The History of Early Childhood Education unit one handout.ppt

8/22/2019 The History of Early Childhood Education unit one handout.ppt

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Early Childhood Services 120, Unit One


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Child Development includes the a) physical, b)intellectual, c)

social, and d) emotional changes that occur from birth to

adolescence.

Although people change throughout their lives,

developmental changes are especially dramatic in childhood.

During this period, a dependent, vulnerable newborn grows

into a capable young person who has mastered language, is

self-aware, can think and reason with sophistication, has adistinctive personality, and socializes (effortlessly) with others.

Many abilities and characteristics developed in childhood last

a lifetime.

INTRODUCTION


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A variety of factors influence child development:

Heredity guides every aspect of physical, cognitive,social, emotional, and personality development.

Family members, Peer groups, the School

environment, and the Community influence howchildren think, socialize, and become self-aware.


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Biological factors such as nutrition, medical care,

and Environmental hazards in the air and water

affect the growth of the body and mind.

Economic and Political institutions, the Media,

and Cultural values all guide how children live theirlives.


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Critical life events, such as a family crisis or anational emergency, can alter the growth ofpersonality and identity.

Most important of all, CHILDREN contributesignificantly to their own development. This occurs as

they strive to understand their experiences, respond

in individual ways to the people around them, and

choose activities, friends, and interests.

Thus, the factors that guide development arise from

both outside and within the person.


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Does this Make Sense?On your own, put this list in order (most important toleast important), in terms of which factors YOU thinkmost affect kids development): Heredity, Family, Peers,Media, School, Community, Biological Factors,

Environmental Factors, Economic Factors, PoliticalFactors, Cultural Factors, Critical Life Events

Now, join two or three others and share your lists,discussing your opinion, and see if you can revise yourlists to come to an agreement.

Quick Activity: Go back to the list, privately; can you pickthe five influences that most affected you, as a child?

You might consider writing about this, as part of nextweeks journal (share only what you are comfortable

sharing).


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For each of the following scenarios, decide which category to put it in.

1. Loving grandmother

2. Effects of a hurricane

3. Govt changes to child benefit funding

4. Father loses job

5. BPA (chemical) widely reported in plastic products, including toys and

bottles

6. Mother and brother have ADHD

7. Common parenting practice to let babies cry it out

8. TV campaign educating public about the benefits of breast milk

9. Extended family parents, 3 siblings, an aunt and grandmother all live in

the home with child

10. Govt increases funding to daycares

11. Kindergarten readiness program designed and implemented

12. Neighborhood kids all involved in 4H club

13. Parent dies


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Why is the study of child development

important?

1. One reason is that it provides practical guidance

for parents, teachers, child-care providers, andothers who care for children.


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Why is the study of child

development important?2. A second reason is that it helps society to support

healthy growth.

Understanding early brain development, forexample, means that parents can provide betteropportunities for intellectual stimulation, and

society can reduce or eliminate obstacles tohealthy brain growth.


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Why is the study of child

development important?

3. Third, the study of child development

helps therapists and educators better assistchildren with special needs, such as those withemotional or learning difficulties.


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Why is the study of child developmentimportant?

4.Finally, understanding child development

contributes to self-understanding. We knowourselves better by recognizing the influencesthat have made us into the people we are today.


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Building Professional Skills Activity

Refer to the list. These are 30 personal qualities that are

important to have when working with children, as a parent, or as

a childcare worker.

1. Highlight the ones you feel you already have.

2. In a different color, highlight the ones you know you need to

work on.

3. Make a list of the 10 that you feel are most important.

4. Put a question mark beside those that you are unsure of youare not sure what they really mean and / or what they have to

do with working with children.


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A Look Back---Children Through

Time

The concept of childhood and treatment of children

through history has always been tied to economic,religious, and social factors.

During the 20th century, the view of early childhoodas an important part of human development was

valued.


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John Amos Comenius (1592-1670) Was a bishop in Czechoslovakia

Supported the idea ofuniversal education.

He understood and stressed the importance of the early years.

Emphasized the value of active learning, hands-on experiences, andthe involvement of parents in their childrens education

His 1658 publicationThe World of Pictures is viewed as the firstpicture book for children

TEACHERS SHOULD WORK WITH THE NATURAL ORDER OF A

CHILDS DEVELOPMENT.

1997 Life magazine The Invention of Childhood

#55 http://www.tostepharmd.net/hissoc/top100events.html
http://www.tostepharmd.net/hissoc/top100events.htmlhttp://www.tostepharmd.net/hissoc/top100events.html


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Influential People in the History of Early

Childhood Education

John Locke (1632-1704) English doctor and philosopher.

Children were born tabla rasa (blank slate).

Experience would determine what a child would become.

Education should be pleasant; get rid of harsh discipline andrestrictive practices (like swaddling).

Children are gradually filled with ideas, concepts, and knowledgefrom experiences in the world.

He concluded that the quality of early experiences, particularly howchildren are raised and educated, shapes the direction of a childslife.


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French philosopherJean Jacques Rousseau(1712 1778)

Claimed that children at birth are innately good,

not evil (which some people were suggesting) Their natural tendencies should be protected

against the corrupting influences of society.

Recognized that childrens way of thinking and

learning is different than that of adults


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Johann Pestalozzi (1746-1827)

All people, even the poorest, had the right to an educationas a way of helping them develop their moral andintellectual potential.

Stressed education according to nature, tied toexperience and observation.

Stressed the importance of the motherin childrensearliest experiences

He actually worked with children (unlike Rousseau),developing educational methods that we still use today.

The first to actually teach young children, so the firstkindergarten.


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Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852)

Stressed that nature and the childsdeveloping mind were connected

Children are at different stages at different

times.

Stressed the importance of playin young

childrens development play was a pure

and natural mode of learning.

Note: This has become the new focus of

NBs Early Childhood Education.


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Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)Developed the theory and techniques ofpsychoanalysis. In the psychoanalytic view,

early experiences shape ones personality foran entire lifetime, and psychologicalproblems in adulthood may have theirorigins in difficult or traumatic childhood

experiences.

Handout: Exhibit 2-2


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John Dewey (1859-1952) Thefather of progressive education

American attack on traditional forms of public schools.

In the late 1800s, schools were very teacher-centered andsubject-centered, not child-centered

There were harsh punishments and rote learning was thenorm (memorization through repetition (how you

learned your alphabet). He developed a child-centered approach

Lots of his principles are still having an influence:nursery school, emphasis on play and parent education


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John B. Watson (1878-1958)Believed that all human behaviors could

be explained as learned responses tostimuli in the environment, an approachknown as behaviorism.


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Maria Montessori (1870-1952) True feminist of her time; first female doctor in Italy

Worked with children with cognitive disabilities

Thought their problems were more educational than medical

Government asked her to take charge of a childrens day nursery

Very impressed with the great capacity of children to learn so much

during the first years of life: absorbent mind (sponge) If you expose their minds to appropriate learning experiences at

appropriate developmental times, their minds will grow.

Used the termprepared environment to describe the match of theright materials to the childs stages of development

Some of these are related to sensory discrimination (sorting by size,sound, shape, smell, etc) and some children learn through practicalskills (polishing shoes, setting a table, etc)

More advanced materials for teaching reading, math, etc.Sandpaper letters, for example.http://www.monctonmontessori.com/
http://www.monctonmontessori.com/http://www.monctonmontessori.com/


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Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

Claimed that children construct new knowledge by applying theircurrent knowledge structures to new experiences and modifyingthem accordingly. His perspective was called constructivism.

He thought children were like other organisms in that they adaptedto the environment around them (he was a biologist)

Ex: if the temp becomes too warm or too cold, we shiver or sweat inattempt to adapt. In the same way, we adapt mentally to challengesin the environment.

When something new presents itself, it doesnt fit the old structure,

so in order to return to equilibrium, adaptation takes place. He called cognitive structures schemata. Babies are only born with a

few (think index cards), but with experience, they create new cardsand dividers to store their information.

A Closer Look handout and Exhibit 2-4


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Erik Erikson (1902-1994) His psychological theory, which spans childhood

and adulthood, focuses on specific social tasks

that need to emerge for healthy development ineach of the eight stages.

Like Freud, he saw each stage defined byconflict, but he thought conflict was healthy and

resulted in opportunity for personal growth. See handout that was used with Freud for

Eriksons eight stages


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B.F Skinner The most famous of Watsons followers

Has had an enormous effect on all aspects ofeducation

Behavioral modification: behavior can be changedor modified by manipulating the environment

(socially and physically) Emphasized that almost all behaviors are learned

through experience and can be increased ordecreased based on what happens next

Ex: if something pleasant consistently happensafter a child engages in a specific behavior, he islikely to repeat the behavior.


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videos

http://literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkin1FhojCo&feature=related

Freuds Id, Ego and SuperEgo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLLVYx0IPPU

Piaget

http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/

Gardner http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEFpaY3GI-I&feature=related

Skinner

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AepqpTtKbwo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPHcw2vz9H0&feature=related
http://literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.htmlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkin1FhojCo&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLLVYx0IPPUhttp://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEFpaY3GI-I&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AepqpTtKbwo&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPHcw2vz9H0&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPHcw2vz9H0&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AepqpTtKbwo&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEFpaY3GI-I&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEFpaY3GI-I&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEFpaY3GI-I&feature=relatedhttp://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLLVYx0IPPUhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkin1FhojCo&feature=relatedhttp://literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html


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Influential Events in Early Childhood Education Little change from the 1920s 1940s.

Deweys emphasis on child-centered programs becamepopular.

Froebel and Montessori were out-of-favor for a whilebecause they were attacked by William Kilpatrick, who wasa lecturer at the Teachers College in NYC where he wasknown as the million dollar professor.

He was more a great supporter of Dewey, so Deweys ideasreplaced Froebel and Montessori.

Kilpatricks work influenced teachers and parents until the1960s, when the Montessori program made a come back.


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A Focus on Maturation seemed to take over untilthe 1960s: there was little to do with youngchildren other than to wait for them to mature.

You could influence social growth, though, so thefocus for years was on social growth (and theydidnt worry about cognitive (learning) growth.

Day care centers were available, but not used a lot,and had a bit of a welfare orientation.


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1940s -1950s Strong pressure on families to have the mother stay at

home with the children, until they were at least 3.

Lots of research had been done on orphans who hadhad little human contact and stimulation, so big pushon moms at home to help with development.

Maternal Care & Mental Health became a classic

(1951) and was about the mental problems that manyorphans had when they became teenagers.

The best place for children was with their mothers.This idea was debunked somewhat in the 1960s.


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Sputnik & Educational Upheaval In 1957, the Russians launched the first space missile,

Sputnik. The failure of the Americans became a big social and

political focus. School systems were attacked (why werent Americans and

Canadians as advanced as the Russians?). Outmoded teaching methods, dull curriculum, too little

emphasis on science.

Poor kids did worse than rich kids; black kids did worsethan white kids (politically this was the time of the CivilRights Movement and everything was being challenged

with respect to equal rights for girls, ethic minorities, thepoor.


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Early Childhood Becomes a FocusA number of advances in psychological knowledge

took place around this same time.

In tune with political and educational pressures of thetime.

The biggest change was the replacement of theMaturation View of developmentwith the

Interactional View of development.


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Interactional View Development is determined by both environment and

genetic factors.

Lots of studies showed the relationship betweenexperience & development in humans and animals.

The assumption that intelligence is fixed and itsdevelopment is predetermined by the genes in no

longer tenable. The early childhood years were a focus again:

intelligence was most affected by experience.


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Rediscovery of Piaget Piagets work had been ignored, now it was a focus.

If we pay little attention to the events occurring in thefirst years of life, much of the story may be over by thetime we begin to educate the child, even if we start asearly as age 3, let alone 6.

Social class also became a focus in these years: social

class had a great effect on the kind of language a childdeveloped and on the learning style a child developed.

So, get kids out of the home and focus on the earlyyears.


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Howard Gardner (1943 -- ) His parents fled Nazi Germany with their first son who

died in an accident before Howard was born.

He was not allowed to play sports

He was an excellent pianist

Attended Harvard University

Influenced by Erikson

Continued to work at Harvard


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Gardners Multiple Intelligences Each person has various levels of different intelligences

Unique cognitive profile

7 Intelligences:

Verbal linguistic

Logical Mathematics

Musical

Visual Spatial

Bodily Kinesthetic

Interpersonal

Intrapersonal


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NB Education Video

-- Favorites


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Activity / SummaryWith a partner, write one sentence for each individual

that you feel captures the essence of that person andhis / her philosophy.

Ex: Froebel, who is credited with organizingkindergarten, put great emphasis on the importance ofplay.


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Written Assignment Now that you have had a general overview of some of the main

influential theorists, its time to reflect on which ones makesense to you.

Write a reflection paper (2-3 pages double spaced).

Choose two theorists: one that you MOST agree with and onethat you MOST DISAGREE with.

In your introduction, tell me of your two choices.

Then, in the first half of the paper, write about the one you most

like. A) briefly summarize what he or she believed in B) Whatdo you like about the theory and why? C) What do you not likeabout the theory and why?

Now, in the second half of the paper, write about the one youmost disagree with and repeat the steps (above a, b and c).

The History of Early Childhood Education unit one handout.ppt

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