Early Childhood Education and Care : Assignment PDF

Running head: EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Section 1:
Early childhood is the phase in a child’s life that is characterized by dynamic
developmental changes (Stern 2013). It is extremely important to ensure a safe and positive
environment so as to guarantee a positive growth and development. In this context it should
be noted that the process of development is largely dependent upon the methodologies
adapted to impart knowledge and education. Researchers have articulated a number of
theories that shed light upon the effective methodological approaches aimed to assist
educators while dealing with children belonging to 1 to 5 years of age (Stern 2013); (Ehite
2013). In this context, it should further be stated that play based learning has been considered
as an effective developmental method that positively contributes to the cognitive, physical,
social and emotion development in children (Roskos 2017). I have always connected myself
deeply with the psychology of the children and have derived great pleasure at the sight of a
group of children playing together. Most importantly, the fact that outdoor play can be used
as an effective method of teaching has interested me even more to research further upon the
topic. Therefore, the topic that I have chosen for this paper would specifically deal with the
question: Why outdoor play is an important area to consider in relation to early
childhood?
The rationale for the choice of the topic would help in evaluating play as an effective
strategy to impart early education to children. It should be critically noted in this regard that
play also offers an opportunity to the primary care providers and educators to engage deeply
with the children. However, unfortunately according to the recent scenario it has been
observed that the time for free play has been restricted heavily on account of a busy lifestyle
and changes in the structural organization of the family. The benefits of play can be enlisted
as enhancing the cognitive skills in the children and induce concept-based learning depending

2EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
upon the practical experience. It can hence be stated that there is an increased need to reform
the system of education delivery and include a play based curriculum and not restrict it to
mere recess interval. Play ensures an optimal child development process. In order to justify
the same, an intensive search was carried out by me to retrieve academic references that
support the theory of outdoor play in the early childhood curriculum. The following five
research studies that have been included by me as supporting references are enlisted as
follows:
Elliott, H., 2015. Forest School in an inner city? Making the impossible possible. Education
3-13, 43(6), pp.722-730.
This research paper highlights an innovative ‘Forest school’ approach that has been
considered effective according to early leaning framework. This approach was initially
developed in Scandinavia and is now gaining popularity to other major areas in England.
Children gaining knowledge in forest schools have been reported to be more connected with
nature and socially active.
Bilton, H., 2014. Playing Outside: activities, ideas and inspiration for the early years.
Routledge.
According to Bilton (2014), it has been mentioned that outdoor playing forms an
integral part of teaching during the early years. It has also been mentioned that outdoor
playing stimulates the exposure to the outside world. Further, it should be mentioned in this
regard that playing ensures an exposure to a safe environment and impacts positively in
governing the development process of the child.
White, J., 2013. Playing and learning outdoors. Taylor & Francis.
White (2013) has emphasised upon the effective and nurturing leadership that govern
the process of growth and development during the early years of childhood. It further focuses
on the positive aspects of encouraging outdoor play and also predicts the benefits associated

3EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
with outdoor play. Outdoor playing helps in nurturing the health, attitude, belief and
perspective towards life.
Van Hoorn, J.L., Monighan-Nourot, P., Scales, B. and Alward, K.R., 2014. Play at the center
of the curriculum. Pearson.
Van Hoorn et al. (2014), advocate the fact that play should be included as a major part
of the curriculum as it helps in developing the senses and grasping ability of the children. In
addition to this, a major proportion of the teaching becomes self-regulatory when children
learn through live activities and learn through acquiring experience. Children are exposed to a
number of activities that enhances their skills and also direct them through the consequent
developmental stages. The play method relies upon the induction of the inbuilt senses and
helps in channelizing the perception ability of the children to adjust in accordance to the
outside world.
McClintic, S. and Petty, K., 2015. Exploring early childhood teachers’ beliefs and practices
about preschool outdoor play: A qualitative study. Journal of early childhood teacher
education, 36(1), pp.24-43.
The researchers McClintic and Pretty (2015), focused on exploring the belief and
attitude of the early childhood teachers towards the theme of including outdoor play as a part
of the curriculum. In order to evaluate the thoughts and beliefs of the educators, the
researchers conducted a qualitative study. The response of the educators revealed that
outdoor play indeed contributed positively towards the growth and development of the
children. However the study also revealed that there was a significant need to educate trainers
about the appropriate methods that should be incorporated while promoting outdoor play.
Hence, to conclude, it can be mentioned that the evidences gathered from the studies
predict that outdoor playing exposes children to a world full of opportunities and also