Early Childhood Education Curriculum and Pedagogy Practice in Australia - Literature review Example

Early Childhood Education Curriculum and Pedagogy Practice in Australia Name: Instructor: Institution: Date: Introduction Bagnato (2005, p.20) states that South Australian children must go through Reception or the initial school year when they are five years old. Most children who go to government learning institutions mainly begin at the commencement of every four terms. Some institutions also acknowledge children right away after reaching five years even though is optional for them to begin school when they celebrate their sixth birthday. The learning year starts at the end of January and it possesses four preschool terms of about 10 weeks. Many children mainly go for four preschool terms and afterward start school from reception after reaching five years. Schools’ First Year organization across Australia A current study (McCormick, Grisham-Brown, Nellis, Anderman, Privett, & Williams 2003) stipulated that in Australia, the age upon which kids begin to attend formal classes differs across the country as well as the name provided to “the first school year.” For instance, in Tasmania, Queensland, and Victoria children begin schooling in their year of reception while children in New South Wales begin schooling at kindergarten (Bayley 2002, p.293). While every territory and state possess requirements that kids should begin schooling when they celebrate their sixth birthday, considerable differences exist concerning the age upon which they should start schooling as well as if the year after the first year is necessary. For instance, from 2007, Queensland established the “Prep Year” and although it is unnecessary, most children are expected to attend prior to beginning the first year. Western Australia also demonstrates a similar scenario where most children attend pre-primary programs although they are not required. Terms Definition a) Pedagogy The whole paper will use this definition. Pedagogy can be described as a range of instructional approaches and methods that facilitate learning to happen and offer acquisition opportunities for disposition, attitude, skills, and knowledge in a certain material and societal context (Grisham-Brown, Pretti-Frontczak, & Hallam 2010, p.167). It is also the interactive practice between teachers and their students as well as the learning settings (that comprise of concrete education environment, community as well as family). b) Early Childhood Education The globally allowed description of early childhood includes the time in the life of a child from birth to its eighth birthday. However, early childhood education entails early school years. c) Curriculum Inside early childhood learning, curriculum tends to be another disputed term. Curriculum according to Gronlund (2006, p. 129) includes techniques for organizing education experiences, a planned series of interactions, opportunities, and activities, which mainly originates from several implicit and explicit theoretical or ideological comprehension concerning children learning techniques. Pedagogy and Early Childhood Education Curriculum Increased concentration on pedagogy at any education level exposes the context importance and complexity. Researchers indicate that a pedagogy model comprises of the classroom, instructor, as well as any additional context; learning view, education about education with the target of creating focus to learning communities creation whereby knowledge tend to be dynamically co-built and whereby the learning focus is sometimes education itself. Influences on Current Early Years’ Curriculum and Pedagogy According to Losardo and Notari-Syverson (2001, p.232), the EYLF (Early Years Learning Framework) is founded on a set of fundamental understandings and beliefs concerning children as well as their education. It possesses an analysis of the life of children as illustrated by becoming, being, as well as belonging. According to these perceptions, relationship between children with their communities and families is very important in their identity and security (Bagnato 2005). It also distinguished that kids possess a right to enjoy their childhood in a certain place and time. It also acknowledges the unique and fast changes, which happen when children develop and learn. Nevertheless, EYLF is planned around 3 interconnected components namely education outcomes, practices, and principles. EYLF categorizes several principles that strengthen efficient early early-days practice. They include a) value for diversity b) relationships between families and early childhood instructors c) equal, reverent, and safe partnerships d) equity and high prospects e) Ongoing education and thoughtful practice The Early Years Learning Framework stresses 8 pedagogical processes as necessary to promote all kids education Nevertheless, both Lyvogsky and Friedrich Frobel had major influence on the play curriculum in EYLF for birth to 5 year olds (Stipek 2004). They are; i. Monitoring and evaluating children’s education to enlighten provision as well as supporting children to achieve education outcome ii. Offering experiences continuity and effective changes for kids-from their homes to early childhood environment, between environments, as well as from early upbringing environment to learning institutions. iii. Respecting the social and cultural context of the children, their family units, as well as establishing cultural ability- the capability to effectively interact with individuals from other cultures. iv. Intentional tutoring that incorporates offering difficult interactions and experiences, which foster sophisticated thinking expertise. v. Creating flexible and vibrant education settings that react to children and family units’ needs and interests as well as that also incite complicated and gradually abstract thoughts. vi. Implementing and designing programs based on play as well as engaging with kid’s play to expand their education. vii. Being receptive to kids, respecting their diverse methods of identifying and developing their knowledge, skills, and strengths. viii. Implementing holistic, incorporated teaching approached and concentrating on children’s psychological, social, personal, physical, spiritual interests, and cognitive education aspects. EYLF Education Outcomes The several outcomes identified by EYLF tend to be essential to the existing as well as future welfare, commitment, and accomplishment of children (Meisels, Atkins-Burnett, Xue, Bickel & Son 2003, p.6). They include a) Children tend to be efficient communicators b) Children tend to be confident as well as involved students c) Children possess sound wellbeing sense d) Children tend to be related to the world e) Children also possess the identity sense. Consequently, after giving an insight about EYLF, the paper will now begin with Froebel and Lyvogsky influence on the play curriculum in EYLF for birth to 5 year olds. a) Friedrich Frobel influence on the play curriculum in EYLF for birth to 5 year olds As an educator from Germany, Froebel was also one of the few early childhood education reforms pioneer. He was also an idealist who deemed that children should obtain full learning potential as well as a suitable learning ambiance to encourage their growth and development (Bayley 2002). His vision also entailed stimulating love and appreciation for five years old kids as well as providing a fresh but an undersized world, or the kindergarten, where with other children; they would play and get their original independence taste. Froebel’s education philosophy is included by several fundamental elements of a) Motor expression b) Social participation c) Creativity d) Free self-activity Being an educationalist, Froebel deemed that motivating voluntary self-activity in children was a very compulsory pre-school learning form. Self-activity refers to skills and qualities development, which turns invisible ideas into realities. It entails purpose formulation, purpose planning, and acting on such plans until the purpose realization. Nevertheless, one major contribution made by Froebel in the early childhood education included his conjecture of initiating play. A study by Grisham-Brown, Pretti-Frontczak, & Hallam (2010, p.167) posit that through playing children engage in self-activity to externalize their inside nature. Free play characterizes Froebel’s understanding about play that solicits all imaginative powers of children, thinking, and bodily movements through embodiment in a pleasing structure, their own reflections, and instructive interests. He believes that introduction of play in EYLF curriculum designates the psychological attitude of a child and must never be categorized with things that are carried out externally. Consequently, children must receive absolute liberation from the requirement of pursuing any approved or given activities system while engaging in humorous self-activity (Neuman & Roskos 2005). Summarizing Froebel’s principles about play, it is important to note that through promoting play, which generated self-activity, the ultimate child’s goal includes growth fullness that produce the understanding of the potential powers as well as constantly takes him from one educational pane to the other. To help 5 year olds in their growth of transferring from one growth of education to the other, Froebel offered children several motivating practices to improve their imaginative abilities and powers. He planned various educational materials, which he referred to as “occupations and gifts” that established particular relations and guided children in assessment, experimentation, and artistic exploration practices. A gift can be referred to as any object provided to a kid to actually play with like a cylinder, cube, and sphere that assisted children in understanding and internalizing the size, dimension, and shape concepts as well as their relations. A recent research (Sumsion 2009) found out that occupation included items like clay and paint used by the children to create their preferred objects. Through these occupations, kids externalized the existing concepts inside their imaginative minds. Therefore, the personal self-creativity of a child and imaginative play assist him/her in understanding the inside and external properties of the objects he/she used through the growth phases of the instructive process. According to Froebel, family unit is very important in the childhood instructive curriculum. He deemed that children would achieve the original and the most constant instructive influence through parents. Since the first instructive experiences of children takes place in their family units, they familiarize themselves with their home ambiance and the activities taking place in those settings. Naturally, imaginative self-creativity assists 5 year olds in imitating the things, which possess a real and direct relationship to them; things learnt through everyday family life observations. According to Daniels and Shumow (2003, p. 502), giving a household environment inside the learning institution environment can offer children social interaction opportunities within recognizable territory using a safe manner. Concentrating on occupations of family environment as the base to start subject content assists children to have social contact skills, which would train them for sophisticated content in future instructive development phases. Over 150 years back, Froebel recommended educationalist to value child growth sanctity through the following statement, “We grant space and time to young plants and animals because we know that, in accordance with the laws that live in them, they will develop properly and grow well. Young animals and plants are given rest, and arbitrary interference with their growth is avoided,/because it is known that the opposite practice would disturb their pure unfolding and sound development; but, the young human being is looked upon as a piece of wax or a lump of clay which man can mold into what he pleases” (Froebel, 1907, p.8). According to Froebel’s instructive principles, motor expression, which includes learning through opposing the given instruction, is very fundamental. He never deemed that 5 year olds should be positioned into the mold of the society but instead must be permitted to outline their individual mold as well as develop at their individual pace via the instructive process developmental phases. Additionally, some of Froebel’s principles included that children must not be hurried in their growth. According to him, children should be implicated in all experiences required in every phase and assisted in seeing the relations between ideas and things to one another as well as themselves for them to learn something on both their objective and subjective worlds (Grisham-Brown, Pretti-Frontczak, & Hallam 2010). Development tends to be a continuous process where one stage builds upon a different one, such that nothing must be mislaid through swiftness as the children move through the process of education. Froebel also adds that instructors must strive to distinguish every child’s personal development level so that necessary activities and materials to motivate suitable instructive growth can be presented. He also believed that suggestion and imitation would inevitable happen, although instructors must only use them as tools to assist learners to formulate their individual educational concepts. b) Lev Lyvogsky influence on the play curriculum in EYLF for birth to 5 year olds Lyvogsky used four fundamental ideas to influence the early learning and development. They include; a) Children construct knowledge, b) language is very important in psychological growth, c) development and social context cannot be divided, and d) learning causes development. a) Children construct knowledge In children construct knowledge, Vygotsky deemed that kids build knowledge as well as passively fail to reproduce things offered to them. He used Jean Piaget work that stipulated that knowledge construction happens mainly in the interaction between physical things and children. He also believed that knowledge is not every much build but instead co-built and that education frequently engages more people. All Vygotsky wanted is to look for ways that children can comprehend their world. b) Language is very important in psychological growth According to Vygotsky, language transmits cultural instruments in children’s lives. He saw language as a thinking mechanism or else the most significant psychological tool. Language refers to a means through which children can transfer information to one another. However, although children can use their classroom to learn about assonance, introducing lap in their early education curriculum would also assist them to learn language from other children as well as the environment. Daniels and Shumow (2003, p. 514). The language as conveyed by the society to higher psychological function facilitates people’s understanding of the world. Five year olds can reflect on and talk about all the things that occurred while playing using language. Through the outside experience they gained, they change it into an inside process through language mediation. One can also view language as a medium, which transfers experience into the five year olds’ minds. When children and teachers want to teach another skill to their children, they always tell the children what they want them to execute. Sumsion (2009, p.7) says that there are necessary procedures for five year olds to control their external as well as internal behavior. Encouraging these children to use their experiences, talk to one another about them, write concerning them, and eventually talking to themselves concerning those experiences facilitates them in moving toward becoming independent students. Vygotsky’s instructive practices were intended to create a self-regulating and sovereign child who can form a team with other children to utilize past lessons and work to the present. Comprehending the proximal growth zone extends the manner in which instructors can influence and direct the active education of children. His learning analysis can allow five-year olds to know their individual behavior. c) Development and social context cannot be divided According to Vygotsky, the societal perspective influences beliefs and attitudes. They possess intense influence concerning the way people think and the things they think about. Together with his coworkers, Vygotsky established studies in order to evaluate the way the societal context caused people’s memory, perception, and thinking (Stipek 2004, p. 550). Vygotsky believed that the minds of five year olds is the same as well as for all people. He added that they have two psychological functioning levels namely; higher and lower. According to (Daniels & Shumow 2003), the higher psychological processes tend to be distinctive to children and are passed down to them through learning. Lower psychological functioning involves reactive interest abilities such as response to loud sound as well as objects with bright colors. Such abilities can also be nurtured when learning institutions introduce play in their early childhood curriculum. d) Learning causes development Vygotsky believed that introducing play in the EYLF curriculum would assist five year olds to develop educationally. According to (Division for Early Childhood 2007), learning influences development. When children are at the playgrounds, they are able to exchange complex ideas while still play with other children. Teachers can also intervene in this ground and assist them to understand things when they are in difficult situations. In conclusion, the Australian Education System necessitates every child to follow a certain procedure before joining elementary school. However, these requirements tend to differ with states especially in Tasmania, Queensland, and Victoria. One example of curriculum used in Australia includes the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) that follows several principles namely; value for diversity; relationships between families and early childhood instructors; equal, reverent, and safe partnerships; equity and high prospects; and ongoing education and thoughtful practice. However, there are several intellectuals who influenced EYLF for birth to 5 year olds such as Friedrich Frobel. His philosophy used several elements namely; Motor expression, social participation, creativity, and free self-activity. Another intellectual who influences Australian Education curriculum greatly is Lev Lyvogsky. His philosophy uses four main fundamentals namely; Children construct knowledge; language is very important in psychological growth; development and social context cannot be divided; and learning causes development. However, all these fundamentals used by educationalists have had a great influence in Australian education. 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