementation of the revised EYFS 2012 and the New assessment policy in 2013. The status of the Early Years Education in the UK, has over a while, increased qualifications in staff members, developed professionalism and an extensive network of support (Nutbrown & Clough 2015). Key people played vital roles throughout the development; for example, Friedrich Froebel’s ideas were influential in the 19th Century in Britain. Joseph Lancaster, a creator of basic math for the poor, used a system recognized as the three ‘R’s which taught basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic. In the 1980s, Thatcher’s introduced new education policies, thereby changing the way the curriculum was seen. By 2009, the Schools and Family Bill 2010, Schools and Families Act and the Child Poverty were introduced. The intention was to ensure that anyone who works with children has the right skills for the task, to ensure that children are safe and their development will result in a successful outcome.
The United States established programs like the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program, which followed the lives of 123 children from 1962 to 2002 and the Chicago Child-Parent Centre Programs in 1967. These evaluations brought to the realization that during the pre-school time, social and educational involvements are cost-effective over a long period.
Ireland saw a slow development in the early years’ sector but has caught up in recent years. In 2006, childcare regulations were unveiled, but there were no qualifications for childcare providers. In 2000, the National Children’s Strategy was formed, which was a ten-year plan devoted to improving the lives of children. Siolta involved over 50 different groups, from teachers, policymakers and childcare providers, and its purpose was to define quality standards. After that, Aistear was launched in 2010 to promote the development of the child.
Social constructivist Vygotsky outlined the significance of the adult in the enhancement of the child’s well-being. The principles of Siolta and Aistear reflect this as vital between the child and adult in the construction of meaning and knowledge. Constructivist Piaget believed that knowledge is constructed through interaction with the environment enabling children to become problem solvers. Similarly, Aistear views a child as an active learner, exploring materials to find out how they operate and learning through hands-on experiences.
Aistear and Siolta have encouraged children’s holistic development and learning requiring the implementation of a flexible curriculum program (Siolta Standard 7), the play has become an integral part to the development of the child and relationships at the centre of early learning and development. Aistear and Siolta promote the safety and welfare of the children, encourages play and positive interactions and partnership with the child’s parents.
Vygotsky formulated a concept known as the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) explaining the gap between what children can do unaided and what they can do with the support of an able person. It mirrors Aistear’s as it states that practitioners use assessment for learning to enable them to provide opportunities regarding their findings.
The EYFS takes majorly a vocational, instrumentalist view of the child which centres the child as a “future pupil”. Its content stresses “subject-related learning goals” which has resulted in play being set aside in favour of formal based teaching methods. The EYFS encourages teaching and learning to enable children’s readiness and impact them with a broad range of knowledge and skills to allow them to acquire the right foundation. Unhurried Pathways (Early Childhood Action 2012:4, 21-22) objects to this by stating that early childhood education needs to move away from a statutory policy centred approach, and recognize play as essential to learning.
Both Aistear and EYFS uses interconnected themes of well-being, identity, exploration and belonging to organize the curriculum. They both emphasize that each child is viewed as unique and supports active learning in a pleasant environment. Both believe in incorporating care and education, which aids teaching and learning.
Aistear advocates assessment as a process of gathering, collecting and documenting information to develop rich portraits of learners. This information can be used to enlighten parents or stakeholders and enable adults to scaffold children’s learning to the next level. However, EYFS stresses testing with a “progress check at age two” alongside ongoing assessment.
Conclusion
This paper began by defining curriculum and analyzing different curriculums in Ireland, UK and Australia and curriculum in our setting. We also defined pedagogy, linking it to Aistear and our pedagogy supported by philosophical principles of Aistear and Soilta, influenced by Froebel and Montessori.
We discussed theories of how children learn and how they are mirrored in early education today. We analyzed Psychoanalytical theories of Erickson who emphasized on the development of a child through the eight stages from infancy to adulthood. We also discussed Piaget’s theory of cognitive development which entailed that a child’s interaction with their environment develops their learning. Furthermore, we tackled Behaviorisms, which is majorly concerned with the features of the child’s behaviour and actions of a child are regulated through a system of rewards and punishment. The sociocultural theory proposed that social interactions induce step by step development in a child. Here, we also discuss Vygotsky’s idea of Zone of Proximal Development and how it differentiates a child’s independent learning from the impact of an able person under his care. The paper also discussed post-modernist thinkers who agree that knowledge is socially constructed through our interactions with the world and also criticized Piaget for pigeonholing children into stages of development.
We also addressed curriculum models by first outlining the development of policies in the UK and the key people who played a role in the development of curriculum, i.e. Thatcher who introduced new education policies in the 1980s. We also discuss the EYFS curriculum, which supports the child’s learning in a unique environment. The High/Scope Perry School Program established in the United States was presented as an early program that showed cost-effectiveness of educational involvements.
Ireland’s program slowly developed over the years but had caught up in recent times due to the formation of Siolta and Aistear to promote the development of the child.
We outlined theoretical approaches that influenced these curriculums, i.e. Vygotsky’s view that the adult was an immense significance in the child’s well-being and his concept of Zone of Proximal Development, which mirrors Aistear’ s provisions for practitioners to assess learning to enable them to provide better opportunities.
We brought out key features of the curriculum models of the UK and Ireland and compared and contrasted the two models. We saw that Aistear and Siolta promoted the child’s holistic development and learning. At the same time, EYFS majorly centred the child as a “future pupil,” thereby taking an instrumentalist view of the child.