Critical Analysis in Early Childhood Education

This paper presents a comprehensive and critical analysis of the pedagogical significance of the instructor-Jayden dialogue in Early Childhood Education. It emphasizes the importance of emotional management, relationship, and communication in the teaching and learning process.

Running head: CRITICAL ANALYSIS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 1
Critical Analysis in Early Childhood Education
Name
Institution

CRITICAL ANALYSIS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 2
Critical Analysis in Early Childhood Education
Introduction
Teaching is a process that begins when a child is still young. That is why the curriculum
developers gave room for the Early Child Education (ECE). When the teaching process begins at
a tender age, the kids get to acquire knowledge as they progressively grow and develop.
However, one thing that should be acknowledged is that the teaching of the ECE is a challenging
undertaking that requires a thorough training, acquisition, and possession of excellent teaching
skills. For the ECE teachers to achieve this, they must have excellent pre-school teaching
pedagogical knowledge and knowhow to apply it whenever handling the learners. An effective
ECE teaching process should, therefore, be done in compliance with the principles of the Early
Years Learning Framework (EYLF). This paper presents a comprehensive and critical analysis
of the pedagogical significance of the instructor-Jayden dialogue.
Analysis of the Dialogue in terms of Pedagogical Significance
The dialogue presented in this case was between the instructor and Jayden. Jayden is an
18-month old toddler who, according to his age and stage of growth, should be joining pre-
school. The transcript indicates that the instructor had intended to establish a communication and
teaching process with the toddler. Although the kid has not developed a strong language, there
appears to be a communication between the two (Arthur, Beecher, Death, Dockett & Farmer,
2018). The instructor established a good rapport with the toddler. This shows that he possesses
excellent communication competencies that made it possible for him to relate well with the
toddler. The effective communication displayed in the dialogue is appropriate for the teaching

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process because it resonates with the EYLF standards that, among other issues, emphasize on the
need of communication in the teaching of children.
The significance of the dialogue is that it demonstrates how the essential pedagogical
skills can be applied when teaching the pre-school learners. The interaction implies the
significant role of emotional management in the teaching of pre-school learners. Just like the
adults, the children have emotional feelings that they not only express, but develop and nurture
as they grow. Right from the beginning of the dialogue, the two engaged in a cordial interaction.
Although the toddler appeared to be possessed with the play, the instructor still managed to use
his skills to properly manage his emotions (Fleer & Peers, 2018). That is why, on several
occasions, the toddler kept on smiling and happily interacting with the instructor. If the instructor
had no skills and was incapable of handling the emotional feelings of the toddler, he would not
have managed to succeed in establishing a good rapport throughout the dialogue process. It
shows how important emotional management can be as an invaluable component of pre-school
teaching pedagogy. This was commendable because it justifies the EYLF’s assertion on the
emotional management of the learners during the teaching and learning process.
The dialogue is a clear proof of the significant contributions of relationship in
pedagogy. Relational pedagogy is a key competency that should always be incorporated in the
teaching and learning process. From the transcripts, it is obvious that the two had established a
close relationship between them. This kind of relationship is good because it enhances an
effective interpersonal communication and relationship between different individuals. EYLF
advocate for the creation of a conducive environment that not only accommodates the learners,
but gives them a chance to freely interact with one another and adequately explore he world
around them. The instructors should possess good relational skills because it can enhance the

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quality of the teaching and learning process. Pre-school learners are young people who are still
growing. The quality of relationship that they create with instructors can end up shaping the
quality of the teaching process (White & Redder, 2017). The concept of relational pedagogy
should not be limited to the instructors alone. Instead, it should be extended to cover the
relationship between learner and the instructors, and the parents, and among the learners
themselves. It can enrich the quality of the teaching and learning process.
Rational Dialogue Strategies
The dialogue was done well. However, it is not perfect because there are certain
weaknesses that were noticed. The dialogue can be used an example of how a pre-school
classroom set up should be. When teaching the pre-school learners, the instructor should take the
necessary steps to ensure that the teaching and learning process is perfectly done. One of the
most significant measures to take is to sharpen the communication process. As the main guide
during the teaching and learning process, the instructor should take all the necessary steps to
ensure that communication flows well. EYLF states that the learning should be tailored towards
the improvement of the communication process and language usage between the learners and the
instructor (Fleer & Peers, 2018).
The communication weakness that was identified in the dialogue is the disconnect that
existed between the instructor and the toddler. Although the instructor was constantly keen on
talking to the toddler, the toddler was preoccupied with the playdoh. This shows that the
instructor had not grabbed his full attention. The use of the playdoh was a good idea because, in
EYLF, learning should be play-based. Otherwise, he would have been keen on communicating
and talking to the instructor who was constantly talking to him. The other weakness is that when

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responding to the toddler, the instructor was pausing for quite long. That is not good because it
compromised the quality of the interactions between the two. In this regard, to improve the
efficiency of the teaching and learning process, it should be upon the instructor to rectify such
weaknesses and instead improve on them appropriately. For example, whenever responding to
the learners, the instructor should not introduce unnecessary pauses. Instead, the instructor
should promptly do so. This can improve the quality of the communication process which is
mainly done using verbal cues. Communication should always be taken seriously because failure
in communication process can seriously interfere with the effectiveness and success of teaching.
Without communication, no teaching or learning occurs.
The Positioning and Language Usage in the Dialogue
Teaching is a challenging undertaking that requires lots of commitment, passion, and
dedication. For a teacher to teach well, he or she must be fully-prepared and equipped with the
right knowledge to use to study, understand, and appropriately respond to the psychology of the
learners. This is exactly what was done during the dialogue with Jayden. In order to grab the
attention of this kid and effectively engage him, the instructor had to make a proper use of key
teaching strategies. One of the major principles of EYLF teaching is that the process should be
intentional. This shows that the instructor should be objective and focused on creating a positive
impact on the learners.
Topping the list of the widely used strategies is the use of non-verbal communication
skills. Although communication was largely verbal, the instructor had to enrich it by
incorporating the elements of non-verbal communication competencies such as body movement,
hand expression, gesture, and facial expressions. Each of these non-verbal signs was used

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whenever necessary. Their usage in the dialogue is commendable because of the important roles
they played in the improvement of the quality of communication process (White, Peter &
Redder, 2015). EYLF can never be a success if the aspect of communication is not addressed
properly. When speaking to the toddler, it was necessary to incorporate the use of such non-
verbal signs because they would enable the instructor to effectively communicate with him.
However, for this to be achieved, the signs had to be appropriately-utilized.
The other communication strategy that was applied during the dialogue is verbal skills.
Speaking skill was also put into consideration because it means a lot in the communication
process between me and the toddler. One of the speaking skills that were heavily employed
during the conversation is listening. Critical listening was heavily applied because it would
enable the communication process to be successfully executed (Fox & Diezmann, 2017). At the
same time, I had to use a slow rate of articulation because I did not unnecessarily have to speak
so fast. The other verbal skill that was used is speaking skill. In order for the message to be
efficiently delivered to the toddler, I had to speak audibly and loud enough to be heard by the
toddler. At the same time, I had to ensure that I made a proper use of language. In order for the
toddler to listen to me and understand my message, it was necessary for me to use a simple
language with which the toddler is familiar.
Positioning was also done appropriately. As an instructor, I had to apply the principles of
positioning and distance. Meaning, I had to calculate the kind of proximity that I was to establish
with the toddler. Although I know that there should be a clear distinction in the proximity
between me and the learner, I had to ensure that I strategically position myself well. I stood too
close to the toddler to ensure that I developed a close relationship with him (White & Redder,
2015). When talking to him, I would change my position by getting as closer as possible. EYLF

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requires that an effective teaching process should be interactive, holistic, and responsive. The
change of position was a good idea because it enabled me to create a personal touch and a close
and direct relationship with the toddler. It made him feel secure and confident to interact with me
throughout the dialogue period.
Conclusion
Teaching is a lengthy process that should begin during childhood. All the children
should get proper teaching during the ECE stage. ECE is a sensitive stage in which the teachers
should be keen on the content delivered as well as the delivery strategies applied. When handling
pre-school learners, the instructors should employ appropriate teaching strategies. The dialogue
between Jayden and the instructor gives a clear definition of how an ideal pre-school teacher-
learner interaction should be. The proper manner in which the toddler was handled demonstrates
how a pre-school teacher should teach the learners. The pre-school pedagogy should be done in
line with the principles of EYLF which emphasizes that an effective pre-school teaching process
should encompass the elements of the use of play, effective communication, creativity,
relationships, and interaction between the instructor and the learners. Each of these strategies
should be properly utilized to ensure that the learner is accommodated and properly taught.

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