Analysing Contemporary Curriculum
Critically analyse one aspect of / component of the early childhood curriculum studied in this paper, with particular relevance to Aotearoa/ New Zealand
Introduction
This essay aims to critically analyse the emergent curriculum which has become a characteristic or philosophy of many early childhood settings in this twenty first century. It further goes to demonstrates how an emergent curriculum is developed and the relevance of emergent curriculum in the context of Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Curriculum in simple and its purest definition means everything that takes place/ happens during the day in an early childhood setting (Ministry of Education, 1996; Arthur, Beecher, Death, Dockett & Farmer, 2015).It includes what is planned or intended to be part of the curriculum, but also includes the unplanned, spontaneous experiences or interactions that children have or go through in a day at an early childhood centre. Te Whāriki is a New Zealand framework for supporting tamariki / children’s early learning within a sociocultural context. It has its principles and strands that reflect what a curriculum looks like in the context of Aotearoa, New Zealand. If anyone approached and asked me what is a curriculum , my response would be, curriculum in my mind and in children as Te Whāriki states curriculum is the sum total of the experiences, activities, and events, whether direct or indirect, which occur within an environment designed to foster children’s
It was in 1996 that the first UK curriculum was introduced which was called ‘Desirable Outcomes’. Within the document were learning outcomes to be achieved by all children by the age of five and being a centralised system, an inspection scheme was also introduced. In this article Soler and Miller (2010) highlight how these changes were perceived to be shaping the early childhood curriculum from the outside rather than from within the early childhood community.
1. Understand the impact of early years curriculum models on the application of theoretical perspectives of children’s care, learning and development.
This assignment is based upon my understanding of child development and children’s learning, considering the curriculum for the Early Years and the curriculum for the Early Years Foundation Stage/Key Stage One. I propose to outline a rationale for effectively continuing children’s learning, from the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage into Year One and include strategies to support transitions, effective curriculum delivery and links between the EYFS and the National Curriculum. Throughout the assignment I will refer not only in general but also to how my research has help me as a practitioner help my setting to effectively continue children’s learning.
Early childhood education in Australia encompasses prior to school settings as well as the early years of
Chapter two discusses various theorists that helped to mold and shape early childhood education to where it is today. There are several different theorists that contributed to the development of early childhood education. Some of these theorists include Alfred Adler, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and John Dewey. Each theorist developed a unique theory that has caused early childhood guidance and education to flourish like it has today. Without learning and building on these theories, early childhood guidance and education would never develop or change. The chapter explains how some theories may seem strange to the contemporary families, but these theories are the foundation of how early childhood education got to where it is today. The book goes
Early childhood education curriculums are becoming a national curriculum in most countries. With more governments and society thinking about education of under-fives we are seeing shifts in thinking and education to meet the changing world. We are developing children skills for the future to create a society where children feel they belong and can contribute to society. Curriculums are being influenced my social, political, cultural, historical and theoretical issues that are impacting different curriculums in the world. I am going to explore and develop my understanding about three different curriculums to recognise the different influences affecting curriculums. I am going to explore the curriculums of Te Whāriki: New Zealand, Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia and Curriculum for Excellence: Scotland. This will allow me to develop an understanding of other curriculums which I have not heard about to discover other way to education that I have not been taught in teacher’s college.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum in England differs greatly in structure and content to the Te Whariki curriculum in New Zealand; this therefore makes for an interesting comparison. The EYFS was introduced in England, in 2008, by the DfE as a framework that ‘sets the standards for learning, development and care of children from birth to five’ (DfE, 2012). Alternatively, Te Whariki was founded in New Zealand, in 1996, based on the aspirations for children ‘to grow up as competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body, and spirit, secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society’ (Ministry of Education, 1996). Throughout this essay, the EYFS
The early years framework emphasises a personal and individual approach to learning and development because valuing a child’s individuality, ideas and feelings is an important part of developing an individual approach to the learning and development. A child has universal physical needs such as food, drink and shelter and psychological needs such as love, affection, security, friendship which are essential to maintaining their quality of life. In recognising and trying to meet an individual child’s needs each child’s age, physical maturity, intellectual abilities, emotional development, social skills and past experiences and relationships need to be considered.
My philosophy of Early childhood education is based on research that indicates that a child’s growth is developmental. Every child is unique in terms of life experiences, developmental readiness, and cultural heritage. A high quality early childhood program that provides a safe and nurturing environment, which promotes physical, social, emotional, language and cognitive development will ensure a positive continuation of the child’s education process
Emergent curriculum is a way of planning curriculum that is based on the children’s interest and passion at a certain point in time. Children thrive and learn best when their interests are captured. Learning occurs naturally. Planning emergent curriculum requires observation, documentation, creative brainstorming, flexibility and patience on the part of the Early Childhood Educator. Rather than starting with the lesson plan which is repeated every year regardless of the age, developmental level or interests of the children, emergent curriculum starts with the children’s interest. In short, it is a child-directed and teacher facilitated approach to planning the curriculum. Emergent curriculum summons a lot of creativity
This case study will analyse how these Australian Government policies, initiatives and legislative requirements influence curriculum, promote quality care and support the achievement of high quality outcomes for young children in Early Learning contexts.
Learning stories are widely used techniques to assess children’s learning in early childhood centre (Blaiklock, 2008) and also link with the New Zealand early childhood curriculum “Te Whariki” (Ministry of Assignment 1: Critique of Artefact
This paper will examine the planning and purpose of curriculum in the early childhood classroom. Discussed will be the definition of an integrated curriculum, and the connection between curriculum and development in the pre-kindergarten and Kindergarten student. The core content areas of childhood development will be outlined and defined and developmental support provided to all areas of content will be examined. Some of the reasons for maintaining a curriculum plan, as well as connections between assessment and curriculum will be addressed. Curriculum planning will be shown to be one of the most important tools in an early childhood educator’s skillset.
This report is on Te Whariki: Early Childhood Curriculum in which we follow as a framework for teaching in New Zealand. This report is going to cover the three broad age groups Te Whariki is based upon. It will explain the principles and strands of Te Whariki and the impact it has on a developing child. It will describe the purpose of Te Whariki and discuss ways it is used by early childhood education services throughout New Zealand. It will describe Te Whariki’s support for bi-culturalism throughout the early childhood sector. This report will discuss the importance of a partnership between home and the early childhood education settings, and will also discuss the Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system theory and how
In this section, I am going to draw on my professional experience in an early childhood setting to understand how educators’ image of the child can impact on their teaching practices. As an International student who came from a country where the education system is completely different as to Australian’s, my first placement experience has impacted me greatly about how I picture about Australian Early Childhood Education. My first mentor, Susan, is a very passionate and experienced kindergarten teacher. She acknowledges the strong image of the child in her setting through the recognition of each child as being a capable and curious learner. She views the children as being rich in potential with a