The Changing System of Education
Dsicuss about the Learning And Development For The Early Childhood.
The system of education has changed drastically over the past few decades and this has prompted educators their style of teaching. We live in a world where traditional methods of teaching no longer apply to the educational setting. With changing time, the aptitude and capabilities of children have also changed. In order to understand the present ‘image’ of the child, we have to reflect upon our own ideals and the ways our beliefs construct the image of the children. Reggio Emilia first proposed the concept of the image of the child. It implies the belief, understanding and assumptions people have about the responsibility of children in society and in education. The image of the child has changed and kept changing over time. Emilia’s work has provided a solid base for educators to understand the needs and abilities of children and their perceptions in different cultures and in different individuals. To provide an instance, one teacher can see a child’s ability to match sounds of the English alphabets to the correct letter as the child’s lack of motivation. While another teacher views the same inability as the child’s capacity to observe things minutely. In my personal opinion, I think children possess capabilities that are beyond our imagination. I have grown up in an environment where children are treated not as immature beings who need consistent guidance from elders but who are capable enough to know their own needs. Children, I believe, are much aware and emotionally intelligent than most adults. They just need the right path by which their potential can be channelized. In Australia, focus on early education of children has been to ensure development on all spheres of life. The Early Years Learning Framework (Belonging, Being and Becoming) introduced by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in 2009 incorporated five learning outcomes that encourage and enhance the learning of children from birth to five years of age. The first outcome states that children possess a strong sense of identity. In my view, this outcome is true because children since birth become aware of the people around them and they could sense the touch of their provider easily. The second outcome says that children connect with their world and contribute to it as well. I find this outcome also to be true because children do develop a strong sense of belonging to the world. They become aware of justice and give equal treatment to everyone. This is largely due to the uncorrupted mind and heart of the children as per my view. The third outcome states that children also have a strong sense of wellbeing and that they take responsibilities for their own physical and mental health. According to the fourth outcome, children learn and involve in learning activities confidently. They are curious always and have a tendency to go deep into any topic until the answer is discovered. The fifth and final outcome implies that children are efficient communicators. They learn to communicate both verbally and non-verbally with the use of symbols and gestures management .
Understanding the Image of the Child
I have read several texts regarding the learning ability of children. however, the recent decades have seen a flurry of studies on teacher’s role in developing children’s ability. These studies show that educators have to be flexible in order to adjust to the changing needs and abilities of the children. The ELYF learning outcomes for children that I have discussed in the previous section demonstrate a link to my own views about the ways children learn and develop. Apart from the learning outcomes, numerous approaches to teaching seem to align with my own views about children. Many theorists over the years have come up with different theories and models that describe how children develop through different ages. Jean Piaget, the psychologist from Switzerland proposed the cognitive theory of development in which he mentioned the four stages of development including the sensorimotor stage, the pre-operational stage, the concrete operational stage and the formal operational stage. These stages describe how children develop their sense of movement, their ability to manipulate information, their ability to think logically and their ability to develop abstract thoughts. As an educator, Piaget’s theory would help me comprehend the thought process of each children and I could approach them accordingly. Another theorist, Vygotsky also came up with a model that provided great help to the educators in understanding the ways children learn and develop. Vygotsky’s theory involved a vital component of a child’s ability to learn and adapt – the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). The ZPD involves three phases of learning ability of the child. Between the phase of ‘what the children can do’ and ‘what the children cannot do’, is the zone of proximal development, ‘what the children can do with help’. I believe the ZPD would help me as a teacher to acknowledge the limits and strengths of the children and give them that push by which they can go ahead. One of the earliest contributors to the early childhood education, Friedrich Froebel, who introduced the concept of Kindergarten, stated that children develop naturally within the lap of nature without any disturbance from the elderly world. According to Froebel, teachers could guide the play activities of children that could help them explore the surroundings and interact with it at the same time. In contrast to the traditional notion that children lack the cognitive ability to be educated, Froebel upheld the notion the education must begin when children develop the consciousness to learn. During the course of the unit, I came across many educational approaches that targeted towards early childhood education and found three approaches to be relevant in today’s context. The first is the Montessori Method that was initiated by Maria Montessori management , an Italian physician. As per this method, the schools must establish a link with the children’s families, children must be allowed to do things in order to make them learn teachers must play the role of a passive observer and guide the children silently. The High Scope Approach is the next approach to early education that I have read and it states that children must support and be encouraged to share their views and experiences with their peers and teachers. The last and the most important approach to early childhood education according to me is the Reggio Emilia approach that has been already discussed in the previous section.
Early Years Learning Framework in Australia
Within the contemporary context, educators have adopted many approaches to assist children’s learning in their early years. We have discussed various approaches to early childhood development and learning that involve the works of theorists and scholars like Piaget, Froebel, Vygotsky, Maria Montessori and Reggio Emilia. These studies have helped me to understand that the right approach to children depends not only on how they learn but also on how they develop. In the childhood development sphere, I found Vygotsky’s concept of ZPD to be very effective. The ZPD provides a concise perspective on the ability of children to develop as per their own ability. It says that children are competent enough to develop on their own with only a little external help. As a teacher, I would approach my students in this way and try to analyze the situations where they need help and where they do not. The Reggio Emilia approach is an instance of the contemporary perspective on early childhood education. In my view, the approach has more relevance to the current structure of education in early childhood that believes in the capability of children as learners. Alper (2013) supports this approach and proposes improvised ways, linking digital technology with Emilia’s approach to early education in order to achieve the desired goals. The author states that the alignment of the digital and non-digital media would yield positive benefits by enabling greater examination. When I was a child, I used to love the concept of sing and learn and it even helped me learn things easily. The concept was very effective because I have still not forgotten the terms that were taught using this process management . As mentioned previously, the modern perspectives of development and education position children as able and skilled learners. This view has proved to be extremely beneficial for both educators and children, as it has succeeded in creating a different bond between the teacher and his student. The modern view or approach to education has enabled children to appreciate the value of cooperation. Apart from that, the approach has been supporting holistic development of the children. Children also feel enthusiastic about learning through this modern approach management . However, the implementation and maintenance of this view is an area that has posed challenge to the educators. According to (), the execution of the new approach of educating children through fun has been a difficult topic to handle for educators because many argue that the fun element would distract children from the main purpose of learning. Some arguments like fun is playful and hence has no place within the classroom. The argument is justified to some extent but not entirely. The main tricks I believe, lies in the implementation of fun and learn approach in early childhood teaching. Involving students in activities that are related to their education and maintaining equilibrium of play and practice would go a long way in making this new approach entirely acceptable.
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