Philosophy And Pedagogy Of Early Childhood â€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Philosophy And Pedagogy Of Early Childhood? Answer: Introduction: According to Loris Malaguzzi, the process of learning in the early childhood is largely influenced by the consequences of their own activities assisted by the educators, not as an automatic result of what is taught essentially to the children in school. This idea of the director of preschools of Reggio Emilia in Italy forms the basis of Reggio Emilia approach to early child education and curriculum development. This modern and contemporary concept has been revolutionary in changing the face of early child schooling and introduces the children to the concept of education in the context of interactive and successful team work. So that they can get the opportunity to retain what they learn in the form of innovative actions they perform rather than just memorizing bland textbooks (Ailwood, Boyd Theobald, 2016). This assignment will attempt to outline curriculum development for early child group taking the aid of Reggio Emilia approach. Curriculum development: It has to be understood that in early child education, the children are introduced to the very foundation of education for the very first time; the development of a curriculum in this stage holds crucial importance for the overall intellectual development of the children. The contemporary approach of Reggio Emilia, envisions children as a curious social identity, hence the curriculum designed for each child must be contextual to the specific curiosities and cater to their own interests as well. The curriculum design in the Reggio Emilia has a number of different components, and each component has essential value in the entire process of curriculum development (Ailwood, Boyd Theobald, 2016). The very first component is the image of the child in the eyes of the educator, the educator must view a child as a curious yet intelligent social creature and design the curriculum in a manner that feeds their curiosity and fortifies their intelligence. In the curriculum design the educators mus t take into account the potentials of the children creating a learning environment where the children are liberated to respond appropriately. The second component of the curriculum is incorporating collaboration and interaction, the Reggio Emilia approach is based on relation based teaching and a curriculum based on this approach must incorporate inclusion exponentially (Bour Law, 2014). This contemporary approach of learning forms a link between the children, their families and their educators, so that each member of this team has equal involvement in the learning procedure. In the curriculum development by Reggio Emilia approach, documentation is a crucial part; the educators in this curriculum must document all informational data along with the observation on how the children are progressing, in the form of photographs, videos, transcripts, paintings, etc. In this context it has to be mentioned that it is an emergent kind of curriculum and there must be hundred languages in whic h the children can learn, it can be experience, activity, discussion, team work, playing, constructing, role playing, painting sculpting and what not. The role of the educators is of a co-constructor, researcher, documenter and advocates, all at the same time ensuring the best learning experience for the children (Farquhar White, 2014). Personal evaluation: The early child education model based on Reggio Emilia approach is a pedagogical learning model, that emphasizes on enhancing the intellect and cognitive development of the children by the means of collaborative or mutual experiences and activities. This model bears the link to two exemplary theories of childhood learning, the social learning theory and the theory of cognitive development. According to the former theory, learning is facilitated by observation, imitation and modelling, where as the latter theory speaks of human intelligence development being intricately linked with environment and personal experiences (Harcourt, 2015). This model of learning comprises of emergent curriculum that requires the educators to actively and progressively investigate the individual interests and curiosities of the children, moulding the curriculum activities according to those interests. Hence it can be taken as the most functional and beneficial model for the children considering each child unique and addressing their own characteristics individually (Hong, Shaffer Han, 2017). Recommendation: Although Reggio Emilia model is one of the most used models, it is rarely complied with in entirety (Wien, 2015). Taking my professional enterprise into consideration, the model is not completely followed with. For instance the emergent model or curriculum is not perfectly followed, and the documentation and involvement of families in curriculum development is also absent. A few strategies were implemented to improve the condition such as: Adhering to emergent curriculum by lessening the child : educator ratio by reducing the number of children and giving the opportunity to the educators to evaluate the needs of each child with extreme care and attention. Incorporate mandatory documentation with the help of centralized information storage. Conducting weekly discussion sessions with the parents so that they can be involved in the learning and developmental process of the children equally. Reflection: On a concluding note, I would like to add that the strategies were extremely helpful in improving the curriculum development and educating procedure of the school. Although reduction in the child:educator ratio was not possible given the staffing shortage, but efforts have been made to increase the staffing in the future to implement the strategy effectively. Mandatory documentation helped the educators reflect on their own performance and periodic assessment of the children and their progress was eased. Lastly, weekly meetings with the parents of the children proved extremely beneficial in understanding each child in detail and assess their individual interests with clarity. References: Ailwood, J., Boyd, W., Theobald, M. (2016).Understanding Early Childhood Education and Care in Australia: Practices and Perspectives. Allen Unwin. Retrieved from https://eprints.qut.edu.au/89761 Bour, S., Law, C. E. (2014). Reggio Emilia Teaching Techniques and Documentation within Chicago Public School Special Education. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/aef2/2042544ab5a061b7d6f83c9f89f145bd4ced.pdf Farquhar, S., White, E. J. (2014). Philosophy and pedagogy of early childhood. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2013.783964 Harcourt, D. (2015). Nothing without joy: The key principles of the Reggio Emilia approach.Educating Young Children: Learning and Teaching in the Early Childhood Years,21(3), 26. Retrieved from https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=844524919256727;res=IELHSS Hong, S. B., Shaffer, L., Han, J. (2017). Reggio Emilia inspired learning groups: Relationships, communication, cognition, and play.Early Childhood Education Journal,45(5), 629-639. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-016-0811-0 Wien, C. A. (2015).Emergent curriculum in the primary classroom: Interpreting the Reggio Emilia approach in schools. Teachers College Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.in/book