Images of the Child in Early Childhood Education

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ECTPP302A- REFLECTIVE AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Table of content
Introduction................................................................................................... 2
What is “Images of the child” and pedagogy?............................................................2
History of child images compared to current child images:..........................................3
Contrast of images:..........................................................................................4
Conclusion:.......................................................................................................8
References: ........................................................................................................9
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ECTPP302A- REFLECTIVE AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Introduction:
During their early years, children come across different experiences in life which shape
their future and the well-being (Bredekamp, 2014). According to Bredekamp (2014), the children
are capable learners who are more than just a receptor of information. However, in the previous
era, the independent capability of the child was not acknowledged leading to an experience of
disturbing childhood. At present, the independent capability of a child is taken into consideration
However, the images of children in social media, animation movies have a psychological impact
on the caregiver and parents of children (Bredekamp, 2014). The following paper will explore
the images which are used as early childhood images by educational organizations. The paper
will mainly analyze the story or the concept highlighted in the images through numerous aspects
and different point and how it affects the perspective of the society towards childhood.
What is “Images of the child” and pedagogy?
The image of a child can be described as the views of a person or people regarding the
role of children in the environment and the social content. It also includes the understanding of
child’s strengths, agency, development based on social, historical, and cultural aspects
influencing individual’s image of the child (Martalock, 2012). There is a strong relationship
between the images of the child and the early childhood pedagogies.The term pedagogy refers to
the holistic nature of early childhood educators, decision making for children, teaching, and
learning (Martalock, 2012). The decision making and judgment are the prime compounds of the
active role of caregiver towards enhancing the learning of children. In order to make the
professional decision the caregiver should have the professional skills and sound knowledge
about the children, family, and community (Spodek, & Saracho, 2014). Moreover, the educators
should focus on the certain beliefs the community have and values of the society which
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ECTPP302A- REFLECTIVE AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
influences the learning of a child. Subsequently, it brings the creativity to every child, build up
the intuitions of children and facilitate the imagination of every child from the early hood. The
first theory is a developmental theory that focuses on understanding the process of nurturing and
how the process of learning of child developed over the time which also refers to the
environment provided to the child and the child rearing practices in the home environment. The
second theory is a socio-cultural theory that focuses on the prime role of family and community
in developing the respectful relationship with children and structures the mentality of a child.
The third theory is a socio-behaviorist theory that illustrates how experiences of learning shape
the behavior of a child (Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations
[DEEWR],2009). On the other hand, capturing images of childcare is guided by three principles
namely consent, dignity and security or privacy. In the domain of consent, it is the will of the
parents or the guardians of the children, which must be taken into consideration. The parents are
required to made aware about the ways in which the captured images of their child will be used
in digital or audio-visual media. According to Australian Association of National Advertisers
(AANA) (2011), the advertisers and the marketers are required to respect the integrity of the
children and young people through taking proper action
History of child images and comparison to current child images:
Reggio Emilia approach viewed children as competent, strong, capable and powerful
individuals holding rights from birth (Rinaldi, 2013).Previous studies provide a rich source of
empirical literature about the children and childhood. In the previous era, the image of children is
portrayed as the representation of a different compound of society. This subsequently robbed the
innocence of children in every aspect. Childhood was defined as a period from where children
started facing hardships of life. Before the philosophies of Jean Jacques came into action, the
Harpreet Kaur 800823234