ECE304

Critical Reflection: Early Childhood

Theory and Practice
Learning Objectives:



Successful completion of this unit should enable you to:

Understand historical, cultural, political representations of children/childhood
Engage with early childhood issues of difference, including Indigenous perspectives
Understand and articulate reconceptualist and traditional views of childhood and learning
Critically examine pre-determined and self-selected critical issues
Identify, describe and critically review topical early childhood social and political issues in early childhood
Assignment 1

Summarise 3
Early Childhood
issues
40% 300-500words x 3
or 1500 (approx)
Week 7
Friday
Assignment 2

Investigation of an
early childhood
issue
60% 2500 words Week 12 Friday
Discussion
What has influenced changes within early childhood care and education since the first schools and childcare were established?
How might social, theoretical and economic changes affect beliefs about quality early childhood education and care?

For example:
What changes in family patterns have occurred in the last 50 years and what have they meant to your area of early childhood?
How have changes in theories of child development and learning impacted on ECEC?
What affect could changing status of Aborigines, refugees, immigrants, people with disabilities have on ECEC?


Beliefs about quality education and care influenced by social changes :

the ideas of theorists
changing social & economic situations of individuals and the state
status assigned to women, children, and EC teachers
the status assigned to Aborigines, refugees, immigrants, people with disabilities, and other disadvantaged people
changes in knowledge of cultural understandings & laws (e.g. discrimination and racial vilification)
women having babies later in life
changing family patterns
changing immigration patterns
funding arrangements for EC education and care services
employment patterns
industrial conditions and legislation

Beliefs about quality education and care influenced by changes in theory
Moralist theories
1700s children considered to embody original sin
Progressivist theories
scientific principles of development, data, measurement, professionalism
Social and psychological focus (behaviourists)
1900s child centred approach
Cognitive focus
1960s play based approach
Reconceptualist theories
look deeply at the issues of justice and equity
Beliefs about quality education and care changed
through historical developments


Early 1800s
Education only for the wealthy or through
volunteer tutors
In cities schools set up by churches
In country maybe one room school on farmers
land
No standard for education existed

Childcare for custody of chn. of working mothers; not
government funded

1830s

Schools funded by Government because of links
between crime and lack of education
Belief in class-based requirements for education
(child of blacksmith or farmer needed only
enough education to continue these trades)
Government schools got money to pay teachers,
erect and equip schoolhouses and buy textbooks
Established strict country-wide
curriculum/guidelines
No funding to church run schools
The aim of school was:
Teach the 3 Rs
+ for girls sewing, knitting, darning
+for boys geometry & more geography, arithmetic
Instil the advantages of being orderly, clean, punctual,
decent and courteous, and avoiding all things which
would make them disagreeable to other people
therefore strict discipline
School was for 6yrs-over 16 yrs but non-compulsory
until 1870s (enforcing attendance didnt work)
The aim of childcare was to:

reform working class family life
improve poor living conditions
keep children off the streets
protect them from bad behaviour
keep them out of danger,
train them towards good citizenship
Early 1900s
movement towards seeing kindergartens as
educative, whilst day care centres, catering for
babies and toddlers, maintained a social
service orientation.

nurseries run along the lines hospitals &
orphanages and employed nurses (with a
strict health regime)

1900s 1950s
technical education improved in schools due to
depression of the 1890s (need for skilled workers)
initially school pupils became trainee teachers at 13yrs
no teacher training colleges in some states until 1900s
higher education mainly available only to wealthy
then, fees for high schools abolished, subjects
improved and extended to 4 years teachers had to
finish high school then teachers college
3 levels of certificate: 6yrs elementary/4yrs high
school/additional 2 yrs (continued like this to 1950s)

1930s


Day nurseries began to cater for 2 5 yrs and
consider issues of education rather than only
child minding concerned for the development
of character, whilst primary schools were
interested in instruction
(Brennan 2011)
1938
The Australian Association for Pre-School Child Development
(now Early Childhood Australia) established as a federal
organisation.
Original aims were to:
co-ordinate the work of the six kindergarten unions
set standards for guidance of nursery/kindergarten chn.
set standards for the training of kindergarten teachers
establish a bureau of publications re pre-school work
organise a conference biennially


(Brennan 1994, p.37)
Demonstration centres established
Lady Gowrie child care programs tried to
educate working class families about the
proper ways children should be reared and
conducted rigorous daily physical checks of
each child.
Effectively excluded Aboriginal children,
children from non-English speaking
background and children with disabilities from
enrolling in the centres.

1940s
Women needed in the work force during
WW2. Forced the hand of the government to
take direct responsibility for the provision of
child care for the children of working mothers
Brennan 1994, p.43.

1950s-1960s

steady rise of women working outside the home.

child care was mostly found by calling upon friends,
neighbours and members of the extended family

pre-schools increasingly in well-to-do suburbs & more likely
to serve privileged middle-class families

frequent curriculum changes in schools (up to now)
1960 1970s
increasing advocacy & lobbying for child care.
Opposition based on concerns for mental
health of children denied full time mother
increasing concern re quality of services.
Emphasis was on rigid routines and on haste.
Considered undesirable to show affection to
children and necessary to have strong
discipline.

1972

The Child Care Act (reluctantly) introduced by
Federal Liberal Government. *remember
Education Acts were established between 1872 &
1895
Probably the most significant aspect of this
period...was the legitimacy it gave to the idea of
childrens services being established and
supported as a normal community service - not
something which should be restricted to the
needy
Brennan, 1994, p.9
1970s-1980s
change of Government / change of attitude
childcare became an important service; increased
number of services; more children in care at a
younger age and for longer periods of time.
mid 1980s FDC under same government
department as childrens services.
OSHC & Vacation care began for 5-12 year olds
(some managed and housed by schools)



1990s


Fee relief (in community based childcare
from1980s) extended to commercial centres.
The Quality Improvement & Accreditation System
(QI&AS) for long day care centres introduced
1994 revised in 2002 & extended to FDC & OHSC
Increase in integrated services especially non-
government schools. On-site preschools &
childcare provide seamless transition, benefit
families

2000>
Idea of social investment began to frame thinking about
social and economic policy in Australia
Scientific and economic consensus about importance of early
years (Brain research)
National EC Development Strategy: Investing in the Early Years
(focus on chn 0-8yrs education, childcare, health, housing,
especially reducing inequality)
From 2006 50% increase in total government expenditure on
ECEC in real terms

2007/2008 Labour Government
commits to high quality EC
education:

National Partnership Agreement in EC Education
By 2013, all children in year before formal schooling will have
access to 15 hours of Government-funded, play-based early
childhood education, for a minimum of 40 weeks per year,
delivered by degree qualified early childhood teachers in
public, private and community-based preschools and child
care
+ National Partnership Agreement for Indigenous EC
Development
closing the gap
specific focuses on ensuring Indigenous 4yr olds in remote communities have access to EC
education.

2008 collapse of ABC Learning

2008/9 National Quality Framework
National guide to licensing & quality rating of
LDC, FDC, OSHC, and preschools

Early Years Learning Framework

Qualified EC teachers











http://www.deewr.gov.au/EARLYCHILDHOOD/POLICY_AGENDA/Pages/home.aspx June 2009 Hon Kate Ellis new Minister for Early
Childhood Education and Child Care
Module 2 Topic 1:
Constructions of Childhood

Beliefs we hold about children, and the images of
childhood on which we draw, affect our
understanding and implementation of our role as
early childhood professionals in many ways. For
example, they underpin our interactions with
children, are embedded in our responses to
childrens ideas and behaviour, and are influential in
the choices we make in relation to overall curriculum
and pedagogy
Woodrow, 1999, p. 7

How do we unpack our assumptions
about childhood?
The nature of assumptions is that
they are not challenged,
critiqued, reflected upon,
unpacked - that is why they are
all assumptions.
Hatch, 1995, p.121

What does it mean to see childhood as socially
constructed? It means...




looking underneath our taken for granted ideas
about childhood.
understanding that what is has not always been
understanding that what is for us, is not
necessarily the same for everyone else in the
world, in our country, in our town, in our
classroom.

Images of childhood
Child as innocent (Woodrow, 1999)

This image had its beginnings with Rousseau in the 1700s.
child is inherently innocent and naturally good.

However:
whilst childhood immaturity may be a biological fact, innocence is a
socially constructed phenomenon (Woodrow, 1999, pp.8-9).

Impact of this image of childhood today:
child-centred education, special needs provision, nurseries and
kindergartens, feeding on demand, all tailored to the needs of the
individual (James, Jenks & Prout, 1998, p. 15) + sheltering chn from
the world; sheltering chn from agency because adults know better
(Sorrin, 2005, p.14)


Child as noble/saviour
This image had its beginnings in early Christian times (wisdom of the
Christ child)

Child is good and has capacity to take on adult responsibility

Impact of this image of childhood today:
Stories of chn suffering for others and saving the day (Tiny Tim, Harry
Potter)
Superhero play
Chn as mediators between teacher & parent
Chn as carers of siblings and even of parents
(Sorin, 2005, p. 14)


Child as threat/monster (Woodrow, 1999)
This image stems from Puritan traditions of the seventeenth century.
- Parents and the state were charged with correctly training the
child, and where necessary disciplining and punishing him or her.

Impact of this image of childhood today:
Child seen as threat or monster although wilfulness is not
necessarily seen as intentional (James, Jenks & Prout, 1998).
Adult initiated discipline policies and school/centres rules; time-
out chairs or exclusion (Sorin, 2005, p.15)
boot camps and short, sharp shocks (James, Jenks & Prout, 1998,
p.13).




Snowballing child
This image has arisen in the 21
st
century due to changes in family structure

Parents might compensate for their absence with material goods
Child has power/control over adults
Children seen as spoilt brat
Child persists in self-centred and antisocial behaviours

Impact of this image of childhood today:
Bribery/stickers/points/money/toys/excursions etc

Out of control child
Despite discipline (evil child) and bribery
(snowballing child) the out-of-control child leaves
adults helpless
Chn are violent or self-destructive to get what
they want (wilful)
Impact of this image of childhood today:
Might commit crimes or self harm
Special classes or expelled from school
Dysfunctional adult lives
Child as miniature adult
From Ancient Greece and Rome, through the middle ages to the Industrial
Revolution childhood not seen as separate phase of life

Children pictured as the same as adults

Impact of this image of childhood today:
Child labour continues in many countries
Children encouraged to behave like a big girl and big boy
Adult furniture
Chn expected to sit for long periods rather than play based curriculum
Child as embryo adult (Woodrow, 1999) or
Adult-in-Training (Sorin, 2005
This image reinforced by theoretical conception of the
child naturally moving through a series of stages from
immaturity to rationality (Piaget, Freud, Erikson)

Childhood is temporal, a rehearsal period to learn skills as
preparation for adult life;

Impact of this image of childhood today:
Chn who do not meet milestones labelled as deficit (Woodrow,
1999, pp.10-11).
Chn coached to achieve in academic tests
Extra help (tutoring, music, sports training)
Learning through play not a priority

Child as commodity
Children are objects to be consumed by adult audience (Wood in
Sorin, 2005,p.17)
Child powerless to adult who is controlling the market of chn as
saleable

Childrens beauty pageants
Child pornography
Baby in the flowerpot
Chds clothes that mimic adults
End of year performances & graduations
Publication of test scores

Sorin 2005 p 17
Child as victim

Child is victim of social and political forces (lives through
war, terror, famine, poverty)
Child goes unrecognised, is voiceless and powerless

Impact of this image of childhood today:

Chn presence might largely ignored
Chn may not attend excursion or buy textbooks
Clothes/uniforms stained or patched
Lunches bland
Chn feel unwelcomed or marginalised
Child as powerful, complex, active contributor
(agentic child)
This image is built on socio-constructivist approaches where children live and learn in culture.

Child are social actors who participate in their education and lives

Impact of this image of childhood today:
We cannot think about childhood as universal, no normal stages or ideal types.
Focus less on child as individual and more on meaningful group interactions.
Curriculum is co-constructed (adult-chd collaboration)
Observations shared with chn toward planning
Assessment work chosen by chn and teachers

(James, Jenks & Prout, 1998; Woodrow, 1999; Patterson, 2005; Sorin ,2005).


Child as active agent in teaching and
learning
EYLF
Learning Stories
....
.....
....
Why think about such images of
childhood?
Helps us unpack the dominant and universal
images of childhood currently circulating in
our world
Helps us understand how the image of
childhood we hold affects our relationships
with children
Provides a framework for building new, more
inclusive images of childhood.
For example, we have become used to the idea that
childrens development is natural.


Children just grow up and learn to do things.
Its natural. These natural development
models are everywhere (in your newspaper,
magazines, text books).
We have become so used to them that we
believe they tell the whole story of childhood,
but

there is no one right way to do
anything with children.
Researchers have become more cautious
about making sweeping pronouncements
about child development as universal or the
same for all children no matter where they
grow up.

This has implications for making claims about
what best practice might be.
Hyun (1998) talks about our knowledge of
child development as being limited because of
the research on which is has been based.
Often, in the past, children from cultures
other than the mainstream Western cultures
were considered to be deficient when they
did not do what mainstream children did.

Instead, there are many children and many
childhoods, each constructed by our
understandings of childhood and what
children are and should be.
The effects of culture on child development are
pervasive. It prescribes:

how and when babies are fed,
where and with whom they sleep
response to an infants crying/ toddlers temper
sets the rules for discipline and expectations
affects what parents worry about
influences how illness is treated and disability is perceived
approves or disapproves certain arrangement for child
care

Questions to guide practitioners
Hyun 1998, pp. 9-10.

What do I see? What do I hear?
How do I interpret the situation (or the thing)?
How can I be sure that my understanding of the childs behavior is
culturally fair and appropriate to him/her?
What leads me to think, interpret, and interact in that way (or mode) for
the child? What are my cultural references on that matter?
What leads the child (the parent, the children) to think, interpret, and
behave in that way/mode? What are their cultural references on that
matter?
In what ways can I promote the childrens play using the new knowledge so
that all children become flexible and fluent in infusing all different cultural
practices, while remaining free to enjoy their own cultural congruency
within their creative play context.