Early Childhood Attachment and Education

The paper discusses the development of attachment in the early childhood phase and juxtaposes it with the Early Childhood Curriculum. It compares the developmental process of two categories of children in a same age group, one who has had a secure history of attachment with early caregivers and the other who has never been able to attach securely to a caregiving entity. The paper also considers Attachment Theory in its discussion of early childhood development and tries to understand why not all children are able to equally attach to a particular preschool setting.

EARLY CHILDHOOD ATTACHMENT AND EDUCATION
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Early Childhood Attachment and Education
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
The paper that I am going to critically analyse is titled “Early Attachment Relationships and
the Early Childhood Curriculum” by Alejandra Cortazar and Francisca Herreros. The paper
discusses the development of attachment in the early childhood phase and juxtaposes it with
the Early Childhood Curriculum. It compares the developmental process of two categories of
children in a same age group, one who has had a secure history of attachment with early
caregivers and the other who has never been able to attach securely to a caregiving entity.
The paper also considers Attachment Theory in its discussion of early childhood development
and tries to understand why not all children are able to equally attach to a particular preschool
setting. Lastly, it also analyses Developmentally Appropriate Practices and informs us why
DAP is not suited for children with secure attachment development issues.
Deconstruct
In developmental psychology, Attachment theory has been identified as one of the
most important developmental constructs which help us understand the effect of early life
experiences in human development (Holmes, 2014). Almost all human children are able to
develop an attachment with a caregiver figure, but the strength of the attachment relationships
depends on how effectively the primary caregiver is able to identify and address the needs of
the child (Cortazar & Herreros, 2010). Children in particular are extremely sensitive to inputs
and can perceive certain stimuli as harmful, in which case they require the comfort and
security of a guardian.
A lot of childhood development researchers have criticized attachment theory for
being too deterministic. Some have even considered that the education in the child
development field has also been misinterpreted and utilized to determine the parameters of
normal standards (Cortazar & Herreros, 2010).

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Confront
This paper resorts to prior research to establish the influence of secure attachment on
early childhood education. In a study the paper referred, the children were presented with
tasks that were challenging and found that children with secure attachment history were
comfortable with seeking help from their parents. This indicates a high correlation between
early childhood experience and the development of strategies for addressing pressing issues.
Children with relatively less history of secure attachment were uncomfortable asking for help
- a highly relatable scenario as a child with communication insecurities would find
approaching someone for help, uncomfortable (Dowling, 2014).
The issue of communication security has also been noticed in cases of popularity with
peers. Children with a history of secure attachment were also more popular amongst their
friends. At the same time, as students, children in the same category also performed well in
examinations, even though this is where I noticed a conflict with my prior notion regarding
academic success. I had the theory in my cognition that correlates introversion with high
academic performance. Multiple contemporary research however proves that the
phenomenon is inclined towards personal learning styles (Mozaffari & Ghodratinia, 2015).
Secure attachment in childhood also influences how a child perceives certain situations as
cognitively demanding and do not hesitate to seek out academic aid.
Thereafter the paper moves to evaluate whether early childhood education is all
inclusive. I think that the most important body in understanding this field is the National
Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). They had set objectives as to
have guidelines for programs seeking their accreditation and also to make a statement as a
response to the all-out academic approach to early childhood education.

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Theorise
Janet Currie in her paper ‘Early childhood education programs’ (2001), focuses on
the goals that are set when early childhood education comes into play. She identifies National
Research Council’s report that states Cognitive skills, school readiness and socio – emotional
development as key players in determining programs for early childhood education, to be
valuable (Currie, 2001; Darling-Churchill & Lippman, 2016). Based on this, we can assert as
well as connect that attachment strength during early childhood that determines how inclusive
a child would be with people, also helps to establish certain social and emotional skills that
affect the development of the above mentioned factors. It has been identified that children
with insecure attachment history do not fit DAP standards (Cortazar & Herreros, 2010). That
stands in violation of the issue that Currie was attempting to emphasize – education for all.
DAP standards not fitting all children, proves that developmental programmes should
consider many factors while coming up with early childhood curriculum programmes
(McLachlan, Fleer & Edwards, 2018).
Thinking otherwise
There are several other factors that shape how early childhood attachment impacts
education and development of educational programs. Those factors include keeping the
family background in mind which would help predict the probability of detachment or
attachment in childhood. Social, political, cultural and economic factors also play major role.
At the same time, psychological and neurological factors too play a crucial role. Based on the
multiple research consulted, the notions of early childhood development and attachment
change in a manner that suits development for all children. At the same time it also
denounces certain existing systems and parameters that employ standardised regulations
which are counterproductive for overall development of all.

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Conclusion
In conclusion, I would like to state that there are no particular aspect in either of these
papers that I find disagreeable. Attachment intensity on early childhood moulds character
traits while growing up. Thus this particular issue requires thorough study as well as
scientific research in order to ensure appropriate development and modification of programs
and resources to fit an inclusive requirement.

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References
Cortazar, A., & Herreros, F. (2010). Early attachment relationships and the early childhood
curriculum. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 11(2), 192-202.
Currie, J. (2001). Early childhood education programs. Journal of Economic
perspectives, 15(2), 213-238.
Darling-Churchill, K. E., & Lippman, L. (2016). Early childhood social and emotional
development: Advancing the field of measurement. Journal of Applied
Developmental Psychology, 45, 1-7.
Dowling, M. (2014). Young children's personal, social and emotional development. Sage.
Holmes, J. (2014). John Bowlby and attachment theory. Routledge.
McLachlan, C., Fleer, M., & Edwards, S. (2018). Early childhood curriculum: Planning,
assessment and implementation. Cambridge University Press.
Mozaffari, F., & Ghodratinia, Z. (2015). Extroversion and introversion: The effect of
teacher’s personality on elementary EFL learners’ achievement. IOSR Journal of
Humanities and Social Science, 20(9), 61-64
.