Childhood, Pedagogy, and Professional Practice in Early Years ECE4012

Section 1: Critical Analysis

Part A) Demonstrate broad and critical understandings of historical and contemporary understandings of childhood informed by academic literature

One way to learn about children and youth in the past and today is to study childhood in history. Many of the subjects covered in today's children-friendly of age 0 to 5 curriculum have a historical background, discussing and clarifying the past in addition to the present. The narrative may be used by modern child academics to study child labor, the distinctions between childhood experiences in the West and the East, and Western worries for children in the age of new media (Abdullah et al., 2022). Since the publication of the groundbreaking book A Century of Childhood by French historian Philippe Aris in 1960, the history of childhood has drawn attention in the area of social history. He thought that contemporary culture was the one that coined the term "childhood". Aries examined artifacts, furnishings, cemeteries, and school records. He pointed out that, up until the 17th century, children of age 0 to 5 were frequently portrayed as less valuable than adults. It has been established by more studies that childrearing was neither aggressive, harsh, or abusive during the Middle Ages or the early Modern era (Arthur et al., 2017).

According to historian Stephen Wilson, customary reproductive methods are reasonable given the pre-industrial era's high infant death rate (more than one-third of stillbirths) and poverty. Stephen honors the sacrifices of parenthood, the wonderful support parents provide throughout illness, and the sadness that follows a death. Because they enable researchers to gather information from a variety of sources and look at the viewpoint, comprehension, and care of children throughout the globe, interdisciplinary techniques aid in our knowledge of the lives of children and young people. The study conducted by the researchers may also look at how children are viewed, understood, and treated in various nations. By comparing and analyzing children's lives from the past and today, curriculum techniques offer a chance to examine how children differ from one another and how these variations impact how rapidly children progress through the many phases of their development. Rephrasing issues in a way that departs from their conventional context and producing solutions based on a fresh perspective on a difficult situation are the goals of a learning-based approach (various disciplines of study or areas of competence). This is accomplished by skillfully fusing concepts from several disciplines (differing fields of study or specializations) (Arthur et al., 2017).

Various fields of study have created their own ways for instructing children, based on the nature of the research subject. Certain scholarly fields, including sociology and cultural studies, concentrate on the idea of childhood, exploring it as a social construct and a substitute for traditional social analysis (Wall, 2023). In addition to teaching children how to be social activists, they research the connections and cultures of children from early age of 0 to 5. Ethnography is the research approach utilized by sociologists. On the other hand, research on children is the main emphasis in other fields, such psychology and education. Children are necessary for human society to continue. Childhood experiences shape a person's personality and capacity to manage the duties and demands of adulthood. Every society has to think about children's welfare (Bryce et al., 2023). All of the experiences that take place throughout this period serve as the purpose of childhood. Children's fragility not only made people worry about how they were being raised, but it also made it necessary to uphold their legal rights and safeguard their lives via the use of institutions, parents, cultural norms, and other means. The main ideas and phases of childhood and the conduct that develops afterward have been discussed by several methods and schools of thought. Research on the early development of the brain has contributed significantly to our knowledge of the significance of the early years. Furthermore supporting the significance of secure and supportive interactions during childhood is brain research (Arthur et al., 2017). As stated by Arthur et al., (2017), the early years are considered in both national and global level to be the most crucial time for children to gain proper learning as early as the age of 0 to 5.

Part B) Demonstrate broad understandings of the development of childhood, learning and pedagogy informed by academic literature

The study, learning, and development are influenced by the values of our society and culture. There is a strong theoretical and practical foundation for the instructional program. When children are engaged and interested in something, they learn best. They learn and develop at individual speeds that are distinct from one another. The children as young as the age of 0 to5 have a right to an education, self-determination, and social success (Knopik & Oszwa, 2020). For young children to engage with and prosper in their surroundings, a broad range of information, skills, and talents must be acquired. Consider young children as engaged, active learners who are always learning from their experiences as they attempt to comprehend, engage with, and enjoy the world around them. Experimentation, trying new things, and having an open mind are all essential components of learning. A primary school curriculum that emphasizes play should foster children's curiosity and creativity as well as their resilience and self-assurance (Mary, 2022). Children are naturally interested and inquisitive. All children must have access to well-considered experiences that foster the development of their inquiry abilities if they are to achieve as intelligent learners. Ask inquiries, be persistent, and show curiosity. For young children, this entails conducting independent investigation and coming to wise judgments, frequently with an adult's assistance.

Children may check it out for themselves and know they have learned something thanks to this. Acknowledgment of accomplishment is essential for further learning in inquiry-based learning. Actually, learning how to teach and assist the growth of children is the main goal of education. It focuses on the strategies and tactics that may be employed to give children opportunities for growth as well as the ways in which our interactions and relationships with children of age 0 to 5 are impacted.
The primary idea is education, which is the process through which a society and its culture are developed. From this perspective, the three components of education are the curriculum, or what is taught, methods and how to do it, and socialization techniques to help children acquire the cognitive and emotional abilities necessary to be effective workers in society. These are the principal components. In addition to imparting specific knowledge, like the alphabet's letter names, an educational curriculum or program may support cognitive abilities like reasoning, comparing and contrasting, and classifying, as well as learning processes like memory, attention, and observation (Deri, 2023). Human interactions with resources are the basis for the planning and execution of the instructional techniques and methods that instructors employ to carry out the curriculum. This covers teaching strategies, techniques, and practices. Mental stimulation refers to the function that youth educators play in helping children develop the many mental and behavioral qualities and abilities that they need to achieve. This is connected to the third portion of the curriculum.

Section 2: Professional philosophy statement

Part A) Identifying Beliefs

1.Understandings about childhood

Early learning experiences, in my opinion, contribute to a child's natural curiosity and motivation to learn.

2.Understandings about how young children learn

I think that young infants learn a great deal through their senses, which develop well-tuned, even before they may have learned to talk or think.

3.Understandings about effective pedagogies for the early years

Pedagogies, in my opinion, provide possibilities for learning to take place and for people to gain information, skills, attitudes, and dispositions in a particular material and social context.

4.Understandings about contemporary perspectives in practice

I think that using modern viewpoints in practice can help to address the many demands of children who are special and different.

Part B) Statement of professional philosophy of pedagogy

My academic agenda has developed as a result of my experiences teaching and learning, as well as my expanding knowledge of educational theory and practice. My approach is predicated on four elementary schools. The initial one is that education can only take place in a supportive setting where pupils are respected and feel "safe" to participate. Psychologists like Vygotsky and Bandura established the social learning theory, which holds that learning is collaborative and socially produced (Locklear, 2020). Practically speaking, this means that classroom settings should encourage cooperative learning and include helpful and receptive teacher-student interactions in addition to healthy peer connections. In my opinion, for pupils to learn, they must grow in their sense of respect and self-worth. But there are two more reasons why I believe this strategy has to be made clear. First and first, hold all pupils to a high standard and, second, strongly believe in the group's welfare. Therefore, we think that the best conditions for learning occur in a supportive classroom setting where the instructor facilitates learning in a kind but firm and equitable manner.

Secondly, I think that good teaching strategieswhether they be pragmatic, compassionate, or creativeare extremely valuable outside of the classroom. Educating my children of age 0 to 5 about these ideals is the main goal of my work. Since I believe motivation is impacted by this. Students that are introspective, pragmatic, and naturally inclined to study are likely to gain from their education. I make it a point to make sure that my pupils are engaged with the material I cover in my lessons. This, in my opinion, is related to the requirement of fostering and advancing pupils' critical thinking abilities. Because critical thinking abilities are valuable outside of the classroom and are beyond the purview of any individual student (Nugraheni et al., 2022). According to Bloom's taxonomy, I think one of a teacher's responsibilities is to assist students transition from being able to absorb information to being able to apply critical thinking and integrate new concepts and abilities. I firmly think that promoting social justice is one of a teacher's responsibilities.

Third, even if there are several justifications for evaluating a student, in the end, I think the student's best interests should always come first. The most crucial concept is this one. Assessment turns into a crucial learning tool by offering insightful feedback that demonstrates both the success of the particular course and the student's progress toward mastery. I think the secret to a successful evaluation process is to make a clear connection to the material being taught and to offer possibilities for growth depending on the comments received. This may entail giving students the freedom to choose their own grading standards and having them turn in their work in two parts, a draft and a final copy, in the classroom. One conceivable use for this would be to enable students to turn in their work gradually (Gro-Mlynek et al., 2022). By evaluating their own development, students gain the skills necessary to apply feedback to improve the quality of their education.

Last but not least, a key component of my instruction is emphasizing the value of (meta) cognition and the necessity of giving students practical, transferable learning skills that they may utilize both now and in the future. I can personally attest to the enormous advantages of this comprehension by considering my preferred method of learning. Therefore, I think that metacognitive abilities are crucial for learning in general as well as language acquisition. Students who are able to maximize the use of knowledge will have tangible advantages, such as improved academic achievement and heightened self-assurance (Gyeltshen & Gyeltshen, 2022). This in turn fosters future learning opportunities and a constructive cycle of successful learning by increasing self-efficacy and self-awareness as a competent learner. Because of this, the approach I use in the classroom is founded on the notion of cognitive learning and makes use of strategies to help students move new information from working memory to permanent storage. To suit the requirements and learning styles of the students, this may entail delivering new material in a variety of methods and modeling and synthesizing new learning abilities. Secure involvement, intrinsic motivation, critical thinking abilities, assessment, and cognitive (meta) theory are the main topics that influence my educational viewpoint. "Adaptive cognition," which comes after student self-efficacy, school values, autonomy, self-regulation, and persistent engagement, is the strategy I use in my teaching, learning, and assessment practices.

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