Childhood Education

Childhood Education
(a) Addition of two key concepts to the writer's vocabulary
The showing of schooling as „monocultural' and „taken-for-granted' practices in schools and centres
do not easily support or match those of the children and their families. In universalist truth and
monocultural perspective, the culture of one group/class is clearly privileged above the other - where
human agency may be frail, especially among those with little power, but it happens daily therefore it
deserves our attention'. In such circumstances what is often silenced is the known socio-historical
and cultural world of concerned families, the familiar signs and symbols, and established social and
cultural practices and beliefs. Until we appreciate the physical existence, experiences, and
knowledges of the traditionally marginalized, our concern for child will never be realized. (Nicola
Yelland, Critical issues in early childhood education, p 26-32)
The Mosaic Approach, involving a process both the gathering of materials and dialogue, reflection
an interpretation of these documents facets of the preschool. It recognizes that children are experts
in their own lives and uses range of different ways of documenting children's views and everyday
experiences. It is multi-method recognizing the multiple languages of childhood and adopt the
participatory approach by involving children. The UN Child Rights convention also recognized the
children participation and importance of their views in matters relating to them. (Gunilla Dahlberg &
Peter Moss, Ethics and politics in early childhood education: p 158-161)
b) Concept needs more study
Yelland, in “critical issues in early childhood education” states that children's experiences and
expectations are determined by their local communities, particular political and economic strata, and
specific ethnic and cultural groups. The mono-cultural approach is ethnocentric and that it ignores
the range of life contexts and knowledges experienced by children from diverse cultural, ethnic,
linguistic and value contexts. Therefore I want to investigate that the current mono-cultural practices
prevailing in the preschools and child care centres, is how much detrimental to the children mental
and physical development and effects of parent's resistance in following such practices.
c) Linkage of ideas (a) & (b) to child in surrounding
As the world becomes a global village, few countries can lay claim to a truly homogeneous
population. Today, multicultural diversity characterizes most countries, a factor that has enormous
implications in early childhood education. Children's experiences and expectations are determined
by their local communities and particular ethnic or cultural grouping. Muslim origin Australians living
in neighbouring environment have specific cultural sensitivity predominantly female and can not be
merged into mono-cultural setup. Therefore they need education services that take into account their
diverse cultural, economic and ethnic background.
Community Reflection
a) Central idea a reading: critical issues in early childhood
education (Nicola Yelland)
Yelland, in “” portrays that many early childhood educators, researchers and theorists throughout the
world are focusing attention on the ecology of childhood. Numerous researchers, as part of an
ecological approach to understanding children's development, have explored family characteristics
and how they interact with the community at large. In order to truly children, however, we must select
a broader orientation. Development can only be fully understood when it is viewed in the larger
cultural context.
A child culture may be the mainstream or dominant culture, or it may be one of many subcultures
that can found in almost any country. Therefore there is a need for dialogue among early childhood
educators, both within their own communities and with colleagues from other countries. This collegial
communication deepens early childhood educator's understanding of children's similarities and
differences. Therefore, Yelland emphasised that reconceptualists and developmentalists should join
together to generate new discourses and to construct actions that actually challenge the power that
has been created over children which has led to their being constructed and labeled as ignorant,
innocent, and without agency beyond their own developmental explorations.
b) Other proposed reading
The “critical issues in early childhood education” examines research across a range of settings on
professional development and school readiness and provides a solid foundation of knowledge the
early childhood education field needs by viewing children's native culture in the larger context.
In agreement to the above study I would refer to the study “Multiple literacies in early childhood” of
Jones Diaz, Arthur & Beecher arguing that early childhood educators need to go beyond
developmentalist and constructivist models of literacy which categorise cultural and social difference
within fixed boundaries as 'add on' inclusions to mainstream views of language and literacy learning.
It explored frameworks of poststructural and critical theories, providing contextually effective starting
points to maximize children's social and cultural capital. The study identified the significance of
popular culture and children's divers literacy practices. It further describes that challenge for early
childhood educators is to find out about children's multiple literacies and integrate these into the
program.