Belief on Children and Learning
Reflect on your values and beliefs to identify your personal ‘image’ of the child and discuss your beliefs about learning and teaching in early childhood.
Early childhood years form the basis of personality, intelligence, the capacity to learn, social behavior and ability to nurture a child in preparation for adulthood. Learning in children is a very important phase in a child and as teachers, we play a vital role in achieving successful learning in school (United Nations Children’s Fund, 2013). In my practice as a teacher, have developed various beliefs that have been helpful in developing an image of children and a view on how children learn and develop.
I believe in child-centered approach in combination with the teacher-centered approach in teaching. Child-centeredness is my most preferred as it places the child as the center of learning. The child influences the content, materials, activities, and pace of learning (Froyd & Simpson, 2010). The learner normally has some information on what to learn and influences me on what to teach them. In most cases, children are interested in gaining social skills, friendships and pretend plays that help in cognitive development. My role as a teacher is offering guidance as opposed to imposing what children involve in.
Social skills involve behaviors that help in interaction and developing caring behaviors. Children learn the skills through interaction with their peers as they play and involve in conversations. As a teacher there is need to offer guidance to children on how to cooperate with peers, show empathy to others, participating in groups and resolving conflicts (Hollingsworth & Winter, 2013). Play is important in cognitive development in early childhood. Play is mainly pretend play games, cooperative games, and associative play. It helps develop language, interaction skills, the show of emotions and problem-solving abilities. While children engage in play games, I help in setting up play scenarios and provide playing materials used in playing games. Friendship formation is another skill learnt through child-centered approach. Children learn how to express themselves, form relationships and understand others. It helps gain interaction skills essential in childhood and later in adult life (Qutoshia & Poudelb, 2014). I do use puppets, give role-play activities and give friendship stories to ensure children form friendships with others.
Generally, in child-centered approach, the image I have on children is those who are powerful, knowledgeable, competent, motivated in communicating and engaging other children and interested in solving problems (Martalock, 2012).
Belief on Teaching
The teacher-centered approach is essential in children’s learning. The approach involves teachers as the center of learning. Children passively receive knowledge from teachers through lessons, instructions, and lecture. I believe that am aware of what children are interested in learning, what is important to them and I know how to teach them (Hedge & Cassidy, 2009). An example is the alphabetical order and numbers. The lessons form the basis of sentence construction, spelling, and communication. I believe the approach is essential in managing a large number of children in a class and coming up with lesson plan necessary for subject taught in school. At the end of the learning session, I evaluate children through tests and assessments where marks are awarded and ranking may be done in some cases (Tan & Rao, 2017). The image I have on children while using the approach is that children are receivers of vital information and are in need of education. I also view the children as those who need simple activities progressing to complex activities gradually (Martalock, 2012).
The educational approach that is in line with my belief in child-centeredness approach in teaching children is Reggio Emilia Educational Approach. Reggio Emilia is a town located north of Italy. After the World War II, families living in the town offered to build a school which adopted a unique way of operating. The approach used in the school led to the name Reggio Emilia Approach in education system. Reggio Emilia approach focused on children and was suitable for Early Childhood Developments and preschool education. Today the approach is adopted worldwide in curriculum development and learning institutions (Arseven, 2014).
According to the approach, children realize themselves in many ways if provided with a conducive environment. For instance, a child uses painting to express their thinking and thoughts and expresses emotions while playing with others. Reggio Emilia encourages teachers to support children in providing an appropriate environment to express themselves. It can be possible through providing materials such as paints, brushes, and board to encourage painting. Classes can also have arrangements and programs that encourage children to express themselves (Mahesh & Tripti, 2010). Through the approach, I believe there is creation of conducive environment for social, cognitive and lingual development which are vital. Such skills are very important in child’s growth and transition in adult life.
The approach further explains that are always barriers to development in all societies. Such barriers include behavioral patterns in the society and traditional education methods present in the society. For a child comprehending such barriers is a challenge. Therefore adult or teacher’s guidance is of great essence in shaping the child’s character and perceptions. Adults need to teach children about the values, beliefs, and cultures present in the society (Arseven, 2014). This ensures smooth adoption of societal cultures. While using the approach I aim at helping the child overcome societal barriers and develop ways of coping with challenges present in society.
Belief about Contemporary Views
Reggio Emilia Approach encourages children to make new discoveries. Children involve actively in class and engage in several activities. They can do paintings, drawing and play pretend games. Through such activities, children discover talents, ability to solve problems and express themselves. Important aspects to note while implementing the approach is ensuring children are given freedom to express themselves, develop imaginations and satisfy curiosity arising to ensure discovery of themselves is possible. Reggio calls the approach as “the hundred languages of a child” which an adult works with them and supports their activities (Mahesh & Tripti, 2010). I believe that the approach in return helps raise children who demonstrate good relations with other people, self-confidence and admirable character in the society.
Reggio Emilio approach plays a role in curriculum development in schools. Decision on content to be taught in schools involves active participation from teachers, parents, and children. Curriculum content can be derived from teachers’ suggestions, students’ suggestions, natural incidents or parents’ suggestions. The important components of learning are projects and team documents. Teachers work on the projects to take place then obtain materials and support from parents and society. Learning takes place in a group set up as opposed to individual setting and it takes place for a short period of time (Mages, 2016). My belief in the teaching is it promotes participation from all children through making observations and expressing their interest in different projects covered.
In my belief on contemporary perspectives, I position children as capable and competent learners. Children are capable of learning and experimenting new things when provided with a conducive environment. Early childhood is the period when children learn how to form relationships, learn how to speak and seek to discover their potential. It is, therefore, an important period to let children explore many activities and satisfy their curiosity. In my view, children need guidance on how they can discover their potential. It can be done through the provision of materials to play with such as paints and brushes to encourage drawing and painting (Santín, 2017). Through such activities, children become creative, become self-confident and know how to interact with others which are essential traits needed even later in life.
The perspectives have various benefits to the child. Environmental stimulation is a benefit I believe is gained in the contemporary view. Children have an environment as a teacher as caregivers provide natural materials that are used in playing. Examples may include the use of soil in building imaginary houses, leaves in creating kites and sticks in creating structures. Through the use of naturally occurring materials children are encouraged to develop an interest in environment and exploration of the world (Scott, 2015).
Another benefit I believe is gained is the expression of children through “hundred languages”. Children use different ways of expressing themselves. It can be through building, writing, drawing, painting, dramatic play and sculpting. The different ways help in developing skills in problem-solving, relationship forming, expressing empathy and cognitive development. Parental and community involvement is beneficial to children in their learning. Children engage with parents and teachers as equal partners in learning. Freedom is offered in expressing themselves freely. It encourages a child to develop self-confidence and creativity while learning (Arseven, 2014).
I believe that there are potential challenges posed by my contemporary view on children as capable and competent learners. My view entails the child as the center of the learning process and the challenge am likely to face are reluctant parents in adopting the learning style. Most parents believe in teacher impacting knowledge on the child as opposed to the child dictating what they want. It may be a challenge as many parents would not wish to have their children go through the system (Arseven, 2014). Another challenge likely to arise from the system is lack of adequate teachers with training and experience in teaching children using the style. Most teachers believe that children attend school to be impacted by the knowledge they didn’t have as opposed to children as capable and competent learners. Despite facing the challenges, the view is gaining popularity and more teachers are training and practicing my contemporary perspective (Mages, 2016)
References
Arseven, A. (2014). The Reggio Emilia Approach and Curriculum Development Process.
International Journal of Academic Research. 6(1), 166-171. DOI: 10.7813/2075-4124.2014/6-1/B.23
Froyd, J. & Simpson, N. (2010) Student-Centered Learning Addressing Faculty Questions about
Student-Centered Learning. Retrieved from https://ccliconference.org/files/2010/03/Froyd_Stu-CenteredLearning.pdf
Hedge, A. & Cassidy, D. J. (2009). Teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding developmentall
appropriate practices: A study conducted in India. Early Child Development and Care, 179(7), 837-847. DOI: 10.1080/03004430701536491
Hollingsworth, H. L. & Winter, K. M. (2013). Teacher beliefs and practices relating to
development in preschool: importance placed on social–emotional behaviors and skills, Early Child Development and Care. 183(12), 1758-1781, DOI: 10.1080/03004430.2012.759567
Mages, K. W. (2016). Taking inspiration from Reggio Emilia: An analysis of a professional
development workshop on fostering authentic art in the early childhood classroom. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education. 37(2), 175-185. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2016.1165763
Mahesh, S. &Tripti, K. (2010). Primary Teachers’ Beliefs about Teacher Talk in ESLClassrooms: a Perspective from India. The International Journal of Research in Teacher Education. (1), 55-65. DOI: https://ijrte.eab.org.tr/1/4/4_mahesh.pdf
Martalock, L. P. (2012). “What is a wheel?” The Image of the Child: Traditional, Project
Approach and Reggio Emilia Perspectives. Retrieved from https://www.southernearlychildhood.org/upload/pdf/Dimensions_Vol40_3_Martalock.pdf
Qutoshia, B. S. & Poudelb, T. (2014). Student Centered Approach to Teaching: What Does it
Mean for the Stakeholders of a Community School in Karachi, Pakistan? Journal of Education and Research. 4(1), 19-33. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jer.v4i1.9620
Santín, F. (2017). Reggio Emilia: An Essential Tool to Develop Critical Thinking in EarlyChildhood. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research. 6(1), 50-56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7821/naer.2017.1.207
Scott, L. C. (2015). The Future of Learning: What kind of Learning for the 21st Century.
Education research and foresight. Working papers. Retrieved from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002429/242996E.pdf
Tan, T. C. & Rao, N. (2017). How Do Children Learn? Beliefs and Practices Reported by
Kindergarten Teachers in Singapore. Asia-Pacific Journal of Research. The Pacific in Early Childhood Education. 11(3), 81-112. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.17206/apjrece.2017.11.3.81
UNICEF. (2013). Why Early Childhood Development? Retrieved from:
https://www.unicef.org/earlychildhood/index_40748.htm
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