Essay on Child-Centered Pedagogy, Play, and Singapore Policies

This essay delves into the principles of child-centered pedagogy, emphasizing the importance of student-led learning and the teacher's role as a facilitator. It examines how play functions within the early years curriculum, highlighting its contribution to children's cognitive, emotional, and physical development. Furthermore, the essay analyzes Singapore's early childhood education policies, illustrating how they support child-centered approaches and encourage play-based learning. It discusses the boundaries of child-initiated pedagogy and the significance of striking a balance between child-led and adult-led activities, as well as the role of practitioners. The essay also considers the limitations of child-centered approaches and the impact of policy changes, offering a comprehensive overview of child-centered learning environments and their impact on early childhood education.

Running head: CHILD CENTERED PEDAGOGY
Child Centered Pedagogy
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

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Quote:
Child-centered pedagogy is not in our view ‘laissez-faire’ pedagogy in which an adult would
intervene little in a child’s actions or not at all. In a pedagogical sense, a completely ‘free’
choice does not exist, since before any choice is made the setting is already constructed,
whether knowingly or not, reducing the degrees of freedom. [… A] Teacher has an active and
conscious role of balancing between child-initiated and adult-initiated activity, in favour of
the former. As professionals, adults remain responsible for children’s learning and
participation at all time. Thus, child-initiated pedagogy occurs within certain boundaries.
(Robertson et al, 2015: 1817)
Introduction
Child centered pedagogy provides encouragement to the children for taking the
learning in their own hands. The children take up the responsibility of making the choices
regarding what they would be learning and exploring. In the event of child centered
pedagogy, the teachers listen for the cues that helps in the development of appropriate
curriculum for the individuals. The environment that is provided in the case of child centered
pedagogy is open as compared to the traditional academic setting (Baader 2016). The
students are provided with the opportunity of learning in their own speed and the teacher acts
as a partner of the children in the learning journey. This kind of learning philosophy helps the
children in working closely with teacher that helps in forging path of the knowledge. The
children act as the active participants in the learning in the case of child centered pedagogy.
This essay throws light on role of the play within the framework of early years curriculum.
This essay talks about the role of teacher in that of child-centered pedagogy. This essay also
talks about the policy that are related to early childhood education in Singapore.
Child Centered Pedagogy

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The child centered pedagogy helps the children in learning with the help of
collaboration along with the shared experiences. Child centered pedagogy shifts focus of the
instruction from the teacher to that of the student. It helps in the development of the learner
autonomy along with the independence and it puts the responsibility of learning path in hands
of the students. The student centered instruction enables the aspect of the lifelong learning of
the students and it lays stress on the element of the independent problem solving. It lays
emphasis on the critical role of the learner for the construction of meaning from the new
information along with the prior experience (Song 2015). It puts emphasis on the interests of
the children and it acknowledges the fact that the voice of the children is central to that of
learning experience. The child centered pedagogy makes the children choose what they want
to learn. The children centred pedagogy helps in inverting teacher-centered understanding in
relation to learning process. It puts the students at centre of learning process. Active learning
is encouraged in the event of child centered pedagogy. The teacher plays the role of a
facilitator in the case of child-centred learning. The teacher helps the students in making the
new interpretations on the basis of learning material. The peer-to-peer interaction that takes
place in the event of child centered pedagogy helps in the arena of collaborative thinking that
can pave the path for the abundance of the knowledge (Lerkkanen et al. 2016). It places the
teacher closer to that of the peer level that helps in enhancing the aspect of the learning. It
helps in benefitting the children along with that of the overall classroom. The child-centered
learning helps in optimal development of personality of the children that is in line with the
individual needs of the children. The child centered learning supports self-educational
process of the children that supports his sense of the self-organization. The learning
environment should have didactic structure that can help in enabling the aspect of the co-
operative learning (Lin and Bratton 2015). The children are provided with the instruction of
actively searching for the knowledge and in carrying out the complex learning activities. The

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child centered pedagogy lays emphasis on the shared process of the learning that helps the
children in working in a team.
Role of Play in Early Childhood Education
The play can help in developing the imagination along with the dexterity of the
children. It helps in building the physical, cognitive along with the emotional strength of the
children. Play plays an important role in the healthy brain development of the children. Play
can help the children in engaging and carrying out interaction with that of the outside world
that is around them. Play helps the children in exploring the things in their own pace and it
helps in mastering the physical agility in the children. The play within the framework of the
early childhood curriculum can help the children in learning the new skills that helps the
children in figuring the things out in their own manner (Yilmaz 2016). Play can be said to be
a cherished part of the childhood that provides the children with the developmental benefits
along with the opportunities. Play helps the children in learning about the art of the
socialization that helps the children in thinking in a matured manner. The early childhood
games helps in laying foundation in relation to the formal education of the children. The lack
of play along with the communication in the children can have negative consequence on the
learning along with the mental health of the children.
Role of Practitioner in Early Childhood Education
The early years practitioner helps in ensuring that the development goals of the
children have been met. The practitioners help the children in achieving highest standards in
relation to the learning. It is the responsibility of the practitioner to ensure that the children
are being observed that helps in the complete development of the children. The practitioner
can play an important role in building positive relation in between the child and the parent.
The practitioner observes the children closely so that the learning methods can be on the basis

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of the needs of the children. There are various kinds of ways that helps the teacher in
assessing the children within the framework of the early childhood education. The
practitioner keeps the tracking sheets along with the progress summaries that helps in
reflecting the progress of the children within the framework of early childhood education
(Nave 2015). The tracking sheets can help in pointing out whether the children is emerging or
secure that can greatly help the practitioner. It can help the practitioner in the assessment of
current development of the children that can help in furthering the learning of the children.
The interests of the children play an important role in planning the right kind of experiences
that helps in providing the children with a voice. The practitioners take care of the fact that
the children plays the central role that helps the children in expressing their opinions along
with the interests. The practitioner should balance the child led along with the adult initiated
activities that can help the children in growing in a healthy manner (Barrett et al. 2017).
Vygotsky has talked about the fact that the children should follow the example of the adult
that can help the children in developing the ability of doing the certain tasks without any kind
of help or the assistance. Vygotsky talked about the fact that education can help in providing
the children with the experiences that can help in advancing the learning of the children. The
process of scaffolding talks about the fact that the teachers or that of the competent peer
should help the students that can help in the proper growth of the children.
Child initiated pedagogy’s boundaries
A planned curriculum can help in the facilitation of the early childhood education that
can help the young children. The children develops the ideas along with the concepts that
helps the children in making sense of the world that is around them. Learning can prove to be
effective in the event of preconceptions of the children being engaged. The evaluation of the
curricula should be on the basis of extent that can help in building the existing ideas of the
children. The pedagogy should lay emphasis on developing the social competence of the

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children that can ensure the success of the children at a later stage of life (Fives, Lacatena and
Gerard 2015). The setting pertaining to early childhood education can be said to be already
constructed and this imposes certain limitations on the aspect of early childhood education.
The teacher has to interfere in the activities of the children and this imposes limitations on the
aspect of early childhood education. It has been found that in reality the female along with
the male children are forced to carry out the activities that has been instructed to them by the
adults along with the peers. Child-centred teacher exercises the power that inhibits the aspect
of the child centered pedagogy. It limits the manner by which the teachers talk about the
element of the social difference. It has been found that the children lack the interest along
with the confidence that deters the development of the children in the early stages. The child
centered pedagogy lays stress on the unique abilities of the children but without the right kind
of guidance from the teacher the development of the children can be stalled (Rajab and
Wright 2018). The children should be active learners in the case of child centered leraning
but the teacher lacking the initiative inhibits the aspect of the early childhood education. The
children in the event of child centered learning would continue to involve themselves in
frivolous activities that can constrain the learning of the children (Liu and Tobin 2018). The
child centered learning focuses on the individual abilities of the children however it has been
found that since the teacher has to focus on all the students in the classroom this can impose
limitation on that of child centered learning.
Policy
The educational reforms are taking place across the world and the policy changes are
initiated by the governments for the political or the economic reasons. The government of
Singapore has recognized significance of knowledge-based economy that has been reflected
in the educational policy developments along with the reforms. The Singapore Ministry of
Education has laid emphasis on child-centred teaching that lays stress on the element of play.

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The pre-schools in Singapore are encouraged to adopt that of play curriculum that can help in
the developing of the children within the framework of early childhood education. The
government of Singapore has been instrumental in introducing the nation-wide training that
helps the pre-school teachers along with the principals (Nyland and Ng 2016). Previously,
approach to the education has been that of meritocratic system that has played an important
role in shaping the culture of Singapore. Dramatic educational change helps in shifting from
the years of the rigorous process of the rote learning into that of the play continuum. The pre-
school education within Singapore is comprised of child care sector along with kindergarten
sector. The child care centers in Singapore are regulated with the help of Child Care Centers
Act whereas the kindergartens ae brought under regulation with the help of Education Act.
The quality of the early education in Singapore is high that helps in formation of abilities of
the children in relation to the life-long learning (Tan 2017). The education in Singapore
equips the young children with the good values along with the dispositions that helps in the
development of the children from a very early age.
Conclusion
Child centered pedagogy encourages the children that helps the children in learning
on their own. The children make the choices in regard to their learning in the case of child
centered pedagogy. The children collaborate while learning that helps the children in sharing
the experiences. Child centered pedagogy plays a crucial role in shifting focus from teacher
to children. It helps in developing the aspect of learner autonomy that helps the children in
being responsible about themselves. Early years practitioner plays a significant role in the all-
round development of the children in the early years. The practitioners take care of the fact
that highest standard has been achieved in relation to teaching the children in their formative
years. The barriers lie in the path of child centered learning owing to the fact that the setting
that is constructed imposes limitations on the activities of the children. The teacher has to

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command certain activities that poses limitations on that of early childhood education. The
Ministry of Education of Singapore focuses on the aspect of child-centered teaching that puts
importance on aspect of play. The pre-schools are asked to take up the play curriculum that
helps in developing the children.

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