Children’s risk‐taking behaviour: implications for early childhood policy and practice

The safety of children as they learn and develop is of prime concern for parents, teachers and legislators alike. Legislation governing the provision of early childhood services provides guidelines and procedures for reducing the likelihood of children being exposed to injuries and unsafe environments. Such strategies, however, only take account of aspects of the physical environment that can be manipulated to ensure the safety of children and do not consider those aspects of the individual child’s behaviour that may contribute to unintentional injury. One such factor is children’s risk‐taking behaviour. The paper presents a critical review of current risk‐taking literature. Components of risk taking, including sensation seeking and optimism bias, and contributory factors such as gender, temperament, and parent socialization practices are examined in light of the current legislative and accountability documents relating to the provision of early childhood services in the Australian state of New South Wales. The aim is to explore the role that these factors play in reducing children’s exposure to risk and to identify directions for future research.     

Aspirations and actions: early childhood from policy to practice in Scotland

This paper explores early childhood experience in Scotland in terms of how readily the aspirations of policy convert to day-to-day practices. Ambitions to improve the lives of children and families have been high on the political agenda. Policy may be understood as a tool that aims to influence childhood experience in positive ways. If this is to be so, then the processes that effect change and their limitations need to be understood better, as do the underpinning values and assumptions. The workforce is at the heart of the endeavour to put policy aspirations into action: they are considered to be agents of change. In exploring such issues this paper draws on a policy-based functional analysis of the children's workforce [Dunlop, A.-W., L. Seagraves, S. Henderson, J. Henry, J. Martlew, and J. Fee. 2011. A Policy-Based Functional Analysis of the Children's Workforce. For Scottish Government: Children and Young People Social Care Directorate, Workforce and Capacity Issues Division] and on policy developments since. The paper therefore discusses Scottish policy aspirations for young children and their families, the contribution of the workforce to achieving those aspirations and asks if staff competence in itself is sufficient to ensure policy delivery for all in a climate where child poverty continues to contribute to unequal lives.     

Teachers in early childhood policy

This paper examines teacher accountability and authority in early childhood policy. It reports on data from a study that investigated the influences affecting early childhood teacher decision-making at the preschool level in Victoria, Australia. Using a question raised by Ball ‘Where are the teachers in all this [policy]?’ provided a starting point for the critical discourse analysis into how forms of control, teacher authority, obligation and constraint within policies potentially influenced teachers’ curriculum decisions. The study found that despite no government-mandated curriculum framework at the time, teachers were held accountable for their curricular practice. Yet as professionals, early childhood teachers were denied public acknowledgement of their expertise as they were almost invisible in policy. In the four policies analysed, proprietors of early childhood settings and preschool agencies held authority over curriculum. Subsequently, teachers’ authority as professionals with curricular knowledge was diminished.     

Differences in pupil achievement in Kenya: Implications for policy and practice

In this study the authors employed multilevel analyses procedures to examine pupil, class and school levels factors that influenced pupil achievement in Kenya.Pupil's age, pupil's socioeconomic background and pupil–teacher ratio were important factors in the prediction of pupil achievement. The provinces with the largest between-school variation were Eastern and Rift Valley. Low social equity was evident in Nyanza, Nairobi and Western while large gender inequities were evident in North Eastern. Implications of the findings for policy and practice are outlined.     

Multicultural visions in early reading classrooms: Implications for early childhood teacher educators

Abstract

Teachers and teacher educators are faced with an urgent responsibility to support the learning of an increasingly diverse population of young children. Based on the sociocultural perspective of reading, a literature‐based approach is outlined for early reading teachers. The implications of this approach to teacher education programs are further discussed from the author's own experiences of transmitting multicultural visions to preservice teachers in a multicultural course and a literacy method course she taught. The author maintains that teacher educators are in a unique position to help early childhood teacher candidates nurture multicultural visions in their teacher education programs today, and carry these visions to their future early reading classrooms tomorrow. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.     

Children in relation: Rethinking early childhood education

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC, 1986; Bredekamp, 1987) has published guidelines which define “developmentally appropriate” practice for all children birth through eight. These guidelines have now come under criticism, however, for a variety of reasons. Researchers have argued that they present a false impression of consensus (Walsh, 1991), that they are premised on a developmental theory characterized by ethnocentric bias (Bowman & Stott, 1994), and that they represent cultural values that are not universally shared (Jipson, 1991; Wiliiams, 1994; Phillips, 1994). This article holds likewise that the promulgation of guidelines based on universalist assumptions places racial, ethnic, and linguistic “minority” children and parents at a disadvantage and contributes to the very processes that early childhood educators seek to remedy. After reviewing an extensive research literature which shows children from traditionally disadvantaged groupsin relation, the article concludes that the poor scholastic performance of disproportionate numbers of children should be attributed to interactional and relational factors rather than to innate capabilities or to parental “inadequacy.” An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, August 14, 1993, Miami, FL.     

Models of supervision in early childhood programs: Implications for training

Many child care directors inherit their role of supervisor without having had adequate training or experience. Given the wide disparity in the field with respect to staff preparation, child care directors, in their role as supervisors, are called on to develop, train, evaluate, and appraise child care workers on a daily basis. The literature in the field suggests that there are common threads among supervisory models in early childhood and that directors of child care programs can benefit from in-service training that specifically addresses their supervisory functions. “The most difficult part of my job as Director is trying to get my staff to change certain practices.” Director, Church Preschool Program “I don't feel comfortable with my role as evaluator; I guess I don't like telling people they're doing something wrong.” Director, Day Care Center     

Continuity and change in the visions of childhood in head start: Implications for early childhood teacher educators

ABSTRACT

Drawing on an autoethnographic approach, the purpose of this article is to support: 1) teacher educators in thinking about how to mentor sexual minority students as they consider the decision to disclose (or not) their sexual identities in their school placements; and 2) sexual minority students in navigating the decision to disclose (or not) their sexual identities in the context of practicum or student teaching. Early childhood teacher education faculty must be prepared to support sexual minority students in confronting decisions about disclosing their sexual orientation in the context of practicum and student teaching. Though sexual minority educators may choose to seek employment in schools or districts with explicit values about nondiscrimination, preservice teachers may not enjoy similar agency or protection, given that student placements are often dictated by geographic proximity to the university and partnerships with teacher preparation programs.     

Creative development in the early years: some implications of policy for practice

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on the identifying of ‘creative development’ as a desirable early years learning outcome by the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority (SCAA, 1997). The article begins with a rationale for the inclusion of ‘creativity’ in the curriculum of young children in a post‐modern world at the turn of the century. It then goes on to look at the way in which ‘creative development’ is characterized by SCAA as a desirable learning outcome, and to unpick some of the messages which its inclusion in the curriculum may signify. There are several challenges posed by this part of the early years curriculum, which are then explored. Finally it proposes a framework for interpreting and translating it into practice.     

Teachable-moment-oriented curriculum practice in early childhood education

This study explores aspects of teachable-moment-oriented curriculum practice by questioning whether a teacher's teachable moment is relevant to the learner's 'learnable moment'. For teachable-moment-oriented curriculum practice to result in developmentally and culturally appropriate meaningful learning, transforming the identity between learner and teacher seems imperative. Data collected from naturalistic settings in various teacher education contexts over the last few years are used. Both prospective and in-service teachers' images of teachable-moment-oriented curriculum practices are presented     

In pursuit of quality: early childhood qualifications and training policy

This paper aims to critique policy discourses around the pursuit of quality in early years education. Taking England as a focal point, it problematizes the use of the term ‘quality’ and attempts to standardise its meaning; highlighting the disconnect that exists between policy and practice. The paper combines discourse analysis of a small number of key government documents with a series of interviews with early years stakeholders in order to identify issues that will have resonance and can inform a much needed continuation of debates about what quality might mean. Over the course of the research it became apparent that there was considerable disquiet amongst early years practitioners with regards the current qualifications and training landscape, particularly with regards to what many viewed as ideologically-driven policy-making, not informed by proper dialogue with the sector.     

Aesthetic experience in a dynamic cycle: Implications for early childhood teachers and teacher educators

Abstract

This study describes early childhood teachers’ own beliefs and concepts of aesthetic experience in young children. The teachers involved in this study were directly engaged in preschools for 4 and 5 year‐olds where arts and aesthetic education are a primary consideration of their integrated curriculum. These teachers identified a variety of features of aesthetic experience in three dimensions, which develop in a dynamic, non‐linear cycle. This study suggests that early childhood teacher's awareness and knowledge of aesthetic experience is critical to support the high quality of young children's learning through the arts. It concludes with implications for both teacher education programs and early childhood teacher educators. © 2005 Published by Elsevier Inc.     

Constructions of childhood in school: Power,policy and practice in Irish education

This article considers the structuring of adult/child relations in Irish primary schools in terms of the absence of children's voice in much school practice. Drawing on the work of Foucault and Giddens, the article highlights how teacher constructions of childhood are framed within a 'needs' discourse, which precludes consideration of children's rights and status within school. The extent to which children accept or resist such construction is mediated by their age, gender and social class. Policy in relation to according children greater rights of consultation in school, as recommended in recent Irish legislation, will only be effective where teachers and children are afforded the opportunity to consider their relationship in terms of the exercise of power generally between adults and children, with implications for the rights and responsibilities of all parties in the educational encounter.     

Blocks are educational: revealing discourses through early childhood policy illustrations

Abstract

In the course of a study on the impacts of changing early childhood policy in Aotearoa New Zealand since 1989, the illustrations accompanying three major government reports and policies stood out as encapsulating the changes in underlying discourses. This enabled the illustrations from these three policy reports to be used for a historical analysis of shifting discourses, which highlighted the trends towards human capital theory and an increasing educationalisation of early childhood as the basis for policy. It is noted that the latter two reports feature cover pictures with block play. The particular historic positioning of block play at the juncture between acceptable early childhood and school pedagogy is explored, suggesting a compromise between discourses of early childhood care and education for human capital development purposes, and for the holistic development of the child.     

Public perception of early childhood language policy in Ghana: an exploratory study

This article explores current public perceptions in Ghana about the National Literacy Acceleration Programme (NALAP), a mother tongue-based bilingual medium of instruction (MTB-BMoI) policy for early childhood education. The researchers conducted an exploratory study of public reactions towards the Minister for Education’s statement on revamping the program made at the Shared Prosperity Forum held in Accra, Ghana. The article includes an overview of the history of early childhood education language of instruction (LoI) in Ghana and the rationale for the NALAP. Conversations with education officers and parents about their views on the NALAP were analyzed. The findings reflect strong negative feelings about the program among many Ghanaians who express a preference for English-only LoI. The paper discusses the importance of bilingual LoI in early childhood as well as the need to obtain public support, especially among parents, to facilitate full implementation of the program in Ghana. Recommendations for public engagement are proposed.