Construction of Childhood Education: Philosophies and Approaches

This essay delves into the construction of childhood education, examining the philosophies and approaches that shape early learning. It begins by exploring the socio-cultural constructions of childhood, emphasizing the shift towards viewing children as active agents in their own learning. The essay then analyzes key approaches such as Froebel's kindergarten, Montessori's scientific perspective, and Steiner's holistic development model, comparing and contrasting their alignment with the essay's central statement. The discussion also considers the image of the child within these approaches and its impact on future educational practices, particularly highlighting the Reggio Emilia approach. The essay concludes by advocating for a more democratic, participatory, and collaborative approach to teaching and learning, emphasizing the importance of empowering children as active participants in their education from an early age. The analysis provides insights into modern teaching methods, the development of school curriculum, and the future of education.

Running head: CONSTRUCTION OF CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
CONSTRUCTION OF CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note

1
CONSTRUCTION OF CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Introduction
The essay statement is a key feature of the Regino Emmilo philosophy of teaching
and learning. In this philosophy, there is an emphasis on teaching and learning of the children
through partnership with the adult (Dahlberg, Moss & Pence, 2007). Children are perceived
as agents in learning and there is a concerted effort to ensure that children learn through
different mediums that would bring out their true potential. This essay encapsulates the
essence of teaching and learning that have been informed by the differed constructions of
childhood. There is also a discussion on the different approaches to teaching and learning like
the kindergarten, Montessori and Steiner and assess to what extent there is complementarily
and juxtaposition of these with the essay statement. Finally, there is a discussion and
reflection on the image of the child in the essay statement and its impact on teaching and
learning in the future of education for children.
I intend to examine and explore the essay statement through Sorin’s (2005)
construction of early childhood practice combined with the three key approaches to teaching
and learning.
Socio-cultural constructions of childhood and its impact on early childhood
education
The earlier approaches to the construction of childhood pertained to the idea of
children as innocent beings and need protection from the malaise and social evils in the
society. Due to such kind of an ideology books there has been exclusion of books containing
stories of demons, witches and monsters as these were believed to have damaging effects on
young minds. This has been the key feature of the innocent child theory. There is a perception
of childhood as the phase where children are being trained for adulthood. This kind of
ideology led to the incorporation of music, school tutoring and training in sports. In this kind

2
CONSTRUCTION OF CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
of concept, there was no emphasis on play as a strategy for learning. However, such strategy
poses serious challenges as the critics contest it whether this form promotes the overall social
and cognitive development of children. There has also been educational practices that
emphasize on the child learning to act like the adult and consequently inculcate habits that
demands extreme discipline and arduousness from the child. The imagination of child as
victim has led to the stigmatization of children through their labeling as victims. Children
labeled as victims of poverty or violence often feel unwelcome in the classroom. In the early
childhood classrooms along with other classrooms, these children are considered as victims.
Key perspectives and approaches in the growth of a child
There needs to be clarity regarding the nature of the foundation that one strives for the
child. This will give direction to the content of learning that the child will imbibe and
manifest through their actions. A Child needs to acquire skills and endowments to cope with
challenging situations in life (Brady, Lowe, & Olin Lauritzen, 2015). Educators have an
important role to play in shaping the child and therefore, needs to be aware about their
actions. The early childhood education has implications for the development of the child.
Froebel’s kindergarten curriculum emphasizes on the first early childhood
educational method. According to Froebel, human education needs to be approached from
both spiritual and biological perspective (Chigeza & Sorin, 2016). Froebel is credited for
pioneering the multiple style of learning like music, games and movement for the purpose of
education. The spiritual perspective of Froebel emphasizes on the distinction between
humans and other forms of life (Bunner, 2017). The goal of education is to foster the seed of
creativity among children and help them to realize their full potential. Another aspect to
Frobel’s philosophy is that play is not to be obfuscated as an act of idle behaviour but it is a
biological necessity (Lynch, 2015). There is a need to harness the impulse of the child and

3
CONSTRUCTION OF CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
encourage them to inculcate meaning from their individual experiences. There is a close
resemblance of the essay statement with Froebel’s philosophy of education. Much like
Froeble who believed in multiple techniques for the inculcation of education, similarly the
essence of the essay statement underscore on teaching in a creative manner. However, one
fundamental difference of the statement with Froebel’s philosophy is that it does not
explicitly encourage children to become powerful agents determining their own future.
Maria Montessori who conceived education from a scientific perspective pioneered
the Montessori philosophy. According to Montessori, the purpose of education should be to
prepare an individual from all perspectives of life (Atli et al., 2016). She took the charge of
designing techniques and materials to gorge a natural growth for the learning of students.
This method of learning believes that the child naturally is veered towards learning and
therefore, there should be a supportive environment that foster the spiritual growth of the
child and lead to a holistic development like emotional, social, emotional and physical.
Montessori education offers children with the opportunity to learn in different ways and
create an environment where children can learn at their own pace, supported by the teacher
combined with the personalized learning plan. Students are encouraged to realize their full
potential within the boundaries demarcated by the teachers who are believed to have the best
interest for the child (Murphy, 2017). Teachers in the Montessori teaching method are key
players in providing compatible environment for the child’s growth and development. With
the tide of maturity, students are enable to understand their work from a critical approach
regarding their activities and learn to identify the errors in their work. The essay statement
bear certain resemblance with this approach of teaching and learning in terms of encouraging
children to learn in a manner such there is an acceleration of their inner growth. However, in
this approach adults are rendered a more important approach s the boundaries of learning are
decided by adult figures. Therefore, it is not fully in consonance with the essay statement.

4
CONSTRUCTION OF CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
The statement closely resembles the philosophical tenet of Australian philosopher
Rudolf Steiner. According to Steiner, childhood is an important period or phase in the life of
an individual. Childhood is defined with warmth and a nourishing environment brimming
with outdoor spaces characterized by sprawling gardens and animals. Through the activity of
play, the child becomes familiar and learns different kinds of activities like sewing,
gardening, problem sharing and solving, and painting. This allows children to navigate their
environment, developing cooperation skills and important aspects of life skills that would
catalyze foster growth of positive self-esteem and development of fine motor skills. He
advocated for the holistic development of an individual. He propounded the notion of
anthrosophy that is premised on the notion of paying attention to the moral, creative and
moral aspect of the children. Steiner also emphasizes on the physical development of the
child and therefore, there was the conceptualization of the dance form called eurythmy. The
staunch supporters of the Steiner’s education advocates that this is the most ideal form of
education. The integration of art in the teaching promotes a more holistic development and
there is a perception that it is the best approach to learning. The essay statement has close
resemblance to the Steiner teaching philosophy because much like the Steiner philosophy, the
essay statement emphasizes on the child as an agent in his/her own development through
various means of teaching-learning methods like painting, sewing, music and storytelling.
This method of learning indicates that whatever maybe the career path of the child, s/he needs
to nurture the artistic skills and creativity that would intensify the learning process.

5
CONSTRUCTION OF CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Image of the child and its impact on teaching in early childhood education
The image of the child in this essay statement is that of a child who knows how to
exercise his/her agency and has benefitted from the adult-children collaborative approach
towards the development of children. This image of the child was galvanized during the
Reggio Emilia movement (Fraley & Jones, 2016). According to Emilia, since the birth of the
child towards their progress, there is an imperative that the child communicates their feelings
their thoughts to the adults and also interact with the fellow children. Children are not
isolated individuals but they are members of the broader community (Carnie, 2017). The
development of the child occurs through interaction with the peers and the adults. Children
are imagined as reciprocal and they are considered quite open to exchange and receive better
with tender care. Children are also believed to be great communicators and communicate
through different forms of symbolic mediums like collage, shadow play, music sculpture,
building and a painting (Hartung, 2011). The environment of the child is also believed to
have impact on the learning outcome of the child. Therefore, space is organized in a manner
that would facilitate an intensive learning for the child to feel interested in the curriculum. In
this method of teaching, educators play an instrumental role in the holistic development of
the child. The educators need to move beyond the archetypical role of imparting knowledge
through blackboard and class lectures. They have the broader goal of combining innovative
methods to teach the students (Tharayil et al., 2018). The educators also understand that they
need to encourage students to participate in the curriculum design. There is the incorporation
of long-term and short-term projects that catalyzes the skills of problem solving and open-
ended discovery. The educators ensure that they are closely paying attention to the children
and is involved in the ideas of the children (Ogunyemi, 2015). In this way, there is a thrust on
working together, like a team. The children and the educators participate together in
reflective sessions with the objective of analyzing the observations and then devising plans to

6
CONSTRUCTION OF CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
support the learning of children. The educators play the larger role of the researchers that
entails the sharing of their interpretations and observations regarding the interaction and
range of exploration of the children. An adoption of the Reggio Emilia approach looks like
the future of pre-school education. Documentation is an important method or strategy in this
type of approach (Robson, 2017). There is an emphasis on paying attention to the thinking
process of the children and given it its due recognition. The technique of documentation
facilitates the educators, children and parents to proceed in the learning environment through
a collaborative overview (Prakash & Ratnam, 2015). The transcriptions comprising of the
dialogue of the children along with the contents of drawings and photographs is used as
learning tool for the children and the adults during group sessions. An adoption of this
method also amounts to considering the families of the children as important agents in
facilitating the learning outcome of the children (Rogers et al., 2015). The families are
encouraged to share their experiences and an idea of the children’s learning. They also can
monitor the events in the school and update themselves regarding the discussion and
documentation in school.
Conclusion
The examination of the essay statement and contextualizing it with the broader
context of the Reggio Emilia teaching and learning approach provided an insight into the
modern methods of teaching. The essay delved into the different techniques and ideas of
classroom education that is informed by multiple constructions of childhood as envisaged by
Sorin. Secondly, in the context of three key approaches to teaching and learning, the essay
explored the essay statement to identify its convergence and divergence with the available
approaches. Thirdly, it was found that a more democratic, participatory and collaborative
approach is the future of teaching and learning as it is believed to catalyze learning in a more
intensified and effective manner, enabling the child to become an agent in their own

7
CONSTRUCTION OF CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
education from an early phase. Through this discussion, I attempted to look at the traditional
and convenient of teaching and learning, development of school curriculum and philosophy
behind early school education and a prognosis of the future of education.

8
CONSTRUCTION OF CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
References
Atli, S., Korkmaz, A. M., Tastepe, T., & Koksal Akyol, A. (2016). Views on Montessori
Approach by Teachers Serving at Schools Applying the Montessori
Approach. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 66, 123-138.
Brady, G., Lowe, P., & Olin Lauritzen, S. (2015). Connecting a sociology of childhood
perspective with the study of child health, illness and wellbeing:
introduction. Sociology of health & illness, 37(2), 173-183.
Bunner, A. L. (2017). We Just Want to Do a Good Job with Them: A Multilevel Approach to
Kindergarten Readiness.
Carnie, F. (2017). Alternative Approaches to Education: A Guide for Teachers and Parents.
Taylor & Francis.
Chigeza, P., & Sorin, R. (2016). Kindergarten Children Demonstrating Numeracy Concepts
through Drawings and Explanations: Intentional Teaching within Play-Based
Learning. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 41(5), 65-77.
Dahlberg, G., Moss, P., & Pence, A. (2007). Beyond quality in early childhood education and
care: Languages of evaluation. Routledge.
Fraley Gardner, A., & Jones, B. D. (2016). Examining the Reggio Emilia approach: Keys to
understanding why it motivates students. Electronic Journal of Research in
Educational Psychology, 14(40).
Hartung, C. (2011). Governing the'agentic'child citizen: A poststructural analysis of
children's participation.

9
CONSTRUCTION OF CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Lynch, M. (2015). More play, please: The perspective of kindergarten teachers on play in the
classroom. American Journal of Play, 7(3), 347.
Murphy, M. (2017). A Montessori Approach to Teaching the Fruits of the Spirit (Doctoral
dissertation, University Honors College, Middle Tennessee State University).
Ogunyemi, F. T. (2015). Promoting Constructivist Early Childhood Education in a Post-
modernist Era: Challenges for Nigeria.
Prakash, N., & Ratnam, T. (2015). Teacher change in the midst of reform agenda: Reframing
teaching using the Montessori approach at the elementary level in Karnataka,
India. Teachin for Tomorrow Today, 294.
Robson, K. (2017). Review of the Literature on the Reggio Emilia Approach to Education
with a Focus on the Principle of the Environment as the Third Teacher. The
International Journal of Holistic Early Learning and Development, 4, 35-44.
Rogers, M. J., Pawlak, J. A., Mason, A., Mayze, L., Sharp, S., & Smith, M. (2015). The
Prevalence of Caries Free Deciduous Teeth upon Visual Examination in Kindergarten
Settings: A Preventative Approach to Oral Health for Children in a Regional/Rural
Community in South-West Victoria. Journal of Preventive Medicine, 1(1).
Sorin, R. (2005). Changing images of childhood: Reconceptualising early childhood practice.
Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne.
Tharayil, S., Borrego, M., Prince, M., Nguyen, K. A., Shekhar, P., Finelli, C. J., & Waters, C.
(2018). Strategies to mitigate student resistance to active learning. International
Journal of STEM Education, 5(1), 7.