What skills do you Need for Early Childhood Education?

Running head: EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
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1EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Introduction
The topic is going to be discussed on the significance of early childhood education.
Early childhood education is referred to like the program, which includes different policies
and strategies to gear up the children. The age group is starting from birth until the age of
eight showcases the period, which is recognized as the most accessible as well as the critical
stage of an individual’s life. Early childhood education is frequently focused on guiding the
children to master through playful activities(Alcock, 2010). Early childhood education is
highly beneficial for the little children that will enter the pre-school, pre-kindergarten, and
nursery school, and it is associated with one purpose that is to prepare the young children
from the transition period till elementary school. Early childhood education is also referred to
as nursery level education, and it deals with a set of systems based on the theories of
education that can be related to the learning process of the children(Keat, Strickland
&Marinak, 2009). Stereotypically, the process of teaching and learning is equivalent to the
studies of third grade. The analysis will be proposed on two early childhood learning
communities from the perspective of situated learning, and different features will be
discussed based on values, beliefs and cultural contexts. The implementation of practical
work will be explored along with the philosophical approach. The essay will practice on the
impacts and consequences of early childhood education. It is going to be determined on the
various aspects that will justify the main principles such as learning opportunities, child
development, partnerships between parent and educator, innovation associated with the
leaders and a child comes first while discussing early childhood education. Several impacts
and consequences are going to be provided in order to support the facts and information
based on different researches.

2EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Discussion
Early childhood education is associated with a branch of the theory of education, and
it is related to the process of teaching the children since their birth. It has emerged as the field
of enlightenment among most of the European countries and gaining high rates of literacy. It
stood out to be the process of learning and teaching, which lasted for an extended period,
especially in the nineteenth century(Alcock, 2010). It was recognized as the primary
education, which became a norm in the western world. In the present generation, early
childhood education has been highlighted in several sectors, and it has been a considerable
success for implementing certain principles in order to acquire a child’s development. This
program has been introduced as a professional base to develop the personality of a child
(Barron, 2009). Two critical theories have been designed to maintain the policies, and they
are the theory of socio-cultural learning by Lev Vygotsky and the theory of Constructivism
by Jean Piaget. These theories are essential to understand the education system as well as to
gain the necessary knowledge so that the readers can stimulate their ideas and thoughts
appropriately (Blake, 2015). Both theories are equally significant in order to understand the
further system of early childhood education.
Lev Vygotsky’s theory of socio-cultural learning is associated with the impact of
cultural along with social experiences based on an individual’s thought process and the
establishment of mental processes. It serves as a means of improvement and implementing
such educational practices. The theory was introduced to provide prior knowledge to the
children so that they can progress their skills and ideas accordingly(McLeod, 2014). The
theory is focused on attaining new knowledge as well as various skills that cannot be learned
fully, but the development tends to begin at this period. Once the skills are developing
appropriately along with knowledge, reliable support and the individuals need to be taught
about further information (Blake, 2015). Significant growth has been recognized in the

3EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
process of development. The skills need to build up, and the teachers and parents should
guide it in order to achieve proximal development. The effect of teaching can alter the mind
and the process of establishment among the children at any point in time(Scott &Palincsar,
2013). Vygotsky has supported an argument that understanding begins from the sources of
social aspects as well as social experiences that help to shape one’s personality and the way
they think.
Jean Piaget’s theory of constructivism has described cognitive development based on
psychology. He has set the framework of development which is simultaneously connected
with the constructivist theory of learning. He believed that gaining knowledge and learning
comes from inside of an individual and it helps to design and stimulate one’s ideas and
thoughts through their personal experiences(Carey, Zaitchik&Bascandziev, 2015). The
experiences have thrown a significant reflection on that individual and it helps to support
their logic about a particular subject. The framework of Piaget’s theory has examined that
teachers should guide the children in attaining the absolute knowledge instead of just shifting
the knowledge into someone else’s mind (Barrouillet, 2015). According to this theory, young
children always acquire new knowledge and they try to facilitate and count in the new
information in their current knowledge and understanding of their world. Therefore,
absorbing the new information and fitting the information into their pre-existing set of mind
is equally essential. Young children adopt these theories, and it helps to represent the mental
awareness that is attached to reality. The theory can be implied via technological
advancements like computers, which can be a useful educational tool to guide an individual
accurately. The approach has emphasized such an experiential education system because such
experiences are concrete and could be explored through effort and mistakes.
An approach of situated learning is referred to as the thought as well as the action that
can be utilized at the correct time as well as place. It has been focused on real activities and