Exploring Early Years Education and Care

Linda Miller, Rose Drury, Robin Campbell

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781136632808
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Pedagogía
• Subtopic: Educación general

This textbook has been developed and written in response to the huge changes in the Early Years sector. It will encourage students to go beyond the basics, to explore and research issues in more depth, and to take a critical and reflective approach to their practice.

The book takes full account of the curriculum framework and the Foundation Stage for early years; it also acknowledges the National Literacy Strategy and the National Numeracy Strategy. Exploring Issues in Early Years Education and Care enables readers to go beyond a basic, introductory level and introduces the key issues in early childhood education and care such as researching young children; the place of work in early childhood; reducing inequalities in child health; and comparative perspectives in early childhood literacy.

Although rooted firmly in practice and with a UK focus, the text introduces controversial issues and takes a look beyond the UK.

This book comes from the team that wrote the best-selling Looking at Early Years Education and Care. The contributors' wide range of backgrounds in early years health and education ensures that the text will meet the needs of students and tutors on many different early years and early primary courses, as well as reflective practitioners working in a range of Early Years settings.

PART I

Exploring curriculum issues

CHAPTER 1

Exploring issues in early years education and care

Linda Miller, Rose Drury and Robin Campbell

Our book Looking at Early Years Education and Care (Drury et al. 2000) was written at a time of great change in relation to early childhood provision. That book was intended to address the implications of some of those changes for early years practitioners. Much of this change has been positive, and as we wrote at that time, young children and their families, and those adults who support them, have been put firmly on the political agenda. However, change almost always brings uncertainty and issues arise which early years practitioners need to confront and address. We have chosen to explore some of these issues in this book, sometimes taking a comparative stance in order to achieve a greater understanding of our own perspective. The book is organised into two Parts. In Part I we explore issues relating to developments in the early years curriculum and in Part II we turn to issues relating to inclusion.

Exploring curriculum

In the recent past the curriculum in many early years settings in the United Kingdom had not always been written down or planned (Edwards and Knight 1996). This practice left adults working in these settings vulnerable and open to criticism. More recently, in the mid to late 1990s, published curriculum documents covering children aged 3 to 5, were introduced in all four countries of the United Kingdom – Northern Ireland (CCEA 1999), Scotland (SCCC 1999), Wales (QCAAW 2000) and England (QCA 2000). These introduced a generic framework for practice into many early years settings and helped practitioners to plan for children’s learning. This development, coupled with increased accountability through inspection systems and assessment of young children on entry to schools, has led to increased demands on the skills and knowledge of practitioners and to the recognition of the need for a new professionalism. This need has been recognised through government initiatives, which we explore in the final section of this chapter.

In England, in 2000, the introduction of a new Foundation Stage of education for children from age 3 up to age 5 i.e. to the end of reception year, was intended to offer an entitlement curriculum across a diverse range of early years provision and to provide a more appropriate curriculum for the youngest children in primary schools. However, concerns have arisen about links to the primary school curriculum and the prescriptive nature of the model, which is leading some early years settings to introduce formal learning too soon (David and Nurse 1999).

In the chapters that follow, reference is made to curriculum frameworks in other countries such as New Zealand, where curricular experiences are represented through the metaphor of a woven map incorporating links across learning areas, culture and language (Ministry of Education 1996). Within the ‘emergent curriculum’ of the nurseries of Reggio Emilia in Italy (Rinaldi 1995), the child is seen as having ‘a hundred languages’ through which he or she can communicate ideas and experiences (Malaguzzi 1996). The unwritten curriculum of these Italian nurseries is made visible through a ‘pedagogy of documentation’ in which the children’s work is filmed, photographed, recorded and exhibited in travelling exhibitions (ibid.). This is a very different form of accountability to the external inspection process, which often accompanies curriculum frameworks and approaches in other countries (e.g. DfEE 2001).

These holistic approaches to the curriculum offer a contrast to the English Foundation Stage curriculum guidance, which if narrowly, rather than creatively interpreted, implies a linear ‘stepped’ model of development leading to prescribed goals. In this book we endorse the view of the Early Years Select Committee report (Select Committee on Education and Employment 2000), which supports the importance of play and exploration in promoting lasting social and educational benefits. In Part I different authors explore and describe creative ways of responding to curriculum guidance through literacy, history, creative expression such as drawing, painting and music and through scientific and mathematical experiences, which arise from children’s everyday lived experiences. This creative response to curriculum guidance requires practitioners who can engage in reflective practice, enquiry and research.

Literacy is a major curriculum area for all school ages and is the subject of Chapters 2 and 3. In early years settings literacy has become a major issue in the last decade. We know that many children learn about reading and writing at both home and in early years settings that provide a print rich environment with adults supporting the children’s questions and curiosity. The interest by governments in developing early years literacy curricula to reflect that success, however, may lead to quite different proposals focusing upon skill-based goals and adult direction. Educators from England and New Zealand explore the different early childhood literacy strategies in those countries in Chapter 2. They use the evidence from a comparative study to consider the impact of the two different literacy curricula on the children and on practitioners. It is a reflection of that wider debate that leads Robin Campbell to explore two predictors of reading and writing success in Chapter 3. The writing of one’s own name and knowledge of the alphabet by children as they move on to school predict subsequent success. However, how that knowledge is acquired is important. Rather than direct teaching, it is argued that wider literacy provision and adult–child interactions on literacy are required.

In Chapter 4 Thomas asks ‘Was this the olden days?’ Time would appear to be a difficult concept for many young children. How, then, can they be encouraged to learn about history? Rosie Turner-Bisset examines some of the issues involved in teaching history to very young children. She considers the learning of young children as well as debating the most valuable teaching approaches in the early years. As she does so, links with literacy are also made apparent. In Chapter 5 Rosemary Allen examines the more familiar topic of young children’s creative expression and, in particular, drawing. However, she does so with a consideration of drawing as language. She argues that children are able explore issues concerned with themselves and their world as they draw. Children extend that thinking to science and mathematics and Jane Devereux explores those topics in Chapter 6. Children’s natural curiosity about their environment leads to scientific and mathematical experiences and that is enhanced when the adult is able to support the children in their explorations and thinking. Our reading of this chapter is enhanced as we follow Laura’s thinking and talk about the movement of the moon. Collecting children’s talk together with drawings and other artefacts as part of researching young children requires care as John Oates reminds us in Chapter 7. He explores a range of approaches that are appropriate and relevant to carrying out research with young children in early years education and care settings. What questions are important? What needs to be examined more closely? Are young children’s voices heard in the process of research? Those issues and the role of young children as agents versus objects in the research process are considered.

Exploring inclusion

It is probably true to say that early years educators have always believed that they offer an open, welcoming setting for all children. However, genuine inclusion and equality of opportunity are not easy to deliver. The assumption that a common provision for all will meet all needs has to be continually challenged if educators are to respond appropriately to diversity. It is when notions of a ‘norm’ slip into place unnoticed that both the government’s and the practitioner’s intention to deliver inclusion can come to mean ‘invisibility’ for a child.

From the Children Act (1989) to the Race Relations (Amendment) Act (2000), there is no shortage of principled statements and statutory requirements designed to ensure that equality and inclusion are at the forefront of provision. They are principles embodied in the Sure Start initiative through its emphasis on partnership with parents and the requirement that statutory providers in health and local education authorities should work together with local communities to identify need and provide intensive support for children under 4 and their families.

Equally, inclusion is central to the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage which has as one of its key principles for early years education: ‘No child should be excluded or disadvantaged because of ethnicity, culture or religion, home language, family background, special educational needs, disability, gender or ability’ (QCA 2000: 11). It also recognises the diversity of children in early years settings and includes separate sections on ‘Meeting the diverse needs of children’, ‘Children with special educational needs’ and ‘Children with English as an additional language’.

Statutory requirements and statements of principle by policy-makers need to be understood and reflected in the policies written by individual settings. However, it is only through the reflective expertise of practitioners that the intentions of the policy-makers can be implemented for individual children with their diverse experiences and needs. In a context in which national documents fail to provide detailed guidance on the practice required to meet the principles they quite properly espouse, educators need to develop strategies which match the socialisation and learning needs of individual children, including those with special educational needs or whose home language is not English, for example.

In the following chapters, the importance of investigating practice from the perspective of the child, the family and the community is highlighted. The stories of Jessica and Maria, for example, provide valuable insights into a hearing-impaired and a bilingual child’s learning, and explore implications for practitioners working towards inclusive practice.

The perspectives opened through consideration of the backgrounds and experience of such children may also raise questions about the central importance of play, an entitlement recognised in the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage. If the model of the curriculum embodies the notions of ‘preparation for school’ and ‘child as future pupil’, we may ask if this is consistent with adequate time for exploratory play in the lives of young children. And for children and families who do not place the same value on play as a curriculum entitlement as educators, will their expectations be identified, understood and responded to? We may question whether the notion of play is ‘neutral’ and equally accessible for all children. Terms such as ‘play’, ‘learning’ and ‘work’ may be interpreted differently depending on culture, belief and social context.

In Part II Tim Parke and Rose Drury commence in Chapter 8 by examining issues for young bilingual children. For all children there may be adjustments to be made, as the language and culture of the school differ from the language and culture of the home. How much more is that so for children entering an environment in which their mother tongue is not available? So as we read about bilingual Maria in the nursery classroom, we can see the opportunities that are provided, or lost, to explore language in rich and stimulating interactions. In Chapter 9 Alice Paige-Smith considers how some parents attempted to achieve inclusion for their children with difficulties in learning or with disabilities. We learn that a professional view of inclusion may not always be similar to a parental view. Here the voices of some parents are heard as they tell their stories about their children. The establishment of a support group by, and for, the parents is chronicled and demonstrates the efforts that may be required in some instances. Joy Jarvis examines a particular aspect of inclusive provision in Chapter 10. She looks at some of the key issues for those involved with children who have a hearing loss. What strategies should be adopted to give these children access to the language of the classroom? We read how important that question is as we note how Jessica misses out on some of the language used during a group activity. The essential nature of this language is clearly identified.

Early years practitioners will know that the children in their care come from a variety of backgrounds and there are inequalities in the health of those children. Angela Underdown makes comparisons with other countries, as well as suggesting strategies for reducing inequalities in child health in the UK. The health of minority groups features in this chapter and we hear too the views of four- and five-year-old children on health. Martin Woodhead provides an even more global perspective in the final chapter. Should work have a place in the lives of young children? His historical as well as cross-cultural exploration of early childhood work provides fascinating insights into children’s current contribution and future economic activity. It explores an area often missing from discussions of early years education and care.

Professionalism and the early years practitioner

The chapters in this book illustrate some of the new demands and new challenges that practitioners working in today’s early year settings are facing, which many may feel unprepared for. The need for high quality training in order to respond to this changing scenario has been recognised over the years by a number of influential reports (DES 1990; Ball 1994; Audit Commission 1996). However, the traditional low status of early childhood services, low pay and poor employment conditions have limited the growth of professionalism in this field. The vast majority of people who work with young children are either unqualified or poorly qualified and have limited opportunities for career progression (Hevey and Curtis 1996). In the last section of this chapter we look at this changing scenario and explore opportunities for early years practitioners to move towards a new professionalism.

The multi-disciplinary focus of recent government initiatives such as Sure Start (Sure Start 2001) and Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships (DfEE 1997a) has begun to open up new career opportunities and requires professionals who have a broad range of knowledge and a high level of skills that cross professional boundaries. The multi-disciplinary training required for these new professional roles has been recognised in the growth of Early Childhood Studies (ECS) degrees (Fawcett and Calder 1998) which envisaged a new role of ‘educarer’ that would cross the boundaries of care and education. However, these degrees have been criticised by employers for not providing practical experience, an issue now being addressed through the development of ‘practice’ modules (personal communication, Calder 2002), and for not being linked to agreed national occupational outcomes (QCA 1999a). One significant step in relation to career progression was that in 1998 the Teacher Training Agency in England recognised advanced subject knowledge of early years, such as that provided by ECS degrees, as an alternative to a National Curriculum subject for those wishing to progress to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). This development was linked to government plans for qualified early years teachers to be involved in all early years settings.

In 2000 David Blunkett, then Secretary of State for Education in England, announced the introduction of Foundation degrees. These new awards were intended to offer a nationally recognised, vocationally oriented qualification designed to enhance skills and knowledge and improve employability (DfEE 2000). This development was followed in January 2002 by the launch of an Early Years Sector-Endorsed Foundation degree by the Department for Education and Skills, which has been backed by significant resources and support for early years practitioners. This new degree offers recognition and development of work-based skills and underpinning knowledge and has been endorsed by the employment sector, thus addressing the criticisms previously aimed at ECS degrees. The Early Years Sector-Endorsed Foundation degree will lead to a new employment level to be known as ‘Senior Practitioner’. While the achievement of ‘Senior Practitioner’ status is seen as an important career goal in its own right, the degree will also provide the basis for progressing to Qualified Teacher Status through a variety of routes. The further completion of an ordinary or honours degree will also offer other career opportunities for early years practitioners (DfEE 2001). This new development should open up progression routes that have previously been unavailable to the majority of early years practitioners and will be an important step in raising the standard of education and training within this field.

Therefore, there are many changes, developments and concerns for us to consider. The contributors have explored a number of those key issues and areas. In doing so the reader is provided with two distinct voices. There is the voice of those authors as they thoughtfully explore, argue and suggest. Then there is the voice of the child, sometimes very explicitly, as we are enabled to hear and read their thoughts and comments, but also implicitly as young children are, quite appropriately, a part of every chapte...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Notes on the contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Part I Exploring curriculum issues
• Part II Exploring issues of inclusion
• References
• Index