The Pushes and Pulls of Pedagogy in the Early Years: Competing Knowledges and the Erosion of Play-based Learning

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 36-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lennie Barblett ◽  
Marianne Knaus ◽  
Caroline Barratt-Pugh
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Pedagogical Tool ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Pedagogical Issue ◽  
Early Academics ◽  
Quality Learning ◽  
Western Australian ◽  
Early Childhood Pedagogy

IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA, EARLY childhood educators have been asking whose agenda does early childhood knowledge serve and for what purpose? This has come to the forefront of debate as play as a pedagogical tool is disappearing from programs for four- and five-year-old children in favour of early academics through a pushdown curriculum. Such a trend was confirmed from research conducted with 200 Western Australian early years educators (mainly teachers) to discuss their most concerning early childhood pedagogical issue. This paper describes the educators' most significant concern, which was the erosion of play-based learning and the tension about the use of play as a legitimate pedagogical tool in early years programs. The analysis revealed competing knowledge about current moves in early childhood education. The knowledge shared by educators has implications for quality learning and teaching in the early years and impacts on children, educators, parents and schools, and in particular, early childhood pedagogy.

scholarly journals Didaktisk diskussion om barnträdgårdslärares möjligheter att arbeta med matematik i finländsk småbarnsfostran

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilla Björklund
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Early Years ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
School Activities ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
New Research

Title: Didactical discussion on pre-school teachers’ prerequisites for working with mathematics in Finnish early childhood educationAbstract: Finnish teachers encounter an increased focus on learning aspects and a revised legislation strengthens teachers’ professional role for early learning, which also has impact on pre-school teachers’ work in early childhood education (children 0–5 years). The paradigm in early childhood education in recent years emphasizes development, learning and teaching. Mathematics is one content area that has been given a lot of attention in Nordic discussions on education for early years. However, the Finnish national curricula and guidelines for early childhood education give limited support for developing stimulating and goal-oriented educational practice in so called academic fields of knowledge, for example mathematics. This article aims at pointing at some of the prerequisites for working with mathematics in Finnish early childhood education in relation to new research on mathematical development and didactics suitable for early childhood education. Three authentic examples of traditional pre-school activities with toddlers are taken as a starting point for the didactical discussion.

scholarly journals 'Invisible Obstacle' to Gender Equality: Gender Stereotype Messages in Early Childhood Education Books in Kenya

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Juliet Njeri Muasya ◽  
Ruth Mugo Kahiga
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Gender Stereotype ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Learning Materials ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Documentary Analysis

Globally, research on gender stereotype messages or 'invisible obstacle' in the teaching and learning materials especially for primary and secondary schools is well documented. Findings from studies show illustrations, images, pictures and language that negatively portray males and females, boys and girls in learning materials and which tend to impact on students’ behaviours, aspirations, experiences, participation, achievement and expectations. The aim of the current study was to find out how gender messages are portrayed in 10 purposively selected Science and English language Early Childhood Education course, supplementary and workbooks using a documentary analysis checklist. Findings from the current study reveal that although authors of the analysed books have to some extent made the books gender responsive, however, gender stereotype messages expressed in masculine and feminine discourses are still visible. Two series of the books analysed are gender blind. Use of gender responsive books is likely to help children appreciate each other's gender, thus, create more equitable learning outcomes. Thus, it is important that any gender stereotype messages or information in learning and teaching materials are dealt with during early years of a child’s life.

scholarly journals Learning and teaching natural science in the early years: A case study of three different contexts

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela James
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Natural Science ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Governmental Institutions

Currently many children in early childhood education cannot be accommodated in provincial department schools. Consequently, different non-governmental institutions offer Grade R programmes in an attempt to support the DBE. Pre-primary schools that traditionally took responsibility for early childhood education also offer Grade R education. The recent policy decision to include Grade R in the primary school is an innovation, which is still in its infancy. It is against this background that the national South African Curriculum (NCS) has to be implemented. This paper focuses on the teaching of natural science in Grade R and attempts to determine if the teaching and learning of natural science has different outcomes in the different contexts described above. An oral questionnaire was administered to capture children’s understanding of natural science phenomena, while interviews provided data with regard to teachers’ understanding of natural science in the foundation phase. The results show that there are differences in children’s understanding of natural phenomena in the different contexts and these differences are related to teachers’ understanding of the curriculum, as well as their views of the nature of science.

scholarly journals Early Childhood Teachers’ Perspectives of Growth Mindset: Developing Agency in Children

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 16-24
Author(s):  
Fiona Boylan ◽  
Lennie Barblett ◽  
Marianne Knaus
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Teachers ◽  
Growth Mindset ◽  
Early Years ◽  
First Century ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Children’S Agency ◽  
Teachers Perspectives ◽  
Quality Learning

THE INTEGRATION OF MINDSET THEORY into classrooms can assist children in optimising academic achievement, increasing their agency for learning. The development of a growth mindset allows children to exercise autonomy over their learning, helping them to develop positive lifelong learning habits for the twenty-first century. This paper explores early childhood teachers’ perspectives of mindset and the role of a growth mindset in developing children's agency for learning. Despite increasing research in this field, little is known about the perspectives that early childhood teachers have of mindset. This paper reports on the data from a study that describes teachers’ perspectives towards fostering a growth mindset in children in the early years of school. Ninety-five Western Australian early childhood teachers from Kindergarten to Year 2 completed a survey that examined their perspectives of growth mindset. The analysis revealed competing knowledge about what teachers believe about mindset, and their ability to implement it. The information shared by teachers has implications for quality learning and teaching in the early years.

scholarly journals Understanding Early Childhood Science Education: Comparative Analysis of Australian and Finnish Curricula

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sari Havu-Nuutinen ◽  
Sarika Kewalramani ◽  
Nikolai Veresov ◽  
Susanna Pöntinen ◽  
Sini Kontkanen
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Science Education ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Science Curriculum ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Curriculum Framework ◽  
International Comparative

AbstractThis research is a comparative study of Finnish and Australian science curricula in early childhood education (EC). The study aims to figure out the constructivist components of the science curriculum in two countries as well as locate the similarities and differences in the rationale and aims, contents, learning outcomes, learning activities, teacher’s role and assessment. The curriculum analysis framework developed by Van den Akker (2003) was used as a methodological framework for the curricula analysis. Based on the theory-driven content analyses, findings show that both countries have several components of constructivist curriculum, but not always clearly focused on science education. The Australian Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) integrates children’s science learning within their five specific learning outcomes, whereas the Finnish national core curriculum for early childhood education and care has no defined learning outcomes in general. The Finnish curriculum more clearly than EYLF encompasses science and environmental education as a learning domain, within which children participate in targeted scientific activities to gain procedural knowledge in specific environmental-related concepts. More focus should be turned to the teachers’ role and assessment, which are not determined in science context in both countries. This international comparative study calls for the need of a considered EC curriculum framework that more explicitly has science domains with specifically defined rationale, aims, content areas, learning outcomes and assessment criteria. The implications lie in providing early childhood educators with tangible and theoretically solid curriculum framework and resources in order to foster scientific thinking in young children.

scholarly journals Finnish Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions of Perceived Competence in Early Childhood Physical Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 6454
Author(s):  
Anne Soini ◽  
Anthony Watt ◽  
Arja Sääkslahti
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Teacher Training ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Motor Skills ◽  
Perceived Competence ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Childhood Education

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) teachers have a central role in supporting young children’s physical activity (PA) and overall development in the early years. However, the value of early childhood education teacher training (ECETT) programmes is not widely understood. This study aimed to investigate pre-service teachers’ perceptions of perceived competence when (1) supporting a child’s PA, (2) teaching PE, and (3) observing and assessing a child’s motor skills and PA. These self-evaluations were compared with a range of individual, educational, and behavioural characteristics. Final-year Bachelor degree pre-service teachers (n = 274; 54%) from seven universities in Finland participated in the self-report questionnaire. The results of the linear regression models showed that the relevant PE studies and previous experiences of pre-service teachers predicted higher perceived competence of supporting a child’s PA, teaching PE, and observing and assessing a child’s motor skills and PA. Thus, the study findings demonstrated how teacher training could positively influence perceptions and attitudes to increase a person’s perceived competence when implementing PE in the early years. Overall, results reinforce the importance of PE in ECETT, and the time devoted to this syllabus area should be maintained or increased.

scholarly journals Is infant belonging observable? A path through the maze

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 404-416
Author(s):  
Jane M Selby ◽  
Benjamin S Bradley ◽  
Jennifer Sumsion ◽  
Matthew Stapleton ◽  
Linda J Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Infants And Toddlers ◽  
Quality Outcomes ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Learning Framework ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
Education And Care

This article evaluates the concept of infant ‘belonging’, central to several national curricula for early childhood education and care. Here, the authors focus on Australia’s Early Years Learning Framework. Four different meanings attach to ‘belonging’ in the Early Years Learning Framework, the primary being sociopolitical. However, ‘a sense of belonging’ is also proposed as something that should be observable and demonstrable in infants and toddlers – such demonstration being held up as one of the keys to quality outcomes in early childhood education and care. The Early Years Learning Framework endows belonging with two contrasting meanings when applied to infants. The first, the authors call ‘marked belonging’, and it refers to the infant’s exclusion from or inclusion in defined groups of others. The second, the authors provisionally call ‘unmarked’ belonging. Differences between these two meanings of infant belonging are explored by describing two contrasting observational vignettes from video recordings of infants in early childhood education and care. The authors conclude that ‘belonging’ is not a helpful way to refer to, or empirically demonstrate, an infant’s mundane comfort or ‘unmarked’ agentive ease in shared early childhood education and care settings. A better way to conceptualise and research this would be through the prism of infants’ proven capacity to participate in groups.

scholarly journals Leadership in early childhood education: The case for pedagogical praxis

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioanna Palaiologou ◽  
Trevor Male
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Ideological Struggle ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Curriculum Reforms ◽  
Predominately Female ◽  
Teacher Status

In this conceptual article, the authors examine the context of early childhood education and care in England and the underpinning predominant ideologies to explore how these impact on the framing of leadership. The English context entails several contradictions (antinomies) at ontological, epistemological and axiological levels, and is heavily influenced by an ideological struggle concerning the value of play within the sector as opposed to a climate of child performativity. Moreover, the predominately female workforce (a factor itself) has faced relentless changes in terms of qualifications and curriculum reforms in recent years. With the introduction of the graduate leader qualification (Early Years Teacher Status), a vast body of research has been seeking to conceptualise what leadership means for early childhood education and care. In this article, the authors argue that these attempts are helpful and contribute to this discourse of leadership, but it needs to be thought of not only abstractly, but also practically. Thus, the authors conclude, the (re)conceptualisation of leadership should locate it as pedagogical praxis after evaluating the inherent deep dispositions of leaders in conjunction with their history, surrounding culture and subjective perspectives/realities.

scholarly journals Strategies to Develop Emotional Intelligence in Early Childhood

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
İlkay Ulutaş ◽  
Kübra Engin ◽  
Emine Bozkurt Polat
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Behavioral Problem ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Only Children ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Emotional Intelligence Training

Children have many opportunities in early childhood education that support their emotions. These opportunities need to be transformed into learning situations appropriate to their development and developed. Learnings cannot happen independently of emotional intelligence. Social–emotional skills must be developed in education to achieve both academic success and success in life. It is important to support emotional intelligence in early childhood education to enable children to be emotionally healthy, to cope with difficulties, to respect differences, and to gain a social perspective by working in collaboration with others. Emotional intelligence training helps not only children but everyone in the classroom setting, especially educators who are unsure of how to work with a child with an emotional or behavioral problem. Since emotional intelligence can be developed and strengthened by training at all ages, it can be a way of teaching for educators as they regularly include methods and techniques in the program. Based on this, in this section, the emotional intelligence of children, programs methods and strategies will be discussed in terms of supporting emotional intelligence in the early years.

scholarly journals Contemporary Relevance of Bertrand Russell’s Views on Early Childhood Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-37
Author(s):  
Runumi Sharma ◽  
Mamta Aswal
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Character Development ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Holistic Development ◽  
National Education ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Historical Method ◽  
Secondary Sources

Bertrand Russell’s educational thoughts significantly deal with reforming education for school going children and he also supported pre-primary education. He favored early childhood education for physical, intellectual and character development. His emphasis on character development of a child shows the significance of early years of life for development of an individual. This paper aims at exploring Bertrand Russell’s thoughts on early childhood education. It is an attempt to understand the significance of early childhood education for the holistic development of the children. Though there are early childhood education is prevalent in our country, but it was not mandatory to get early childhood education till the approval of National Education Policy (N.E.P., 2020). It has included early childhood education in compulsory school education for promoting better learning and well being of a child. It is a qualitative research in which historical method has been used where data has been collected from primary and secondary sources. The finding of the study shows that Bertrand Russell’sthought on early childhood education is relevant in present Indian context for developing good values, physical and mental development as well as in future learning. This shows that the encouragement to early childhood education and Bertrand Russell’s thoughts on early childhood education would be helpful for holistic development of children.

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