Early Childhood Education Theories and Practices

This document provides a comprehensive overview of early childhood education theories and practices. It covers various aspects of child development, including cognitive, social-emotional, and physical development. The document also discusses play-based learning, inclusive education, and the importance of creativity and imagination in early childhood education. Specific topics and ideas for assignments are provided, making it a valuable resource for students and educators alike.

Running head: LEARNING PERSPECTIVES AND DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDHOOD
LEARNING PERSPECTIVES AND DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDHOOD
Name of Student
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Author Note

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LEARNING PERSPECTIVES AND DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDHOOD
Introduction
The social construction of a child mind plays a big role in influencing crucial future
events like early childhood development of learning process, thought process—which finally
portrays the socio-cultural and emotional quotient of the child, better known as the image.
Every child creates his/her/their own perception based on the real life experiences since birth
(Piaget, 2013). Through their energy and curiosity to know more, to connect with the
surrounding world, the child possesses far more potential than is often recognized. This study
looks back in time to explore the various exemplary methods that were used in the past to
connect and communicate with a child in order to help him/her/them form a strong,
independent personality.
Changing the normative culture of the human society is only possible through the help
of children; and making them realize their full potential, inculcating the ability to think
critically instead of blindly following norms , would empower the child with a decisive mind,
capable of critical thinking.
According to (Powley & Taylor, 2014) there are various pedagogical approaches to
early childhood development—amongst which, the Reggio Emilia approach emphasizes on a
holistic learning process based on constructivist, experiential learning . The approach was
first seen in the Italian city of Reggio Emilia and was developed by psychologist Malaguzzi
along with the contemporary parents of the city, who wanted to give their children something
more than the normative structure of imparting knowledge and information.

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Early Childhood Education
Contemporary theorists have introduced looking at early childhood education as a
social construction. Early childhood education emerged during the evolving phases of
enlightenment and Renaissance, post world war-II (Classen, 2017). Ever since the human
society realized the necessity of early childhood education and care, various cultures across
the world have taken up various approaches to impart appropriate knowledge and wisdom for
fulfilling societal expectations. A child with critical thinking capability is considered rich on
the basis of competency, emotional quotient and independence of thought process.
While the previous normative theory was to assume a child’s competence by labelling
him/her/them vulnerable or independent, contemporary researches are seen to focus more on
the context of the child, the socio-economic-cultural environment he/she/they are growing in,
and utilise that to establish a relationship with the child for better communication and growth.
Current theorists have pointed out the necessity to embrace a technique that is
developmentally appropriate in relation to the child (Gestwicki, 2013). A child’s
contemporary social and cultural processes play a vital role in shaping the child’s context, in
which he/she/they are developing and it is inclusive of family and friends as major
contributors. The early childhood experiences play a big part in shaping the child’s cognitive
behaviour, emotional quotient and social participation.
History of Early Childhood Education Theories
Educators, over the history of time, have innovated unique styles, in accordance with
each of their socio-cultural contexts, to provide optimum care, affection and wisdom to the
children who would be the future of the society. The idea of early childhood education first
came up in Europe when a mother started interacting and educating children outside their
homes and then during the Industrial Revolution when the churches, factories and even

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private homes set up pre-schools for children whose parents had to go out for work. Further,
during the post world war- II phase, parents felt the increasing need to protect their children
from the violence and aggression of fascism that had clouded the future’s sky. Rightly
analysed, children and their alternative ways of perception of reality were the most powerful
means to put a control to the existing normative structures.
Impact of Socio-Cultural Constructions
Social constructions of a child’s mind are the core pillars that define the character,
behaviour pattern and finally the competence of the child in regards to functioning as a social
being. Early childhood education can be considered a process of social construction of mind
and body, complemented with ethics and values. Childhood is a construction of the society
and the image of the child changes with every changing context, beliefs and cultures.
However, childhood may be varied for children living in the same society because of the
normative social and cultural differences within the society. Therefore, the socio-cultural
constructions of a child’s image hinder the child’s freedom to perform independently in the
contemporary social structure.
The chief socio-cultural constructions that influenced the development and learning
techniques of a child are briefly discussed below:
 Dependence: The past notions of childhood care have started to lose relevance in the
light of modern times. The past era took into consideration the child as a vulnerable
being, dependent on adults for growth and survival. However, the modern theorists
have included the socially constructed nature of learning complementary to the
individualistic ways of development, often due to genetics.
 Knowledge: The past ideas about children assumed that they are incapable of
retaining knowledge, unlike the adults, and therefore need help to learn to perform as

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a social being. However, today’s educators argue that the early childhood phase is
one of the most crucial stages for gaining knowledge and wisdom. During the earliest
phase, a child is full of curiosity to know the surroundings he/she/they live in.
Therefore, this phase experiences the maximum potential to acquire and retain
knowledge that would later contribute in forming the child’s character.
 Moral Teachings: Early childhood education in the past mostly comprised of
etiquettes and manners that one is expected to adhere to in a particular society. It did
not take into consideration the cognitive development of a child in relation to the
circumstances and environment that surround him/her/them. Modern theories have
challenged this approach for hindering independent thought process and encouraging
normative biases. The modern day early childhood care offers an academic approach
rather than an action based approach by allowing the child ample space to grow and
learn in his/her/their own way.
Key Perspectives and Approaches
One of the key perspectives in the art of pedagogy is to sustain a holistic view towards
children instead of treating them as vulnerable individuals, waiting to be led and guided by
adults. The previous years of early childhood education was more like setting up normative
rules for the children, adhering to which would make the child more acceptable and
successful in the society. However, contemporary views on pedagogy have changed as
theorists today encourage viewing a child as a psychosocial individual, interacting in the
society and evolving in his/her/their own exclusive way.
Some of the relevant early education teaching theories that were practised in the past,
are briefly discussed below (Pound, 2017):

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 Reggio Emilia Approach: The most essential element of the Reggio Emilia
Approach is that it puts its dependence on the idea of self, for learning and
development during the initial years of life. It emphasizes on the child’s relationship
with the surrounding society, the life-experiences of privilege or oppression and
encourages self-driven and self-guided curriculum. Secondly, it believes in the
development of teachers along with the development of the child, to avoid stagnation
of ideas. A child educator needs to modify him/herself everyday to maintain relation
with the child and understand him/her better. The motive of this approach is to utilize
their curiosity and creativity through relationship-driven interaction in order to help
them formulate their own learning process based on their interests and circumstantial
context.
 Montessori Approach: This particular approach takes into account that children have
a natural inclination to know and eventually master their surrounding environment.
The Montessori approach aims to employ this curiosity in a creative and fun way for
the children to enjoy as they learn to participate in relation to the society around them
and develop their motor skills and cognitive behaviour. Interesting games are devised
in a way to inculcate the ability to judge, analyse and criticize instead of simply
following and remembering useful information.
 Socio-cultural Approach: Socio-cultural learning theory was devised by Russian
psychologist Lev Vygotsky, who argued that the experiences of a child in the society
he/she/they live in, determines their ways of thinking and perception of the world
around them. Children learn best by communicating with experienced peers, families
and adults, essentially because learning is a social process and will always be
measured in terms of the socio-economic-cultural context. This approach has
successfully helped with the development of psychologically unstable children as it

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encourages a teacher to identify the needs of a child and work accordingly to resolve
the issues.
Primary education shares an intricate relationship with early days of childhood and
experiences of the same. Therefore, the early years of a child are crucial for the development
of perception, motor skills and emotional quotient—determined by the kind of experiences
and education the child receives (Wood, 2014). Dealing with children during early childhood
phase could be a critical task and therefore the key perspectives of efficient early childhood
education are listed below:
 Developmental Perspective- This stresses on the physical and psychosocial
development, along with the dependencies and vulnerabilities of a child during the
early childhood phase (Swim, 2015).
 Political-Economic Perspective- This perspective sheds light on the impacts of
social conventions on the child’s principles for learning and growth (Ideland &
Malmberg, 2015). It takes into account the economic position of the child in
relation to the economic position of the society.
 Socio-Cultural Perspective- This perspective stresses on the fact that early
childhood psychology is mostly created by the social norms and conventions and
for every different child it is perceived, understood and expressed in different
ways (Roskos, 2017).
Dialectics and Contradictions
The Reggio Emilia approach and the Socio-Cultural Approach by Lev Vygotsky share
some acute overlapping as well as contradictions. Unlike the Reggio Emilia approach, which
believes in a child’s self-discovery through diverse experiences in a society, a Vygotskian
perspective argues that a child’s intellectual development, during the early childhood phase,

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depends on the normative lessons taught in school or social institutions, rather than the
child’s own discovery of knowledge or information (Akalin et al., 2014). It points out a major
loophole showing that the Reggio Emilia approach sometimes makes provisions for
knowledge systems, even though this aspect remains in conflict with its chief ideology
(Nilsson & Ferholt, 2014). The main conflict between the two approaches lies in the medium
—one encouraging early childhood curiosity, self-discovery as the roots of learning and the
other one advocating specific knowledge systems in accordance with the contemporary socio-
economic culture.
Impact on Teaching and Learning
The impacts of early childhood education are multiple and diverse. The potential of a
child can be efficiently harnessed only through holistic guidance and teachings based on
contemporary socio-political structure of the society. The education during early childhood
phase needs to incorporate relationship-driven approach, so as to provide the child ample
space for observation, critical judgement and growth (Cascio & Schanzenbach, 2013).
The major impacts of contemporary early childhood education on teaching and
learning today are as follows:
 Socialization: The contemporary theorists encourage extensive socialization amongst
children from various cultures, religions and class, for an understanding of the
diversely multi-cultural society and its acceptance (Flook et al., 2015). Awareness of
one’s surroundings is essential for the learning and growth of a developing child.
 Co-operation: According to the new theories, co-operation is a vital element that
should be incorporated in early childhood education (Heckman, Pinto & Savelyev,
2013). Since the effects of early childhood education pave the behaviour and

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characteristics of a developing child—keeping in mind the growing intolerance within
a society, co-operation needs to be reverted through educating the future generation.
 Two-way Growth: An important element of contemporary image of child includes
responsibility of the educators to learn and grow in the process of educating a child.
Every child is different and has unique needs and preferences (Garvis et al., 2013).
The educator needs to pay exclusive attention and learn every day in order to establish
a relationship with the child and encourage growth (Pramling Samuelsson &
Pramling, 2013).
Conclusion
In conclusion, a perfect incorporation of both past theories and contemporary ideas of
early childhood education would make way for a strong and powerful child. Every child has
unique needs based on their unique experiences and perception. Child educators must have
in-depth knowledge of the child’s psychology in order to communicate successfully with
him/her/them. Only following value based moral teachings could end up limiting the child’s
imagination, confidence and potential; however, complementing the action based approach
with the academic approach of imparting pre-defined knowledge and information in
relevance with the contextual socio-cultural reality.

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