Early Childhood Education and Care: Reflective Analysis of an Incident

This assignment presents a reflective journal entry concerning an incident in an early childhood education setting. The scenario involves a shy child, Johny, and his interactions with a teacher, Jessica, and another child, Sam. The journal entry critically analyzes Jessica's handling of classroom conflicts, particularly instances of bullying and the lack of support for Johny. The author expresses concern over Jessica's professionalism, adherence to ethical guidelines, and the impact on the children's emotional well-being. The reflection draws upon the CECE code of ethics, emphasizing the importance of care, respect, trust, and integrity in educator practices. It evaluates the incident, highlighting deviations from core values and the potential for harm. The author concludes with a call for more responsible actions and outlines a plan to research conflict resolution strategies. The assignment includes references to relevant literature in the field of early childhood education.

Running head: EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE
Early childhood education and care
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE
Description
Johny is a shy child coming from a Caribbean cultural background who had been
guided by his parents to obey the teacher in the classroom. Jessica is one of the teachers in the
full day kindergarten room which Johny attends. There are 26 children in the room where only
two teachers are appointed. The first incident was when Johny went up to Jessica calling her
name and complaining that Sam had grabbed his toy though he had not been done playing
with it. Jessica instructed Johny to tell Sam to give him back his toy. As Sam does not listen to
Johny he is in a depressive mood and on dismissal time reports to his mother. Johny’s mother
indicated that he should have reported the incident to his teacher. As time passes by, Johny
complains to his mother about Sam misbehaving with him. On another incident, Johny reports
to Jessica about Sam pushing him. As Jesicca is busy she instructs Johny to resolve the matter
himself. When his mother questions him, Johny says that he does not want to go to school and
starts avoiding Sam. Eventually, Johny heard Jessica stating that he is always tattling and he is
not able to resolve his problems on his own. Witnessing his son’s plight, his mother instructed
him to give Sam a hard punch. Eventually when Sam bothered Johny he gave a punch to Sam
on his face. As Sam complained to Jessica, she did not support Johny and instead took him to
the principal’s office.
Feelings
The manner in which Jessica controlled the situation in relation to Johny was
surprising and not justified in my opinion. I am very much concerned about how Jessica as an
educator addressed the challenges faced by Johny in the classroom and how she guided Johny
to resolve them consequently. My values guide me to care for learners and show sympathy as
they are challenged with difficulties in life. I believe that the prime role of an educator is to
guide children in how they should be communicating with others in the social circle and

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resolve any conflicting situation. In this regard it is to be stated that the manner in which
Jessica addressed the situation was completely unjustified. Instead of neglecting the concern
faced she should have explained the wrongful deed of Sam and pointed out that Sam should
not have been acted in the certain manner.
Evaluation
The incident reflects poor levels of professionalism and the core values of an educator
have been deviated. An educator must be caring towards her learners, which Jessica failed to
demonstrate. Further, she lost the respect that Johny had in him as previously he had been
instructed by his parents to obey his teacher. Trust is an essential component of teacher-learner
relationship which was not fostered as a result of the chain of events. It is also to be stated that
Jessica did not show integrity in her approach as she deviated from the fundamental morals of
an educator (Edwards & Gandini, 2018).
Analysis
As per the CECE code of ethic, it is to be understood that an educator must consider
the core principles of care, respect, trust and integrity in their professional practice. There is an
underlying sense of responsibility that the educator needs to fulfil when communicating with
the learners (Robertson & Doyle-Jones, 2015). It is to be acknowledged y a professional that
the fundamental rights of a child are to be promoted in order to refrain from harm being done
to them (Elango et al., 2015). From the case study analysis it is to be mentioned that the
manner in which individual care is given to a child determines the course of action taken in
similar situations in future. The physical and emotional wellbeing of a child is of prime
importance within the classroom environment and Jessica’s ignorance of the conflict between
Sam and Johny paved the way for increased risk of physical harm being done to both children.

3EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE
It would have been appropriate if Jessica had personally communicated with Sam and explain
to him the wrong act he engaged in.
Conclusion
A reflection on the incident indicates that Jessica must have acted in a different
manner and demonstrate a more responsible attitude towards the children. As an educator it is
of prime importance to promote the wellbeing of the children and adhere to the ethical code of
practice. I believe that logical actions are to be taken in a manner that supports the justified
principles of education impartment.
Action plan
As an educator I plan to refrain from similar situations and act differently so as to
promote the wellbeing of children. I intend to engage in research to study the different
approaches that can be taken for resolving conflicts similar to the one faced by Jessica. I have
the confidence that if faced with a similar situation I would be better handle the same and
reinforce the rightful behaviour.

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References
Edwards, C. P., & Gandini, L. (2018). The Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood
education. In Handbook of international perspectives on early childhood
education (pp. 365-378). Routledge.
Elango, S., García, J. L., Heckman, J. J., & Hojman, A. (2015). Early childhood
education (No. w21766). National Bureau of Economic Research.
Robertson, L., & Doyle-Jones, C. (2015). Pedagogies of difference: Equity and diversity in
early childhood policy in Ontario. The International Journal of Holistic Early
Learning and Development, 2, 64-76.