Early Childhood Education Rationale

Education has been an important part of my life since a very young age. Growing up I have always strived to do my best in school. In my sophomore year of high school I realized how important education was to me and decided that I wanted to be a teacher. From Elementary School to College I have always been close with my teachers and professors. I still visit and talk too many of them today, this made me realize that I wanted to be that teacher for my future students.

At the heart of early childhood education are young children. I thrive on the notion that education is a lifelong process and the building blocks of learning are developed in the early stages of life. I believe that life is all about gaining knowledge and sharing what we have learned with others. My philosophy of Early Childhood Education is based on research that indicates that a child’s growth is developmental. Each and every child is unique in terms of life experiences, developmental readiness and cultural heritage.

Parental involvement is crucial in early childhood education. That is why it is essential that a great deal of effort be made to ensure “that ongoing and effective communication and partnerships be established and maintained with parents” (Sanabria-Hernandez, 2008, par. 1). Fortunately, most parents participate in at least one way. However, there is frequently a smaller percentage of parent participation from parents in the diverse community (Jaworski, 2017). This may be attributed to the fact that some families may have challenging circumstances, such as language differences or financial difficulties that impede their ability to reach out to school staff. Having diversity in schools not only helps children learn and think differently, but also prepares them for the real world and interacting with those of different cultures in the workplace and in daily life (Jaworski, 2017). Preschool programs need to reflect, acknowledge, and celebrate diversity and their curriculums should utilize children’s funds of knowledge to help children connect their world with their learning environment. “When schools, communities, and cities begin to understand the importance of diversity and inclusion, our children have better educations, we have better workplaces, and everyone benefits” (Lynch, 2016, par. 1).

Health promotion is very important to early childhood education to improve the well-being of children and parents’ health and behaviours. “It is important for early childhood educators to recognized their essential role as health promotors” (Pimento & Kernested 2015, P. 4). There are 12 social determinants in daily life for childhood programs, however I have identified that social support networks are most important determinants of health. Likewise, educators and families are both mutually directly and indirectly supporting children to improve their healthy development and education (Pimento & Kernested, 2015, P.34). In early childhood, educators have very important role in daycare which is communication. That means, that we need to communicate with family (parent, grandparent), children and coworkers to share the daily basic tasks and any other ideas or information for improving environments and supports. It is especially important that we support mothers who have very limited knowledge about their first-born baby, such as lack of information about breastfeeding, sleeping routine, formula ratios, nutrition, healthy eating habits, or any parental skills. Not only that, we can also help parents to get benefits and support from the government such as financial support, subsidized daycare, and community information resources on healthy nutrition food.

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.

It is important to respect, understand and include a child’s culture as it helps each child feel a sense of being, becoming and belonging. Knowing about each child’s cultural identity will also help you to promote an equitable environment by building trusting and responsive relationships with children and their families and to demonstrate acceptance of diverse family structures and perspectives (OpenSpace, 3.2.1). For education and care services, understanding and valuing cultural diversity is key to countering racism in our services and community. Including a child’s culture into the centres environment gives the individual child a chance to grow with their culture and to include the other children in it. Showing children an individual child’s

According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children NAEYC) recommendations emphasize that early childhood programs are accountable for creating a welcoming environment. The environment should respect diversity, supports children’s ties to their families and community. It should also support both second language acquisition, children home language, as well as cultural identities. Linguistic and cultural diversity is an advantage, not a deficit, for young children. As stated in the DEC/NAEYC joint position statement, the inclusion contributes to how every child with or without disabilities is developing and learning to reach their full potential. However, this can benefit to young children and their family to experience

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

Critical analysis of your own values and beliefs and the assumptions that are made is the first step to becoming culturally competent. It is an ongoing learning process. In practice, it involves talking with families and learning what their culture, beliefs and values are and what aspirations they have for their children, how and what they expect their children to achieve and learn while at the centre. It involves looking at the broader community, what cultural groups are represented, looking at what diversity looks like in the early childhood centre and how the families and their culture is represented, and if it is not, looking for ways that it could be. It is having a commitment to ongoing learning, reflection and continued improvement.

The Early Years Learning Framework have recognised cultural competence in the areas of principles and practices the frame work has identified ‘Respect for diversity’ (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009, page 13) as a key principal and ‘Cultural Competence’ (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009, page 16) as a key practice.

The Early Years Learning Framework’s Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contributed to their world, provides strategies educators can use to help children respond to diversity with respect. Educators can promote this by:

Children’s cultural background is one of the most important aspects to developing a child’s sense of identity, and a child having a strong sense of identity is one of the key outcomes to the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). By understanding the diversity of all the children within a service, educators often have to adapt their practices to benefit everyone. It is an important part of respecting children’s culture, to consult and maintain contact with the family to ensure you understand any differences their culture may have when it comes to caring for and teaching their child. By incorporating various techniques, foods and activities, educators can attempt to ensure that they are including a child’s culture within the service. When people

One hundred years ago, people did not leave their hometown, much less move their families into multicultural neighborhoods filled with diverse children from all over the planet. However, that is changing. With a more globalized world, minorities are finally represented throughout the country, and diversity is becoming more important than ever. In schools, some has been done to address this drastic reduction in prejudice and increase in opportunities. While completely integrating diversity into classrooms is a challenge due to differences in cultural behavior, and misconceived notions of diversity education, there are many studies which are benefiting multiculturalism and strategies created by these programs to create a truly

The Early Childhood Education program at Carlow University focuses on educating children from birth to grade four in any context—school, family, or community. As a signature mark of the program, students learn how to honor diversity and form strong inclusive relationships between child and caregiver/teacher. They learn that a child’s environment needs to be rooted in trust; physically and psychologically safe. They learn that the caregiver/teacher relationship needs

Early childhood education has not always been the top priority in the education world. Although, research has proved that it should be the top priority as the benefits of Early Childhood Education are innumerous. Extensive neuroscience research has discovered that the brain is build over time and it is built from the bottom up. Early childhood experiences directly affect the quality brain development. Establishing a sturdy foundation through a high quality early childhood education experience, will dramatically develop child's brain. As a result, they will have a brighter future. In this essay, I will propose a plan for the children of 2020 and how to ensure the best early childhood education experience. I personally believe that racially, culturally, linguistically and developmentally responsive practices parental involvement are critical to the sturdy foundation that is essential to the positive early childhood experience.