Early Childhood: Social And Cultural Perspectives

Early childhood is a time of curiosity, a time for play, and a time of rapid development. Every child is unique and deserving of an early childhood education that facilitates academic, social, and developmental growth through a variety of enjoyable experiences. Differentiated instruction adapts content, products and processes to meet the diverse learning needs and preferences of students (Thousand, Villa, & Nevin, 2007). Friedrich Froebel, the creator of Kindergarten, believed that children grow and learn as they play (Bruno, 2009). Play-based instruction not only enables young learners to have fun, but it also encourages interactive and cooperative learning, passion for discovery, and a foundation for later learning experiences

Vygotsky proposed that children’s development is affected by their culture and social interaction. He also suggested that children are not born with knowledge but they gain it through their social interactions with peers and adults; he does not rule out the importance of biological processes but proposes an interdependent relationship between biological development alongside social activity and cultural interaction.

In order for teachers to create a learning environment that is culturally responsive to each individual student, a teacher must learn the student’s funds of knowledge. The importance of learning the funds of knowledge of your students is crucial. A teacher can approach learning more about a student’s prior knowledge and culture in a variety of ways, including, instructing personal interviews with questions about their personal life such as what are the most important things in your life. Another way to discover your student’s funds of knowledge is by placing yourself in their shoes and doing a school and community walk through. You can also be provided with more insight into your student’s lives by conducting an adult interview from someone that also lives in the same community. In order for me to create lessons and classroom practices that are culturally responsive is by discovering my student’s funds of knowledge. I am at Blackwell Elementary School, which is located in Marietta and is apart of the Cobb County District. After having the students create heart maps and interviewing them, doing a school and community walkthrough, and talking with an adult, I was greatly impacted by all the new information and perspectives I learned. Without going through this process to obtain the information, I would have no knowledge on my students or the community surrounding Blackwell besides what meets the eye. This experience impacted my own thinking about the school I am working in for

A second strength of the sociocultural perspective is the emphasis on the role of adults in childhood cognitive development through guided participation. Vygotsky introduced the idea that children learn in a zone of proximal development. Meaning the distance between what an individual can do alone and what they can do with guidance and assistance from a capable member of society (Mcleod, 2010). Any skills outside the zone would be already mastered or still too difficult to attempt alone. “To Vygotsky, learning in collaboration with more knowledgeable companions drives cognitive development (Sigelman).” This is true throughout the world. Children in many cultures learn from a teacher, from family members, and many others. In other cultures, children learn skills from relatives, members of their village or tribe, or from other skilled members in their group. This perspective satisfies the need to recognize the role of adults in

For a child to understand the world, he/she will understand that people have different beliefs, colour skin and religion, the world and technology. A child will also learn other children’s names, talk about family and friends. This has a huge impact on a child’s social development; they will have awareness of the world and the people around them, and therefore are able to confidently make new friends as they go through transitions such as moving schools. It is important that children and young people are given the opportunity to speak about themselves, their lives at home and also listen to others, and this gives them a perspective on the fact that everybody does different things, others’ lives differ to theirs and this is something that needs to be recognised and respected and not judged.

I believe that our culture helps to shape our identity and therefore I believe that early childhood education should reflect the culture of the children attending the program, while teaching other cultures to promote diversity and inclusion. Aboriginal Head Start programs are contributing back to the communities through culturally responsive education, which reinforces Aboriginal identity. Nguyen (2011) argues that Aboriginal early childhood education needs to provide children with a “sense of who they are and where the come from, which will impact community self-government and self-determination” (p.231). Similarly, Greenwood et al. (2007) points out that early childhood education should socialize children into their heritage and ancestry through programs that reflect their community and nation. The Aboriginal Head Start programs foster the education of both Aboriginal culture and language into the program in hopes that this inspires children to learn their respective language and participate in their communities (Nguyen,

It is agreed that educator’s philosophy, pedagogical practices and believe about topics such as gender and sexuality, socio-cultural factors and cultural diversity will influence how the Australian Curriculum and Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) is reflected in the classroom. For example, cultural competence which is one of the eight main practices that EYLF focuses on to support children’s learning.

When delivering school curriculum, educators must meet the needs and strengths of all students. The Australian Curriculum allows educators to personalize their teaching and learning programs by selecting content that is stimulating, challenging and meets the individual needs and strengths of all students in a classroom (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2015). The Early Years Learning Framework (2010) explains how a student’s culture is central to who they are as a human being and gives them a sense of belonging (pp. 21-22). Using these two documents, educators can carry out learning programs that caters for all needs,

This research report presents an analysis of and conclusions drawn from the experiences and perspectives of two educators that work in the early childhood setting. The main objective is to identify key elements and issues in relation to the families, diversity and difference. In particular how an early childhood educator implements, different approaches to honour culture and diversity, and to advocate for social justice in an early childhood settings. As such, it allows an insight into the important role that families and their background plays in the everyday lives of the children and educators within early childhood settings. In today’s ever-changing growing society it is essential for educators to be flexible to the

A professional educator will actively view the child’s in association with their family and environment. They need to be viewed in context with their family as this will make the educator aware and respect the values and culture of each family and student. Principle 2 of the EYLF mentions ‘Learning outcomes are most likely to be achieved when Early Childhood Educators work in partnership with families’ (EYLF, 2009, p12). This is mostly effective when a successful educator uses strategies that actively involves the family, by introducing families to the classroom through plan programs that invites parent input.

Children learn to act in accordance to their culture due to what their parents teach them and what they learn in school. Different countries have their own way of cooking, driving and most important, teaching. A child who is in a preschool in America, will not experience the same cultural activities as a child in China or Japan. The video Preschool in Three Cultures Revisited demonstrates how preschools in these three countries teach their students in accordance to their culture. This video also shows different Behaviorism and Constructivism aspects for each school.

Gaining learning and experience about other cultures background will enrich my multicultural knowledge. Therefore, as an educator I must learn about others culture. As I begin to learn about others cultures I will understand how values influence the ways families interpret the instruction that feels right to them. A close study on Figure 3.1 implies that a teacher’s point view or the way the students are treaty can affect their learning. It keeps narrating the story of a teacher that had to learn her students’ roots, their culture values, to get to know them in order to reach them in an academically level. The cultural values are very important and cannot be overlooked, they shape our intrinsic motivation. Many families try to keep their values and belief intact at home, so their children when they step in a classroom. Monica Brown, is the Department editor of Diversity Dispatch, argues in her article, Educating All Students: Creating Culturally Responsive Teachers, Classrooms, and Schools, that nowadays it is noticeable the diversity growths in schools, however, this is not the problem. The problem is the way teachers have responded to the diversity growth. (Brown, M. 2007). Therefore, this will affect the students learning. Brown cross with a strong point in regarding the lack of sensitivity some educators show towards their students’ culture. As educator I don’t want to be one of many teachers Monica Brown speaks on her article. I will understand that I must respect my

As an educator it is important to be aware of the various learners in the classroom as well as being able to shift lessons accordingly to adapt to a greater number of students. In addition it is essential that culturally responsive practices is adapted in the classroom in order for all students to have a sense of belonging and are able to participate. For this reason, a teacher must actively use culturally responsive practices to engage students and their families because it helps to develop a relationship and maintain a level of communication. Learning “facts” about different cultures is not enough, it is more important that we make

In my perspective, most of the young people do not take account of socioemotional development in infancy because it seems still too far for them. However, after taking Developmental Psychology course, I am convinced that it is extremely significant for us, as young people, to acknowledge of the developmental process because we will have more time to consider which path is most effective and relevant with our lifestyle and expectation on our children. Back to the source why I promote the socioemotional development in infancy, I was born in Vietnam, a country where most of parents raise their children by their knowledge in traditional experiences, which have no scientific evidence and psychological considerations. For instance, they highly believe in “spare the rod and spoil the child” which completely restrain the children’s ability to

The second theorist of socio-cultural approach was B. Rogoff (1950). Same as L. Vygotsky, she believed, that children learn best through interaction with other people and through experiencing things by themselves. B. Rogoff stresses, that children are learning as an individual, by exploring and observing they surroundings; and they can influence other children’s learning (Starting with the child,2016). Moreover, she views children as actively participates in a learning process.