Early Childhood Curriculum Essay

Introduction archaeozoic barbarianhood is an important stage of kidrens brio. By interacting with people around (each other and the adults), babyren explore and make sense of the initiation around them. A victoryful wee kidhood plan should fulfill childrens look at to give children rich experience at the most important educational stage of their lives. This paper willing critically dispute, compargon and contrast full(prenominal)/ desktop, Reggio genus genus genus Emilia to Te Whariki, at the end of this paper the fountain will talk just to the highest degree own philosophy of earliest puerility pedagogics.Hi/ cooking stove Curriculum was developed in US in 1962 in Michcigan, this political programme was designed for at risk children from secondary income families. There were authoritative issues for thildren from swallow class society and especially African-American children which were shown to be low achievers and low IQ scores comparing with the same-age children in the other scope at this cadence. In 1962 David Weikart of Ypsilanti, Michigan, became distressed at the inability of the local drill day arranging to produce lite graze, functional adults (Holt, 2007). As an experienced instructor, Weikart took a seriously look at best practice and current educational theories.He wanted to discover a pre instill class that would generate better groomman outcomes in later old age and equip children to deal successfully with life as adults. With colleagues, Weikart initiated an experimental preschool programme, comparing the progress of his children with a control sort out of the same age kept at home. Thus the construction of the frame buy the farm known as the in high spirits/ background signal access began. The main features of the program was regular visiting home bade by teachers, during which teachers dual-lane tuition about childrens go outing and development, childrens interesting was informed teacher by parents.T his programme was mechanismed within a number of countries establish on the model (Holt, 2007). The deprived neighbourhoods of Ypsilanti started to see a positive flex in childrens academic success, and the eminent/ mount advancement spread. The success of Weikarts move up was borne out by statistics ga in that locationd as the years went by his in high spirits/ field students achieved better job retention, higher earnings, lower arrest rates, and less dependency on social services.The High/Scope philosophy is based on the engage of Jean Piaget, Piage suggests that When the wide awake school requires that students efforts come from the student himself instead of be imposed, and that his intelligence information undertakes authentic work instead of accepting predigested knowlight-emitting diodege from outside, it is precisely asking that laws of all intelligence be respected (cited in Dunlap, 1997, p. 56) Piaget use the term industrious school to refer to a child being in volved in active exploration of and ecperimentation with the environment kind of than the child passively listening to a teacher provide instruction.High/Scope focuses on the importantance of active encyclopedism (Dunlap, 1997). The HighScope Curriculum emphasizes active participatory learning. dynamical learning means students soak up direct, hands-on experiences with people, objects, events, and ideas. Childrens interests and choices are at the heart of the HighScope programs. Children are active learners, they learn best finished the experiences that they gained from the populace around them and their own discoveries (Holt, 2007). They construct their own knowledge through interactions with the world and the people around them.In active learning vistas, adults expand childrens thinking with diverse materials and nurturing interactions environment. The Wheel of Active Learning High/Scope is often pictured as a wheel rotating on the hub of active learninglearning through han ds-on involvement with people, materials, events, and ideas. High/Scopes wheel of active learning has four spokes Adult/Child Interaction, Learning Environment, Daily Routine, and Assessment. Adult/Child Interaction means that shared control amid adults and children is central to the High/Scope Curriculum.In improver to sharing control, adults in a High/Scope classroom accede in childrens play, conversa as partners with them, focus on childrens strengths and vortex them support, and encourage childrens problem solving. Lists of recommended signalize experiences (58 of them) have been compiled and incorporated into the High/Scope curriculum, to further childrens mental, physical, social and emotional development. These key experiences cash in angiotensin converting enzymes chips into ten categories creative representation, language and literacy, initiative and social relations, movement, music, classification, seriation, number, space, and time.Learning find out/environment i s about how High/Scope settings set out their populate to support childrens choices and interest. In High/Scope settings, a clear-cut interest areas that typically include a home area, art area, cylinder block area, toy area, and other areas that reflect the childrens interests. High/Scope classrooms make up a predictable sequence of events called the Daily Routine. The daily routine in a High/Scope classroom includes propose-do-review, small and large congregation time, outside time, transition times, and eating and resting times.Plan-do-review is a key component of High/Scope undertake, children first plan what materials they want to work with, what they want to do and whom they want do it with. Once they have made a plan they can go and do it. Then, after this chosen work -time, the children discuss what they did and whether it was the same as or different from what they had mean. Another key portion of High/Scope is Assessment. In High/Scope settings, teachers assess ch ildrens development with comprehensive observations, they record daily anecdotes describing what children do and says.Teachers review these anecdotes and rate each child using an assessment shaft of light that is organized into vi areas of development several times a year. These scores will encourage the teachers design developmentally appropriate learning opportunities and can be utilise to explain childrens progress during conferences (Holt, 2007) Holt stressed that there are cardinal basic ingredients of High/Scope approch a variety of interesting Materials the probability to explore and work with materials-Manipulation the opportunity to choose materials and decide how to use them- picking children talk about their experiences and learning-Language Support for adult.(Holt, 2007, p,13) Roopnarine and Johnson argued that teachers new to the High/Scope curriculum sometimes confusing about their roles. They should see themselves as actively observers and setting up problem so lving situations for children (Roopnarine and Johnson, 2003). Generally, Sheinehart described the Validity of the High/Scope Reschool Education Model as The High/Scope model of preschool education is an at large(p) framework of educational ideas and practices based on the natural development of young children, developed by David Weikart and his colleagues in the 1960s.Based on the child development ideas of Jean Piaget, the High/Scope preschool model views children as active learners, who learn best from activities that they themselves plan, carry out, and reflect upon. Adults arrange interest areas in the learning environment maintain a daily routine that permits children to learn actively and join in childrens activities, asking questions that extend childrens plans and help them think through what they do. They encourage children to engage in a variety of key experiences that contri providede to their own development. (Sheinehart, 2003).Comparing with Te Whariki (the home(a) C urriculum Framework for earlyish childishness of in the buff Zealand), Te Whariki is choose Vygotskys sociolcultural approach, it is a bicultural document, which is written in both English and Maori. The developers of Te Whariki developed a framework that has implemented a bicultural perspective, an anti-racist approach and trilateral relationships with the Maori Community in New Zealand(Soler &Miller, 2003, p,62) Reggio Emilia is a small townspeople of about 130,000 people in Northern Italy. The approach was developed at the end of World War Two by the local community.Since then, the urban center of Reggio Emilia has been developing an educational system for young children through the collaborative efforts of parents, teachers, and the general community, under the guiding influence of Loris Malaguzzi (Hewett, 2001, p,95). In 1991, Newsweek magazine celebrated that in Reggio Emilia, there are 33 infant/toddler schools and preschools of the system were among the ten best schoo l systems in the world. Over the last 35 years, a process of collaborative examination and snalysis of teaching and learning about children were carried out by the teachers in the Reggio Emilia schools.This examination and analysis has broadened constructivist theory, and the results have been demonstrated to experts in education. (Klein, 2007) So far, the schools in Regil Emilia have expectant out of a culture that values children, out of the intense perpetration of group of parents, out of the leadership of a visionary man (Neugebauer, 1994, p,67). The key elements of Reggio Emilia approach include Child as active wisplike Environment as the third teacher three parties (children, parents and teachers) collaborating in childrens learning Making learning visible.Regio Emilia approach requires children to be seen as competent, resourceful, curious, imaginative, innovative and possessing a desire to interact and communicate with others. The role of collaborationism among children, teachers and parent, the co-construction of knowledge, the interdependence of individual and social learning and the role of culture in understanding this interdependence. (Baji Rankin, 2004). The approach is based on work of Dewey, Paiget & Vygotsky, these multiple influences led Reggio Emilia approach see children as active and competent learner.(klein, 2007) Although the approach draws many another(prenominal) ideas and theories of the great thinkers, the fundamental philosophy serving to guide this approach is much more than an eclectic mix of theories (Hewett, 2001, p. 99). Cooperation and collaboration are legal injury that stress the value of revisiting social learning. First of all, in term of cooperation, children essentialiness become member of a community that is working unneurotic, once there is a foundation of trust between the children and adults, collaboration start. An atelierista is a teacher who has a special training that supports the curriculum development of the children and other module members.Pedagogistas are built in as part of the cautiously planned support system of the Reggio Emilia schools. They are educational consultants that strive to implement the philosophy of the system and advocate for seeing children as the competent and equal people they are. They also make critical connections between families, schools, and community. (Klein, 2007). Documentation is one of the special features of the Reggio Emilia approach, it uses the environment to explain the history of projects and the school coommunity.It serves many pruposes but the most important is used as a seek tool for studing childrens learning porcesses. According to Hong (1998) Documentation is about what children are doing, learning and grasping and the product of documentation is a reflection of interactions between teachers and children and among children. Because it is done on a daily basis, is a medium through which teachers discuss curriculum, keep it fluid an d emergent, and develop a rational for its course. It provids a give riseing theory for daily practice (p, 51) One ofthe cotton ups of Reggio Emilia is the knotty long term exploratio of the porjects.The projects of Reggio Emilia forever involves in e trulyday subjects rather than remote or academic ones, such as weather, rainbows, sunlight, city life, etc and it ceaselessly be long term projects. In a Reggio Emilia setting, it always includes an art studio and mini-art corners adjoining the individual classrooms. An professional artist is a standard member of staff, complementing the work of teachers by helping children communicate in their hundred languages,as Malaguzzi referred to childrens many ways of expressing themselves.The Reggio teacher plays a role of artful balacing between engagement and attention (Edwards, 1998). Classroom teachers work in pairs, organize environments rich in possibilites and provocations that invite the children to undertake all-embracing explor ation and problem solving. Teachers also are as documenters for the children, help them darkness and revist their words and actions to make the learning visible. They provide instruction in tool and material use for children, help find materials and resources, and scaffold childrens learning.The Reggio Emilia teachers are unique because they offer themselves to the process of co-construction of knowledge, they release the traditional roles of the teachers and open doors to new possibilities. The teacher start with the use of the childrens own theories, countenance disequlibrium, and help children to think about their thinking to facilitate new learning (Klein, 2007). Different than High/Scope, the environment of Reggio Emilia set up as a third teacher, it is believed beauty helps with concentration, the setting of Reggio Emila always very attractive and pleasing.Different with the other early puerility setting, the layout of typical school set up like the traditional Italian town agora with a central, indoor piazza, kitchen and the courtyard. The layout of the setting encourages encounters communication and relationships. (Thornton and Brunton, 2007) The pedagogues of Reggio Emilia view the school as a living organism which sharing relationships among the children, the teachers and the parents. The school produces for the adults, but above all for the children, a feeling of belonging in a world that is alive welcoming and authentic (Malaguzzi, 1994, p. 58).One of the criticisms of the Reggio Emilia approach is that it has been in the absence of a written curriculum and it is a need of accountability to the wider society. (Soler and Miller, 2003) Any early childhood setting want to consecrate Reggio Emilia approach to ones own practice must be careful with the different cultural background. As Hewett stressed that Reggio Emilia approach is strongly influenced by a unique image of the child and deeply embedded within the surrounding culture (2001, p. 99) Th e Reggio Emilia approach can not be simply coped, it must be carefully uncovered and redefined according to ones own culture.Similar as Te Whariki, Reggio Emilia is based upon sociocultural principles and emphasizes a child (learner)- center on practice to teaching and learning. The difference between Te Whariki and Reggio Emilia is that Reggio Emilia is not a compromise between the demands of a National Curriculum. The educator of Reggio Emilia do not follow any predetermined interior(a) framework, so the Reggio Emilia is always referred to as an approach or educational system not as a curriculum (Soler and Miller, 2003).Early puerility is an important stage in childrens lives when they find out about and make sense of their surroundings by interacting with others. An ideal curriculum should highlight this tremendous capacity that children have to learn and develop, and the importance of everyone working together to give children rich experiences in these early years. As an early childhood educator, the author has been working in different early childhood settings. The approaches that the setting applied include Montessori, High/Scope and play based.In authors opinion, the curriculum play the important role of early childhood education, teachers role of implementing the curriculum to the daily practical work is more important. Conclusion Early childhood is the most important time of great opportunity for childrens learning and development. The early childhood curriculum should provide children enjoyable and challenging learn experiences so that children can grow and develop as competent and confident learners.In this paper, the philosophy, features and development of High/Scope and Reggio Emilia approach have been discussed. Meanwhile, the author compares these two curriculums with Te Whariki and talk about the philosophy of early childhood education as well. Reference list Edwards, C. , Gandini, L. , & Forman, G. (1998). The Hundred Languages of Children T he Reggio Emilia approachadvanced reflections. New Jersey Ablex Publishing Corporation. Hewett, V. M. (2001) Examining the Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Education.Early Childhood Education Journal, 29(2), 95-100. Holt, N. (2007). Bringing the high/scope approach to your early years practice. Oxon,UK Routledge. Klein, A. S. (2007). Different Approaches to Teaching Comparing Three Preschool Programs. Available From http//www. earlychildhoodnews. com/earlychildhood/article_print. aspx? ArticleId=367 Accessed 17 February Neugebauer, B. (1994). Unpacking My Question and Images Personal Reflections of Reggio Emilia. Child Care Information Exchange, 3, 67-70. Newsweek (1991, Dec. 2).The 10 outstrip Schools in the World, and what we can learn from them. 51-64. Schweinhart, L. J. (2005). The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study through and through Age 40. Ypsilanti, US High/Scope Press. Soler, J. , & Miller, L. (2003). The Struggle for Early Childhood Curricula a comparison of the E nglish Foundation Stage Curriculum, Te Whariki and Reggio Emilia. world-wide Journal of Early Years Education, 11(1), 57-67. Thornton, L. & Brunton, P. (2005). Understanding the Reggio approach Reflections on the early childhood experience of Reggio Emilia. London, UK David Fulton.