Importance of Early Childhood Education
Early childhood education and care plays the key role in the development of children. In addition it plays and important role in order to support the families with young children. Hence, it is required to understand the impact of service associated with early childhood and care in order to ensure the quality of the service and increase the accessibility in an effective manner (Britto et al., 2017). In this regards, as an early childhood educator it is my responsibility to support the children in order to develop identity, self-confidence, emotional intelligence, problem solving skills and teach them the utilisation of such skills in the later life. Therefore, I need to improve my understanding, communication, cultural competence and other necessary pedagogical skills and knowledge and learn about professionalism, ethics and different perspective, processes and policies of early childhood education and care in order to become an ethical and effective early childhood educator. In this reflective essay I will reflect on important aspect which need to consider to become a successful early childhood teacher.
As mentioned earlier, early childhood education play an instrumental role in the business development of children and help them to strengthen their self- reliance and self-confidence in an effective manner. According to Slot et al., (2015) early childhood education provides positive influence to their school readiness through valuable social and educational experiences. Early childhood education aims to develop all aspects of a child such as physical, emotional, social, motor and cognitive development. Hence, it is important for an early childhood educator to develop own skill to provide quality service as it is reported that only high quality early education service can bring adequate development within the children and help them to maintain overall well-being (Spodek & Saracho, 2014). Therefore, as an early childhood teacher it is essential for me to develop own sense of pedagogical practice and gather knowledge about pedagogical leadership, policies and practice. In addition, I need to consider the rights of the children as described by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children (United Nations, 1989) and Australian Human Rights Commission & Early Childhood Australia (Australian Human Rights Commission & Early Childhood Australia, 2015). It would help me to provide education service while maintaining the ethics in an effective manner.
Holistic approach is one of the major aspects in early childhood education. Holistic approach does not intend to improve the physical well-being only; instead it aims to provide balanced improvement of body, mind and soul (Bloch, 2018). In this regards, as a childhood educator, I mostly pay attention to the physical, emotional, social and spiritual well-being of the children. Therefore, I focus on assessing interconnected and integrated learning outcomes of the children. I utilise the philosophy of observing each children as a unique person and develop my understanding to understand each children in their own way. It has helped me to ensure that I have provided full rights to the children to remain protected and being respected in the holistic learning environment (Bredekamp, 2014). Considering the fact that each child has their own learning style, I use multiple positive perspectives of pedagogical practice in order to strengthen my professional decision making skill and provide holistic learning approaches while maintaining equality and social justice as mentioned in the Early Years Learning Frameworks (Fleet et al., 2011).
Holistic Approach to Learning
As mentioned by Kennedy & Barblett, (2010) it is important to interact with the children and build positive children-educator relationship to facilitate the learning session of the children. In this regards it is important being responsiveness to the children. In this regards I notice all the unique aspects of each children and prepare curriculums that are effective to reflect these attributes. In my practice I always aim to identify the things that are important to the children, families and their respective communities in order to extend their knowledge, level of understanding and interest regarding the early learning session. I use my communication skills in order to interact with the children and encourage them to remain engaged in the learning session. My effort associated with respecting the uniqueness of each child, communicating in an effective manner, being responsive to them and understanding their priority help me to build trustworthy relationship with the children. Being responsive to the children has allowed me to introduce supportive programs for the being, belonging and becoming of the children (Slot et al., 2015). I try to remain responsive regarding the strength, interest, abilities and skills of the children in order to use such aspects to motivate them. In addition to the positive relationship with the children, I am also committed to develop responsive, collaborative, respectful and reciprocal relationship with the families and communities as well. Such pedagogical practice would help me to engage in meaningful education session with open interaction while supporting the achievement of skills for life and learning (Spodek & Saracho, 2014).
In order to facilitate the learning of the children and support them in their development it is necessary to provide favourable learning environment to the children (Bloch, 2018). According to me it is essential to provide sustainable learning environment which is appropriate for the learners from diverse cultural and social background. According to the guidelines provided by National safety council (nsca.org.au, 2018), I am committed to provide learning environment that is safe and supporting for the children. In addition, I allow the children to participate in the learning process while focusing on their autonomy, interest, agency, voice and personal philosophies. Such approaches allow me to create democratic learning environment which is acceptable and adaptable for all.
Effective decision making skill is necessary for becoming a successful early childhood educator (Bredekamp, 2014). In order to make appropriate decision that are effective for the learning and development of the children I believe in developing collaborative partnership and practice. In this regards, I collaborate with the staff members and the responsible professionals in order to make effective decisions and provide best standard of educational service for the young children. I involve the families of the children in decision making through the use of different means of communication such as daily diary, face-to-face meetings, report cards and social media as well. Furthermore, I consider taking advices from the related stakeholders and the educational leaders in order to evaluate my pedagogical development and induce myself in a process of continuous growth.
Building Positive Relationships
As an early childhood educator in a country like Australia, it is important to acknowledge the cultural diversity of the population (Kumagai & Lypson, 2009). Hence, one of the most important cross-curriculum priorities should be understanding the history and culture of aboriginals and support their rights in order to reduce the social disadvantages and strengthen the ability of the aboriginal children to explore the educational experiences. Therefore, I apply my knowledge regarding the history, culture and belief of aboriginal people in order to deal with the aboriginal children and families. In addition, I collaborate with the local aboriginal communities in order to understand about the rights as provided by the Australian Human Rights Commissions and honour their rights to provide culturally safe learning approach and environment that are acceptable for the aboriginal community (Australian Human Rights Commission & Early Childhood Australia, 2015).
As described by Bloch, (2018) understanding the strength, interest, skills and knowledge is important in order to plan effective educational curriculum which could encourage the children for active participation. Through active listening I try to identify the way in which the children would like to learn. Such strategy helps me to apply suitable teaching strategies for the children. In addition, I prefer to use play based teaching approaches to encourage the children and improve their management with the learning session. Furthermore, I use different positive resources like attractive presentation, videos, interactive games, colourful charts and worksheet to promote the process of learning through play. In 21st century, the contribution of technology cannot be ignored as it plays a significant role in gathering knowledge and facilitate the learning process (Spodek & Saracho, 2014). Therefore, I use effective children learning sites that are effective in providing information about various aspects and enhance their knowledge with updated information. Along with this pedagogical practice I evaluate my practice in order to develop my teaching skills and comply with the seven standards of Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership in order to become an ethical and effective early childhood educator (Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority, 2013).
In conclusion, it can be demonstrated that, early childhood education play an important role in the development of children, hence it is essential to provide effective educational service in order to meet their learning requirements. As an early childhood educator it is my responsibility to remain responsive to the children, build effective relationship with them, collaborate with other staffs and educational leaders and build partnership with the parents during decision making. In addition it is required to provide favourable learning environment and appropriate teaching approach for all while considering the cultural diversity of the students. Involving in such pedagogical practice would help me to provide effective educational service and develop my own skills to become a successful early childhood educator in future.
References:
Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). (2013). Guide to the National Quality Standard. Retrieved from https://www. acecqa.gov.au/national-quality-framework/the-national-quality-standard
Australian Human Rights Commission & Early Childhood Australia. (2015). Supporting young children’s rights: statement of intent (2015-2018). Retrieved from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/childrens- rights/publications/supporting-young-childrens-rights
Bloch, M. N. (2018). Becoming Scientific and Professional: An Historical Perspective on the Aims and Effects of Early Education 1. In The formation of school subjects (pp. 25-62). Routledge.
Bredekamp, Accounting. (2014). Effective practices in early childhood education: Building a foundation. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Britto, P. R., Lye, S. J., Proulx, K., Yousafzai, A. K., Matthews, S. G., Vaivada, T., … & MacMillan, H. (2017). Nurturing care: promoting early childhood development. The Lancet, 389(10064), 91-102.
Fleet, A., Honig, T., Robertson, J., Seamann, A. & Shepherd, W. (2011). What’s pedagogy anyway? Using pedagogical documentation to engage with the early years learning framework. Children Services Central. Retrieved
Kennedy, A., & Barblett, L. (2010). Learning and teaching through play: Supporting the early years learning framework. Early Childhood Australia.
Kumagai, A. K., & Lypson, M. L. (2009). Beyond cultural competence: critical consciousness, social justice, and multicultural education. Academic Medicine, 84(6), 782-787.
nsca.org.au (2018). National Safety Council of Australia – Australia’s premier WHS skills and risk management provider. Retrieved from https://nsca.org.au/
Slot, P. L., Leseman, P. P., Verhagen, J., & Mulder, H. (2015). Associations between structural quality aspects and process quality in Dutch early childhood education and care settings. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 33, 64-76.
Spodek, B., & Saracho, O. N. (2014). Handbook of research on the education of young children. Routledge.
United Nations (1989). United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Geneva: United Nations
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