Becoming and Being an Early Childhood Professional

Becoming and Being JANE BERTRAND Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2024 https://archive.org/details/becomingbeingearOO0Ounse Becoming and Being AN EARLY CHILDHOOD PROFESSIONAL JANE BERTRAND Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto + *¢ CENGAGE Australia « Brazil » Canada * Mexico « Singapore + United Kingdom + United States Becoming and Being an Early Childhood © 2022 Cengage Learning Canada, Inc. Professional ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, except as Jane Bertrand permitted by Canadian copyright law, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Senior Director, Product: Jackie Wood Cognero and Full-Circle Assessment are registered trademarks of Madeira Station LLC. 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Copy Editor: Karen Rolfe Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20210000031 | Canadiana (ebook) 20210000058 | ISBN 9780176916091 (softcover) | ISBN 9780176916152 (PDF) Compositor: SPi-Global Subjects: LCSH: Early childhood education—Canada. | LCSH: Early childhood educators—Training of—Canada. Text Designer: Sharon Lucas Classification: LCC LB1139.3.C3 B46 2021 | DDC 372.21—dc23 Cover Designer: Sharon Lucas Print text ISBN-13: 987-0-17-691609-1 Cover Image: © kohei_hara/gettyimages.ca Print text ISBN-10: 0-17-691609-1 Ebook ISBN-13: 978-0-17-691615-2 Ebook ISBN-10: 0-17-691615-6 Cengage Canada 333 Bay Street, #2400 Toronto, ON MSH 2T6 Canada Cengage is a leading provider of customized learning solutions with employees residing in nearly 40 different countries and sales in more than 125 countries around the world. Find your local representative at www.cengage.com. To learn more about Cengage platforms and services, register or access Printed in Canada Print Number: 01 your online learning solution, or purchase materials for your course, visit www.cengage.ca. Print Year: 2021 om 0 am ee 9 g om 0 88 fl en Contents Preface xii Acknowledgements xix About the Author xx Foreword by Dr. V. Angela James Introduction xxiv SECTION 1 xxi EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION DEFINED ECE Leaders: Maureen CHAPTER Dockendorf 1 2 1 THE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 3 Objectives 3 —— Image of the Child 3 A Sense of Self 6 Relating with Others 6 Active, Involved and Confident Learners Communication 7 7 Today’s Citizens and the Future Citizens of Tomorrow Principles of Early Childhood Education Holistic Development Environments Play 8 8 9 10 Belonging 10 Early Childhood Education Practices Responsive Relationships Inclusion 17 Cultural Competence Reconciliation 18 19 Intentional Teaching 21 Professional Identity 21 12 11 7 Summary 22 Review Questions Study Activities Key Terms 22 22 23 Suggested Readings 23 CHAPTER 2 24 HISTORY OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IN CANADA Objectives 24 Historical Foundations 24 Indigenous Views of Early Childhood 25 John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) Progressive Education 27 Psycho-analytic Theory 27 Behaviourism 25 25 28 The Child Study Movement in Canada 28 Mid-20th Century Theories and Early Childhood Education Psychosocial Theory Social Learning 31 32 Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Compensatory Preschool Programs 33 Compensatory Programs in Canada 36 32 Current Theories Informing Early Childhood Education Information Processing Theory Socio-cultural Theory 37 Ecological Theory of Human Development Self-Regulation 37 37 38 38 Post-Foundation Theories in Early Childhood Education Child Care Centre Programs and Policies in Canada 1830s to 1940—Child Care Centres World War Il to to 1960 1960 to 21st Century Summary 46 Review Questions Study Activities Key Terms 47 47 47 Suggested Readings CONTENTS 43 44 48 41 40 41 30 SECTION 2 PLAY-BASED LEARNING 49 ECE Leaders: Christine Alden 50 CHAPTER 3 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION IS PLAY-BASED LEARNING Objectives 52 Play Matters 52 Types of Play 53 Onlooker Play 55 Physically Active Play Exploratory Play Pretend Play 56 57 58 Creative-Constructive Play Games with Rules Free Play 60 61 The Play-Learn Continuum 62 63 Inquiry Play 64 Collaborative Play 64 Playful Learning 64 Learning Games. 65 Play and Childhood 67 Continuity of Learning 67 Play and Self-Regulation Summary 52 69 70 Review Questions Study Activities Key Terms 71 71 71 Suggested Readings 72 CHAPTER 4 OUTDOOR PLAY Objectives 73 73 Focus on Outdoor Play 73 Outdoor Physically Active Play Learning in Natural Settings 76 77 CONTENTS A Pedagogy of Outdoor Play Child Agency 82 Play-Rich Environments Educator Support Risky Play 85 Summary 87 Review Questions Study Activities Key Terms 80 82 84 88 88 88 Suggested Readings 89 CHAPTER 5 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CURRICULUM APPROACHES Objectives 90 Curriculum Approaches 90 Montessori Education 93 The Abecedarian Approach HighScope 94 94 Developmentally Appropriate Practice The Reggio Emilia Approach Emergent Curriculum 95 96 97 The “Best” Curriculum Approach? 99 Curriculum Approaches to Support Self-Regulation Mindfulness 101 101 Growth Mindset 101 Social-Emotional Learning Executive Function 102 102 Trauma-Informed Practice 102 Indigenous Curriculum Approaches Indigenizing Practices Language Nests 103 104 104 Adapting Curriculum Approaches in Indigenous Communities Summary 106 Review Questions Study Activities Key Terms 106 106 107 Suggested Readings vi CONTENTS 90 107 105 CHAPTER 6 EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORKS. a Objectives 108 eae 108 The Purposes of Early Learning Frameworks Early Learning Frameworks in Canada 108 109 Similarities and Differences Among Canadian Early Learning Frameworks 120 International Early Learning Frameworks Te Whariki, New Zealand Australia lreland 121 121 122 123 Shared Focus 124 Good Education Cares; Good Care Educates 125 What Is the Impact of Early Learning Frameworks? Summary 126 126 Review Questions Study Activities Key Terms 126 127 127 Suggested Readings 127 SECTION 3 EARLY LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS ECE Leaders: Dr. Christine McLean 129 130 CHAPTER 7 TIME, SPACE AND PEOPLE Objectives Time 133 133 133 Daily Schedules 134 Third Space of Childhood Space 138 139 Child Care Space Regulations Play Zones and Pathways Aesthetics 141 141 141 Inclusive Spaces 141 Creating Spaces to Welcome Families 142 CONTENTS vii People 142 Educators and Children 142 Pedagogical Strategies 143 Children Together 146 148 Educator and Family Interactions Summary 151 Review Questions Study Activities Key Terms 151 151 152 Suggested Readings 152 CHAPTER 8 LEARNING EXPERIENCES Objectives 153 153 Learning Pathways Curriculum Areas 153 155 Social-Emotional Learning Physically Active Play 155 157 Dramatic and Constructive Play Creative Arts 158 160 Language and Literacy 162 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Summary 180 Review Questions Study Activities Key Terms 180 180 180 Suggested Readings CHAPTER 9 INTENTIONAL TEACHING 181 182 ee Objectives Observation 182 183 Becoming a Skilled Observer viii CONTENTS 184 168 Documentation 186 Using Photographs and Videos for Documentation Pedagogical Documentation 188 Sharing Documentation Planning 190 193 Assessment 195 Assessment for Learning 195 Assessment as Learning 195 Assessment of Learning 196 Reflective Practice Summary 197 199 Review Questions Study Activities Key Terms 199 200 200 Suggested Readings CHAPTER 186 200 10 QUALITY MATTERS Objectives’ 201 201 What Is Quality in ECE Programs? 201 Early Childhood Education Quality Perspectives What Research Tells Us About ECE Quality Components of Quality in ECE Programs Structural Quality in ECE Programs Process Quality in ECE Programs Evaluating Quality Rating Scales 205 206 208 210 Feedback from Families 212 214 Continuous Quality Improvement 215 216 Review Questions Study Activities Key Terms 204 209 Children’s Views on Quality Summary 201 216 216 216 Suggested Readings 217 CONTENTS ZI CTION EDUCATION LANDSCAPE THE EARLY CHILDHOOD ECE Leaders: Jamie Kass CHAPTER 218 219 11 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND POLICIES Objectives 222 222 Early Childhood Education Programs in Canada Child Care Centres 222 224 Nursery Schools and Preschools Regulated Home Child Care 226 227 Kindergarten and Prekindergarten 227 Before- and After-School Programs 230 Aboriginal Head Start 231 Programs and Services Related to Early Childhood Education Programs 232 Child and Family Centres 232 Early Intervention Services 236 Integrating Early Education and Child Care 237 Community Early Child Development Centres 239 Early Childhood Education Public Policies in Canada Early Childhood Education Program Policy Trends Early Childhood Education Outside Canada Summary Study Activities 242 Key Terms 245 245 246 Suggested Readings 246 12 EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS: LOOKING AHEAD ee a Objectives 247 eee 247 The ECE Professional Environment Professional Practice 247 248 Professional Requirements 251 Recognition and Self-Governance 253 Early Childhood Education Organizations The ECE Work Environment ECE Career Pathways 254 258 259 Working Conditions for Early Childhood Educators Well-Being Strategies for Educators 264 CONTENTS 241 245 Review Questions CHAPTER 240 261 eee Advocating for Early Childhood Education Children’s Rights 267 266 ECE and Lifelong Learning, Earning and Health 268 Parental Employment Social Benefits 268 Campaigns for Early Childhood Education 270 Summary Review Questions Study Activities Key Terms References Index 269 271 271 271 Suggested Readings Glossary 267 272 273 297 303 CONTENTS xi Preface Becoming and Being an Early Childhood Professional reflects the lives of young children in Canada in the 21st century. Early childhood education programs are an integral part of the landscape in local neighbourhoods and communities. They are the places and spaces where young children meet together, form friendships and explore the world around them. This text presents a range of approaches that reflect differing views among early childhood professionals and experts about how children learn and how best to organize early learning environments for children as they play together. Readers are challenged to think deeply about their own talents, experiences and biases that they bring to their work with young children. Debate and conversations about how children learn from different perspectives build a sturdy framework for professional practice. The practice of early childhood professionals must be grounded in deep respect for children, their families and their communities. Our practice is supported by public policies and research evidence that will continue to evolve. We learn together with children, families and our colleagues. Each child we encounter is a unique human being who has much to teach us about learning if we can take the time to listen, explore and learn together. This text offers ideas and possible strategies for early childhood professionals to consider, but it does not lay out a blueprint for practice. Rather, the text is intended to challenge and provoke thinking and consideration of possibilities for exploring early learning. Three broad themes for the preparation of early childhood professionals are incorporated throughout the text: reduction of inequities, respect for young children and a landscape of expanding opportunities. REDUCTION OF INEQUITIES The text reflects the author’s strong conviction that the early learning and care of young children must address racial and economic inequities that continue to exist in Canada. In particular, early childhood professionals must acknowledge and counter historic racism toward Black and Indigenous children, children of colour and their families. The recent Black Lives Matter movement and Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Canada have exposed more than 400 years of discrimination. However, recognition is not enough; action is needed, and early childhood education has an essential role to make a difference in addressing systemic racism. As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across Canada in early 2020, early childhood education programs and schools mostly closed down across Canada. The pandemic revealed many inequities including children’s and families’ access to resources and services. As the pandemic continued and lower-income families experienced greater challenges and fewer resources, inequities among children xii and their families grew. Early childhood education reduces equity gaps and could be positioned to reduce the long-term impact of the pandemic on Canada’s youngest citizens. Emergency child care programs for essential workers led the way in adapting practices to keep children and staff safe and to reduce the anxiety and isolation many children were facing. Early childhood education programs can adapt. Educators can learn from each other and make changes in practices while they strive to reverse inequities and address the trauma children may be experiencing. RESPECT FOR YOUNG CHILDREN Early childhood education must begin with a fundamental respect for how much young children know and can do. Rather than a focus on what children cannot do, the text begins from a vision of children as active learners who are capable and competent from birth and who benefit from opportunities offered in early childhood education. When educators start with a focus on human potential, they are inspired to think about what they can achieve if they support every child. The text takes a broad perspective about how early learning happens and recognizes the wide arc of human possibilities. It reflects a diversity of practices and interpretations of core early learning principles. Family, community and cultural context contribute to children’s experiences that they bring to early childhood education settings. How they explore their environments and interact with other children may be familiar to our understandings of young children, or they may challenge us to consider other understandings. A broad knowledge base about human development is helpful if it is organized to recognize and celebrate human diversity and personal biases that grow out of our own life experiences. A LANDSCAPE OF OPPORTUNITIES The social and economic benefits of early childhood education are well documented and now broadly recognized by Canadian society. The notion that day care is necessary only so that parents, particularly mothers, can work is replaced by the commitment to early childhood education as a valuable experience for all children, allowing them to play and learn together with a group of friends guided by a qualified educator, regardless of whether or not their parents are working. The rapid expansion over the past decade of schoolbased early childhood education for children under 5 years is welcomed by families, and enrollment is soaring. At the same time, parental participation in the labour force is an essential element of the Canadian economy in the 21st century. Early childhood education is recognized as a powerful benefit for children’s learning and well-being that carries forward to adolescence and beyond while it enables parents, particularly mothers, to earn a living as they raise young children. Early childhood educators are qualified professionals who have opportunities to pursue rewarding careers in early childhood education working directly with children and families in school and community settings. Leadership, policy and research in early childhood education are rapidly expanding. Early childhood PREFACE xiii educators are professionals who can follow career pathways to become leaders who model and guide professional practice in programs for young children. Leadership positions are opening up in organizations that offer professional learning opportunities. Many Canadian colleges and universities are seeking early childhood educators who have experience in working with young children and have pursued further education to fill teaching and research positions. As early childhood education expands, the design of public policies requires the professional input of early childhood educators. Municipal, provincial, territorial and federal governments are seeking experienced early childhood educators to fill policy positions. Early childhood professionals have opportunities to pursue rewarding careers in early childhood education working directly with children and families in school and community settings. Leadership, policy and research in early childhood education are rapidly expanding. CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS Section 1: Early Childhood Education Defined The first section introduces the profession of early childhood education. It offers an overview of the current scope of practice and how those practices have evolved from various perspectives. Chapter 1: The Principles and Practices of Early Childhood Education Chapter 1 offers an overview of the principles and practices that are the foundation of early childhood education (ECE). Chapter 2: History of Early Childhood Education in Canada Chapter 2 explores how early childhood education practices and policies have evolved in Canada from the 19th century to the 21st century. Section 2: Play-Based Learning The play of children is central to early childhood education. This section considers play from several perspectives including play-based learning, outdoor play, curriculum models and early learning frameworks. Chapter 3: Early Childhood Education Is Play-Based Learning Chapter 3 describes different types of play and how early educators can facilitate playbased learning and sometimes provoke children’s play as well as the learning opportunities that play offers. Chapter 4: Outdoor Play Chapter 4 focuses on the scope and pedagogy of outdoor play and considers land-based learning from Indigenous teachings. Chapter 5: Early Childhood Education Curriculum Approaches Chapter 5 explores early childhood education curriculum approaches currently used in Canadian programs. Xiv PREFACE Chapter 6: Early Learning Frameworks frameworks that guide and internationally. Chapter 6 turns to early learning early childhood education programs in Canada Section 3: Early Learning Environments This section points to the essential elements for early childhood education programs. The elements of early learning environments discussed in this section expand on the professional principles and practices for early childhood educators introduced in Chapter 1. Chapter 7: Time, Space and People Chapter 7 describes the use of time (schedules and routines), the set-up of physical interactions and relationships in ECE programs. Chapter 8: Learning Experiences environments, and the Chapter 8 outlines possibilities for a variety of learning experiences in ECE programs. Chapter 9: Intentional Teaching for educators who competent learners. are Chapter 9 considers professional practices committed Chapter 10: Quality Matters is understood and measured. to honouring children as active and Chapter 10 discusses how ECE program quality Section 4: The_Early Childhood Education Landscape Early childhood education graduates in Canada are entering a workforce with unprecedented opportunities. This final section identifies the range and organization of programs that employ early childhood educators. Chapter 11: Early Childhood Education Programs and Policies Chapter 11 outlines how early childhood education programs are organized and the role of governments in supporting them. Chapter 12: Early Childhood Educators: Looking Ahead Chapter 12 outlines the work and professional environments for early childhood professionals and points to the future of a career in the early childhood education profession. PEDAGOGICAL ELEMENTS Early Childhood Leader Interviews An interview with a Canadian early childhood professional introduces each section. Their experiences and lessons learned are related to the topics of the section chapters. Readers will find that the interviews contain many of the concepts and vocabularies that are discussed in the section chapters. Learning Outcomes Each chapter opens with a set of learning objectives that indicate the topics to be covered in the chapter and what the reader is expected to understand. PREFACE XV Learning Together Vignettes are based on the author's own experiences and are designed to offer examples of how educators and children learn together in early childhood education programs. Making It Happen Case studies illustrate examples of real-life early childhood education policies, organizations, programs and practices from across Canada. Research to Practice Examples of evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence guidance to early childhood education policies and practices. provide Consider The Learning Together, Making It Happen and Research to Practice boxes conclude with an opportunity to pause and reflect on key ideas and information presented in the box. ~ ¢ i ® a ¢ CENGAGE MINDTAP Weblinks A MindTap icon in the margin indicates that additional information on concepts referenced in the text can be found in MindTap and in the ebook. Summary A list of key points at the end of each chapter revisits the chapter’s learning outcomes and reinforces key concepts. Review Questions Review questions at the end of each chapter are designed to examine the reader’s understanding of the key concepts identified in the chapter learning objectives. Activities Suggested activities point to the application and further exploration of ideas and concepts in each chapter. Key Terms Terms are defined in the margin and provide an introduction to the professional vocabulary used in early childhood education. Suggested Readings Suggested readings listed at the end of each chapter are selected to expand on the ideas and information presented in that chapter. Xvi PREFACE INSTRUCTOR RESOURCES All instructor ancillaries have been created by Professor Jane Bertrand and can be downloaded directly from the book’s companion site at login.cengage.com. Test Bank The test bank is available on a cloud-based platform. Testing Powered cognero by ® Full-Circle Assessment’ Cognero® is a secure online testing system that allows instructors to author, edit and manage test bank content from anywhere Internet access is available. No special installations or downloads are needed, and the desktop-inspired interface, with its drop-down menus and familiar, intuitive tools, allows instructors to create and manage tests with ease. Multiple test versions can be created in an instant and content can be imported or exported into other systems. Tests can be delivered from a learning management system, the classroom, or wherever an instructor chooses. Testing Powered by Cognero for Becoming and Being an Early Childhood Professional can be accessed through login.cengage.com. PowerPoint Microsoft® PowerPoint® lecture slides have been created for this product. There is an average of 20 slides per chapter, many featuring key figures, tables, and photographs from Becoming and Being an Early Childhood Professional. Instructors can customize the deck for their courses. Image Library This resource consists of digital copies of figures, tables, and photographs used in the book. Instructors may use these JPEGs to customize the PowerPoint slides or create their own PowerPoint presentations. The Image Library Key describes the images and lists the codes under which the JPEGs are saved. 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The Cengage Mobile app keeps students focused and ready to study whenever it is convenient for them. on the @ App Store xviii PREFACE Acknowledgements Iam grateful for Dr. Angela James’ contribution in the Foreword that explains how Indigenous ways of learning and Western early learning approaches are interwoven. She recognizes differences and then eloquently bridges principles and practices at the core of early childhood education. Dr. James opens up possibilities for how all early childhood education programs can benefit from Indigenous ways of knowing to expand land-based learning opportunities. I also acknowledge interviews with four Canadian early childhood education leaders: Maureen Dockendorf, Christine Alden, Dr. Christine McLean and Jamie Kass. The interviews are the basis for each of the four section openers. Dr. Emis Akbari and Kerry McCuaig generously shared findings from the Early Childhood Education Report 2020 (Akbari & McCuaig, 2021) so recent data could be included. My ongoing work with the Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain continues to move the early years agenda forward across Canada and informs this text. I appreciate the efforts, expertise and responses of the editorial and production staff at Cengage Canada. I also appreciate the generous permissions I received to reprint materials. Thanks to the Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto and the Canadian Child Care Federation. I continue to learn essential truths and pleasures of working with young children from early childhood educators and dedicate this book to Canada’s growing early childhood workforce. JANE BERTRAND Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto xix cam FOU © 9 | cd cum g a ow UE 0 U0 amg About the Author Jane Bertrand is an early childhood educator who has contributed to the growing capacity of the early childhood professional workforce. Jane is currently the Program Director at the Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Foundation. The foundation’s focus is on early childhood practices, policies and research in Canada. Jane is also an Adjunct Professor at OISE, University of Toronto and participates in OISE’s Flex Early Learning PhD program. In Australia, she currently is on the research advisory committee for Our Place in Victoria and the Good Start Fhought Leaders Advisory Group. Jane worked in collaboration with Dr. Fraser Mustard and the Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain as the research coordinator for the Early Years Study (1999), Early Years Study 2 Courtesy Bertrand Jane of JANE BERTRAND (2007), Early Years Study 3 (2011) and now Early Years Study 4. In 2013, Jane received an honourary doctorate from the University of New Brunswick for her contribution to early childhood education in Canada. Jane was Professor at the School of Early Childhood at George Brown College until June 2011 and initiated a Bachelor of Early Childhood Leadership degree. She worked with the Ontario Early Learning Advisor to the Premier of Ontario to prepare a report that led to full-day kindergarten for four- and fiveyear-olds and was chair of Ontario’s Expert Panel that produced a provincial early learning curriculum framework. Jane is a member of the Directing Committee of the Centre for Excellence for Early Child Development and was a member of the Toronto First Duty Research team. She is a contributing author of the Science of Early Child Development (www.scienceofecd.com). XX we 1G ee be gg ew UE | es Le ft, UE | Foreword BALANCING THE INDIGENOUS WAYS WITH WESTERN APPROACHES IN EARLY LEARNING I am a Manitoba Métis with lineage to the founder of the Métis Nation, Louis Riel, through my great-grandmother, Marie Ann Chartrand (née Lagimodiére), who was a first cousin to Riel. Marie Ann’s father, Roman, was the brother to Louis Riel’s mother, Julie Riel (née Lagimodiére). Although many Métis celebrate their lineage to Louis Riel, it is with much pride and fortitude that I situate myself, as in my youth, I endured racism and discrimination as a result of my Indigenous ancestry. Fortunately, the tides have changed for many Indigenous peoples in this new century and, as Vine Deloria expounds, “Indeed, today it is popular to be an Indian” (Deloria, 1995, p. 14). With my birthright in my back pocket, when I was a young woman, I moved to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (NWT), where I made my new home. I have lived in the NWT for more than 40 years, marrying into an NWT Chipewyan Dene family. Although both my husband and I had challenging upbringings as a result of family issues, we now live the good life, with three children, including one son-in-law, and recently have been blessed with double joy: twin grandsons who are now two years old. My husband and I are called Setstne and Setsi-e (Grandmother and Grandfather) in the Déne Su liné language of the NWT, or Susu and Sisi for short. In 1989, I graduated from the University of Manitoba with my undergraduate degree in Education. I began my career as an educator and taught French and English in Grades 7 to 12 at two local Yellowknife schools. Later I became a K-12 school principal, working with amazing Indigenous Elders, community leaders, families and children for 12 years. Informed by the school leadership role in my Indigenous community school, | completed my EdD in the Transformational Change Program at Simon Fraser University in 2016. As the current Director of the Indigenous Languages and Education Secretariat for the Government of the NWT, I am responsible for Indigenous languages and Indigenizing education (culture-based) programming in NWT schools and communities. As the former director for Early Childhood and School Services, I also oversaw the development of the NWT Right from the Start Framework and Action Plan, which defines goals and actions to support children from birth through their transition to school. My life work centres on raising children through their own unique learning experiences into becoming, being and believing as “a capable person,” and on the perspectives of Indigenous educational theory and research in informing educational reform. Early relationships and experiences with oneself, others, the land and the spiritual world allow learners to develop the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of their being. These things then form the holistic underpinnings that balance the growth and development of those learners into the capable people that they are meant to be. Among the Dene, it is said that the child is born with a drum in its hand ... The child is born with integrity. The child has worth. It is the birthright of the Dene child to be acknowledged and respected for this. The child who is not respected cannot become what it is meant to be. (Zhatie, Dene et al., 1993, p. vxi) With this inherent respect that Dene children require for their learning, we can begin to notice the fundamental differences between Indigenous and Western cultures, values and actions. However, the paradox in understanding the differences allows us also to realize the similarities in the goals for children’s learning that use different language. The concept of a capable child sometimes appears with different wording but always with similar meaning of a child grounded in traditions, culture and language. We can bridge the Western approaches with Indigenous ways to inform our principles and practices for early childhood education programs for young children. The table below exemplifies the initial thinking that can foster such understandings. Mindfulness and centring Prayer and ceremony Holism Mind, heart, body, spirit Cognitive focus Remember the other three parts Relationality Respect for self, others, land and world Reciprocity Giving and taking and balancing both Outdoor play Four sacred elements—air, water, earth and sun Early learning Nurturing, love, belonging and trust Experiential Listening, smelling, touching Telling stories Storytelling Sequential Cyclical learning Linear and rationalistic Spiral learning and metaphors Revitalization Coming full circle A capable-person philosophy can guide early learning, and educators can learn the respect, relationality, reciprocity and revitalization of Indigenous ways that are necessary for children’s learning and development. We can ensure that Indigenous educational values and ways of knowing are included in our conversations about ECE programs. We can recognize that parents are a child’s first teacher, and that the reverential attitude toward the child in Indigenous families and the love of grandparents (Elders) for children are the closest love that the Creator has for humankind. We can understand that identity and self are Xxii FOREWORD critically important, and that human development is holistic of the body, mind, heart and spirit. Most of all, we can acknowledge that spirituality is an extension of culture and storytelling, and that experiences are valid ways to learn. Indigenous peoples have thrived on the land now called Canada. Nature remains a part of Indigenous systems including languages, politics, governance, education and child rearing. Indigenous traditional settings with natural opportunities for children’s outdoor explorations have changed over time. Often outdoor play opportunities in ECE programs for young Indigenous and non-Indigenous children offer limited space and time. Built structures and surfaces replace natural materials and landscapes. Opportunities to encourage curiosity and choice making are diminished. The Indigenous worldview of the capable child can guide educators in ECE programs to expand land-based learning opportunities in outdoor spaces. Land-based learning is the ways of being, knowing, doing and believing, which helps children to develop their sense of place, people and, ultimately, belonging. Land-based learning informs the meaning and understanding of the Indigenous curriculum in Canada. Indigenizing ECE programs to respect and explore nature would benefit all children. I am convinced that Indigenous-based philosophies and approaches need to be honoured and acknowledged and be an integral part of the voice of policy and pedagogical practices related to early childhood education across the land we now call Canada. = DR. V. ANGELA JAMES FOREWORD xxiii oo © CLAY eo Ged came J U0 em gg oe OO Introduction Becoming and Being an Early Childhood Professional is grounded in the evidence presented in the Early Years Study, a series of Canadian reports that summarize the evidence about how early experiences impact on lifelong learning, behaviour, health and well-being outcomes. The reports also consider the public policies that influence these outcomes, including early childhood education. They are informed by leading scientists, policy researchers, early childhood educators and leaders, and public administrators. In their Early Years Study 3, McCain, Mustard and McCuaig (2011) define early childhood education: Early childhood education [ECE] refers to programs for young children based on an explicit curriculum delivered by qualified staff and designed to support children’s development and learning. Settings may include child care centres, nursery schools, preschools, pre- or junior kindergarten and kindergarten. [Early childhood education also includes before- and after-school programs for children attending kindergarten to grade 6.] Attendance is regular and children may participate on their own or with a parent or caregiver. (McCain, Mustard & McCuaig, 2011, p. xi) This definition gives us a sense of the variety of settings that early childhood education programs encompass. It conveys the concept that early education includes various structures that meet individual needs for different families. Learning and caring are central in this definition. Early childhood education programs encourage families’ active participation in their children’s early development and promote communities’ capacity to support families. The Early Years Study 4 (McCain, 2020) makes the case that early childhood education is a right for all young children as the first tier of publicly funded and publicly managed education, and is just as important as elementary, secondary and post-secondary education. It documents the benefits of early childhood education in supporting families to reconcile work and family life; supporting parents’ labour force participation and gender equity; reducing poverty and social inclusion; boosting later academic skills: and reducing behaviour and learning difficulties. “Most important, early education gives children a space where play and friendships flourish, making for happier, healthier childhoods” (McCain, 2020, 2) Educators who are qualified early childhood professionals are committed to spaces for children that nurture friendships and learning together. What this looks like will evolve, but the commitment to nurturing environments will always be essential. Educators must also be committed to addressing intolerable injustices, none greater than the history of colonialism and the toll it continues to extract from Indigenous peoples and ongoing racism toward Blacks and people of colour. Xxiv Early Childhood Education Defined Chapter 1 offers an overview of the vision, principles and practices of early childhood education. The principles bring together diverse perspectives, values and beliefs about childhood with current research findings. The practices are an introduction to the role of early childhood educators in designing and implementing early learning environments for young children and their families. The principles and practices for early childhood education are the foundation for the text and are revisited, and expanded on, in chapters 3 to 12. Chapter 2 traces the history of early childhood education in Canada, including philosophical and social science roots and the evolution of programs and policies from the 19th to 21st century. Consideration is given to Western and Indigenous perspectives, echoing the wise words of Dr. Angela James in the Foreword to the text. Chapters | and 2 describe the work environment that awaits educators who are preparing to learn together with young children in a variety of ECE settings. It is a rewarding world that is ever-changing and exciting. CHAPTER ONE The Principles and Practices of Early Childhood Education 3 CHAPTER TWO History of Early Childhood Educationin Canada 24 Maureen Dockendorf proFormer primary teacher, elementary school principal, school district assistant supervisor, vincial government supervisor for literacy and early years. Now a Strategic Advisor to the British Columbia Ministry of Education, Maureen works with community ECE programs and schools demonstrating how to align ECE and primary education. When | started teaching as an intermediate music teacher in the 1970s, |wondered why we saw these young children in kindergarten coming into school with such joy and by the time they were in grade seven, the joy just did not seem to bethere in the same way. | was curious and | wondered what changed for young kids who started at five just excited about learning, excited about being at school. | started teaching kindergarten and | enrolled in early childhood courses at UBC, which | had never had for teaching kindergarten. | came to understand the importance of early childhood education. | began to learn and transform my practice. If |could mandate anything in the entire world, every teacher at every level would have early childhood education courses to understand the power of what happens when children are young. The learning environment we co-create for young children matters. What educators contribute to learning environments can actually stimulate the holistic development of the child. So, when we respond to what children bring and stimulate their thinking and cause them to be curious, we promote the asking of questions, provoke children to be excited about learning, and move them to be engaged. Educators co-design that learning environment to build on the capability, the potential, the curiosity, which kids are just innately born with. What we can do in early childhood fosters that sense of engagement, well-being and belonging. We can leverage our relationships with young children, to be curious with them. But sometimes | believe it’s what we do that actually closes some of those doors. When we don’t recognize children’s unique experiences and what really excites them, we negate the knowledge they bring and what they have already learned. The shift in the role of the educator as not the knower but as the wonderer and how is it that we're wondering alongside these kids and also with their families. | believe it’s so important, especially in those early years, that that family is our co-creator in what we're setting up and wondering with that family. So, | think there’s a shift there where the educator, in the past, was about what you knew and you were expected to be the knower. Now, for me, it’s really about us being the wonderers and being as curious as these kids. | began to let go of what | thought all children needed and to focus on a curriculum that emerged and was not governed by the curriculum learning outcomes. What guided me was the children and the incredible, rich knowledge they bring—what is their cultural background, who are they, who are their families, what are they passionate about, what are they curious about? The kindergarten learning environment changed based on who those kids were, what their cultural backgrounds were, on who their parents were and what their passions were; the children owned the emerging curriculum. Abig shift in my practice was child agency. Children now had voice and opinions that mattered. | let go of the notion that everybody needed to do everything and all the same—trying to standardize this. | let go of the theme boxes. | started to play with bigger ideas. Another change for me was really seeing and listening to children and being present in the moment especially for our kids at the highest level of vulnerability. |had to practise being present; it didn’t come naturally. Slowing down rather than moving on to the next thing. What is the rush? Less content that goes deeper and really wraps around a framework of questioning, of wondering, of passion and not being the knower—really being the wonderer. Courtesy of Maureen Dockendorf SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined om | U em bee 9 9 = 0 ives The Principles and CHAPTER Practices of Early Childhood Education LEARNING OBJECTIVES 1.1 Explain the concept of image of the child. 1.2 Identify principles and practices for early childhood education. inci les and practices that 1.3 Examine princip 1.4 Explain professional identity for early childhood educators. 1.5 Identify principles and practices consistent with Indigenous philosophies and cultural ae values. ae promote a sense of belonging and acceptance of all children within a variety of learning environments. Chapter | is an overview of the current consensus among early learning experts, researchers and early childhood educator leaders about how young children learn and develop. You will be introduced to the vision, principles and practices that underpin early childhood education in Canada today and outline the role of early childhood educators in programs for young children. Canadian ECE programs include child care centres, nursery schools and preschools, pre-kindergarten and kindergarten, Aboriginal Head Start, before- and after-school programs and regulated home child care. Table 1.1 gives an overview of seven categories of ECE programs. Some programs might be included in more than one category, or they might overlap with related programs. Chapter 11 provides additional information about how ECE programs and policies are organized in provinces and territories across Canada. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR eee evereerisecerracty People who work directly with children in early childhood education programs, have early childhood post-secondary education credentials and are recognized by provincial/ territorial legislation as qualified staff in ECE programs. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION (ECE) Ongoing programs for young children that are guided by qualified educators and defined IMAGE OF THE CHILD The vision for early childhood education begins with an image of the child as competent, curious, capable and an active participant in their own learning shown in Figure 1.1. This image is very close to Indigenous beliefs that create an image of the child as a capable person. According to these beliefs, each child carries their own curriculum and pedagogy and may or may not provide nonparental care. IMAGE OF THE CHILD View of children as the agents and experts of their own life and active participants in their own learning. NURSERY SCHOOLS AND TABLE 1.1 @ EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROGRAMS PRESCHOOLS Part-time ECE programs that may be regulated centres or an extension of elementary schools for younger children. Child care centres Licensed full-day or part-day ECE programs for groups of children from infancy up to 12 years that accommodate parents’ work schedules CHILD xpeecceeecsmmes CARB school Arrangements for child care in small groups (often fewer than six children), usually in the caregiver's home and either directly licensed or regulated or approved through an agency. Part-day, often part-week ECE programs for children between the ages of approximately 2 1/2 and 5 years; usually less than four hours per day Regulated home child care ECE program offered to a small group of children ina caregiver’s home Kindergarten ECE program available to all five-year-old children delivered through the public education system Prekindergarten/ ECE program available to three- and four-year-old children Junior Kindergarten delivered through the public education system Before- and after“school programs Programs for children who are attending public school before and after school hours and on school REGULATED HOME Preschool/nursery KINDERGARTEN. ECE program for five-year-old children. PREKINDERGARTEN/ JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN _ ECE programs for four-year-old and sometimes three-year-old children before entry to fiveyear-old kindergarten. @©:.1 BEFORE- AND AFTERA range of programs for children who are attending school kindergarten, prekindergarten programs or grades 1 to 6 that are offered before and after school hours and on school holidays. HOLIST Cr sspeconmarnemecenicess Understanding that the parts of learning—mind, body and spirit—are interconnected. holidays Aboriginal Head Start Aboriginal Head Start (AHS) for First Nation, Inuit and Metis children. The AHS program offers learning environments that reflects Indigenous languages and cultures and is intended to prepare children for school. Early childhood education programs include programs for children from infancy through age 12 years. gifts and is strong and resilient. Children have the right to explore, test and learn on the land and be in relationship with the land (James, 2020). Learning is viewed as sacred, holistic and a lifelong journey that respects children’s spiritual life (Battiste & Youngblood, 2000). The image of the child is a social construct—an idea that has been created and accepted by people in a community or society. Today’s broad consensus about the image of the child has numerous and sometimes competing interpretations in the implementation of early childhood education policies, programs and practices. These reflect multiple perspectives based on culture and history. But the overall consensus among early childhood education research, policy and practice agrees on this image of the child. The past three decades have radically changed what we know about babies and young children. Science confirms that early experiences are the foundation for lifelong learning, behaviour and health. Science reveals that young children learn more, innovate more, care more and feel more than previously thought possible (Gopnik, 2016). Children are natural and active learners. They are born curious about the world around them and have remarkable abilities to learn. SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined FIGURE 1.1 @ IMAGE OF THE CHILD SOCIAL CONSTRUCT. so An idea that is originated and accepted by people. CULT Berserrrcemamacsenen UR Ways of Knowing, attitudes, values, goals and customs shared by a society. © Cengage © Competent, capable and curious This understanding of childhood is the foundation for what is considered the role of educators. It shapes pedagogy as a way of thinking about early learning that mirrors the image of the child. A Sense of Self Children learn to understand and express emotions. They develop the capacity to “wait a moment” and sometimes delay gratification. As children develop a positive sense of themselves, they become confident and more receptive to relating to others and take pleasure in new learning. They demonstrate autonomy in selecting materials, making choices and setting goals for themselves. They know their own minds and preferences early in life and are active participants in their families and communities (Rogoff, Mistry, Goncu & Mosier, 1993). Individuals vary in their ability to recognize and manage their own emotions. Children learn from their families, community and culture about how and when to express emotions to others. When early childhood educators understand the intersection of individual differences and children’s context, they can contribute to the child’s emerging a sense of self. Children’s growing sense of self finds expression in movement, drawing, painting, music and socio-dramatic play. Opportunities for expression develop decision-making skills, stimulate memory, facilitate understanding, encourage communication, promote sensory development and encourage creative thinking. CHAPTER 1 The Principles and Practices of Early Childhood Education 5 Young children are > active learners as they design, create and construct together. Stock Expression encourages children’s imaginations, helps to develop empathy, promotes relationships and builds self-esteem. Children experience a sense of accomplishment. Relating with Others Children need to interact with others in many different places and for many purposes. As children learn about themselves and the world around them, they also begin to understand that all people have similar needs, feelings and aspirations. They start to build concepts of equality, fairness and tolerance in relation to how people are treated—including members of visible minorities, English language learners, a range of gender identities, people with special needs and those with diverse family structures. In early childhood programs, children should take part in activities that increase their awareness of others and foster respect for individual differences. Children’s experiences in nurturing environments encourage the knowledge and skills they require to be constructive citizens. Children need to be affirmed as individuals and as members of a diverse community of learners. Understanding SOCIAL COMPETENCE Social, emotional and thinking skills children need to relate to, and to get along with, others. the influence of social and cultural contexts on learning enables early childhood educators to recognize and support the children’s social competence and to find a variety of ways in which the children can express their achievements. Social competence grows through interactions with others and is interconnected with other areas of development. For example, children take on the perspective of others when they role-play at the dramatic play centre, experimenting with a variety of social roles (e.g., firefighter, parent or restaurant cook). They learn to persevere and to work independently as they solve puzzles, create sculptures and construct models. Toddlers learn to wait for others during bathroom and meal times. SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined Active, Involved and Confident Learners Young children take their prior knowledge and experience into new situations to build an understanding of the world around them as active and inquisitive learners. Children construct knowledge by defining, sorting, classifying, comparing, making connections and predictions, testing theories and using their imaginations. Children need time to explore, to reflect and to make connections between what they already know and new learning. Children’s ability to manage emotions influences their capacity to engage in learning challenges in their play. Communication Children begin to communicate at birth using sounds and then gestures. Oral language expands their communication. They start to express their needs, exchange ideas, express feelings and make connections with others. Oral language increases young children’s ability to manage their emotions and behaviour and get along with others. Language is a tool for communicating and making meaning, and it is central to cognitive development. Today’s Citizens and the Future Citizens of Tomorrow Young children are today’s citizens and have a right to spaces for childhood that respect their competence and autonomy. Children are also-future citizens who will continually adapt to everchanging demands. Learning to be learners is essential for life in the 21st century, and early childhood is prime time to acquire the capacity for lifelong learning. Thinking about early childhood education from a rights’ perspective does not have to be at odds with thinking about early childhood education as a foundation for later life. In fact, early childhood settings that recognize children’s rights, encourage communities of play and nurture friendships also prepare children to be continual learners. United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child AUTONOMY ex:cememarqrscemasy Knowledge that one has control over one’s own decisions and actions. MAKING IT HAPPEN LO 1.1 The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child advocates for the rights of children on an international level. In 1989 world leaders recognized children have their own rights to grow, learn, play and thrive with dignity. CONSIDER: Why are rights of children important? How do children’s rights relate to your image of the child? Find out more about UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Chapter 12. CHAPTER 1 The Principles and Practices of Early Childhood Education PRINCIPLES OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION || | || MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Mental processes involved in learning, thinking and Knowing. Written or spoken communication using words. Relating to other people. Feelings such as happiness, anger or sadness. A sense of awe, wonder, being and knowing. Principles of early childhood education in Figure 1.2 build on the image of the child by setting out ways of thinking about early childhood and early learning. They reflect the vision of the image of the child and values and understanding about childhood and learning in early childhood education. The core principles include, holistic development, environments, play and belonging. Holistic Development Over the past 100 years, the study of child development has evolved. Scientists have moved from a focus on linear developmental stages—the idea that all children develop skills and abilities in the same sequence regardless of their cultural context—to a recognition that child development is multi-faceted and very much a unique interaction between each child’s biology and environment. Scientists recognize that human development is deeply connected with cultural context. Children develop as members of a family and community. Cognitive, language, social, emotional, spiritual and physical domains are now recognized as broad and overlapping categories of development that help us understand the journey from infancy to adulthood. For example, children bring their active bodies to their play with other children in early childhood education settings. Their physical development is interconnected to their cognitive, social and emotional development. Language is a critical component of social-emotional development. FIGURE 1.2 ® EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PRINCIPLES Holistic development Abilities to use and control large and small body movements. Belonging Cengage © @1.2 foe} The principles offer ways of thinking that underpin the image of the child as capable, competent and curious. SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined Human brain development begins soon after conception. Current interpretations of neuroscience (e.g., Gopnik, 2016; Kolb, Whishaw & Teskey, 2019: McCain 2020) provide guidance for early childhood education settings. During the final phase of the prenatal period the human brain is actively forming neural networks. While before and after birth, genes are the first building blocks, it is a child’s social and cultural life after birth that shapes the brain (Gopnik, 2016). Cascades of interactions and experiences build the human brain’s complex neural pathways. Between three years and six years of age, the brain’s neural pathways responsible for maintaining attention and focus undergo a growth spurt, building on earlier neural pathways that manage emotions and behaviour (Posner and Rothbart, 2006). Scientists report that early brain development has extensive implications on lifelong mental and physical health, learning and behaviour (McCain, Mustard & McCuaig, 2011; Kolb, Whishaw & Teskey, 2019). While early brain growth and development does set a foundation for life, the brain is a remarkably complex organ that continues to evolve throughout life. Neural pathways can change at any age with experience, growing new connections and strengthening old ones. The brain’s neural networks do not recognize separate developmental categories; the brain is an integrated organ. Its neural networks for sensorymotor functions overlap with networks for thinking. Neural networks for language are connected with networks involved with emotions. The brain is holistic and supports a child’s holistic development, which is shaped by the child’s experiences. Emerging skills will vary because of individual differences, diverse early learning experiences and the context in which the skills emerge. Environments Children live in families and communities that are shaped by culture. The environment and experiences of the early years interact with a child’s biology to construct the brain’s emerging neural networks. Families have the strongest influence on children’s early learning and well-being. Strong parent-child relationships and the quality of parenting are powerful influences on children’s development and learning and can act as an emotional protection for young children (Bornstein, 2002; Centre for Community Child Health, 2007; Kirp, 2007). The family environment is the primary source of experience for children and mediates their contact with the broader environment (Siddiqi, Irwin & Hertzman, 2007). Home learning environments matter more to children’s learning and wellbeing than family structure or socio-economic status (Sammons et al., 2004; Sylva et al., 2009). In a U.K. study of the impact of preschool and primary school experiences at age of 16, the educational levels of mothers and the home learning environment are strongest predictors of better academic outcomes for children at age 10 and 16 (Taggart et al., 2015). Maternal education is linked to children’s CHAPTER 1 The Principles and Practices of Early Childhood Education higher achievement and enriched home learning environments. Mothers with a higher education levels were more likely to have learning materials, provide variety of experiences, be responsive to children’s learning and model how to get along with others (Zadeh, Farnia & Ungerleider, 2010). Families have cultural identities and ways of knowing that guide how they raise their children. Parental sensitivity, responsiveness, warmth and consistency are important across cultures but diverse childrearing practices vary, often reflecting cultural differences (Centre for Community Child Health, 2007; Konner, 1991; Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000; Taggart et al., 2015). Early childhood education programs do not exist in isolation. They can complement children’s family and community experiences when they collaborate with families and respect families’ cultural values. ECE programs live in communities, and communities live in a broader society and cultural context. Early childhood education programs are a product of society and reflect social relations that exist nationally, provincially, regionally and locally (Daycare Trust, 2007; Robinson & Diaz, 2006). Play CHILD-CENTRED Based on the child’s cues, interests and abilities. Play capitalizes on children’s curiosity and enthusiasm for learning. Because children organize and make sense of the world around them through play, it provides a context for learning. Play offers children opportunities to expand language and thinking skills and strengthen social, physical and emotional well-being. During play, children explore, tinker, investigate, hypothesize, negotiate and, perhaps most importantly, learn from each other. Play is children’s primary method of learning. It mobilizes and enhances children’s interest, imagination and curiosity. Knowledge and skills become meaningful when used in play. Tools for learning are practised, and concepts become understood. The whole child is unified and supported in environments that support play. A play-based pedagogy is child-centred and purposeful. Chapter 3 expands on the pedagogy of play-based learning. Play is central to the early childhood education curriculum models described in Chapter 5 and the early learning frameworks described in Chapter 6. Belonging Belonging is feeling valued and connected and making a contribution to others. A sense of belonging is central to children’s happiness, well-being and learning. Children who feel that they belong are confident in expressing themselves and exploring new ideas. Young children’s growing sense of identity and security is supported when they belong at home, in communities and in early childhood education programs. A sense of belonging is essential to dealing with challenges and difficulties. It also contributes to respecting others. For children to feel a sense of belonging, their learning must be grounded within their unique identities and contexts and acknowledge that they come with their own histories (Bath, 2009). Being “different” should not result in any child feeling that they do not belong (Brooker & Woodhead, 2008). 10 SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined About Me Aisha is an educator in an Ontario full-day kindergarten program. Five-year-old Stevan, who has recently moved to Canada with his family, is drawing a picture of himself. He is using a pencil and coloured markers. Stevan begins making an oval with the pencil. He then picks up a brown marker and rapidly draws many vertical lines at the top of the oval. With a green marker Stevan draws two circles side by Side in the top third of the oval. He says “I have bright green eyes.” Aisha is sitting beside Stevan and responds, “Yes, bright green eyes and brown hair.” Stevan continues drawing, adding lines for a mouth and then teeth. He draws lines and shapes for the rest of the body, including carefully counting ten lines for fingers and 10 lines for toes. Aisha asks, “What do you like to do here with your friends?” Stevan immediately replies, “Play ball outside with Roddy and Moussad. | can kick the ball really, really far away.” Aisha nods and says, “Do you want to draw the ball in your picture?” Stevan immediately reaches for a black marker and draws a circle with many lines inside the circle. He smiles, turns to Aisha and says, “This is the ball that | kicked so far that it went out of the playground and you had to run after it.” Aisha smiles back and says, “Yes, | remember that day. You kicked the ball very far.” LEARNING TOGETHER LO 1.4 CONSIDER: How does the Aisha (educator) encourage Stevan (child) to think about himself and his strengths and interests? How does this build his self-identity? Belonging in early childhood education programs means that children know that they are accepted for who they are. Each child is able to make their mark. Each child has the right to active and equitable participation. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PRACTICES Today, professional ECE practice is grounded in the image of the child, and in the principles: holistic development, environments, play and belonging. Chapter 2 reveals the roots of many practices in psychological theories and early learning approaches of the 20th century. Later chapters describe a diverse variety of approaches to designing learning environments and will expand on the practices in Figure 1.3 and outlined in this chapter—responsive relationships, inclusion, cultural competence, reconciliation, intentional teaching and professional identity. CHAPTER 1 The Principles and Practices of Early Childhood Education 11 FIGURE 1.3 @ EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PRACTICES Responsive relationships Professional identity Holistic Inclusion development Belonging Cultural Intentional teaching competence Reconciliation © Cengage ®: 5 The professional practices in ECE programs reflect the image of the child as competent, capable and curious. Responsive Relationships RESPONSIVE RELATIONSHIPS Ongoing connections built on interactions between and among children, educators and families. CO-CONSTRUCT A process in which a child and an educator or a group of children (with or without an educator) work together to figure something out and build or create knowledge. 12 Educators build relationships with children, their families and communities that are the anchor for early childhood education environments. Responsive relationships are built on daily interactions between and among children, educators and families that are respectful and sensitive to feelings and ideas. CONNECTING WITH CHILDREN Young children thrive in early childhood programs when they have positive, predictable and stimulating interactions with educators and other children. Educators pay attention and respond to what — children are feeling and thinking. Educators: * Are attentive to children, seek to help children understand their feelings, and respond to children’s behaviours that suggest what the children are feeling * Act on children’s requests when possible and take care of their physical needs such as toileting promptly ¢ Regularly ask open-ended questions to find out children’s ideas and understand and extend children’s thinking SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined Together, educators and children make meaning or co-construct understandings about the world around them. Educators seek out opportunities to find out and build on children’s ideas. How Water Moves Five-year—old Aisha is at the water table in her kindergarten class. As she tries to pour water into a small plastic bottle from a pail, it splashes everywhere. She calls out “| can’t do this” and throws the plastic bottle into the water. Mikaela, the educator, picks up a funnel that is in the water table and asks Aisha if she knows what it is. Aisha says “No.” Mikaela picks up a plastic bottle from the nearby bin and fits the funnel in the top. She fills up a pail of water and then pours the water through the funnel. Aisha smiles, grabs a funnel, puts in her plastic bottle and says, “lam going to try it out.” She pours the water into the funnel and watches it gush into the bottle, filling it halfway. Aisha then adds more water and fills the bottle to the top with water. Now Mikaela hands Aisha some flexible, clear tubing and says, “How could we use this tubing?” Aisha takes the tubing and fits it on the bottom of the funnel.” She turns to face Mikaela and says, “Look, it fits.” Aisha quickly empties the plastic bottle and places the end of the tubing into the plastic bottle that is now on a shelf in the water table and holds the funnel up as high as she can. Aisha asks Mikaela to fill the funnel with water, and, as that happens, Aisha says, “Look, the water is going through to fill the bottle.” Mikaela comments, “You’re holding the funnel up high. Try holding it down low.” Aisha tries and looks puzzled as no water flows through the tubing into the bottle. She turns to Mikaela and says, “Look, the water is not going into the bottle.” Mikaela says, “Yes, | see that. Why do you think that happens?” and pauses as she waits for Aisha to think it through. LEARNING TOGETHER LO 1.2 CONSIDER: How is Mikaela co-constructing Aisha’s understanding about the movement of water? Why doesn’t Mikaela just tell Aisha that when she holds the funnel below the level of plastic bottle, the water will not move? Educators value children’s CONNECTING CHILDREN WITH EACH OTHER relationships and friendships with each other. They understand that even infants can care deeply about their interactions with each other. Educators can learn a lot from closely watching and listening to children’s play with each other. Children’s interactions and conversations with each other often reveal valuable insights into a child’s family and community life and culture. Educators can seek out opportunities to nurture children’s relationships with each other. In infant groups, educators can talk to babies about what their CHAPTER 1 The Principles and Practices of Early Childhood Education 13 Young children and > educators learn together in ECE programs. Jupit peers are doing—“Abby, Joseph likes to splash the water.” Large sheets of paper and markers encourage children to create together. Providing a generous supply of building blocks invites children to make a structure together. ENGAGING FAMILIES Family engagement in early childhood programs benefits children’s outcomes through improved future home-school partnerships, parenting skills and home learning environments. Interactions between educators set the stage for family engagement that can be built into early childhood education programs. Educators complement and influence home environments and families, and families can enrich ECE experiences. RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE LO 1.3 Engaging Families Involving families in early childhood education programs benefits children’s learning now and in the future. The Chicago Child—Parent Centers measured parental involvement and found that parental participation in preschool programs was associated with higher levels of parental participation in grade 1 (Graue, Clements, Reynolds & Niles, 2004: Reynolds, Ou & Temple, 2018). An extensive international review of early childhood education programs reported that family engagement is linked to improved interactions with the child, including greater acceptance of the child’s behaviour, positive parenting, activities to help the child learn at home, involvement of fathers in the early childhood (continued) 14 SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined settings and in parenting at home, and parental knowledge of early child development (Mitchell, Wylie & Carr, 2008). In a Canadian study of linguistic-minority children attending junior kindergarten, parents reported a better understanding of their children’s learning and development through the intentional opportunities for communication (Pagani, Jalbert, Lapointe & Herbert, 2006). Parental involvement in early childhood settings multiplies children’s opportunities for learning as parents reinforce skills and activities in the home environment (Reynolds & Temple, 2008; Sylva et al., 2009; Weiss, Caspe & Lopez, 2006). When parents support their children’s early learning, children are more likely to have positive experiences in formal schooling, including increased high school graduation and participation in post-secondary education (Corter, Janmohamed & Pelletier, 2012; Wolanski, 2008). A study of family involvement in an ECE program found family involvement had a positive impact on children’s social-emotional and language skills that is likely to carry forward into the school years (Cohen & Anders, 2020). CONSIDER: Why do you think engaging families in early childhood education makes a difference to children’s outcomes and increases family involvement in children’s later schooling? eee Family members can offer feedback about what children do at home and what experiences they are having. They often contribute stories, items and experiences that contribute to learning. In doing so, families become more involved and engaged in their own children’s learning and development. Families who are involved are likely to have more information about their children’s early childhood education experiences (Epstein & Sanders, 2016; Corter, Janmohamed & Pelletier, 2012). Also, they are more likely to become friends with other families and may build social networks outside the ECE program. Families come in all sizes and shapes. Early childhood education has moved away from a depiction of traditional, nuclear families as the norm with different family constellations as the “others” to one that recognizes multiple family structures (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). Educators increase family engagement when they value and respect all families. Children growing up with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual and queer (LGBTQ) parents are often considered to be “invisible” minorities, although statistics indicate that their numbers are growing across Canada (Janmohamed & Campbell, 2009). LGBTQ families warrant particular care, consideration and sensitivity within early childhood programs. Depictions of LGBTQ families within program policies and practices contribute to an environment that includes sexual diversity. ECE can be proactive in eliminating homophobia and heterosexism (Robinson & Diaz, 2006). CHAPTER 1 The Principles and Practices of Early Childhood Education 15 One educator expresses this concept in this way: age stuAs an educator in a community college environment, I encour discusdents to challenge their understanding of the norm. In class students sions when I raise various forms of discrimination or prejudice, often respond by talking about the importance of helping children “get along” and learning to accept all people regardless of difference. ... I challenge their common perceptions of people living on the street, new refugees, or gays and lesbians. ... In order for [ECE] students to articulate and understand systemic barriers, it is the responsibility of educators to create opportunities for transformation ... (Janmohomed, 2001, apse IV LEARNING TOGETHER LO 1.4 Taking Learning Home Alma is an early childhood educator working in a preschool program that is part of a large multi-service agency. Four-year-old Pedro started the program a month ago. Pedro speaks Portuguese at home, and his mother wants him to know English before he starts kindergarten in six months. Pedro spends time watching other children play. He follows the daily routines and seems to understand what is being said at snack time and group time, but he speaks very little. Pedro’s mother asks Alma to help Carlos acquire English. Her own English is limited, but she thinks that she should start speaking only English at home. Alma says, “It is a very good idea to read books with Pedro. What kinds of books do you think would interest him most? If | give you some storybooks without text—you and Pedro could tell the story together in Portuguese. We use the same books here and tell the story in English. Pedro’s ability to understand and speak Portuguese will help him as he learns English. And he is learning—he already understands a lot of English. When he is watching other children play, he is hearing and understanding more and more of what they are saying. We usually learn to speak a language by understanding before we speak. Could you come early one day next week when you are picking up Pedro? | would like to have you join our group time and introduce all of the children and myself to a few Portuguese words.” Alma demonstrated respect for Pedro and his mother. Her knowledge of how language emerges from understanding produced many points from which Pedro and his peers could continue their language learning. CONSIDER: How did Alma demonstrate respect for Pedro and his mother? 16 SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined Inclusion Inclusion of all children, including those with special needs or disabilities in an ECE program, means that the program supports every child and family to fully participate. Note that the language is currently shifting from children with special needs or children with exceptionalities to children with disabilities (College of Early Childhood Educators, 2019 a; Underwood, 2013). “Disability is now defined as an interaction between the individual and their environment; it is not solely a characteristic of the child” (Underwood, 2013, p. 5). INCLUSION An approach to practice and policies in early childhood education that accepts all children, and every child, including those with disabilities, is Supported to the fullest extent of their abilities. According to Underwood and Frankel (2012), high quality inclusive early childhood education programs are: © Accessible to all children and their families ¢ Designed and carried out with consideration for the unique needs of each child ¢ Evaluated regularly to ensure full participation Children’s strengths and abilities are valued and celebrated in inclusive early childhood programs. Canadian and American studies find that ECE programs that have higher levels of quality are more likely to have higher levels of inclusion of children with disabilities (Irwin, Lero & Brophy, 2004; Underwood et al., 2019). Early Childhood Education Reduces Special Education Needs A recent study of the impact of early childhood education in Canada, the United RESEARCH | INTO PRACTICE LO 1.3 States and the United Kingdom reports that participation in quality early childhood education programs reduces the need for special education placement and lowers the intensity of supports required for children with exceptionalities. The team of special education researchers examined 50 years of data from studies that followed children into their adult years and compared those who participated in early childhood education programs to those who did not. The skills typically acquired in early childhood education programming include a range of skills and are seen to set children on positive learning trajectories. About 60 per cent of students who receive special education have needs in areas such as language, emotional and behavioural regulation, or academic performance in literacy and numeracy. Also, since children from low income families are overrepresented in special education, this group benefits the most from taking part in early childhood education. The study also found that children with developmental disabilities, including autism, who participated in early childhood education programs required less intensive special education when they entered the school system. CONSIDER: What ECE practices do you think help reduce children’s need for special education when they enter the school system? Source: Philpott, Young, Maich, Penney & Butler, 2019. CHAPTER 1 The Principles and Practices of Early Childhood Education 17 Lero & Successful inclusion is never an accident (City of Toronto, 2007; n childre with g Irwin, 2008). Increased education about inclusion and workin on with special needs is necessary at all training levels in early childhood educati (Lero, Irwin & Darisi, 2006). Three Canadian studies (Irwin, Lero & Brophy, 2004) on the inclusion of children with special needs identified multiple factors that contribute to’ successful inclusion, including the director’s inclusion leadership—modelling commitment, ensuring staff are supported within the centre, acting as an advocate for inclusion and marshalling resources to support inclusion efforts; staff's attitudes and commitment toward inclusion; overall program quality; and skilled support staff or in-house resource teachers to enhance ratios. The support and involvement of resource consultants and a range of specialists are also important to help staff develop skills that allow them to promote the development of children with a wide range of disabilities modify existing curricula and encourage positive peer interactions among children. Cultural Competence GULLURAL COMPETENCE. Effective understanding, interacting and communicating with people across cultures. Cultural competence refers to the attitudes and skills one uses to work effectively with people from different cultures. Cultural competence in early childhood education increases children’s sense of belonging. It also encourages children to become more aware of and understand differences and similarities among their friends and in their community. Cultural competence contributes to meeting the unique cultural or other needs of newcomer and minority language children and their families. Cultural competence is much more than being respectful of the cultures represented in an early childhood education program or community. Cultural competence educators are able to think, feel and express themselves in ways that respect, understand and acknowledge ethnic and cultural diversity (Cameron & Macdonald, 2015). Cultural competence includes: Awareness of one’s cultural worldview Attitude toward cultural differences Knowledge of different cultural practices and worldviews Cross-cultural skills Cultural competence applies to both organizations and individuals. Early childhood educators can strengthen their personal cultural competence; look for courses that help them strengthen their personal cultural competence and work with other team members to make culturally responsive improvements to program practices. Additionally, educators should explore ways to educate children about cultural competence and help them build the skills and attitudes they need to engage (and flourish) in a diverse community. . Early childhood programs can be organized to reflect and respect Canada’s ethnocultural diversity. Children grow up with a strong sense of self in environments that support their full participation and promote attitudes, beliefs and values of equity and democracy (Bennett, 2004). Preconceived ene about children’s ethnocultural backgrounds, gender, ability or socio-e conomic 18 SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined circumstances create barriers that reduce engagement and equitable outcomes (Bernhard, Freire & Mulligan, 2004; Centre for Community Child Health, 2008: Robinson & Diaz, 2006). Cultural competency recognizes that cultural differences are part of family practices and traditions. This diversity is a resource for learning and can strengthen early childhood education. CONFRONTING RACISM ECE programs reflect the surrounding media and political dialogue. Racial, religious and ethnic tensions and incidents may be part of the context. Educators can take action to avoid prejudice and to counteract bias when it occurs in early childhood settings (MacNaughton, 2006; SirajBlatchford, 2006; Sharpe 2019). When educators confront prejudices or biases that emerge as children interact with each other, it is an opportunity to increase the involvement of all children and their families (MacNaughton, 2006). Early childhood education can counter racism and stereotypes when educators listen to families and design programs that demonstrate equality, respect and appreciation for cultures other than one’s own—beyond token gestures related to food or celebrations (Ali, 2005; National Research Council 2001; Robinson & Diaz, 2006). To counter racism, educators can seek out those who have experienced racism to review practices and champion positive racial identity. Also, early childhood education programs can avoid token recognition of racial identities that do not recognize the range of cultural practices and bodies of knowledge that can be included in learning experiences and daily routines (Sharpe, 2019). “As ECEs reflect upon their work with children they should be mindful of how their actions and reactions to culture and racial identity craft their relationships with families and more specifically the children that they serve” (Cameron & Macdonald, 2015, pp. 22-26). Reconciliation Canada established the Commission on Truth and Reconciliation in 2008 to document the history and lasting impacts of the Indian residential school system on Indigenous children, their families and communities. The Commission reflects the need to acknowledge discrimination and trauma and to articulate the tangible expressions of racism in the system toward Indigenous people. Indigenous organizations and leaders have highlighted the need for honest acknowledgement of the history of Indigenous and non-Indigenous relationships since European colonization and to respect the rights of Indigenous peoples. The Calls to Action state that Indigenous perspectives are to be situated into the heart of Canadian education settings and curricula. Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing and being is the foundation for educators, children and families in safe environments that contribute to Indigenous identity. Early childhood education programs are called upon to be culturally appropriate for Indigenous families. Call to Action 12 under the heading of Education states, “We call upon the federal, provincial, territorial and Aboriginal governments to develop culturally appropriate early childhood education programs for Aboriginal families” (National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, 2015, p. 2). CHAPTER 1 The Principles and Practices of Early Childhood Education RECONCILIATION Recognizing the impact of colonization for Indigenous peoples and Indigenous ways of Knowing and establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. COLONIZATION The act of settling among and gaining control over the Indigenous people of the same area. CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn about the Urban Aboriginal Knowledge Network. 19 ve early Indigenous children, families and communities benefit from effecti s and familie childhood education programs that build on the culture of their preservacommunity. Programs controlled by First Nations contribute to the (Native ge langua and tion of their own culture, including childrearing practices Council of Canada, 1990; Greenwood, 2006). Indigenous peoples are in the best position to make decisions that affect’ Trusted, respected and valued individuals who carry forward Indigenous knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation. their children, youth, families and communities. Indigenous knowledgekeepers can take a lead role in addressing issues and establishing relationships with non-Indigenous providers and organizations. These relationships should be characterized by reciprocity, respect and a balance of power. Indigenous and non-Indigenous early childhood settings require program practices that value Indigenous languages and culture and are generated from the community rather than imposed on it (Blackstock, Bruyere & Moreau, 2006). The well-being of Indigenous children is a balance between the physical, spiritual, emotional and cognitive senses of self and how these interrelate with family, community, world and the environment, in the past, present and future. Because culture and language are ways of seeing and understanding the world, the program will be most effective when it can relate to Indigenous children and their families in that context. Indigenous children need the best that Indigenous and non-Indigenous systems have to offer. For that to happen, the mainstream system needs to make space for Indigenous concepts. Early childhood education can offer opportunities to learn Indigenous languages and participate in cultural activities (Halseth & Greenwood, 2019). Non-Indigenous early childhood programs need staff and curriculum that respectfully incorporate Indigenous cultures (Ball, 2008; OECD, 2004). The Canadian review team for an international review of ECE noted that while policy and program goals identified cultural sensitivity, there was little evidence this was practised in Canada (OECD, 2004). Australian researchers (MacNaughton & Davis, 2001) investigated young children’s understanding of Indigenous Australians and report that knowledge about Indigenous peoples was based on past cultural, often exotic, practices. Several research studies suggest early childhood programs can avoid homogenizing Indigenous peoples into a collective “they” and avoid building knowledge of Indigenous peoples that positions them as different from the mainstream (MacNaughton & Davis, AND.A ANO /\ =L)' AC IVIE 2001). ECE programs in Canada that acknowledge local Indigenous values, beliefs and ways of knowing create spaces that respect and nurture Indigenous and non-Indigenous children as they grow and develop into capable people (James, 2020). Land acknowledgement at events and gatherings is a traditional Indigenous Formal statement that recognizes and respects Indigenous peoples as traditional stewards of the land as well as the relationship between Indigenous peoples and their traditional territories. practice to express recognition of the Indigenous peoples who first inhabited the land. It is intended to show respect for the Indigenous peoples. It is also a concrete way to help educate people about the historical and ongoing impact of colonization. The acknowledgement recognizes Indigenous presence past and present. It is part of building respectful relationships that are part of reconciliation (CAUTm.di)s 20 SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined Land acknowledgements may be made at the beginning of events, conferences, presentations, courses and meetings. Begin a land acknowledgement by recognizing which Indigenous territories one is on. An explanation of why the land is being acknowledged follows. Often it is possible to have a local Indigenous Elder participate in preparing and possibly giving the land acknowledgement. Intentional Teaching Intentional teaching practices carry out play-based curriculum and pedagogy in ECE programs. Curriculum is often described as the what of ECE programs and pedagogy as the how. Curriculum is what children experience with each other and with educators in an ECE program. Pedagogy is how the learning happens, the beliefs and practices that support an understanding of learning and how educators approach curriculum and make decisions about what experiences children have. Intentional teaching practices involve making ongoing decisions about the curriculum and pedagogy. Curriculum and pedagogy are intertwined in early childhood education. Curriculum in early childhood education programs includes both the care and the learning that occur when the child participates in an early childhood education setting. It is everything that is part of the hours a child spends in an early childhood education program. Curriculum and pedagogy include daily schedules and routines; the physical environment; play materials; learning experiences; and, most importantly, the people who are part of the early child development setting. Professional Identity ECE professional identity is an educator’s concept of their professional role and is an essential element of professional practice. Educational backgrounds, engagement in professional learning and practice contribute to educators’ professional identity (Jones, 2016). Specific language and beliefs that define the professional culture of early childhood education also influence professional identity. In ECE, professional identity is informed by the image of the child and pro- INTENTIONAL TEACHING ::s, Thoughtful and purposeful design, organization and implementation of early learning environment. CURRICULUM Sum total of the interactions, planned and unplanned learning opportunities, routines, events, materials and physical space that children experience in an early childhood education program. PEDAGOGY © Principles and practices related to an understanding of how learning happens in an early childhood education program. How one perceives oneself within an occupation and how that is communicated. fessional knowledge and practices. Educators’ image of the child is the foundation for the image of themselves and their professional identity. The image of the child influences how educators perceive children and what they know and can do. It also influences how educators interact with children and what strategies they use to support learning. Professional knowledge and professional learning are part of a profession and contribute to professional identity. Requirements for ECE qualifications are increasing across Canada (Akbari & McCuaig, 2014, 2018), and professional learning is actively encouraged by governments and researchers (Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, 2015; OECD, 2017). A shared professional language that reflects a common understanding about how children learn across ECE programs also contributes to professional identity. The term “early childhood educator” is attached to a professional identity that is quite different from “daycare worker,” “child care worker” or “child minder.’ The term “early childhood education programs” suggests that early learning is the core purpose. CHAPTER 1 The Principles and Practices of Early Childhood Education 21 SUMMARY @ The image of the child as active and competent is the vision that guides early childhood education. e Principles for early childhood education are grounded in the image of the child and include holistic development, environments, play and belonging. © Professional early childhood education practices include responsive relationships, family engagement, inclusion, cultural competence, reconciliation, intentional teaching and professional identity. EE EE L ORE REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. What is your image of the child in your own words? LO 1.1 2. How are children’s experiences and learning shaped by family, community and culture? LO 1.2 3. How do the principles and practices outlined in this chapter contribute to children’s lifelong learning? LO 1.2 . What are the benefits of family engagement in early childhood education programs? LO 1.2 . How can early childhood education programs promote children’s sense of belonging? LO 1.3 . What is curriculum and pedagogy in early childhood education? LO 1.4 . What does reconciliation mean for early childhood programs? LO 1.5 STUDY ACTIVITIES 1. Prepare a statement about your personal image of the child and compare that with how children are represented in Canadian popular culture in social media and in commercials aimed at young children. LO 1.1 2. Visit an ECE program and observe the children and educators. Describe a specific example that illustrates each of the principles outlined in the chapter. LO 1.2 3. Search and explore the UAKN (Urban Aboriginal Knowledge Network), which 22 comprises Indigenous communities, policy makers and academics who are involved in community-driven research for a better quality of life for urban Indigenous people. LO 1.5 . Territorial land acknowledgements recognize the peoples who lived on the land before the arrival of settlers and colonization. See www. whose.land/en, find out whose land you are on and prepare a land acknowledgement for your class. Consult with local Indigenous groups and Elders. LO 1.5 SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined KEY TERMS Autonomy (p. 7) Before- and after-school program (p. 4) Child-centred (p. 10) Kindergarten (p. 4) Co-construct (p. 13) Cognitive (p. 8) Language (p. 8) Nursery schools and preschools (p. 4) Pedagogy (p. 21) Physical (p. 8) Prekindergarten/Junior Kindergarten (p. 4) Colonization (p. 19) Cultural competence (p. 18) Culture (p. 5) Curriculum (p. 21) Early childhood education (ECE) (p. 3) Early childhood educator (p. 3) Emotional (p. 8) Holistic (p. 4) Image of the child (p. 3) Inclusion (p. 17) Intentional teaching (p. 21) Knowledge-keepers (p. 20) Land acknowledgement (p. 20) Professional identity (p. 21) Reconciliation (p. 19) Regulated home child care (p. 4) Responsive relationship (p. 12) Social (p. 8) Social competence (p. 6) Social construct (p. 5) Spiritual (p. 8) SUGGESTED READINGS Janmohamed, Z., & Campbell, R. (2009). Building bridges: Queer families in early childhood education. Toronto: Atkinson Centre, Institute for Studies in Education at University of Toronto. Sharpe, N. (2019). Centering equity: Actionable next steps. Retrieved August 28, 2020, at https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/edcentral/ centering-equity-actionable-next-steps Underwood, K. (2012). Everyone is welcome: Inclusive early childhood education and care. Toronto: Government of Ontario. Retrieved August 28, 2020, at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/childcare/underwood.pdf CHAPTER 1 The Principles and Practices of Early Childhood Education pres CENGAGE earn kore MINDTAP Pop aadtionelrecetnces visit MindTap. 23 om | OC ceamg g a oe Ul History of Early =" ~ i Childhood Education in Canada LEARNING OBJECTIVES 2.1 Recognize philosophical and psychological theories and historical trends related to cur- 2.4 Discuss the role of social context in the history of early childhood education. rent early childhood education principles, 2.5 Consider the beginnings of early childhood practices and related programs. education systems and education systems. 2.2 Describe Indigenous understandings of 2.6 Describe current philosophical and psy- childhood and early childhood education. chological theories related to early child- 2.3 Identify early contributors to today’s early hood education. childhood education. ¥ This baby is having a bath Sekers Une ee yete Nr eae Chapter 2 looks the historical roots of early childhood education curriculum and pedagogy in Canada and the patterns that have evolved over time and continue into the present. Current theories that are influencing ECE practices are introduced. You will also learn about the history of ECE policy and programs in Canada. HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS of Courtesy Bertrand Jane EeTERn UNDERSTANDING... Beliefs, values, customs and Eek teas Re pack oenceniareccnd Roman civilizations. 24 Worldviews, culture and languages from Indigenous communities have deep roots across Canada. Recognizing, respecting and celebrating long-standing Indigenous ways of being, knowing, doing and believing inform today’s early childhood education programs in Indigenous communities and elsewhere. Western understandings are beliefs, values, customs and traditions that have their origins in European civilizations, dating back to ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. These understandings of early childhood have evolved and dominated over the centuries. European philosophers from the 17th and 18th centuries influence the understanding of early childhood and early childhood education in Canada. Twentieth-century leaders in psychology and education introduced approaches to early childhood education in nursery schools, child care centres and kindergarten that continue to evolve. Debates continue about how early childhood education and educators best meet the needs of young children. Ideas about early childhood and psychological theories of child development and early learning do not occur in a vacuum; they are products of the larger social context, which includes the structure of families, work, governments and communities; the dominant political and economic systems; and the values and beliefs of a particular society. Indigenous Views of Early Childhood Long before European settlers arrived, Indigenous communities were spread across North America. Indigenous societies differed from one language group to another, but they did share a distinctive world view rooted in the stories of their ancestors and deep connections to the land and changing energies of the environment (Greenwood, 2016). Indigenous childhood was framed by the ways in which societies sustained themselves (Sutherland, 2014). For example, some were primarily hunters like the Blackfoot, others were farmers like the Huron or fishers like the Kwakiutl. The Mi’kmaq lived by a combination of fishing, gathering and hunting. Early childhood experiences in each community were shaped by the land and how their communities acquired food. The disruption of First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples’ lives and communities through colonization, residential schools and ongoing racism disrupted traditional culturally rich childhood experiences. Reconciliation recognizes that all Canadian children-benefit when Indigenous content and worldviews are included in ECE programs in ways that are authentic and meaningful (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2019). John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau Toward the end of the 17th century, John Locke, an English philosopher, proposed the blank slate, or tabula rasa view of childhood. He argued that children are not born innately good or evil: Rather, their minds are like a blank slate that becomes filled by experience. Locke believed that experiences during childhood determine adult characteristics. He told parents to spend time with their children and to help them become contributing members of society. In the 18th century, Swiss/French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau stressed that children are inherently good. His innate-goodness view argued that children were born with a sense of right and wrong and a built-in plan for orderly, healthy growth. Rousseau stressed a child-centred philosophy in which adults were advised to be receptive to children’s needs during each of the four stages of development: infancy, childhood, late childhood and adolescence. Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) Fredrich Froebel, a German educator, is known as the originator of kindergarten, which gets its name from the German word meaning “children’s garden.” He believed that children could grow and flourish like plants in the right environment, developing internal impulses that would unfold naturally. Kindergarten was designed for children between the ages of three and six. Froebel’s curriculum CHAPTER 2 History of Early Childhood Education in Canada 25 emphasized language, numbers, forms and eye-hand coordination to train children in ways that would establish courtesy, punctuality, neatness, cleanliness and respect for others. Frobel founded his kindergarten in 1837 in Germany (Olmsted, 1992). The most notable elements of his tradition were the curriculum materials that he called “gifts” and “occupations.” The gifts were a series of 10 concrete, manipulative materials, such as wooden balls, wooden shapes and cubes of var-. ious sizes, tablets, wooden sticks and a variety of natural objects, all presented to children at defined intervals with specific skills and symbolic concepts to learn. The occupations included sewing, perforating paper, weaving, working with clay and cutting paper. As Froebel said, “What the child tries to represent, he begins to understand” (Olmsted, 1992, p. 4). Although this idea now seems very familiar, it was considered quite revolutionary to educate children in a group outside the home and to use play materials. During the 1870s, Froebel kindergartens appeared in Canada as private institutions supported by parent fees or charitable donations. Faced with concerns about growing numbers of preschool children left unattended while their mothers worked, the Toronto school board introduced Froebel kindergartens. The program responded to concerns about young children’s environments and was also a vehicle for promoting curriculum innovation (Mathien, 1990, 2001). The first Canadian public school Froebel kindergarten program opened in 1883 at Louisa Street School. In 1885, Ontario officially recognized kindergartens as part of the public school system. In 1887, the province began to provide grants to school boards to establish kindergarten programs for children three to seven years old. Kindergarten was introduced in several schools in Toronto and in towns and cities across the province. By 1900, there were 120 public school kindergartens across Ontario (Mathien, 1990). Quebec established kindergartens within its school system in 1892. In 1885, a kindergarten course was introduced at the Toronto Normal School (a teacher-training facility), and in 1889 the Toronto Kindergarten Association for kindergarteners was established. The Froebel kindergarten at the Toronto Normal School, circa 1890, is very different from today’s kindergarten class. Ww oO = tees S fe) ioO fo) O x = [= Di 7p) oO Sy = {9} (S) 26 SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined @ Froebel kindergarten paper weaving. Bertrand Courtesy Jane of John Dewey (1859-1952) was an American education leader, psychologist and philosopher who led and inspired education and social reform across North America. Dewey believed that educators should not be instructors of knowledge and skills to students but, rather, adopt the roles of facilitators and guides. He promoted the idea that students should have opportunities to discover for themselves and be active and independent learners. John Dewey (1938) believed that educators build knowledge by asking questions and refining and clarifying ideas about learning and teaching with children and with other educators. He introduced experiential learning to include practices inside and outside classrooms that contribute to meaningful learning. For Dewey, experiential learning included meaningful topics as well as intriguing questions and interactions among peers and between educators and learners. ai mus wy > om 3 AVienBl@eLrl AS arc By ays 4 TiCaArYuIwy e v < , Fiimnuil f ae» y According to Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), humans form their basic personality in the first few years of life. Freud identified five stages of personality development from infancy to adolescence during which the individual must deal with conflicts between their biological and sexual urges for pleasure and the demands of society. Freud’s psychoanalytic theory proposes that an individual PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY A personality theory that proposes an individual is motivated by three levels of awareness: conscious, preconscious and unconscious. is motivated by three levels of awareness: conscious, preconscious and unconscious. According to this theory, which emphasized psychosexual development, the urge for pleasure shifts from the mouth to the anus and then to the genitals. Freud Relationship of psychological and sexual events and feelings. CHAPTER 2 History of Early Childhood Education in Canada 27 PSYCHOSEXUAL n the early proposed that adult personality is formed by the way conflicts betwee sources of pleasure and the reality of social demands are resolved. Freud’s theory focused on emotional life and feelings as the core of human existence that shapes lives. He introduced a three-part model: the Id (powerful unconscious feelings), the Super-ego (the conscience or internal watchdog to monitor feelings) and the Ego (rational self). Behaviourism BEHAVIOURISM. Theory of learning that proposes that behaviours are acquired through conditioning or interactions with the environment. A form of learning that links a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that results in a reflexive behaviour. The neutral stimulus alone then produces the same reflexive behaviour. A form of learning in which a behaviour is followed by a stimulus that influences whether the behaviour will be repeated. Behaviourism emerged during the early part of the 20th century. It focused on behaviours that can be directly observed and objectively measured. It continues to influence researchers and practitioners working with children and youth today. Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) carried out a number of studies of animal learning that led to the theory of classical conditioning (Cleverly & Phillips, 1986). Pavlov realized that the dogs would salivate before they actually tasted food. In fact, Pavlov observed that the dogs would start to salivate when the trainer came into the laboratory and headed toward the food storage cupboard. Pavlov decided that the dogs had learned to associate a neutral stimulus (the trainer) with another stimulus (food) that produced a reflexive response (salivation). Because the dogs had learned this association, the neutral stimulus (the trainer) could bring about the response by itself. Pavlov went on to design experiments in which dogs learned to salivate at the sound of a bell that rang when they were fed. American behaviourist John B. Watson (1849-1958) applied the classical conditioning that Pavlov had observed to explain human children’s behaviour and learning. Consistent with Locke’s idea of a blank slate at birth, Watson argued that a child is shaped completely by their experiences. Watson described a newborn as a “lively squirming bit of flesh, capable of making a few simple responses. ... Parents take this raw material and begin to fashion it” (Watson, 1928, p. 46). Watson concluded that children’s behaviour could be shaped by controlling stimulus-response associations. B.F. Skinner, an American psychologist and social philosopher (1904-1990), was influenced by Watson’s theories but also realized that people are not passive— they engage with their environment. Skinner proposed another form of behaviourism called operant conditioning. Behaviour is shaped by past experiences and can be increased by a variety of reinforcements and decreased by punishments. The Child Study Movement in Canada World War I reminded Canadians of human vulnerabilities and the destruction that comes from hate and violence. After the war, people wanted to benefit from growing modern conveniences and health advances, including new understandings of mental hygiene (the term used for mental health) from Freud and others. They wanted to get on with the business of earning a living and raising children in a safe, secure world. At the same time, the mental hygiene movement was launched in the United States (Prochner, 2000). The movement shifted from treatment and prevention of mental illness to the promotion of mental health. Researchers and practitioners in mental health disciplines agreed that the roots of mental health were found in early childhood. Attention turned to the need to understand how children develop and what conditions are necessary to promote mental health. 28 SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined The theories and practices of progressive education, the child study movement and the mental hygiene movement converged to influence emerging kindergarten and nursery school programs in both Canada and the United States. A grant from the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Fund established the St. George’s School for Child Study at the University of Toronto in 1925. The St. George’s School later became the Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study at Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, a site of extensive child studies, as well as a working model of early childhood education practice. William Blatz, a physician who graduated from the University of Toronto and then pursued a PhD in psychology at the University of Chicago, is recognized as the founder of Canada’s child study movement. In 1926, he opened a nursery school at St. George’s School for Child Study. Because he did not have direct experience with either kindergarten or nursery school settings, he worked with the school staff to develop the program. Della Dingle, who had studied at the College of Home Economics at Cornell University in New York, was the first nursery school director. From the beginning, in addition to the nursery school, parent education, early educator training and child development research were major components of the St. George’s School for Child Study. Blatz’s studies in psychology had introduced him to the theory of behaviourism, progressive education and psychoanalytical ideas about mental hygiene. Although he and his team did not have a cohesive understanding of young children or a theoretical framework to guide their practice, they were eager to explore new ideas about child development and took a “let’s watch the children and find out” approach (Raymond, 1991). The nursery school was a laboratory. Blatz encouraged a smooth-running routine that promoted the habit of regularity in the lives of young children. He experimented with precise organization of children’s time and daily routines. He believed this approach helped to develop regular habits and a strong sense of security for the young child. Within the parameters of daily routines (such as eating, washing hands, using the toilet and napping), children were encouraged to explore environments designed for open-ended play activity. Blatz created a program of guidance and education for children from two to five years of age that influenced practices and regulations in early childhood education across Canada for decades. <@ Children follow their lunch routine at St. George’s Nursery School, circa 1930. Toronto of University Room, Courtesy Book Rare Fisher Thomas CHAPTER 2 History of Early Childhood Education in Canada 29 Blatz and others also explored environmental influences on child develop al ment and the importance of adult-child relationships in developing emotion just not was security. The focus of the St. George's School for Child Study child oriented; parent education was championed from the start. Blatz began an infant-mother drop-in program and promoted parent training in his frequent lectures broadcast on CBC radio (Raymond, 1991). Parents whose children attended the nursery school program at St. George’s School for Child Study participated in parent education classes (Wright, 2000) and were encouraged to read Blatz’s publications for parents. In 1938, the St. George’s School for Child Study became the Institute of Child Study, and within a year began to offer courses to kindergarten teachers. During the next two decades, it remained a leader in the development of early childhood care and education programs. Today, the Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study continues to offer a lab school from nursery through grade 6. The lab school offers an enriched curriculum and opportunities for applied research and field placements. Other nursery schools followed the lead of the St. George’s Nursery School and began to open in the late 1920s. They joined private kindergarten programs (operated outside the public school system) in offering educational programs to young children. For example, by 1928, there were several private nursery school/ kindergarten programs operating in Calgary. Most were half-day programs for middle-class children from age two to five years, and they relied on parent fees. Many were unable to survive the economic depression of the 1930s. Parent co-operative preschool programs, which had surfaced in Canada as Early childhood education programs that include parent participants in the program and in the management and administration of the program. part of the nursery school movement, expanded during this period. In 1950, Vaughan Road Nursery School was established in Toronto. Daisy Dotsch was the teacher in charge, and she became a leader in the development of preschool philosophy in Canada (Stevenson, 1990). The Nursery Education Association of Ontario (which later became the Association for Early Childhood Education, Ontario) started up in 1950. An organization for nursery school and daycare teachers, it offered extension courses and began a voluntary system of certification for early childhood education staff. The preschool curriculum during the 1950s reflected an emphasis on the personality development of young children. Blatz’s theory of security guided the focus on the interaction between adults and children in preschool settings. The development of children’s emotionally healthy relationships dominated preschool programs, and skill development was a less dominant goal (Millichamp, 1974). MID-20TH CENTURY THEORIES AND EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION By the middle of the 20th century, the study of child development theories including psychosocial theory, social learning theory and cognitive development theory had grown into a respected academic field in North America, Europe, Britain Australia and New Zealand. This collection of theories influenced early childhoo d education practices and continued the debate about the nature of childhoo d put 30 SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined forward in the earlier philosophies from Locke and Rousseau. While these theories are no longer primary influencers, current early childhood education still reflects their contributions. Psychosocial Theory Erik Erikson (1902-1994), a developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst, modified Freud’s psychoanalytic theory and modified it as a psychosocial theory of development. Erikson emphasized that the ego makes positive contributions to development by mastering attitudes, ideas and skills at each stage of development. Erikson (1950) accepted Freud’s view of the importance of the unconscious and of early childhood, but he shifted the focus from psychosexual stages to psychosocial stages of development. Erickson proposed eight developmental stages from birth to death. Each stage is defined by a particular challenge, or developmental crisis, that is central to that particular stage of the life cycle and must be resolved. The resolution of each stage is the product of the interaction of the individual’s characteristics and the support provided by the social environment. Erikson’s first five stages align with Freud’s stages. But there is a significant difference in their emphasis on the individual’s relationship to the social environment. Erikson’s psychosocial theory of human development emphasized cultural and social influences while Freud’s theory emphasized basic needs and biological forces. Freud-argued that an individual’s personality is shaped during the first five years of life, while Erikson emphasized change throughout the human life cycle. TABLE 2.1 @ COMPARING PSYCHOSOCIAL. Interrelationship of social and psychological factors. FREUD’S AND ERIKSON’S THEORIES OF DEVELOPMENT Stages of Development Age Freud’s Psychosexual Theory of Development Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory of Development O-1 year Oral Stage—Children derive pleasure from oral activities like sucking, tasting and putting things in their mouths. Trust versus Mistrust—Children develop a — sense of trust from responsive care or mistrust if care is harsh or neglectful. 1-2 years Anal Stage—Children begin toilet training and focus on bowel movements. Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt— Children use new skills to make decisions themselves when encouraged, or children are not confident to act when shamed or forced to comply. 3-5 years Phallic Stage—Genital stimulation, attraction to opposite-sex parent and imitation of same-sex parent. Initiative versus Guilt—Children develop sense of purpose with adult support or a sense of guilt if demands for selfcontrol dominate. (continued) CHAPTER 2 History of Early Childhood Education in Canada 31 Stages of Development 6-12 years Latency Period—Interest in same-sex friends. 13-19 years Genital Stage—Sexual maturity post-puberty. Industry versus Inferiority —Children cooperate and work with others or feel incompetent due to negative experiences. Identity versus Role Confusion— Adolescents form personal identity based on values and goals or are confused about life goals. Intimacy versus Isolation— Young adults establish intimate relationships or remain isolated due to earlier disappointments. Young Adulthood Middle Adulthood Generativity versus Stagnation—Adults contribute to the next generation or fail making a meaningful accomplishment. Late Adulthood Integrity versus Despair— Older adults feel life was worth living or experience an absence of meaningful accomplishment and a fear of death. Source: Berk & Meyers, 2016; McLeod, 2019; Slee & Shute, 2008. @)2s Social Learning Social learning theory evolved from behaviourism as an explanation of children’s social behaviour. American psychologist Albert Bandura (b. 1925) is recognized as Learning behaviours and skills by watching and imitating others. SCHEMA vessanssecareonmscerees Activity pattern that children repeat in their play. ACCOMMODATION —s> Using an existing schema to explore and understand a new object or experience. ASSIMILATION Changing a schema because it does not work for a new object or situation. EQUILIBRIUM The accommodation of existing schemas to most situations that a child encounters. 32 the main architect of social learning theory. Bandura believes that cognitive processes are important mediators of environment-behaviour connections. His research focuses on observational learning or learning that occurs through watching what others do. Observational learning is sometimes referred to as “imitation” or “modelling.” Bandura proposes that people cognitively represent the behaviour of others and then try to adopt this behaviour for themselves. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist and genetic epistemologist (1896-1980), developed a theory of cognitive development that stressed children actively construct new knowledge as they manipulate, experiment with and explore their world, and that their cognitive development takes place in stages. He believed that children adapt their thinking to include new ideas and that the additional information furthers understanding. Piaget’s stages of cognitive development were not central to his understanding of child development, but they were championed by educators and child development academics in North America in the mid-20th century. More important to Piaget were his concepts of schemas and adaptation through accommodation, assimilation and equilibrium. SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined TABLE 2.2 @ PIAGET’S STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT Sensorimotor (Birth-2 years) Learning happens by acting on the world through the senses. Preoperational (2-7 years) Children use symbols to represent the world in their pretend play. Concrete operational (7-11 years) Thinking and reasoning become more logical and children start to use hierarchies to organize things. Formal operational (11 years on) Capacity for abstract and systematic thinking. @23 Between the 1960s and the 1990s, Piaget’s theories dominated developmental child psychology research and educational practices. They provided a framework of understanding that matched North Americans’ attention to improving environments and intellectual achievement of all children. Perhaps his greatest insight was that studying the development of human children was one way to integrate philosophical speculation with the scientific approach (Gopnik, Meltzoff & Kuhl, 1999). Preschool education began to emphasize early academic skills, often based on Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. Piagetian theory introduced an understanding of how children explore their world. Children often do the same actions over and over again as they explore the world around them (Curtis & Carter, 2015). Toddlers will repeatedly fill and dump pails or other containers with blocks or other small items; young children will sort and connect things repeatedly. Jean Piaget called these actions schemas and he viewed these repeated patterns as concepts that help children organize and interpret information (Piaget & Cook, 1952). Common schemas include transporting items, transforming materials, exploring trajectories, rotating and circulating objects (e.g., balls), enclosing objects, and connecting and disconnecting pieces (Curtis & Carter, 2015). Piaget described schemas as a thread of thought and suggested that these repeated patterns in children’s play reflect deeper internal thoughts (Curtis & Jaboneta, 2020). Children’s explorations of schemas in their play build their understandings of abstract ideas and concepts. Educators can use children’s schemas to identify what interests them because children’s schemas, in their play and exploration, reveal their developing ideas. When educators observe children’s schemas, they can provide meaningful opportunities to extend children’s explorations and learning. When a child or group of children are repeatedly moving things, educators can make toy strollers, wagons and carts available. When children are interested in enclosing objects with other objects, educators may provide different sizes of cardboard boxes. Compensatory Preschool Programs During the 1960s and 1970s, child development research studying the importance of early experiences on later abilities, as well as the growing movements to end racial segregation and poverty in the United States, pointed to early childhood CHAPTER 2 History of Early Childhood Education in Canada by Benjamin Bloom education solutions. A research study of the era, published half of a child’s (1964) at the University of Chicago, concluded that more than one States the lifetime intellectual capacity is formed by five years of age. In the United role of civil rights movement and war on poverty focused attention on the crucial s, stance circum come compensatory preschool programs if children from low-in were to’ including disproportionately large numbers of minority-group members, COMPENSATORY PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS Designed for children up to six years old who have developmental delays, or who are at risk of developmental delays, because of environmental conditions, including disadvantaged communities. escape the cycle of poverty. Head Start and Sesame Street were two broad education policies in the United States that recognized that special efforts to stimulate the educational progress of children from low-income backgrounds should include an emphasis on school-readiness skills starting at a very early (preschool) age. Two ambitious compensatory preschool programs, the Perry Preschool Project in a small city outside Detroit, Michigan, and Abecedarian in North Carolina, were launched by researchers to track and study the long-term impact of early childhood education on lifelong learning, behaviour and health outcomes. _ RESEARCH INTO — PRACTICE Sesame Street | Sesame Street, the best-known children’s educational show in North America, began in 1969 and aimed to foster intellectual and social development. The initial program proposal stated that Sesame Street would respond to “the national demand that we give the disadvantaged a fair chance in the beginning” (Liebert & Sprafkin, 1988, p. 219). The creators drew on both ideology and research to design a show that would bring stimulation and opportunities for learning into disadvantaged children’s homes through television to compensate for resources presumed to be available to only affluent families. Sesame Street relies on the insight that “if you can hold the attention of children, you can educate them” (Gladwell, 2002, p. 100). It uses strategies from social learning approaches that combine specific learning objectives, carefully sequenced images and matching dialogue into episodes designed to focus the child's attention and master specific content. The high production values and the combination of stable components of the environment (e.g., characters such as Big Bird), isolation and repetition of key concepts in each show (such as the number “6” or the letter “c”) and novel or unexpected events are used judiciously to instruct young children. Sesame Street focuses on improving the social and academic skills of disadvantaged children and helping them succeed at school. The educational or instructional design of Sesame Street is based on the premise that learning is a process that takes place from the outside in and moves from simple to complex. Learning-readiness Is related to mastering simple patterns, skills and concepts in (continued) 34 SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined preparation for more complex concepts. The plan also sets out to model prosocial skills and introduce specific information and concepts related to language and number skills. CONSIDER: How did Sesame Street use social learning strategies to offer a compensatory preschool program to disadvantaged children? Sources: Liebert & Sprafkin, 1988; Ladson-Billings, 2015. HEAD START Head Start began in 1965 in the United States for children ages three to five years and continues today. It focused on four elements: © Early learning experiences to support children’s cognitive, social and emotional development ¢ Providing health services and supports such as immunizations, medical, dental and mental health care, nutritional services and developmental screenings pe ¢ Involving parents in workshops on child development and early learning, and volunteering in the program and in the planning and delivery of programming through committees and councils that made administrative decisions ¢ Providing supports and resources to families related to job training and housing PERRY PRESCHOOL PROJECT The Perry Preschool Project was a carefully designed experimental longitudinal study on the effects of compensatory preschool education programs for children three and four years old in the 1960s. The program was located in Ypsilanti, a small town outside Detroit, Michigan. The findings dramatically endorsed the financial and social benefits of compensatory preschool education as an intervention for disadvantaged, marginalized children (Schweinhart & Weikart, 1993). The follow-up studies found that children who attended the half-day program were more successful in school, less likely to be involved in the criminal justice system and less likely to be on social assistance. The cost-benefit analysis of the results illustrated a seven-dollar savings for every dollar spent on the targeted program delivered to at-risk children and their families (Schweinhart et al., 2005; Pascal, 2009b). Preschool teachers worked closely with child development and educational experts to develop a cognitive-developmental curriculum based on Piagetian theory of cognitive development, called HighScope. The curriculum has continued to evolve and is discussed in Chapter 5. CHAPTER 2 History of Early Childhood Education in Canada 35 ABECEDARIAN STUDY The Abecedarian research study began in the early a sample of 1970s in a disadvantaged community in North Carolina with families. children (from six months) from highly disadvantaged and marginalized school to The program prioritized children’s language development from infancy play and and embedded intentional teaching into daily routines and children’s ences experi g learnin c coached parents to embed language and carry out specifi at home. The experimental longitudinal study found significant impacts— including increased academic achievement, reduced criminal activity and better health—that have carried forward for more than 40 years (Campbell et al., 2012; Campbell et al., 2014). Researchers continue to follow individuals who participated in the study. The Abecedarian approach is discussed in Chapter 5. Compensatory Programs in Canada A number of smaller-scale programs based on Head Start and the Perry Preschool Project emerged in Canada during the 1970s. Several of the programs funded by ALBIS eeemmeeeee Term used when there are concerns about developmental delay related to biological, environmental or physical conditions. the federal government’s youth employment program (Local Initiatives Program) launched preschool compensatory programs for children from low-income families. The programs often adapted the cognitively oriented curriculum of the Perry Preschool Program and a Head Start approach that combined enriched early childhood education experiences with additional family supports. Compensatory programs are designed to support families whose children’s development is delayed or at risk because of environmental conditions, particularly those related to economic disadvantage and poverty. The term “at risk” refers to concerns about developmental delays, learning abilities or challenging behaviours. Compensatory programs provide specific interventions to families to reduce the child’s vulnerabilities and to increase the likelihood of success in formal schooling. While this intervention may include a high-quality early childhood education and care program that stimulates and supports preschool children’s development, it also offers specific supports and services to other family members. Compensatory programs focus on improving parents’ and other family members’ abilities to nurture and stimulate their children. MONCTON HEADSTART Moncton Headstart Inc. began in 1974 as a free daycare for a few children whose parents could not afford outside care and were having difficulties in their parenting role (Bradshaw, 1997). It quickly adapted the Perry Preschool Program’s curriculum and included programs to support families. Parent participation in the children’s program and in parent sessions was required. Adjunct programs that met families’ basic physical needs (food, shelter and safety) and adult education activities were also offered. UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO PRESCHOOLPROJECT The University of Western Ontario Preschool Project, begun in 1973, was another experiment to assess the impact of compensatory preschool education on low-income children (Howe, Jacobs & Fiorentino, 2000). Mary J. Wright, who headed the project developed a curriculum with an emphasis on cognitive development Giant: to the HighScope curriculum) as well as a focus on the development of social 36 SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined competence and emotional control (derived from her work with William Blatz at the Institute for Child Studies). The findings revealed long-term beneficial outcomes for disadvantaged children who attended for two years (Wright, 2000). CURRENT THEORIES INFORMING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development did not pay much attention to the context of culture and its impact on children’s emerging skills. These theories assumed that the child’s social and physical environment influenced the emergence of language, cognition and social-emotional skills but that the influence was modest. The role of the environment was to maximize a universal pattern of development, innate to humans. The socio-cultural perspectives of Lev Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, and the ecological theory of human development proposed by American psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner in the late 20th century acknowledged that early human development happens in a variety of contexts that are shaped by culture. Thus, human development is seen to be a dynamic dance between biology and environment, with culture playing a lead role in shaping the environment. Moving into the 21st century, the focus shifted to more integrated perspectives on early childhood education, perspectives that recognize the complex interactions between individuals and their environments. Psychological theories, particularly those of Vygotsky and Bronfenbrenner, continue to inform early childhood education. Neuroscience and understanding of early brain development, and attention to the rights of young children, bring new influences to early childhood education. Information processing theory and self-regulation build on social learning theory and emerging findings from neuroscience. Information Processing Theory Information processing theory is interested in mental activities that involve noticing, mentally manipulating, storing, combining, retrieving or acting on information. Like computers, humans must store large amounts of information, access that information when it is needed and analyze problems to develop correct solutions. Information processing theorists believe that human cognitive development, including early childhood cognitive development, is a continuous process of learning to take in and understand information. Socio-cultural Theory The socio-cultural theory of Lev Vygotsky recognized that children’s cognitive and language development do not happen in isolation. Vygotsky’s ideas and theories did not gain much prominence in North America until toward the end of the 20th century. Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory of human development focuses on how culture (the values, beliefs, customs, skills and tools of a social group) is transmitted or passed on to the next generation. Vygotsky’s short life (he died at 38 years of age) and his isolation within the young Communist world in Russia both CHAPTER 2 History of Early Childhood Education in Canada 37 ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT (ZPD) Difference between what an individual can do on their own and what they can do with guidance. SCAFFOLDING... A process that enables a child or adult to solve a problem, complete a task or achieve a goal that is just beyond their skills and abilities. Ways in which adults help children negotiate everyday life. American contributed to the delay before his theories became of interest to North brings studies ltural researchers and practitioners. The current attention to cross-cu Vygotsky’s theories and ideas into focus for many EGE: Vygotsky introduced the concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) that refers to the distance between what a child can do without help and what they can do with guidance or assistance from a skilled partner. The term “proximal” refers to skills that a learner is close to mastering. Vygotsky defined the ZPD as “the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers” (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86). This is often referred to as scaffolding, but Vygotsky never used that term. Wood et al. (1976, p. 90) define scaffolding as a process “that enables a child or novice to solve a task or achieve a goal that would be beyond his unassisted efforts.” Cultural psychologist Barbara Rogoff builds on Vygotsky’s theory and proposes that all learning is social and negotiated with others. She introduced the concept of guided participation, which is similar to Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development concept. Ecological Theory of Human Development Ecology is the study of the relationship between organisms and their environment. One of the most influential theories of human development emphasizes how the environment influences a child’s development and how the developing child influences their environment. Urie Bronfenbrenner’s (1917-2005) ecological theory of human development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) has received considerable attention over 50 years. Bronfenbrenner proposed a framework for organizing sets of environmental systems. He conceived that the child’s world is organized “as a set of nested structures, each inside the next, like a set of Russian dolls’ (1979, p. 22). These environmental systems range from the most immediate setting, the family, to more remote contexts that do not directly involve the child, such as society’s legal system or beliefs. Self-Regulation -SELF-REGULATION > Capacity to monitor, modify and adapt behaviour, emotions and attention. 38 Self-regulation is the capacity to monitor, modify and adapt behaviour, emotions and attention to the demands of the situation (Keating & Miller, 1999: Blair & Diamond, 2008) as shown in Figure 2.1. It is a broad theory that has evolved from social learning theory (Bandura, 1991), understanding of stress (Seyle, 1956; Shanker, 2013) and neuroscience (Shanker, 2013). A child’s increasing ability to regulate emotion, behaviour and attention characterizes the growth from the helplessness of a newborn to competence in the social, emotional, language, cognitive and physical domains of development. Self-regulation skills cut across social, emotional, cognitive and physical development and are the building blocks of early learning. The ability to self-regulate allows a child to respond to stressors in their environment. Self-regulation shapes the quality of thinking abilities and skills that are essential in learning to get along and cooperate with others, cope with SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined FIGURE 2.1 @ SELF-REGULATION Emotion Attention Self-regulation is about managing, modifying and adapting behaviour, emotions and attention. stressors and acquire emerging academic skills. The ability to attend to what others are thinking, believing and feeling, can be used to interpret behaviour and manage social interactions. The regulation of attention is also essential to children’s learning dispositions or habits of mind and action, including persistence, curiosity and approaching new experiences with confidence. Children’s ability to regulate attention, behaviour and emotion shapes their learning style, including how they are able to focus and shift attention, inhibit distractions, resolve competing demands for attention, delay gratification and tolerate frustration. Self-regulation is a process of how we respond to the world around us: “how we become engaged and excited and how we respond to new ideas, challenges, opportunities and frustrations is grounded in our biology [arousal and recovery continuum]” (McCain, Mustard & McCuaig, 2011, p. 35). Table 2.3 shows how the arousal/recovery continuum extends from flooded and unable to cope to sleep. Children’s characteristics or attitudes to learning that are valuable for supporting lifelong learning. HABITSOFMIND...., Strategies to successfully solve complex problems and overcome challenges. TABLE 2.3 @ THE AROUSAL/RECOVERY CONTINUUM Fight, flight or flooded Overwhelmed, unable to cope, crying. Highest arousal state. A child may have a tantrum or may withdraw to shut out the stress stimulus. On high alert. Useful for short periods of time if in danger or in situation Hyper-alert that requires top performance. Over longer periods of time, being on high alert has a negative impact on our bodies. Calmly focused and alert Hypo-alert. Aroused enough to be alert and take in new information. Relaxed and mellow state that can refreshes brains and bodies for learning. Drowsy Low arousal state, shutting out incoming stimulus. Asleep — Lowest arousal state. Source: McCain, Mustard & Shanker, 2007; Shanker, 2013. CHAPTER 2 History of Early Childhood Education in Canada 39 late Educators can learn to recognize children’s states of arousal and up-regu ly especial , or down-regulate to maintain optimal regulation. Many children emoyoung ones, find it very difficult to “monitor, evaluate, and modify” their learn to comes one tions. Being regulated by others as an infant and young child, to regulate responses to stress and regulate emotions, behaviour and attention. Educators can read children’s cues and gestures to understand what children are EXECUTIVE FUNCTION — Inhibitory control, working memory and cognitive flexibility skills. thinking and feeling and respond to their needs. Executive function is a suite of skills that includes inhibitory control, working memory and cognitive flexibility. These skills are linked to self-regulation and impact one’s ability to regulate attention, emotions and behaviour. Inhibitory control, sometimes called self-control, is the ability to resist distractions and to think before acting. Working memory is the ability to retain and use pieces of information in the short term. Cognitive flexibility is about sustaining or shifting attention as needed. Executive function enables planning, problem solving, focusing attention, remembering instructions and juggling multiple tasks. Self-regulation of attention, emotions and behaviour underlies executive function. Support for self-regulation is a central focus of early childhood education, ~ because self-regulation skills lead to physical, social, emotional, behavioural and cognitive competence. The brain’s capacity for higher-level human functions, such as the ability to attend, interact with others, signal emotions and use symbols to think, build on this platform. Chapter 7 discusses how educators can support children’s abilities to self-regulate. Post-Foundation Theories in Early Childhood Education POST-FOUNDATION ERB cpecccrmarerrmmssscnn OBY ss ise Challenges traditional systems of Knowledge and encourages a Critical consideration of taken-for-granted assumptions about power, equality, equity and fairness. The post-foundation theory of early learning recognizes that early childhood experiences have multiple meanings and are subject to multiple interpretations (Dahlberg, Moss & Pence, 1999). It is a way of seeing things from multiple perspectives. Educators are challenged to consider assumptions about children, learning and ECE principles and practices. A post-foundational perspective proposes that children’s play with each other actively explores identity and power relationships (MacNaughton, 2005). Post-foundation perspectives of early childhood education consider issues of power, equality, equity and fairness as critical influences on how and what children learn in the context of their daily experiences with social relationships, culture, history and economics. These issues challenge educators to acknowledge diverse, complex contexts and cultures in their pedagogy. Post-foundation theory challenges other early childhood theories that impose predetermined structures on young children. Rather than passing on knowledge or facilitating learning, in post-foundation theory educators are viewed as researchers who co-construct knowledge, engage in conversations and make new meanings with children (Moss, 2007). Educators continuously revisit learning to create richer understandings. 40 SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined CHILD CARE CENTRE PROGRAMS AND POLICIES IN CANADA Canada’s earliest early childhood education programs began in the 1830s and were followed by early child care centres, kindergarten, nursery schools and related teacher preparation, day nurseries during World War II. After that in the 1960s was an explosion of early childhood education in child care centres, before- and after-school programs and family resource programs that continues today. 1830s to 1940—Child Care Centres As discussed earlier in this chapter, kindergarten programs in public schools began in the 1880s, and nursery schools emerged in Toronto in the 1920s. Though very few child care programs for preschool children existed in Canada before World War II, their beginnings can be traced back to the 1830s. In the early 19th century, Robert Owen, a factory owner in Scotland, wanted to increase the number of workers available in the local community to work in his factory. His strong commitment to the education of young children led him to establish infant schools to educate very young children and to provide supplemental care while parents worked (Pence, 1990). The infant schools were popular, and the early experiment in early childhood education and care tied to labour participation spread to North America (Pence, 1990; Prochner, 2000). Infant schools were introduced to Canada in the 1830s by factory owners in Halifax who wanted to attract women and older children to work in their factories. These infant schools and others located in Canadian urban centres were based on the models developed in Scotland. The philosophy of infant schools promoted the notion that these early education settings were beneficial to all children—particularly in North America. By the middle of the 19th century, however, Victorian attitudes and beliefs about the sanctity of motherhood brought about the demise of infant schools in Britain and the United States (Pence, 1990), although in Canada some infant schools continued to operate into the 1870s (Prochner, 2000). In the mid-19th century, industrialization grew in Canada. Women and children, as well as men, were sought by employers to work outside the home in factories. For many women who were poor, widowed or deserted, work was necessary to survive. In response, the first child care centre was opened in Montreal in the 1850s by Roman Catholic nuns. It was called a creche. Over the next 50 years a few other centres were opened in Toronto, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Halifax. Typically, these early centres were established by wealthy women as charities and were often sponsored by churches, missions and settlement houses. They were intended to encourage the poor to help themselves through their own labour (Prochner, 2000). The primary stated purpose was “to enable struggling and deserving women to help themselves, by taking care of their children by the day, or the week, and by so doing make it easier for the parent to earn the necessary means of support for her family” (Schulz, 1978, p. 140). At times, CHAPTER 2 History of Early Childhood Education in Canada 41 CUSTODIALCARE> Care for a child that provides basic safety and nutrition but does not intentionally offer learning experiences. MAKING IT HAPPEN LO 2.1 LO 2.3 famthe charitable act was accompanied by a more self-interested one. Wealthy ilies needed domestic servants and the créches were often run as a sideline to employment agencies for domestic services (Schulz, 1978). Children experienced custodial care at most créches and day nurseries at the turn of the century. Physical space was often limited to a couple of rooms. The staff included untrained nannies and housekeepers, usually supervised by a matron. In one report, a matron, a nanny and a cook were responsible for 45 infants and children (Schultz, 1978). For school-age children, care usually included a hot lunch and loose supervision by a housekeeper after school (Young, 1994). Hygienic practices and routines to encourage obedience and moral development kept children physically safe, clean and behaved. This kind of care was often thought to address the dangerous side effects of poverty and neglect faced by many of the children living in urban poverty (Schultz, 1978). The Creche, Toronto Hester How taught grade 4 in downtown Toronto in the 1880s at Elizabeth Street Public School. She became concerned that many of her students, particularly the girls, were frequently staying home to look after younger siblings, so she allowed them to bring the young brothers and sisters to class. Once the problem became more visible and unmanageable, How convinced the school trustees to support the establishment of the Créche in 1891. The Creche was operated by a group of women volunteers as a charitable service. It cared for preschool children and for school-age children outside school hours. VY Hester How taught in her grade 4 classroom with her students’ young siblings in attendance. Education of Board Toronto Museum, and Archives Courtesy (continued) 42 SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined CONSIDER: Why do you think Hester How allowed the younger children to attend their older siblings’ classes? In 1910, the Infants Hospital in Vancouver opened a créche for infants and preschool children of working mothers, and the Associated Charities and the City of Vancouver jointly organized another créche. In 1916, both programs were put under the jurisdiction of the Health Department of British Columbia and were the first child care centres to win government recognition and support (Schulz, 1978). The suffrage movement for the rights of women to vote on equal terms to men was led by middle-class women. However, it never took issue with the notion that a woman’s place was in the home. The movement did not demand the right of women to work or the right of children to high-quality child care. Suffragettes’ campaign for support to single, widowed and deserted women did, however, result in the introduction of Mother’s Allowance (social assistance or welfare) in the 1920s. Once women had gained some support for their children without having to enter the workforce, the need for créches and day nurseries decreased. By 1933 there were about 20 child care centres in Canada serving about 2,500 to 2,600 children. World War II to 1960 With men called up to fight in World War II in 1939, Canada experienced an acute labour shortage, and the government began to recruit women to work in industry. The government first recruited single women then married women, and finally married women with children. Aswomen were recruited for work in war-related industries, the image of the perfect Canadian woman changed from being the foundation of hearth and home to the industrious beauty on the assembly line. The recruitment drive made it necessary to consider alternative care for children. In 1942, the federal government passed the Dominion-Provincial Wartime Day Nurseries Agreement, authorizing the Ministry of Labour to enter into cost-sharing agreements with any provincial government willing to establish day nursery services. Quebec and Ontario were the only provinces to take advantage of the scheme—the other provinces maintained that the need did not exist. The federal government stipulated that at least 75 percent of day nursery spaces had to be given to children whose mothers worked in essential wartime industries. In both provinces, day nursery operating standards were established. In Ontario, CHAPTER 2 History of Early Childhood Education in Canada 43 the St. George’s School of Child Study provided a model for a rapidly expanding system and established short training courses for staff. proBy the end of the war, there were 28 nurseries for preschoolers and 42 sed grams for school-age children in Ontario; Quebec had five community-ba and centres. The Ontario centres were located in Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton Windsor. The cost was $1.05 per day, shared roughly equally between parents and the federal and provincial governments. There was no provision for infant care. After the war, attention turned to maintaining BABY. weeeseexomeness BOOM Significant increase in births following World War Il and continuing to mid 1960s a prosperous economy 1n peaceful times, and social policies were introduced to ensure basic protection for families from the economic devastation of the Depression era. The consumption of goods and services, combined with the baby boom, created the conditions for economic expansion and the expansion of government social programs. Governments also undertook a campaign to get women back to hearth and home and introduced Family Allowance (“baby bonus”) benefits. In Quebec, the government closed all five centres, despite enrolment to capacity and long waiting lists. In Ontario, all three governments (federal, provincial and municipal) tried _ to close the centres, but they met strong resistance through the Day Nursery and Day Care Parents Association. Federal funding ceased, but the Ontario government then passed the Day Nurseries Act, which included provisions for licensing day nursery and nursery school programs and 50 percent provincial cost-sharing of fee subsidies to municipalities. The regulations were based on routines and practices in place at the Institute of Child Study (formerly called St. George’s) nursery school. Sixteen of the 28 preschool centres survived, but all 42 school-age programs closed due to lack of funding and political support (Schulz, 1978). The campaign for women to remain at home to care for their children continued throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. To the extent that day nurseries existed in Canada, they continued to operate mostly as charitable institutions for women in need. However, with increased numbers of births and growing numbers of young children, nursery schools offering part-time enrichment programs for children (and breaks for full-time mothers) were popular throughout Canada. 1960s to 21st Century The 1960s and 1970s saw enormous changes in Canadian society, as shown in Table 2.4.Women were attaining higher levels of education and had greater employment opportunities. At the same time, lone-parent families, the need for more than one income to sustain family standards of living and the consciousness-raising efforts of the women’s movement led many women with young children into the workforce. A growing awareness of poverty and the importance of the early years led to increased attention to early childhood education research and curriculum methodology. The booming economy created thousands of new jobs in the service sector, and the participation of women began to increase rapidly. Several provincial/territorial governments introduced legislation to regulate daycare and nursery school programs and to improve quality. Federal legislation was introduced to provide fee subsidies for licensed child care centres to low-income Canadians under the terms of the Canada Assistance Plan in 1966. By 1977, all 44 SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined provinces had passed legislation enabling their governments to take advantage of the federal funding. Throughout the 1970s, daycare activists across the country continued to TABLE 2.4 © WORKING MOTHERS AND CHILD CARE Mothers Working (youngest Canada _ child <6 years) Full-Day Child Care Spaces (0 to 5 years) 1982 125,000 48% 719,000 17S 30 % 28,000 500,000 1967 16.7% < 10,000 275,000 Source: The Day Care Research Group, 1982. campaign for more and higher-quality daycare, pointing to the enormous gap between demand and supply (Shulz, 1978). The 1980s saw rapid growth in related early childhood education programs. a Day Care Centres on University Campuses MAKING IT HAPPEN Several university Campuses across Canada established daycare centres for infants, toddlers and preschool children, often as outgrowths of students’ or women’s organizations. Typically, these programs involved parents as participants, set up collective decision-making structures and attempted to provide an environment free of gender stereotypes. University child care centres were often operated at odds with the prevailing licensing and professional standards and guidelines that were designed for half-day ECE programs for preschool children not for full-day programs that also included infants and toddlers. Many of the campus child care centres are still in existence because they changed ECE post-secondary education programs and government regulations by illustrating support for full-day child care for very young children as a viable choice for families, not just for those in social and financial need. CONSIDER: How do you think the campus child care centres in the late 1960s and early 1970s reflected changing roles of women? Source: Cameron, 1972. CHAPTER 2 History of Early Childhood Education in Canada 45 kindergarten Several provinces introduced regulations for family care, and such as toywithin the school system expanded. Family support programs, n programs drop-i lending libraries, family resource programs and parent-child of these expanded in many parts of the country (Beach & Bertrand, 2000). Some ing parent ing enhanc on d programs were aimed at high-risk families and focuse skills. Others offered opportunities for informal child care providers to get together with each other, and to take part in training activities. Others offered group play activities for the children. Some were provided to more advantaged at-home parents. Over the past three decades, early childhood education public policies and investment have increased through various federal-provincial-territorial agreements (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018). Also, the federal government has worked with Indigenous communities to establish separate First Nations, Métis and Inuit agreements. Several provincial and territorial governments have expanded early childhood education for children before five-year-old kindergarten and have combined responsibility for all ECE programs into departments or ministries of education. Current public policies to support early childhood education are _ discussed in Chapter 11. SUMMARY ¢ The history of the multiple perspectives from education and psychology and social and economic events that have formed today’s early childhood education programs explain the diversity of Canadian early childhood education programs. Early contributors to Canadian beliefs about early education and childrearing include philosophers John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau; educator leaders Friedrich Froebel, John Dewey and William Blatz; psychologists Ivan Pavlov and John Watson; and psychiatrist Sigmund Freud. Mid-20th-century psychologists including Erik Erikson, Albert Bandura, Jean Piaget, Len Vygotsky and Urie Bronfenbrenner contributed to the practices of early childhood education today in Canada. Today’s early childhood education programs are influenced by information processing, social-cultural, ecological, self-regulation and post-foundational theories in additional to influences from earlier theories. Today’s early childhood education programs, including child care centres and kindergarten in Canada, have their roots in the 19th- and 20th-century programs and increasing public policies and funding. SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined ST Oi ES ee REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. What are the similarities between Indigenous and Western perspectives related to early childhood education? LO 2.2 2. Are the theories of John Dewey relevant in today’s early childhood education programs? 4. How did World War II influence ECE programs in Canada? LO 2.4 5. What is self-regulation and why does it matter to children’s well-being and learning? LO 2.6 LO 2.1 3. What are the key elements of Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of development? LO 2.3 STUDY ACTIVITIES 1. Read one of the articles or books listed in the Suggested Readings to learn more about one of the individuals in this chapter. Prepare a presentation for your class. LO 2.3 2. Prepare a timeline that outlines the history of an early childhood education program in your community. LO 2.5 3. Look for some older early childhood education texts in your college’s library. Create a table that compares and contrasts the early childhood education programs and practices in the older texts to the programs and practices in today’s texts. LO 2.1 4. Review the 20th-century theories that have shaped early childhood education. For each theory, explain what you think is the underlying image of the child. Summarize the information in a chart. LO 2.1 5. Observe a group of children between age three and five years in a full-day early childhood education and care program. Identify examples of children’s ability to regulate their emotions. LO 2.6 KEY TERMS Accommodation (p. 32) Assimilation (p. 32) At risk (p. 36) Baby boom (p. 44) Behaviourism (p. 28) Classical conditioning (p. 28) Compensatory preschool program (p. 34) Custodial care (p. 42) Equilibrium (p. 32) Executive function (p. 40) Guided participation (p. 38) Habits of mind (p. 39) Learning disposition (p. 39) Operant conditioning (p. 28) Parent co-operative (p. 30) Post-foundation theory (p. 40) Psychoanalytic theory (p. 27) Psychosexual (p. 27) Psychosocial (p. 31) Scaffolding (p. 38) Schema (p. 32) Self-regulation (p. 38) Social learning (p. 32) Western understanding (p. 24) Zone of proximal development (p. 38) CHAPTER 2 History of Early Childhood Education in Canada 47 L. SUGGESTED READINGS NAEYC. Head Start. Retrieved September 3, 2020, at https://www.naeyc.org/ our-work/public-policy-advocacy/head-start#What%20is%20Head%20 Start? a o © b & Prentice, S. (2001). Changing child care: Five decades of child care advocacy and policy in Canada. Halifax, NS: Fernwood Publishing. CENGAGE Prochner, L. & Howe, N. (2000). Early childhood care and education in Canada. MINDTAP Strong-Boag, V. (1982). Intruders in the nursery: Childcare professionals reshape the years one to five, 1920-1940. In J. Parr (Ed.), Childhood and For additional resources, visit MindTap. 48 Vancouver, BC: UBC Press. family in Canadian history. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart. SECTION 1 Early Childhood Education Defined Play-Based Learning The play of children is central to early childhood education. Play excites, engages and delights young children and encourages exploration, investigations and problem solving. Play launches children on learning trajectories that carry forward into later school years and beyond. Perhaps, most important, play with other children is central to happy and healthy childhoods. Children share their own experiences and vocabulary during their conversations with each other while they play. They work together to figure things out and learn to take care of each other while they play together. ECE programs provide spaces and places that nurture and expand children’s play opportunities. Chapter 3 describes different types of play and how early educators can facilitate and provoke play-based learning and the learning opportunities that play offers. Chapter 4 focuses on the scope of children’s outdoor play. Chapter 5 explores early childhood education curriculum approaches currently used in Canadian programs. Chapter 6 turns to early learning frameworks that guide early childhood education programs in Canada and internationally. CHAPTER THREE Early Childhood Education Is Play-Based Learning 49 CHAPTER FOUR Outdoor Play 73 CHAPTER FIVE Early Childhood Education Curriculum Approaches 90 SRW sae re? CHAPTER SIX Early Learning Frameworks 108 49 ECE LEADE RS Christine Alden Christine Alden is an Early Learning PhD Candidate at OISE, University of Toronto. The lens of the competent and capable child allows us to appreciate the evolving capacities of children. It is a strength-based lens that invites adults to think about how they support children. In my area of interest in outdoor pedagogy [discussed in Chapter 4], we can see that children are capable of taking on risks and developing competencies around risk from a very early age. If we see children as competent and capable, we trust them to take risks and we orient ourselves as adults around how to support them. Children are always playing. And children are always learning. Play-based learning means an intentional approach by educators to maximize children’s natural inclinations to play. Educators use these opportunities to explicitly support and extend learning. That’s the difference between play-based learning and play where learning happens. Emergent curriculum depends on understanding children’s interests and their natural instincts in play. Educators begin by observing children and looking at what they’re interested in. Then it becomes complex—almost an art. Educators make choices about when and how to engage or not to engage with what children are doing. Those choices are particular to each educator and part of the richness and the beauty of what comes out of individual educators engaging in a play-based emergent curriculum. The nuances of how educators make choices are dependent on their experience. In ECE post-secondary education programs, a lot of observation is probably the best place to start. New educators can simply observe to understand children and reflect on their interests and behaviour, Some ECE students will have inclinations as to how 50 to support pedagogy, but most need experience and guidance. Reflective practice has to be at the core of everything early childhood educators do. Theory and practice are often separated as ECE students go from classroom to placement and then come back to the classroom. Students then need opportunities to discuss their placement experiences with their instructors. The continuum of play-based learning [discussed in Chapter 3] offers a reflective opportunity to educators. Most educators move along that continuum of play-based learning, but they are not always aware that is the case. The emphasis on “child-led” emergent curriculum sometimes confuses educators about what their role is. Educators may try to see everything through the lens of how the child leads and how the child directs. Dr. Pyle’s work focuses reflection on being “child centred,” and helps an educator see that sometimes they will be more engaged or less engaged and provide different options to different children. Outdoor play is taking on prominence now because of multiple drivers. From the health side of the equation, we know that children aren’t physically active enough. On the environmental side of things, we know that children are lacking in a connection to nature and connecting to nature is a stepping stone to future environmental stewardship. We are concerned about the overuse of children’s screen time. Another driver is the idea that children do not have enough freedom or enough choice in their lives. Children are scheduled daily through a series of programs imposed upon them that are usually led by adults. Peter Gray has argued there is a connection between this evolution and children’s declining mental health and happiness. SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning mo OU emp ee 9 g cm 0 0 UD gee We are realizing that spending time in nature is a provocative catalyst for emergent curriculum. The outdoors provokes curiosity in a different way than when educators are setting up indoor playrooms. When inside, more onus is on educators to create the environment and catalyze each discovery whereas outdoors there is more spontaneity and nature catalyzes so much. Outdoors children are Starting with what they see, and they have so many options to explore. Early learning frameworks are increasingly focused on driving and nurturing children’s curiosity and building on children’s interests. | see the move outdoors as an evolution of emergent curriculum in Canada. There was a time in which the focus was on how to bring nature indoors. Now we have had an “a-ha!” moment and said, “Well, if nature is so important, why don’t we go out there?” When we bring nature inside, we only bring pieces of it. We lose the wholeness. We lose the connection. And we lose the sensory part of experiencing-nature, which is the wind on your face and the rain on your nose, and your feet sloshing through mud or snow. We know that sensory development is incredibly important to children and it is much more vivid outdoors in nature. When we bring pieces of nature inside, we disconnect ourselves from the land. We remove the opportunity for relationship and the opportunity that early childhood education programs have to foster relationships between children, educators and the land, which are at the core of Indigenous land-based approaches to early childhood education. Different sectors have different views on outdoor play and each sector calls play in the outdoors something different. In my research, the physical activity sector called it “active outdoor play.” The environmental sector called it “nature play.” Those who were looking at risk called parts of it “risky play.” | was interested in what the various sectors had in common when | interviewed sector leaders in Canada around the concepts behind the terminology. To my surprise, they all named the same three ingredients. For everyone, “outdoor play,” to use the most generic broadly used term, was about play-rich environments, child agency and adult support. The child’s ability to have agency in play also relates to what the educator is doing. The educator may simply set up the play environment with rich materials and step back. The educator also gives children permission to behave in certain ways in that environment. It gets more complex when the educator intervenes and interacts directly with children in that environment: child agency and educator behaviours are interrelated. Many outdoor environments for play are not very interesting for children. Close your eyes and imagine a school playground in Canada. You probably imagine a piece of green field, a piece of tarmac, maybe a basketball hoop and soccer posts, and maybe a climbing structure. In a child care centre, there might be a sandbox, some trikes and a fixed play structure. Those are not rich play environments if you compare them to a forest that has rocks to climb, and trees and plants to explore, and animals living there. In early childhood education, | see two fundamental types of environments that we can provide for children. One is a fenced, defined space where we can control the materials and much of what is going to happen. The second type is accessing community spaces and landscapes and moving through those spaces, such as forests, where we don’t control what is going on in that environment. When you’re moving through space and exploring, provocations are coming up naturally all the time because the environment is always changing—and that provides a different kind of stimulation for children’s play than within static, fenced spaces. There is a trend now toward incredibly rich, fenced play spaces to provide many choices for children. One of the interesting questions that came up in my doctoral research was the question of how much stuff do you need? Quantity is a really interesting question. A lot of materials may not be as helpful as we think because children may just be overwhelmed and may not ever get into a focused kind of play. Yet too few affordances might mean children do not have enough options for rich play. The role of the educator is incredibly important in making decisions around what that environment looks like and what kinds of materials are provided. Source: Courtesy of Christine Alden. SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning 51 mm | UV coamrgg a a= ‘CHAPTER Early Childhood : Education Is Play-Based Learning LEARNING OBJECTIVES 3.1 Describe the central role of play in early childhood education. 3.4 Review the continuum of play-based learning. 3.2 Define different types of play. 3.5 Explain continuity of learning. 3.3 Describe child-directed, educator-guided and educator-directed play. 3.6 Recognize the role of play in supporting self-regulation. An understanding of play is a central to the study of early childhood educatation. Play can be difficult to define because it is viewed differently in different cultural contexts and different ECE approaches. Early childhood educators build their own understanding about what play is and how to create and sustain ECE environments for children’s play. The first Early Years Study, introduced in the Preface, recommended environments for young children that “offer children an array of opportunities to explore, discover and create. ... Play-based, problem-solving with other children and an adult is an early learning strategy” (McCain & Mustard, 1999, pp. 159-160). Play-based learning captures and engages children in their quest to understand the world. This chapter considers the types of play that engage children and a continuum of play-based learning that points to specific strategies that educators can use to maximize the learning opportunities that play offers. It also considers play’s contribution to children’s holistic development and continuity of learning. PLAY MATTERS Educators in ECE settings are attentive to children’s family and community experiences, and they recognize that each child has a unique identity. A play-based learning approach encourages educators to nurture this identity. It also allows educators to be flexible in recognizing and responding to children’s individual thoughts, behaviours and values. 52 Play is the predominant feature of ECE, from programs for infants to programs for school-age children. And play is what matters most to children. Increasingly, educators in public school, particularly in the primary grades, are recognizing the role of play in supporting academic learning (ETFO, 2011). Beyond primary grades, experiential, problem-based learning is finding growing support among education leaders (Schleicher, 2019). The focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) points to problem-based learning approaches—which is an extension of play-based learning and discussed in Chapter 8. Children’s Voices: “I Like to Play with My Friends” For more than 25 years, Dr. Janette Pelletier at the Jackman Institute of Child RESEARCH pagent ogee PRACTICE _ 31 Study at OISE, University of Toronto, has designed unique ways to study the experiences of three-, four- and five-year-old children in early childhood settings. Using finger puppets, the researcher interviews children about their daily experiences asking the question, “Tell me about your day from when you leave home until you go home.” Pelletier and her colleagues also ask children to draw a picture about what they like to do in the program. While drawing, children portray themselves at play more than any other activity or daily routine. The findings point to the salience of play and play with friends for children attending ECE programs. CONSIDER: Think back to your earliest childhood memories of playing. Where are you? Who are you with? Are you using any play materials? How? What were you feeling? What do you think about the role of play in early childhood education programs? Source: Pelletier, 1999; Heagle, Timmons, Hargreaves & Pelletier, 2017; Pelletier, 2017. TYPES OF PLAY Children’s play has been the focus of considerable study throughout the 20th and into the 21st centuries. Two categorizations of play influenced ECE in Canada and elsewhere in the 20th century: Mildred Parten’s social stages of play (Parten, 1932) and Sara Smilansky’s cognitive stages of play (Smilansky, 1968). Both align stages of play with children’s developmental trajectories from infancy into middle childhood. See Table 3.1. CHAPTER 38 Early Childhood Education Is Play-Based Learning 53 STAGES OF PLAY TABLE 3.1 @ TRADITIONAL SOCIAL AND COGNITIVE Infant Social Stages of Play (Parten, 1932) Cognitive Stages of Play (Smilansky, 1968) Unoccupied Functional Play Children are not engaged in any activity Solitary Play Children engage in sensory-motor actions to explore their environment Children play alone Toddler Onlooker Play Children observe each other’s play but do not join in Creative-Constructive Play Children manipulate their environment to create things Parallel Play Children play next to others without verbal interaction Preschool School-age Associative Play Socio-dramatic Play Children have verbal interaction with each other but make few attempts to organize the Children imitate real people and situations and use their imagination to create what play situation Cooperative Play they are imitating Games with Rules Children take an active role to plan and structure the play situation while collaborating with each other Children play table and physical games; they understand the idea of rules and play by the rules Sources: Parten, M. (1932). Social participation among preschool children. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 28(3): 136-147; Smilansky, S. (1968). The effects of sociodramatic play on disadvantaged preschool children. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons. @:.2 Parten reported that with increasing age, children tend to participate in more social forms of play. She concluded that younger children tend to engage in more unoccupied behaviour, onlooker behaviour and solitary play, while older preschoolers and school-aged children engage in more cooperative play. Smilansky’s classification of children’s play outlined four general stages of play. She proposes that children progress through play stages in tandem with related stages of cognitive development from infancy to the early school years. Smilansky’s and Parten’s classifications are frequently combined into a model of social-cognitive stages of play (e.g., Rubin, Maoioni & Hornung, 1976). Parten and Smilansky reflect the dominant view of social and cognitive child development in the 20th century that is discussed in Chapter 2. However, researchers and educators now understand that there are multiple pathways for learning and development that are influenced by children’s experiences and cultural context. Babies can have meaningful friendships with other babies. Preschool and school-age children can learn complex skills by observing the play of other children, and functional play can introduce school-age children to complex scientific concepts. While current theories about children’s play are not tied to stages of development or linear sequence, the categories of play that Parten and Smilansky introduced still have much to offer when understanding types of play. 54 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning Onlooker Play Onlooker play occurs when children watch others at play—and may engage in conversation or ask questions—but do not engage in the play. While it may be more common in younger children, it happens throughout childhood and beyond. Children can learn a great deal by watching others at play, as they may be interested in what others are doing but are not yet ready to join. When children watch other children play, they often absorb what they see and hear, and organize and integrate that information for future use. They learn about how children interact with each other, including positive and negative behaviour. They notice how other children use play materials and tools. They pay attention to the language children are using and learn new vocabulary. Onlooker play begins in infancy and is common among toddlers. In the past, educators considered onlooker play to be a preliminary phase that eventually leads to more meaningful play with other children. Educators and researchers are now aware that in many cultural contexts, careful observation of others is a valued learning strategy throughout childhood and adolescence (Konner, 2010). Onlooker play continues among preschool and school-age children who may frequently observe and learn from the play of others. Onlooker play is a form of observational learning, recognized as a powerful learning strategy by 20th-century scientists including B.F. Skinner and Albert Bandura as discussed in Chapter 2. Children learn a variety of behaviours through observation of their peers, family members, educators and others. Learning through Observation and Pitching In (LOPI) Researcher Barbara Rogoff points to children’s observation of a broad range of family and community activities as a Key mode of learning in many Indigenous com- ONLOOKER PLAY > Watching others play but not engaging in the play. OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING Learning by observing the behaviour of others. RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE _ G32 munities of the Americas. She notes that children in Indigenous communities often participate in adults’ social and work experiences, such as farming, hunting, meal preparation and housekeeping. The children pay close attention observing this wide range of family and community activities. They then “pitch-in” or participate in those activities. They learn mostly by observing what goes on around them and then modelling skills to carry out the activity they have observed. Adults support their — opportunities to observe, learn and participate or pitch-in, sometimes providing pointers about the shared activity. Learning by observation and pitching in is supported by community expectations that everyone is responsible to contribute. CONSIDER: Describe a time when you learned a new skill by carefully watching others. Source: Correa-Chavez, Mejfa-Arauz & Rogoff, 2015; Rogoff, 2003. CHAPTER 3 Early Childhood Education Is Play-Based Learning 55 Physically Active Play a o 12 P ¢ CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about LOPI from the National Science Foundation. Physical activity with regular bursts of moderate to vigorous movement. PERCEPTUAL-MOTOR Coordination of sensory and motor skills such as eye— hand coordination. red or Physically active play is moderate- to vigorous-intensity play, whether structu movebody unstructured. Physically active play develops endurance, control of ments and perceptual-motor integration. Longer-term benefits are extensive and relate to all aspects of learning, behaviour and health. Cognitive abilities, brain function, blood pressure and lipid levels, and mental health improve with regular physically active play. In its 2018 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, the organization Active Healthy Kids Canada reported that most three- and fouryear-olds are physically active for the recommended 84 minutes a day, but a large percentage of school-age children (ages 5 to 11 years) are not. Only 20 percent of 5- to 1]-year-olds are active for more than two hours a day in unstructured physical activity. Only 39 percent of 5- to 17-year-olds take part in moderate to vigorous physical activity per day (ParticipACTION, 2018, 2020). ECE programs offer the potential for physically active play. An Ontario study of children’s physical activity reported that children in full-day kindergarten were more active than children in child care centres and home child care ~(Vanderloo et al., 2015). PHYSICAL LITERACY Developing, using and understanding fundamental movement skills. Physically active play contributes to children’s physical literacy, which, in turn, is an essential foundation of well-being. Physical literacy is the ability to “move with competence and confidence in a wide variety of physical activities in multiple environments that benefit the healthy development of the whole person” (Physical and Health Education, 2014). Children require regular, frequent opportunities for physical movement and physically active play to develop physical literacy. Around age five, children are often ready to start combining physical skills—such as running, throwing, catching and jumping—into games. Older children may seek out structured team games such as baseball, soccer or field hockey, or they may prefer games that involve skipping or running and chasing. At the same time, school-age children benefit from unstructured physically active play time, particularly in programs outside the school day (Active Healthy Kids Canada, 2014; ParticipACTION, 2020). Outdoor unstructured time is often more physically active than structured games that include waiting times and instruction and is discussed in Chapter 4. Educators can plan physically active play activities that incorporate physical movement and skill practice across the program, rather than as isolated activi-_ ties. Through these activities, young children can be encouraged to work cooperatively with others and to persevere with their own physical activities, They can also learn to assess the risk involved in a physical activity and to monitor their own physical abilities to take risks. Opportunities for physically active play, including play-fighting, help children manage aggressive reactions. In a game of chase, children are physically active and maintain the game by negotiating the rules and agreeing to abide by them. Yet what they value is the thrill of the chase. The rules provide a framework within which the players know that “this is play.” The framework provides a safe place where emotions can be experienced without the consequences they might bring in the real world. 56 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning ORGANIZED SPORTS AND RECREATION Many children in before- and afterschool programs want various physical sports facilities (Kangas, 2010). If asked, they may name swimming pools, soccer fields, gyms, tennis courts, golf courses and climbing walls and trampolines as examples of sports facilities they want to see in their schools and after-school program. While many of these facilities are beyond the capacity of most programs, educators can consider what might be accessed in the local school or recreation facility and what sports and recreation options might be possible on-site. Organized sports are games that have a set of recognized rules and can promote teamwork and cooperative play. Basketball, baseball, soccer and volleyball may be offered to children in before- and after-school programs. Usually the rules are interpreted and monitored by an official, for example, a baseball umpire. School-age children learn to think critically and solve problems, develop coping skills, and trust and respect others. Participating in team sports can improve academic performance and reduce delinquency (Lerner, Fischer & Weinberg, 2000; Spruit et al., 2016). In before- and after-school programs, educators can set up opportunities for children to participate in organized sports that they choose for themselves. Participation should be enjoyable with an emphasis on skill building and teamwork. Many children like the group atmosphere of being on a team; others may prefer individual sports such as running, swimming or gymnastics, which build self-reliance, patience and motor skills. These children might prefer solo sports that they can improve at their own pace, independent of others. Exploratory Play Exploratory play begins with children’s curiosity about the world around them. They investigate the properties and functions of objects, often through sensorymotor actions. Exploratory play leads children to see connections between objects, ideas, meanings and imagination. Ideas and questions progress to in-depth investigation of a real-world topic that engages children’s attention and effort. Children move from what they know to what is more complex. Play thus becomes a platform for exploration. Play engages children’s attention when it offers a challenge within the child’s capacity to master (McCain & Mustard, 1999; National Research Council, 2001). Scientific reasoning begins early in humans. Babies notice how objects move and behave, gather information, build patterns of expectations about the world around them and form general categories. Toddlers experiment with tools and Touching, listening, smelling and watching objects to find out about their properties and what happens when they are manipulated. learn to manipulate objects. They learn to solve simple problems they encounter in their environment—how to retrieve an object out of reach or how to make their desires understood. Preschool children use methods of science including data collection, predicting, recording and talking about findings. Problems to be solved emerge in, or can be introduced to, preschool play. Early childhood educators may introduce problems during play to engage children’s curiosity and provide opportunities for them to apply and reinforce their problem-solving skills (Keating, 1998; Galinsky, 2013). CHAPTER 3 Early Childhood Education Is Play-Based Learning 57 Neil is learning about the properties of sand. Images Momen © Pretend Play In [pretend] play, the child behaves beyond his average age, above his daily behaviour; in play it is as though he were a head taller than himself. As in the focus of a magnifying glass, play contains all developmental tendencies in a condensed form and is itself a major source of development (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 102). PRETEND PLAY. Make-believe play where children act as if something or someone is real. 58 Pretend play involves make-believe play where children act as if something or someone is real. In pretend play, children may use objects and pretend they are something else. For example, a child may use a wooden block and pretend it is a mobile phone. Children may attribute pretend characteristics or behaviours to objects, such as “the teddy bear is sleeping.” In pretend play, children often reference invisible people or objects. Pretend play is also often about playing a particular character role and carrying out a story. For example, a child may pretend to be a dinosaur going to look for plants to eat. Pretend play can start early in life. Before their first birthday, children may imitate what they have observed in the world around them such as patting dolls or stuffed animals to sleep. In pretend play, children communicate with each other, using language and gestures to tell and retell stories. In pretend play, children use language and thinking skills to compare and plan, investigate materials, problem solve, experiment, negotiate and evaluate. Pretend play is the primary mode of learning during the preschool years and continues to be important into the primary grades. Pretend play provides practice in choosing, negotiating, planning, thinking, problem solving and taking risks. In high-quality pretend play, the child is deeply involved and is acquiring and practising skills. SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning Nevertheless, pretend play can be hurtful and negative. When children tease, bully or harass other children while playing a role, this is a harmful use of imagination. As well, educators have a responsibility, therefore, to intervene and redirect the play when pretend play entrenches societal inequities, cultural biases or violence, just as they would if one child hit another child. SOCIO-DRAMATIC PLAY Socio-dramatic play is a mature, complex form of pretend play. It is defined by three components: an agreed-upon pretend scenario, roles and rules. Together children co-construct and negotiate a pretend situation. They take on and act out defined roles and scenarios that involve joint planning, SOCIO-DRAMATIC PLAY _ Pretend play that is shared with others. perspective taking and mental representation. They follow a set of rules that are shaped by the specific roles. When children take on a particular role for an extended period of time, they have opportunities to pay attention to their choices and not act on immediate impulses. Socio-dramatic play is often about creating a world in which children are in control and can seek out uncertainty in order to triumph over it. The creativity required and developed in play, the use of imagination and finding one’s own solutions to problems, both real and imagined, all help children to develop ways of reacting to a wide range of situations. They develop a repertoire of flexible responses to situations they create and encounter within the safety of the make-believe world they have created. Preschool children rely on personal experiences for socio-dramatic play and may cooperate with other children and share space with other children. By four or five years of age, more complex, interconnected play scenarios emerge, and children differentiate complementary roles. Socio-dramatic play continues into primary school years, using more fantasy and interconnected, planned scripts. Young school-age children may shift from pretend play to dramatic productions with a prepared script drawn from a published story or from one authored by the children. Socio-dramatic play requires the pretenders to relay their stories and negotiate with each other using language, gestures and symbolic objects to tell and retell stories. Socio-dramatic play builds a sense of narrative that sets the foundation for moving from learning to read to reading to learn. Children’s ability to communicate to a variety of audiences benefits from role-play in socio-dramatic play and then in more structured dramatic arts. They learn to apply their speaking and listening skills for different purposes. Children practise verbal and narrative skills that are needed for reading comprehension. Socio-dramatic play also helps children to develop social responsibility as they interact and negotiate with others. Children learn to see things as others see them and to problem solve when they role-play at the dramatic play centre. They have the opportunity to experiment with a variety of social roles (e.g., store clerk, bus driver, grandparent). Socio-dramatic play is about negotiation and getting along with others, often overcoming different perspectives and backgrounds. Socio-dramatic play helps children take the perspective of others and promotes later abstract thought; pretending involves mental representation. CHAPTER 3 Early Childhood Education Is Play-Based Learning 59 d play with A child’s ability for joint planning and assigning roles during preten THEORY OFMIND Understanding that others have beliefs, desires and intentions that are different than one’s own. ability to underother children is related to their level of theory of mind, or their their own. from nt stand that others have beliefs, desires and intentions differe not be The understanding that what one believes and what others believe may is that mind of theory of the same is a critical element in the development of acquired around four years of age (Astington, 1998). Children’s development for acamental representation is an important cognitive achievement needed demic skills, such as reading comprehension and use of mathematical symbols. Creative-Constructive Play CREATIVE-CONSTRUCTIVE PLAN omens ese czee Play in which children use materials and tools to make something. Building, painting or inventing things is creative-constructive play. As children have increasingly complex interactions with others, their ability to represent feelings, intentions and actions in drawings, paintings, movement, music and constructions leaps forward. Exploratory play leads to purposeful construction of meaningful objects, structures and representations. Combined with the exploration and discovery of the properties of different materials, children in early childhood education programs construct and represent their knowledge in a variety of ways. -Creative-constructive play is goal oriented and organized as children transform available materials into something new. Over time, drawing and painting evolve from scribbles to sophisticated symbols. Scribbles become lines that have meaning. When the two ends of a line are joined, shapes emerge and children begin to use shapes as symbols. Drawing and painting are part of children’s first attempts to print and to use symbols to communicate meaning as fine motor control increases. Children may use drawing and painting to record their play experiences and extend their abilities for symbolic representation and explore their feelings. Representational drawings of constructions can expand children’s planning and the complexity of the structures that children create. Forms of creative-constructive play include building with blocks, making a road for toy cars or constructing a fort out of couch pillows. Children may use unit blocks, hollow blocks, cube blocks and interlocking blocks such as Lego. Children can also build with found materials and loose parts. Creative-constructive play often takes place in sand pits and art areas as well as block centres. In creativeconstructive play children learn about manipulation, building and fitting things together. Thinking skills are used to figure out how to address a problem, whether it is a block tower that won't stand up or a sandcastle that keeps collapsing. Children’s creative-constructive play can lead to figuring out how things are made and how they work, and to thinking about what can make them work differently or more efficiently. Solving practical problems that emerge in creative-constructive play involves engineering concepts to design, build and test solutions. In creative-constructive play, children have opportunities to experience the added value of tools. School-age children can benefit from access to tools such as screwdrivers, hammers, saws, sewing machines, simple weaving looms and different types of scissors. Creative-constructive play is often combined with pretend play in the early years as children organize spaces for play scenarios. As children develop more 60 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning complicated dramatic narratives, creating the settings and props for the play often becomes a more integral part of the play. Creative-constructive play builds enthusiasm, ideas and skills for children’s participation in visual and performance arts. Educators can extend the learning potential of creative-constructive play by providing opportunities for older preschool and school-age children to express themselves in visual arts, music, dance and dramatic productions. Creative-constructive play and participation in the arts build children’s decision-making skills, develop symbolic communication, promote sensory development and encourage creative thinking and imagination. Creative-constructive play is an important vehicle for children to understand different cultures as well as to express their own culture. Tools and materials from various cultural backgrounds can be made available for children to explore and use for their creations. By making things with materials and tools from different cultures, children expand their understanding and appreciation of different ways of living in the world. Children experience a sense of accomplishment when they create or construct something new and unique to them. When they collaborate together to create something new, they must share ideas and plans and then negotiate the execution of those plans. Games with Rules Rule-based games are played with an external structure. Children learn to how to take turns, share and resolve differences when they take part in rule-based games with other children. Simon says, guessing games, I spy with my little eye, and red light/green light are examples of classic games that require children to pay attention and remember the rules (working memory). The games build children’s capacity to get along with each other. Hide and seek is a game with rules that develop self-regulation as children must wait quietly until they are found. Rattlers is a game often played by children in Blackfoot First Nation communities. Children form a circle around one child who is blindfolded and sits in the middle. A ball with small rocks or beans inside is tossed around the children forming the circle. The blindfolded child hears the rattle and tries to catch it (High Five, n.d.). Structured games are not limited to older preschool and school-age children. Infants frequently delight in peek-a-boo games with older children and adults. There is a defined structure that educators can introduce and reinforce. As children become more skilled, rules can become more complex. Children often become interested in formal games with peers by age four or five and continue into middle childhood. Older children’s more logical and socialized ways of thinking make it possible for them to play more complex games together. Games with rules can be the most prominent form of play during middle childhood. Children learn about turn taking and functioning as part of a team, and they may need guidance about dealing with both winning and losing. Explicit rules are the main organizing element in group game play, and they guide children’s group behaviour. Some games involve two or more sides, CHAPTER 3 Early Childhood Education Is Play-Based Learning 61 Other games competition and agreed-upon criteria for determining a winner. require cooperation among children to be successful. that Rules-based games provide children with shared activities and goals rules te negotia to learn n Childre build their capacity to collaborate with others. in order to create the game they wish to play, thereby shaping the external structure of the game. Children use games flexibly and accept rules to suit the group of players. The fairness of the rules matters to young children, just as it does to older school-age children. Much like pretend play, play that involves games with rules allows children to master and integrate knowledge of numbers. Through play, children can learn how to use a number line for solving number problems that involve addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Research (e.g., Ramani, Siegler & Hitti, 2012) has shown that number linear board games, such as snakes and ladders, and card games (e.g., LeFevre et al., 2009) contribute to foundational math concepts and numerical skills (Ramani & Siegler, 2011). Strategy games, like checkers, help children to practise reasoning strategies. In such games, children must consider both offensive alternatives and the need for defence of their posi_tions on the game board. THE PLAY-LEARN CONTINUUM Play can be initiated and guided by children themselves or play opportunities can be guided by educators who seek opportunities to extend children’s learning. Sometimes, educators direct children’s play through specifically designed activities and sequenced play materials to promote specific learning goals. Contemporary early childhood pedagogy and curriculum typically view play-based learning as the way in which children organize and make sense of their worlds, as they actively engage with people and objects (see chapters 5 and 6). Some current early childhood pedagogies view play-based learning as the enrichment and enhancement of children’s ideas and explorations. Some also view play-based learning as guided games and activities organized to promote a progression of learning outcomes. Play-based learning is often understood to be predominately child-directed play with some guidance from educators alongside time for direct instruction of specific skills—often emerging academic skills related to reading, writing and mathematics. Although educators may distinguish activities as “play” and “work,” in fact, play-based learning approaches extend from child-directed free play to educator-directed/educator-structured learning experiences; this range of approaches is articulated in similar ways by several pedagogical leaders and researchers in Australia, United States and Canada (e.g., see Fleet, 2017 ; Edwards, 2017; Miller & Almon 2009; Pyle, 2018). The idea of a continuum of play-based learning shown in Figure 3.1, offers a broader and more concrete definition of what play-based learning can be (Pyle & Danniels, 201 7). Early childhood educators participate in play to guide children’s planning, decision making and communication, and to extend children’s explorations with narrative, novelty and challenges. Play encourages learning through interaction with objects, people and information. Early childhood educators establish play that integrates social, emotional, physical, language and cognitive develop ment 62 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning FIGURE 3.1 Freeplay @ CONTINUUM OF PLAY-BASED LEARNING §f Inquiry Co-designed revel Observe; Facilitate in time and space Learning learning Child directed games a Extend P children’s ideas N ide Design ; learning experiences © 3.4 Educator directed Direct instruction The play-based learning continuum defines five categories of play and related intentional teaching strategies. Adapted from website figure by Angela Pyle; httos://www.playlearninglab.ca/about-the-continuum; http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/sites/default/files/textes-experts/en/4978/negotiating-a-holistic -view-of-play-based-learning-a-commentary.pdf. that respect diversity and are inclusive. Play-based pedagogy includes activities organized to facilitate movement, activity, choice, autonomy, communication and social interaction (Bennett, 2004). Intentional teachingis discussed in Chapter 9 and refers to making decisions and acting purposefully. From child-directed play to educator-guided play and to educator-directed play, educators can recognize, encourage and value a variety of play experiences (Bertrand, 2010; Miller & Almon, 2009). The continuum of playbased learning offers concrete strategies for intentional teaching including decisions about setting up the environment, interacting with children and promoting their learning that happens through children’s play (Pyle & Danniels, 2017). Free Play Free play is child-initiated and child-directed play. Free play is play in which children are actively engaged; it is freely chosen, intrinsically motivated, non-literal and it serves the child’s needs for pleasure, emotional release, mastery or resolution (Johnson, Christie & Wardle, 2005; Hewes, 2014). Children explore and learn through their ways of knowing, interactions with each other and various tools and materials that are in the play space. Free play is unstructured, and children engage with the space and equipment provided as they choose. Educators are onlookers and observers, playing a minimal role (for safety or hurtful behaviour) in intervening in children’s play. Educators recognize free play as valuable opportunities to gather information about children—who they are, how they get along in the world, their abilities and preferred ways of learning—through careful observation. Educators ensure that the environment offers space and play materials that children can use in their play. Intentional teaching strategies to facilitate children’s play include organizing schedules, the environment, the equipment and play materials to accommodate their explorations and play with each other. CHAPTER 8 Early Childhood Education Is Play-Based Learning 63 Inquiry Play extend chilInquiry play begins with child-initiated ideas and explorations. Educators tions. Other dren’s ideas and explorations through questions, prompts and provoca children’s ing support s, intentional teaching strategies can include providing resource explorations and reflecting on their ideas and questions. Educators reflect, explore theories, research and plan together possible ways to support children’s learning. Inquiry play focuses on children’s own ideas and what they have noticed. Through it, children build communication and observation skills as well as acquire new information and become experts in that area. As they investigate, ask questions and expand their capacity to build bridges between ideas, children go through a problem-solving and planning process that encourages them to persist and find alternative solutions. An inquiry may be carried out with an entire class or with small groups of students. Numeracy and mathematical understanding benefits from exploratory play that evolves into inquiry and involves measurement, space, perspective and other mathematical ideas. Opportunities present themselves for children to record observations in graphs that represent their findings. Literacy benefits as children ~ document their ideas, experimentation and findings as a group or individually. Collaborative Play Collaborative play begins with child-directed play and explorations. Educators intentionally enter to introduce or reinforce a specific skill or narrate and interpret play and respond in a way that sustains and enhances learning. In collaborative play, educators may enter children’s play with specific learning goals in mind. They may structure the environment with materials in such a way that children’s play is influenced toward targeted learning goals, or they may join a child or a group of children and introduce a skill or information themselves. Educators may also collaborate with children to design learning experiences to build on children’s ideas and explorations. Regardless of the collaborative approach used, educators should be intentional in weaving in a specific learning objective without taking over the children’s play. Children remain in the lead in guiding the play and educators may join but only by following the children. Educators can use these opportunities to model invitations to other children to join the play. Often, collaborative play builds on teachable moments that are spontaneous opportunities which arise in children’s play where educators can offer specific insight or guidance that supports the child’s or children’s learning. In ECE programs, the children’s play themes are repeated over several days or even weeks. Educators can recognize the children’s play themes and include them in setting up the environment and planning related learning experiences. Playful Learning Playful learning is play experiences that are designed by educators with a specific focus on targeted skills. Educators seek to integrate specific learning outcomes into the planned play experiences. Playful learning does involve children’s active participation and may offer opportunities for children to adapt and expand the activity. 64 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning Extending Learning Opportunities LEARNING TOGETHER A group of five children have been spending time playing with marbles at kindergarten. Today they have set up a spontaneous game, using small blocks to make pathways for their marbles. Recognizing this as an opportunity to build on children’s interests and abilities, their educator, Elmira, collects several empty shoeboxes and brings them out for the children. Nearby are markers, red, blue and green tape, scissors, string, cardboard tubes, and small slips of paper. Elmira asks the children, “How do you think these boxes could be part of the game?” LO 3.4 CONSIDER: The continuum of play-based learning. What teaching strategies is Elmira using to extend children’s learning? Why do you think that this is an example of collaborative or inquiry play? Could it be both? Why or why not? While educators often build on children’s play narratives and interests, they are more active in guiding the learning experiences and focusing the children’s attention. Playful learning is usually planned for small groups of children, ensuring shared conversations among the children and with the educator. Following planned playful learning experiences, educators can observe children during free play times and note if any of the vocabulary or concepts are incorporated. Learning Games Learning games are prescribed learning experiences that include direct instruction from educators and/or from specific learning materials. Educators structure learning experiences with explicit goals for individuals or groups of children, transmitting knowledge and skills from educator to child. Educators may demonstrate, model, show examples, provide facts and information, and transmit knowledge and skills. Planned, structured learning experiences may be introduced to a child or group of children who have demonstrated a readiness and, perhaps, a desire for the acquisition of a new specific skill. Explicit direct instruction includes demonstrating and directing. These types of strategies are useful when educators want to demonstrate a new piece of equipment or when children are introduced to something for the first time. Games such as obstacle courses, treasure hunts and Simon Says are opportunities to practice gross motor skills, develop spatial reasoning and sequencing skills, and regulate attention (Bodrova & Leong, 2007). Traditional activities that are embedded in local culture are often learning games. For example, the Friendship Dance in Mi’kmaq communities is a simple dance (High Five, n.d.). Participants hold hands in a circle, move in a clockwise direction, and take three steps forward and one step back in time to the rhythm of a drum or recorded music. Children observe and listen and then follow the steps. CHAPTER 38 Early Childhood Education Is Play-Based Learning Specific pedagogical (teaching) strategy to teach a specific skill. 65 Learning to Skip In a playground in a small town in Manitoba, the recreation centre’s after-school program is popular among children in grades 1 and 2. Today, three boys and a girl play basketball. Two girls skip and two boys play “ballsies” (a made-up game that involves throwing a rubber bouncing ball at the school wall and catching it without any bounces on the ground as many times as possible). Bonita, the recreation leader, scans the environment often, automatically counting to make sure that the 20 children who were present at 3:15 pm remain in the playground. She also takes note of who is doing what and how each child is moving their body. Like many other children who struggle with motor skills, third grader Alisha hates outdoor activities during school hours or after school. Inside the classroom, she is quietly confident about her abilities, but outdoors she is abundantly aware that she lacks the physical skills of many of her peers. She has to wait to be asked to play jump rope and faces embarrassment if she misses a skip, or if ~ nobody ends up asking her to join. But this year is different. ln September, Bonita observed Alisha struggle to join in skipping games and did some coaching to build her skipping skills. She also assigned a grade 6 helper who was a master skipper to practise with Alisha. Three months and many mornings of practice later, Alisha starts mastering the skills and, as indicated by her smiling face, is enjoying her newfound skipping mastery. CONSIDER: What direct instruction strategies did Bonita use to support Alisha’s skipping abilities? Educators and children > join ina game of hand signals. wll © E+/Getty Images i] ES 66 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning Direct instruction is adult-initiated, planned teaching. It may involve one child, a small number of children or a large group of children; an educator or can present the lesson. It may be used to facilitate learning of academic content, physical skills and social skills. Direct instruction typically starts with clearly stated learning objectives or outcomes. Materials and instructions are sequenced to promote the child’s or children’s mastery of the content (Beretier, 1972; National Research Council, 2001). The limitations of direct instruction are discussed in Chapters 5, 7 and 8. In many early childhood education programs, group time or circle time is an opportunity for direct instruction. Educators may plan specific content and take advantage of the potential efficiency of the simultaneous attention of a group of children (National Research Council, 2001). The approach of using direct instruction embedded in an entertaining format that engages children can be found in many early childhood education programs. These are typically organized around specific themes that are relevant to children’s daily lives and subject areas such as literacy, math, science, social skills, art and music. Children are encouraged to master specific content such as visual patterns or recognition of colours. PLAY AND CHILDHOOD Play is an essential part of childhood and continues to be essential into adolescence and beyond. It matters deeply to children and motivates learning. Play is a vehicle for learning and lies at the core of innovation and creativity. It provides opportunities for learning in a context in which children are their most receptive. Play and work are not distinct categories for young children. Children’s play evolves as they grow. Their actions and learning are integrated across areas of development. Continuity of Learning Children who thrive in primary school and beyond have strong communication skills, are able to make friends, can get along and cooperate with others, are persistent and creative in completing tasks and solving problems, and are excited to learn. They have developed their abilities to imagine, use mental representations, act in a deliberate, planned manner, and integrate emotions and thinking. They are confident and see themselves as learners (Segal, 2004; Ziegler, Singer & BishopJosef, 2004). These are the same skills and dispositions that are supported in early childhood education programs that promote play-based learning. Play has long been a well-established feature of ECE. But the increasing emphasis on accountability for children’s success in early academics (particularly literacy and numeracy) in the education system has led to a corresponding decline in the general understanding of the important contribution that highquality play—especially pretend play—can make to children’s literacy, numeracy and inquiry skills in the early years. A shift from a focus on play during preschool years to a strong emphasis on formal instruction to learn letters and use phonics can limit children’s literacy skills as well as their numeracy and inquiry skills CHAPTER 3 Early Childhood Education Is Play-Based Learning 67 an, 2002; Kraft (Barnett, Yarosz, Thomas & Hornbeck, 2006; Frede & Ackerm adult play & Berk, 1998; Ziegler et al., 2004). High-quality play, mediated by is an partners who are able to inject judicious direct instruction into daily play, skills. science and cy effective pedagogy for emergent literacy, numera The continuum of play-based learning bridges the practices of early childhood education and primary schooling. Much attention in Canada and internationally has focused on the transition challenges children face when they leave ECE programs and enter grade 1 (and sometimes kindergarten) classes. Recent international reports (Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, 2015; Moser, Leseman, Melhuish, Borekhuizein & Slot, 2017; OECD 201g) report that children’s transition from an early learning program to primary schools is often an abrupt shift in approach rather than a smooth change for children. This points to missed opportunities to maximize the potential benefits of children’s participation in early childhood education programs. Across Canada, young children experience ECE environments that emphasize a blend of child-directed and educator-guided play approaches with little direct instruction from their educators. When they enter grade 1 (and some_ times kindergarten) the learning environment often shifts to a greater emphasis on educator-directed instruction for specitic direct instruction of academic skills, mostly related to early literacy and numeracy. Opportunities for more childdirected play may be offered during the school day but are usually viewed as distinct from the academic content. Primary schools can incorporate the principles and practices of play-based learning and promote critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and problem-solving alongside literacy, mathematical understanding, science and technology. Out-of-school programs for elementary school children can promote children’s play with each other and provide the materials and space to explore their ideas and practise emerging skills. Rather than getting children ready for a transition from ECE settings to school classrooms, play-based learning can be carried through into school settings. Play-based learning embeds continuity of learning rather than learning transitions in children’s education journey. Play-based learning is really a type of problem-based learning (PBL) that is recognized as an effective pedagogical approach from early childhood to post-secondary education and beyond. MAKING IT HAPPEN LO 3.4 68 Problem-Based Learning In 1969, the new medical school at McMaster University introduced a unique approach to learning medicine called problem-based learning. Led by Dr. Fraser Mustard, students were assigned case studies of patients with a variety of symptoms and test results. The case study problems were used to identify the students’ own learning needs as they try to understand the problem and review, synthesize SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning and apply information to the problem. Students with tutors worked together to both learn from each other and solve the case study problems (Packham, 2010). Problem-based learning included small group learning, faculty facilitation, use of patient-based cases and a well-defined set of learning objectives. Thirty years later, in 1999 Mustard had turned his attention to early child development. He was joined by the Hon. Margaret Norrie McCain to prepare the Early Years Study: Reversing the Real Brain Drain (1999) for the Ontario government. They identified the value of problem-based play learning for lifelong learning, behaviour and health. McCain and Mustard defined problem- based play as children choosing their learning focus and collaborating with peers, guided by educators and environments designed to include problems to be solved. Mustard viewed children’s play as a downward extension of the problem-based learning he had pioneered 30 years earlier for medical students. CONSIDER: What problem could you present to a small group of preschool children that would encourage play-based learning? Source: McCain, M., & Mustard, F. (1999). Early years study: Reversing the real brain drain. Toronto, ON: Government of Ontario. ——_ Play and Self-Regulation Children’s play with each other (from infancy on) in early childhood education settings offers multiple opportunities for educators to support children’s self-regulation and for children to practise emerging self-regulation skills. Chapter 2 introduced self-regulation as a cornerstone of children’s early learning and well-being. Children’s Experiences: Play and Self-Regulation Dr. Carl Corter and his colleagues at Dr. Jackman Institute of Child Study and the Atkinson Centre at OISE, University of Toronto, studied play and self-regulation of four- and five-year-olds attending full-day kindergarten in Toronto (Corter, Janmohamed & Pelletier, 2012). The researchers based their study on findings that play-based learning programs support children’s self-regulation. The kindergarten programs were staffed with an early childhood educator and a primary teacher toe gant el oricg LO 3.6 who were implementing a play-based learning approach. To examine children’s play and self-regulation, Corter and his team created the Child Observation Framework (COF) to analyze running-record observations (continued) CHAPTER 8 Early Childhood Education Is Play-Based Learning 69 a list of children. The COF included a list of items related to self-regulation and of items related to play behaviour. The researchers found opportunities or situational demands for the exercise of self-regulation every three minutes. The selfregulated behaviours that all children had opportunities to use included focusing and shifting attentions as required, interacting well with peers, following directions ° and expectations, and appearing comfortable and confident in the learning environment. Opportunities to practise self-regulation appeared during both structured and unstructured play. CONSIDER: Can you identify specific examples of children’s play that are opportunities to practise self-regulation skills? Source: Corter, Janmohamed R os ¢ 1s CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap for more information on the Child Observation Network and its studies. & Pelletier, 2012. During play, children practise the skills that support strengthened selfregulation. They build their abilities to imagine; act in a deliberate, planned manner; and integrate emotions and thinking. For example, building with blocks as a shared experience supports children’s regulation of behaviour and attention as well as the coordination of roles. Children must plan together, using language to discuss the construction. Pretend play increases how often children practise self-regulation. Children’s private speech—speech that helps them regulate their own attention, behaviour or emotions—occurs more often in pretend play than in less complex play settings, or settings with tasks having predetermined goals and greater educator direction. Socio-dramatic play calibrates emotional responses to the unexpected events that are introduced during play. The ability to regulate emotional responses to disturbance, and to reduce stress levels, enhances the ability to cope with uncertainty and allows for the development of a suite of motor (physical), cognitive and social skills to manage stress and arousal. SUMMARY ¢ Children’s play and play-based learning is central to early childhood education. ¢ From infancy through age 12 years, play types include onlooker play, physically active play, exploratory play, creative-constructive play and games with rules. ¢ Intentional teaching in early childhood education includes strategies to support child-directed play, educator-guided play and educator-directed play. 70 ¢ The continuum of play-based learning offers a framework for continuity of learning from early childhood education into the formal school system. ¢ Play can boost children’s optimal self-regulation and support children’s developmental and learning trajectories. SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. What are the benefits of young children’s play? Lo 3.1 2. Describe intentional teaching strategies to support child-directed, educator-guided and educator-directed play. LO 3.3 3. What is the continuum of play-based learning? LO 3.4 4. How does the continuum of play-based learning support continuity of learning? LO 3.5 5. Provide three examples of how children’s free play supports early literacy. LO 3.6 STUDY ACTIVITIES 1. Observe a child at play for 30 minutes. Identify specific types of play the child is engaged in. Does the child engage with other children? What toys or materials does the child use? Use your observations to identify the specific types of play in which the child is engaged. LO 3.2 2. Observe two children at play. Consider the conversations the children have with each other when they are playing together. What information do they exchange? Do they respond to each other? Are they sharing a pretend scenario? Prepare a description of the children’s use of language using examples of their conversation with each other. LO 3.2 3. Visit an early childhood education program and identify the intentional teaching strategies that educators use to support children to support and/or extend children’s play. LO 3.3 4, Explore the online resources at MindUP designed to teach school-age children skills and knowledge related to self-regulation and mindfulness. Choose one of the resources and prepare a description of how it might be introduced in an ECE program. LO 3.6 https:// mindup.org 5. View information about play-based learning designed to inform families about the value of play. How might you use this pamphlet in discussion with families? LO 3.1 http://www. child-encyclopedia.com/sites/default/files/docs/ coups-oeil/play-based-learning-info. pdf 6. Poet Michael Rosen explains how play is vital to creativity. View this video, which was produced for the British Psychological Society’s Division of Educational and Child How Play Changes the World—Michael Rosen: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=9ILRytYNOio Prepare a short presentation for other ECE students about how Michael Rosen uses word play to create poetry. LO 3.1 KEY TERMS Creative-constructive play (p. 60) Direct instruction (p. 65) Exploratory play (p. 57) Observational learning (p. 55) Onlooker play (p. 55) Perceptual-motor (p. 56) Physical literacy (p. 56) Physically active play (p. 56) Pretend play (p. 58) Socio-dramatic play (p. 59) Theory of mind (p. 60) CHAPTER 3 Early Childhood Education Is Play-Based Learning 71 SUGGESTED READINGS Hassinger-Das, B., Hirsh-Pasek, K. & Golinkoff, R.M. (2017). The case of brain science and guided play: A developing story. Young Children 72 (2): . 45-50. Retrieved September 3, 2020, at www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/ yc/may2017/case-brain-science-guided-play High Five. (n.d.). Indigenous games for children. Retrieved September 3, 2020, at https://www.nscrd.com/uploads/document/files/indigenous -games-for-children-en.pdf McAuliffe, K., Blake, P. R. & Warneken, F. (2017, August). Do kids have a fundamental sense offairness? Scientific American. Retrieved September 3, 2020, at https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/ do-kids-have-a-fundamental-sense-of-fairness Parker, R. & Stjerne, B. (2019). Learning through play at school. The LEGO Foundation. Retrieved September 3, 2020, at https://www.legofoundation. com/media/1687/learning-through-play-school.pdf ~ Play: Synthesis. In Tremblay, R. E., Boivin, M., Peters, R. DeV, eds. Smith P.K., Encyclopedia on early childhood development. Retrieved September 3, 2020, at http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/play/synthesis The ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. a Ra o is CENGAGE MINDTAP For additional resources, visit Mind Tap. 72 (2018). Retrieved September 3, 2020, at https://www.activehealthykids. org/wp-content/uploads/2018/1 1/canada-report-card-short-form-2018.pdf Weisberg, D. S., & Zosh, J. M. (2018). How guided play promotes early childhood learning. In Tremblay, R. E., Boivin, M., Peters, R. DeV, eds. Pyle, A., topic ed. Encyclopedia on early childhood development. Retrieved September 3, 2020, at http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/play-based-learning/ according-experts/how-guided-play-promotes-early-childhood-learning SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning > | U em be Pag emedll CHAPTER Outdoor Play LEARNING OBJECTIVES 4.1 Examine increased attention to the value of outdoor play. 4.3 Identify how to promote children’s positive relationship with the natural environment. 4.2 Describe a pedagogy of outdoor play. 4.4 Analyze the issues related to the risky play. Outdoor play is an essential component of ECE programs and play-based learning. This chapter considers how ECE programs can expand their vision of what is possible in outdoor environments for infants, toddlers and preschool and school-age children. Other countries have robust outdoor play environments that are supported by a pedagogy of outdoor play, while Canada’s ECE programs lag behind. This chapter reviews recent events and initiatives that highlight the possibilities of increased physically active play, closer connections to the natural world, opportunities for outdoor play-based learning in ECE programs in Canada and elsewhere, and the benefits and challenges of risky play FOCUS ON OUTDOOR PLAY Researchers who study the impact of outdoor play on children’s health, physical abilities, social-emotional well-being and cognitive skills agree that outdoor play benefits children in multiple ways. Time outside and outdoor play are linked to higher vitamin D levels, improved mental well-being, improved attention and self-regulation, and improved spatial memory. Outdoor Play and Thinking Skills Studies of outdoor play suggest physically active play is more likely to happen in outdoor play and usually involves aerobic exercise that supports physical wellbeing. When aerobic exercise involves complexity, novelty and diversity, executive (continued) RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE a1 73 skills are also improved allan functions such as memory, self-control and social mic progress and social! and et al., 2014). These skills are linked to improved acade . emotional well-being (Wyver, 2019; Whitebread, 2OAT). in nature that | found ons conditi Outdoor play can happen in the changing ; | encourage children to adapt and be flexible. ’s executive Studies also find that indoor pretend play can benefit children pretend play function (e.g., Carlson, White & Davis-Uger, 2015). However, outdoor ities for opportun d expande is likely to be more physically active and can offer pretend complex use of objects and elements such as sand and water. In outdoor play, children can draw on a larger number of natural materials and toys to incorporate into the play, opening up new opportunities to explore and discover. Natural spaces and elements outdoors often encourage more complex and imaginative play than indoor spaces (Dowdell, Gray & Malone, 201 1). Outdoor play involves changing conditions that children’s play must accommodate. _ CONSIDER: | How do you think the continuum of play-based learning can be supported in outdoor environments? a ® eo ¢ Ls CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap for more on outdoor play and social and cognitive development. Despite the benefits, outdoor environments in ECE programs are often an afterthought in ECE policies and practices (including provincial/territorial child care legislation and curriculum guides) in Canada. Many educators consider outdoor play simply as a time for children to run around and burn off some energy and then return to the indoor learning environment. Also, parental and societal concerns for children’s safety dominate current perspectives on outdoor play (Brussoni et al., 2015). These concerns encourage limitations to outdoor environments that allow children to test their physical abilities. The Early Childhood Education and Care review team for the Starting Strong II study (OECD, 2006) reported that opportunities and environments for outdoor play in Canadian licensed early learning and child care centres were generally poor. The team noted that licensed child care centres overemphasized safety at the expense of developmental opportunities, independence and autonomy. Typically, the team found a lack of adequate and available outdoor space. Children spent little time outdoors with few opportunities to move freely between the indoors and outdoors. A recent review of references to outdoor play in provincial curriculum frameworks for ECE programs reported how outdoor play is referenced (McCuaig & Bertrand, 2019). The findings reveal that outdoor play remains a low priority in Canadian ECE programs although there are variations across provinces and territories. Kindergarten curriculum guides in Ontario and Manitoba highlight Courtesy Bertrand Penny of outdoor play over 70 times while there is no mention in British Columbia, & Winter is an ever-changing outdoor environment for young children. 74 New Brunswick, Yukon and Nunavut. Early learning curriculum frameworks (discussed in Chapter 6) also vary in references to outdoor play. There is no SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning mention in Prince Edward Island’s curriculum framework but 24 and 25 mentions in Quebec and Alberta, respectively. Provincial and territorial regulations for licensed child care centres focus on safety requirements for play in outdoor spaces. Five provinces require a minimum time for outdoor play. New Brunswick requires 60 minutes for every four hours of program time. British Columbia requires 60 minutes and Ontario requires 120 minutes of outdoor time. Quebec, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon require daily outdoor time but do not state a specific amount of time. In Canada, since the 1970s, time for outdoor play is declining in ECE programs and schools (Dietze & Kashin, 2019). By contrast, children in Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway spend up to half the school day outdoors in all seasons, regardless of the weather (Barfod & Bentsen, 2018). A familiar response to the question about cold weather in those countries is “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.” Since the 2006 report, attention to outdoor play in ECE programs is growing. Several agendas have landed on outdoor play as beneficial for children’s wellbeing and early learning and resulted in calls to do the following: ¢ Increase physical activity (Tremblay, Gray, Babcock, et al., 2015) ¢ Nurture connections to nature and attention to care for the environment (Elliot, 2018) ¢ Find an antidote to increasingly adult-structured and technology-based environments for young children (Forse, 2019). The Lawson Foundation and Outdoor Play In 2013 the Lawson Foundation, a Canadian philanthropic foundation, began to explore outdoor play in response to children’s inactivity and as essential to support healthy child development. It contributed to academic papers on risky play, outdoor time and active outdoor play. The Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play (Herrington & Pickett, 2015) was released in 2015 via the Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. The statement was based on a review of the evidence related to outdoor play experiences for children 3 to 12 years, The Lawson Foundation launched an Outdoor Play Strategy in 2016, announcing funding for 14 outdoor play projects and an evaluation to document the learning. The Outdoor Play Strategy was designed to increase opportunities for children’s play in outdoor environments and to better understand how to support Canadian communities in providing those outdoor opportunities. The projects included community action models, practitioner capacity building and public MAKING IT HAPPEN LO) 4.1 policy initiatives. In November 2018, the Lawson Foundation hosted the Outdoor Play and Early Learning Policy Research Symposium, which brought together outdoor play and early childhood leaders and experts from multiple sectors, including (continued) CHAPTER 4 Outdoor Play 75 The symposium explored recreation, early childhood education and education. education policy, practice how to advance outdoor play and early childhood themes that emerged and research. A discussion paper summarized the central s (Lawson Foundation, ; from the symposium’s conversations and presentation 2019, p. iil): address 1. The importance of adopting a multi-sector ecosystem lens to . outdoor play abou knowing of ways and m curriculu s 2. Approaches to integrating Indigenou education outdoor play into Western early childhood 3. Building support for, and enabling, risk in outdoor play 4. The need to make outdoor play pedagogy explicit in post-secondary early childhood education training and to support ongoing professional learning needs 5. The multiple gaps and barriers to outdoor play in policies and standards, and the inconsistent implementation of such policies by stakeholders 6. The need to develop a robust Canadian research and knowledge mobilization strategy to support evidence-informed policy and practice CONSIDER: What examples of outdoor play do you see in ECE programs? Source: Lawson Foundation. Advancing outdoor play and early childhood education: A discussion paper. May 2019. Available at http://lawson.ca/advancing-op-ece.pdf. Used with permission. MULTI-SECTOR ECOSYSTEMLENS Outdoor Physically Active Play An approach that includes professional learning, policy and Physically active play is more likely to happen outdoors. Regular physical activity is associated with better health and well-being for children and adults, and increased childhood physical activity reduces obesity, which is associated with lifelong chronic illness. The amount of time that children are physically active across Canada continues to decrease while obesity and screen time increase (Tremblay, 2018). Canadian preschool children in ECE programs are not getting enough moderate to vigorous intensity activity (Vanderloo et al., 2015). A diverse, cross-sectorial group of partners, stakeholders and researchers collaborated to develop the Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play for children. “Access to active play in nature and outdoors—with its risks—is essential for healthy child development. We recommend increasing children’s opportunities for self-directed play outdoors in all settings—at home, at school, in child care, the community and nature" (Herrington & Pickett, 2015, p. 8). In June 2018, the Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health (CCMOH) released a Statement that supports and endorses the Position Statement. standards from multiple sectors (e.g., licensed child care, public schools, recreation) and play opportunities for children that interconnect with each other within physical environments. MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about the Lawson Foundation. 76 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning Outdoor Play Canada -MAKING IT HAPPEN Outdoor Play Canada is a network of researchers, practitioners, advocates and organizations that promotes outdoor play and play in nature across Canada. The network provides leadership to growing Canada’s outdoor play movement and to promote the health and wellness of Canadians and their environments. Outdoor Play Canada compiles evidence-based resources and tools to support educators and others who design and lead play experiences in outdoor environments. LO 4.1 CONSIDER: How can a network of educators, researchers, advocates and organizations “provide support for outdoor play in ECE programs? Learning in Natural Settings = ¢ Outdoor play in natural settings offers expanded opportunities to explore ideas, investigate theories and interact with peers. Direct experience © i ® CENGAGE with nature is linked to children’s social-emotional, spiritual and physical health MINDTAP (Louy, 2008). Regular time to play outside and experience the environment connects children to the natural world and to the physical and social com- Visit MindTap to learn more about Outdoor Play Canada. munities they live in. They develop a sense of place as well as relationships with plants, animals, water, land and weather (Anderson, Comay & Chiarotto, 2017). Regular interactions within nature help children develop respect and a caring attitude for the environment. Educators can use outdoor time to provide children access to the natural environments and opportunities to develop a relationship with nature. Natural environments become a place of learning and support children’s thinking skills as described earlier in the Research Into Practice feature, “Outdoor Play and Thinking Skills.” When educators model enjoying, caring for, and respecting nature, children learn early about being stewards of the environment. They can also learn about natural processes and cycles. Planting seeds in the spring that grow into flowers and vegetables in the summer, then produce new seeds and die in the fall help children experience and understand life cycles. Repeated experiences in the same location offer children the opportunity to become aware of what changes and what stays the same over time. Natural environments also support children’s imaginative play and the development of positive relationships (Dowdell, Gray & Malone, 2011). CHAPTER 4 Outdoor Play Bank/Getty Image The © Images & Max is finding out how a worm moves. 77 Nature Kindergarten, Sooke, Vancouver MAKING IT Island, BC HAREM i643 of Nature Kindergarten is a program in Sooke, British Columbia (near the city Victoria on Vancouver Island), that began in 2012 (Elliott, 2018). The program model was inspired by traditional Scandinavian forest schools, nature kindergartens and local Indigenous knowledges. The local outdoor environment informs a different kind of pedagogy, providing space for the children to engage in learning opportunities that would not be possible in a classroom. The children learn new ways of feeling capable and competent. They explore and engage with the plants, animals and natural materials (rocks, sand, shells, tree branches) in the natural environment. Children in the class become not only a community among themselves but also with the natural world they now have access to. \ ie The Nature Kindergarten program continues as a successful option within public education (Sooke District, 2020) at two schools in Sooke: Sangster Elementary Public School and Saseenos Elementary School. The Sangster Nature Kindergarten uses the property of nearby Royal Roads University and the Saseenos program takes place on T’Souke Nation lands. Children in both programs spend every morning outside regardless of the weather; rain is a frequent feature. They return to the indoor school classrooms for lunch and the afternoon program. CONSIDER: What do you think children learn by engaging with outdoor life and natural materials? : a, 1 CENGAGE Jaana MINDTAP Elements of the natural world are present in all outdoor environments— including concrete playgrounds, urban settings, rooftops, etc. Outdoor play can offer children examples of nature's power even in built environments, including fenced-in asphalt surfaces. For example, plants and weeds often push through asphalt and insects crawl across concrete surfaces. Visit MindTap to learn more about nature kindergarten in Sooke, British Columbia. LEARNING TOGETHER 10 4.3 78 i Gardening Six-year-olds Sasha and Veronica are at their before- and after-sc hool program located in their school building. They are outside in the garden that borders the school’s playground with Bobby, an early childhood educator. It is late spring and SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning the green leaves on trees are coming out. Tulips are up and almost blooming in the garden. It rained earlier in the day, and the ground and cement path are still wet. “Look, Bobby!” shouts Sasha while pointing to the path. “There are worms everywhere. At school, we put worms into our big pot of dirt when we planted bean seeds. Worms are good for growing green things.” Veronica suggests that they pick up the worms and put them in the garden. Both girls race to gather up worms and place them in the soil. Bobby asks, “Why do you think the worms will help things grow in the garden?” “Maybe they have magic powers!” suggested Sasha. “Or maybe they have special spit that comes out and makes plants grow,” adds Veronica. _ CONSIDER: How would you respond to Sasha and Veronica to encourage their interest and understanding of the role of worms in a garden? INDIGENIZING OUTDOOR PLAY Nature is an essential element of Indigenous systems that can be found across Canada. These systems include languages, politics, governance, education, early childhood education and childrearing (James, Dragon-Smith & Lahey, 2019). Differing Euro-Western and Indigenous (First Nation, Inuit and Métis) worldviews that inform culture, values and practices also inform perspectives on outdoor play. Time spent outside, particularly in natural settings, provides an opportunity to respect and learn from Indigenous philosophies and approaches related to the land. Euro-Western perspectives typically focus on the concept of outdoor play while Indigenous perspectives focus on land as teacher (James, Dragon-Smith & Lahey, 2019). Local Elders and Indigenous communities can teach Indigenous cultures’ many ways of approaching outdoor play. Most place humans as part of nature and ecosystems that include other animals, plants, water and rocks, so indigenizing outdoor play would entail sharing this perspective. Many traditional Indigenous settings for outdoor experiences have been displaced by Western perspectives embedded in ECE programs and public schools (James et al., 2019). Playgrounds with fixed play structures and artificial ground coverings with an emphasis on health and safety have often replaced natural settings filled with mud, trees, insects and wildflowers. As ECE programs turn their attention to increasing the quality and quantity of outdoor play, educators can consider how to incorporate Indigenous approaches that have a long and rich history. CHAPTER 4 Outdoor Play aS eo ¢ 12 CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about the relationship of Indigenous culture to outdoor learning. INDIGENIZING Process of making Indigenous ways of knowing, being, doing and relating part of organizations, culture and daily practices. 7a) MAKING IT ‘HAPPEN © £6 4.3. Willows Forest Nature Program College Willows Forest Nature Program is a land-based ECE program at Humber in the Humber Valley, in northwest Toronto.It is a partnership between the college's Department of Early Childhood Education and the Humber Child Development Centre. Willows takes place in the Humber Arboretum in Adobiigok which means “Place of the Black Alders” in Anishinaabemowin, the Anishinaabe language. It includes forests, meadows, wetlands and ponds (Zimanyi, 2019), and it is part of the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe people, although several First Nations communities are located in this territory (Humber College, n.d.). The Humber Arboretum is situated on 105 hectares alongside the Humber River watershed. Willows draws on local Indigenous knowledge keepers and storytellers, who regularly walk with children on the land. Willows aims to incorporate Indigenous knowledges and perspectives (Zimanyi, Keeshig & Short, 2020). When the group walks together, the land is viewed as a teacher. Children and educators learn _ about the forests, ponds, wetlands, plant life and animals. They learn about biodiversity and Indigenous traditional teachings including four directions teaching, elements of life and natural life cycles (Humber College, n.d.). Some of the learning that children have experienced at Willows include discovering: @ Rain-soaked Wiingashk (Sweetgrass) has a calming scent (Zimanyi, Keeshig & Short, 2020) ¢ Dandelions are the first food for wild bees in the spring and that it is important not to pick them (Zimanyi, 2018) ¢ Signs of the changing seasons in the forest (Zimanyi, 2019) @ Mitigomin (red oak acorns) not buried by squirrels will grow into trees (Zimanyi, 2019) Willows collaborates with Indigenous communities “in the hope of braiding Indigenous wisdom with scientific knowledge through story-telling” (Zimanyi, ZOT Stine): CONSIDER: How does Willows encourage children’s “wonder and wisdom’? FOUR DIRECTIONS Holistic notion of heart, mind, spirit and body or north, south, east and west. ELEMENTS, OFAMEE cscs Life-giving elements —air, fire, earth and water. 80 A PEDAGOGY OF OUTDOOR PLAY Outdoor play had a central place in earlier early childhood education programs including Fredrich Froebel’s kindergarten (child's garden) discussed in Chapter 2 and Margaret McMillan’s open air nursery schools in 19th Century England (Beatty, 1995). As discussed earlier, today’s ECE programs tend to marginalize outdoor play (Alden & Pyle, 2019) as educators focus on indoor play as the central learning environment. Outdoor play is often viewed as time for children to run around and engage in their play with each other while educato rs supervise and SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning ensure children’s safety. Or outdoor play may primarily be promoted as a way to increase physical activity or to connect children to nature (Alden & Pyle, 2019). However, outdoor play can be considered as a complete or holistic learning environment that is grounded in a shared view of children as capable and competent. A framework for a pedagogy of outdoor play proposed by Alden and Pyle (2019) includes three core elements: child agency, play-rich environments and adult support. Outdoor play that is central to pedagogical approaches in Scotland and other European countries also offers examples of how ECE programs in Canada could expand learning experiences in outdoor play. ECE Outdoor Play in Scotland Ee emd ae — The Scottish government is doubling the entitlement to free ECE programs for three- and four-year-old children (Lawson Foundation, 2019; Government of Scotland, 2017). The expanded access plan includes a significant focus on outdoor play, in response to advocates’ calls for more outdoor play to reduce screen time and obesity, improve social and emotional well-being, and increase children’s connection to the environment. It is also a practical plan that makes it possible to accommodate more children in ECE programs. Children in these ECE programs will be required to spend a significant block of time outdoors. The definition of what a significant portion of time is may vary among ECE programs, and the range of o 4 ai CENGAGE MINDTAP _ AN SThet eden Pi nee and nature program at Babee Baal MAKING IT HAPPEN LO 4.2 required outdoor time is to be determined. Scotland’s expanded preschool program is finding a balance between time spent indoors versus outdoors. It also intends to offer children play-based learning experiences indoors that are guided and sometimes directed by educators. Existing demonstration outdoor early childhood education programs in Scotland informed plans for the expanded time outdoors in preschool programs (Perlman & Bergeron, 2018). The demonstration sites allowed people, including media and politicians, to see and experience what extended outdoor plans in ECE programs look like. The Government of Scotland has committed to providing guidance and resources to support quality outdoor plans. A practical guide provides concrete strategies for ECE programs, including how to access outdoor spaces beyond playgrounds, including open land and forests (Government of Scotland, 2018). Also, guidelines outline how to create and use outdoor space in centre playgrounds and in natural environments. Staff might not be familiar or comfortable with working outdoors and will need learning opportunities to acquire a broad understanding of outdoor play and their role in extended time with young children in outdoor environments. The guide identifies numerous resources from the early childhood sector in Scotland and in other countries. CONSIDER: How would you plan for expanded outdoor play to four hours daily for preschool children in a full-day preschool program? CHAPTER 4 Outdoor Play 81 uP. ¢ ar a & CENGAGE l environments offer In Canada a few examples of extensive outdoor natura earlier in this chapter are inspiration of what is possible. Two examples described Kindergarten in Sooke, Willows Forest Nature Program in Toronto and Nature British Columbia. MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about the Government of Scotland’s Out to Play guide. A child’s ability to make choices and decisions that impact on activities and on their life. Child Agency to Child agency is characterized as “freedom and independence to play; ability Pyle, & (Alden d” child-le make choices about play; and that play is self-directed or 2019, pp. 7-8). Children are able to choose who to play with, how long the play continues and what the play is about. They lead their own adventures, including taking risks and facing challenges. When there are older children involved in outdoor play—particularly with older children as partners—learning opportunities are created for both groups. Play-Rich Environments Play-based learning in outdoor environments offers young children unique early \ learning experiences. Two types of outdoor environments can be considered: built environments and natural environments. Built environments are playgrounds attached to early learning and child care centres and schools or located in parks. Natural environments are spaces in the local community that include mostly natural elements and materials such as trees and plants. They are not designed specifically for children’s outdoor play but offer an ever-changing array of opportunity. BUILT PLAY ENVIRONMENTS Playgrounds attached to ECE programs are outdoor built play spaces that include resources and equipment as well as natural elements. The outdoor space extends the indoor play environments by offering more room for sustained physically active play such as running, jumping, rolling, bouncing and climbing. There is also room for various wheeled and riding vehicles to be pushed and pulled. In outdoor spaces, children find challenges such as running as fast as possible; climbing stairs, ladders and ropes; and jumping from heights. Built play environments also offer opportunities for direct contact with nature. Besides providing fresh air, even playgrounds with marginal green spaces can offer growing plants, sand, rocks and water that capture young children’s curiosity and urge to explore. Educators can consider sources of water and what natural elements can be introduced, such as sand in a sandpit. Activities can include digging soil to plant trees, and planting and caring for a flower, vegetable and/or herb garden. When choosing plants, educators can consider which natural plantings are likely to be successful. For example, green bean seeds are much larger than carrot seeds and more likely to germinate and grow. In locating and designing outdoor areas, educators can consider micro- climate conditions, such as degrees of sun and shadow. As mentioned in Chapter 7, ECE programs can make access to the outdoor environment as seamless as possible. For instance, if the entrance to the outdoor play area is adjacent to indoor space, children may easily go back and forth, Pathways can define areas of activity and have different textures that offer sensory interest for children. 82 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning Outside, opportunities for learning to happen abound. = = = = = 7 Tir iStock/Getty © Images The outdoor space can provide opportunities to expand learning opportunities. including projects, pretend play, art, planting, water play and active play. Outdoor environments that include natural elements can contribute to more complex and imaginative child-led problem-based play than indoor environments. Even playgrounds with marginal green spaces can offer growing plants, sand and water and capture young children’s curiosity and urge to explore. Natural elements often encourage more complex and imaginative play outdoors than they do when placed indoors. Items that can be manipulated (e.g., moved, carried, combined, lined up, taken a part or stacked) in multiple ways and can be used alone or combined with other materials. MAKING IT HAPPEN Loose Parts Loose parts are materials that can be moved, arranged, manipulated, stacked, carried, dumped or combined in multiple ways. Loose parts may be found materials or commercial ones. They can serve as learning tools to help children build their understanding and explain their thinking to others. Loose parts offer openended play opportunities where children do not use any specific set of directions or instructions for how to interact with the materials available. Outdoor playgrounds can exploit the possibilities of loose parts that are natural materials (rocks, sand, shells, tree branches) as learning materials and maximize the potential of sand pits and water. The term “loose parts” comes Simon Nicholson’s 1971 article, “The Theory of Loose Parts: How NOT to Cheat Children.” Nicholson understood children’s drive to make and build things as well as their play with water, insects and LO 4.2 (continued) CHAPTER 4 Outdoor Play 83 ibed loose parts as variables that other things that nudge their curiosity. He descr | y) invent. children like to use to experiment, discover and social e a range of positiv When children play with loose parts, they show and various types of risk | ges, exchan behaviours, complex verbal and nonverbal | taking in their play (Flannigan & Dietze, 2017). loose materials such Educators can take children on nature walks and collect loose parts such as rocks and pinecones that can be used in playgrounds. Large n to create an childre for nities as logs, planks, barrels or cable spools offer opportu obstacle course. the safety When educators select items for loose parts, they should consider contain not and shape good in be should and suitability of the items, which toxic substances. CONSIDER: Why are loose parts a valuable component of outdoor play pedagogy? Children benefit from experiences in local NATURAL ENVIRONMENTS natural environments. Educators report that difficulties in accessing natural environments is the biggest barrier they face (Ernst, 2014). A review of provincial and territorial licensing and policy requirements for licensed early learning and child care centres and primary schools reports that licensing and safety standards are often not a barrier to accessing natural spaces (McCuaig & Bertrand, 2019). Educators may experience logistical difficulties in reaching outdoor spaces that include natural environments. Educators can consider possible natural environments that could be accessed for outdoor play and exploration in order to provide children with these experiences. Forests and fields offer natural environments that may be a primary space used by some ECE programs. But what about most ECE programs that are located in buildings in urban settings with attached playgrounds? Educators can identify possible local natural spaces that are suitable for regular visits. Parks and parkettes that have bushes, trees, grasses, birds and insects are possibilities. Rather than planning three field trips to different places, educators can plan three trips to the same natural space at different times of the year. Even spaces covered in mostly concrete can offer opportunities to consider changing seasons, by noticing emerging ants in the spring, and monitoring and documenting rapid growth of weed trees such as sumac trees. Educator Support Educators can best promote children’s outdoor play when they understand the distinct value of learning and playing outside (Waters & Reckers, 2019). Then they can use and adapt outdoor environments to leverage the many opportunities for play-based learning in built and natural spaces. 84 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning The continuum of play-based learning discussed in Chapter 3 describes educator strategies for children’s free play, guided play and directed play. The same strategies apply to outdoor play. Children benefit from opportunities in a variety of spaces and from educators who respond to children’s interests but do not control their activities. Outdoor exploratory play often includes opportunities for children to interact with each other. Responsive educators who are keen observers of children’s play can encourage sharing of ideas and objects and can offer observations that support children’s inquiry skills, connections with nature and overall physical abilities. RISKY PLAY Risky playis “thrilling and exciting forms of play that involve a risk of physical injury. The risk can be real or perceived” (Brussoni et al., 2015, p. 1). While risky play can take place indoors, it is mostly related to outdoor play. Studies from Norway and Australia find that risky play is considered an essential component of outdoor play (Little, Sandseter & Wyver, 2012; Sandseter, Wyver & Little, 2012). The unstructured, flexible, open-ended and dynamic nature of outdoor play is a context for challenging play. The unpredictability of outdoor play environments and children’s engagement with those environments include a certain element of risk or uncertainty. RISKY ssssecncnounmmimnas: PLAY Situations in which children recognize and assess an exciting physical challenge and decide on a course of action to manage the challenge to avoid injury. Eight categories of risky play are: © Great heights that risk injury from falling; examples include climbing/ jumping from surfaces, balancing/playing on high objects (e.g., playground equipment) and hanging/swinging at great heights ¢ High speed that could lead to collision with something or someone; an example is swinging at high speeds ¢ Dangerous tools that can lead to injuries and wounds; examples include cutting tools—knives, saws or axes—and strangling tools such as ropes e Dangerous elements where children can fall into, or from something; examples include cliffs, water, fire pits, trees © Rough and tumble play where children can be harmed; examples include wrestling or play fighting with other children or parents; rough and tumble play can evolve into organized games and sports (Gallahue & Donnelly, 2003). ¢ Disappear or get lost where children can disappear from the supervision of adults or get lost alone; examples include exploring alone, playing alone in unfamiliar environments, general independent mobility or unsupervised play e Play with impact @ Vicarious play Source: Sandseter, E. B. H., & Kleppe, R. (2019). Outdoor risky play. In Tremblay, R. E., Boivin, M., & Peters, R. DeV., eds., Encyclopedia on early childhood development. http://www child-encyclopedia.com/outdoor-play/according-experts/outdoor-risky-play In ECE programs there are often few opportunities for risky outdoor play. In fact, support for risky play opportunities in ECE programs is often missing (Little, 2010; Little, Wyver & Gibson, 2011). Educators can rethink how outdoor play is offered to young children and how opportunities for risky play can be encouraged (Brussoni et al., 2015). Educators can design environments and experiences outdoors that encourage children to explore the world around them and challenge themselves physically. CHAPTER 4 Outdoor Play 85 ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE PLAY Physically vigorous behaviours such as play fighting, wrestling and chasing games that are accompanied by positive behaviours. ‘RESEARCH | INTO” PRACTICE LO 4.4 that limits children’s Educators can avoid overt and limiting surveillance tence. Outdoor play opportunities to negotiate risk and gain physical compe mean eliminating environments need to be as safe as necessary but that does not is reacting to a child a all risks. Educators can take a few moments to see how what children potentially risky situation before reacting. Educators then learn support chilto able best are tors are actually capable of doing. Sometimes educa dren’s learning by getting out of the way. Taking Risks Studies report that risky outdoor play has multiple benefits for children including health, social and behaviour outcomes (Brussoni et al., 2015). Risky outdoor play increases children’s physical activity and social well-being, reduces injuries and aggression (Brussoni, 2017), and supports children’s physical fitness and motor skills (Little & Sweller, 2015). In regard to health, risky play increases children’s physical activity. Injury prevention studies have shown that children have reduced injuries when they are engaged in risky outdoor play compared to more typical outdoor play in spaces with climbing structures and limited space for movement (Brussoni, 2019). The benefits of risky play seem to be enhanced when educators pay attention to children’s enquiries and interests, recognize and support children’s managed risk taking and mastery of physical challenges, and feel confident enough to not restrict children’s activity unless their safety is genuinely threatened. Studies of risky play among children between the age of one and six years found that all children engage in risky play in some way (Brussoni et al., 2015). Children find a level of risky play that is comfortable for their individual abilities and courage, and their emotional experiences range from exhilaration and fear at the same time to pure fear. Rough-and-tumble play, including play fighting, is often discouraged in playgrounds and schoolyards because of the perceived risks of accidental injury or opportunities for abusive contact. But opportunities for play fighting can help children manage aggressive reactions and allow children to practise self-regulating their behaviour under moderately stressful conditions. Rough-and-tumble play that includes chasing and wrestling offers children opportunities to adapt their behaviour and contributes to empathy and self-control skills and can be an expression of Caring and friendship (Pellis & Pellis, 2012). Animal play fighting studies suggest that active play produces subtle and nuanced responses to novel and unpredictable environments, which builds resilience and the ability to deal with disturbance (Pellis & Pellis, 2009). Play fighting in both humans and animals shows the relationship between social competence and frequent engagement in rough-and-tumble play. CONSIDER: What is your disposition toward young children’s risk-taking during active play? Why? 86 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning Children can engage in exhilarating play with a manageable amount of risk that is not too scary. When educators give them the mental and physical space, children can figure out for themselves what is a safe level of risk (Brussoni, 2017). Educators often find that when children understand risks as real, even impulsive children show considerable care and responsibility. For example, in a game of chase, children are physically active and maintain the game by negotiating and agreeing to abide by the rules. Yet what they value is the thrill of the chase and running as fast as possible. There is a challenge, and the rules provide a framework by which the players know that “this is play.” A risky play situation for one child is different to a risky situation for another child. Educators who know a child’s abilities can guide and support them to take reasonable risks in their play. Educators can offer appropriate levels of challenge in the outdoor play environment. They can carefully observe children during play to know when to step in to provide physical or verbal support and when to stand back and allow the children to continue on their own. Through risky play children explore and become familiar with the possibilities and boundaries of their environments as well as their own capabilities. From the time babies become mobile, children are often drawn to play that challenges them to move out of their comfort zone to extend their skills. Risky play often attempts something never done before—feeling on the borderline of being out of control through play involving great heights and speed or rough-and-tumble play (Sandseter, 2007). When children take risks in their play, they practise new skills and eventually master fundamental motor skills. Outdoor play in ECE programs can invite risk-taking. The unstructured, flexible, open-ended and dynamic nature of outdoor play is a context for challenging play. The unpredictability of outdoor play environments and children’s engagement with those environments includes a certain element of risk | | | or uncertainty. SUMMARY © Outdoor play is increasingly recognized as valuable and an essential central component of ECE programs rather than a minor support to indoor play and learning experiences. Benefits include physical activity, connecting to nature and expanded opportunities for active exploration and in-person social interactions. © Time to observe, explore and discover in natural outdoor environments launches children’s relationship with the natural environment that carries forward into adolescence and beyond. ¢ A pedagogy of outdoor play includes a grounding in child agency, play-rich environments and educators who have a suite of teaching strategies. e Risky play benefits children but is often a challenge for educators. CHAPTER 4 Outdoor Play 87 REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. How does outdoor play benefit young children’s early learning and social, emotional, physical and cognitive development? LO 4.1 2. Describe three components of a pedagogy of outdoors play. LO 4.2 3. What is the difference between outdoor built play environments and natural play environments? LO 4.2 - How can Indigenous perspectives and ways of knowing guide outdoor play in natural environments? LO 4.3 . How can risky play be encouraged in ECE programs? LO 4.4 STUDY ACTIVITIES 1. Ask five adult friends or family members to describe their earliest memory of play. How many described outdoor play episodes? Compare the results from other students and prepare a graph showing how many adults described outdoor play. LO 4.1 2. Design a plan for an outdoor playground that is attached to an ECE program for infants, toddlers and preschool children. LO 4.2 3. Find and view a video of the Willows Nature Program online. Prepare a short summary report that describes the Willows Nature Program that could be shared with ECE students. LO 4.3 4, What natural spaces can you find if you walk for 15 minutes in your community? Choose one of the spaces and prepare a poster that shows how the space could provide opportunities for outdoor play. You may want to search the CCCF Resource Sheet “Exploring Nature with Children” online. LO 4.3 . Prepare a short slide presentation with speaking notes for parents that makes the case for risky play in preschool groups. LO 4.4 . Search and watch the CBC documentary The Power of Play. Prepare a short (250-word) review of the documentary for a family newsletter from an ECE program that highlights the messages related to risky play. LO 4.4 KEY TERMS Child agency (p. 82) Elements of life (p. 80) Four directions teaching (p. 80) Indigenizing (p. 79) 88 Loose parts (p. 83) Multi-sector ecosystem lens (p. 76) Risky play (p. 85) Rough-and-tumble play (p. 86) SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning SUGGESTED READINGS Anderson, D., Comay, J., & Chiarotto, L. (2018). Natural curiosity, 2nd Edition. A resource for educators: the importance of indigenous perspectives in children’s environmental inquiry. Retrieved September 4, 2020, at https://wordpress. oise.utoronto.ca/naturalcuriosity/nc2 Brussoni, M. Outdoor play. Encyclopedia on early childhood development. Retrieved September 4, 2020, at http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/ sites/default/files/dossiers-complets/en/outdoor-play.pdf Casey, T. & Robertson, J. (2019). Loose parts play: Inspiring Scotland. Retrieved September 4, 2020, at https://www.inspiringscotland.org.uk/ wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Loose-Parts-Play-Toolkit-20 1 9-web.pdf Outdoor play: Hard-wired for nature. (2019). Retrieved September 4, 2020, a¥ on CENGAGE Pee MINDTAP at http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/sites/default/files/docs/coups-oeil/ Far aciditional resourcoet outdoor-play-info.pdf visit MindTap. CHAPTER 4 Outdoor Play 89 | <u C0 of cet cam UC eam gg otis Early Childhood = Education Curriculum Approaches LEARNING OBJECTIVES 5.1 Identify key characteristics of a variety of ; curriculum approaches. 5.4 |dentify curriculum strategies that support children’s self-regulation. 5.2 Examine the role cf cultural values and beliefs about childhood in designing 5.5 Debate the value of differing approaches to early childhood education. curriculum and pedagogy. 5.3 Compare how educators put specific curriculum approaches into practice. This chapter explores several curriculum approaches, sometimes called curriculum models, that are currently found in ECE programs across Canada. You will learn about the key elements of each approach and consider how they relate to the continuum of play-based learning. You will explore specific curriculum approaches that support children’s self-regulation and well-being. Examples of Indigenous curriculum approaches are included in the chapter. You will be introduced to current curriculum issues that educators consider and debate. In addition, you will begin to identify which curriculum approaches best suit your own image of the child and your understanding about the multiple ways that children develop and learn. CURRICULUM APPROACHES 3RICULUM APPROAC Organized system of inten- CONS, ices OMENtele oa designed to promote learning and well-being, 90 A curriculum approach is an organized system of intentions and plans to promote children’s development and learning. It is the sum of experiences, interactions, experiences, ’ and events that occur within an early y childhood prog program. . A curriculum approach blends pedagogy and curriculum content into a seamless understanding of what is offered in children’s learning environments and how it is offered. An explicit curriculum approach serves other purposes in addition to the child’s early learning: promotion of an even level of quality across programs, guidance and support for educators in their daily practice, and facilitation of communication Curriculum approaches begin with our values and beliefs about children and our image of children and childhood. Cultural values and beliefs shape our understanding of what is worth knowing. Theories about childhood and image of the child build on values and beliefs and shape a program’s philosophy, curriculum and pedagogy. This approach is in contrast to a philosophy that concentrates only on intellectual development for academic achievement. The definition of early childhood education in Chapter 1 takes into account what children actually do while taking part in a program. An ECE program’s organization, or its curriculum and pedagogy, includes all that a child experiences. As discussed in Chapter 1, curriculum is what educators include in the environment and embed in children’s learning and daily care experiences. Pedagogy refers to how we deliberately cultivate children’s development and learning (National Research Council, 2001). Curriculum and pedagogy are education in its broadest sense (Moss, 2004). Curriculum and pedagogy include daily schedules and routines; the physical environment; play materials; learning experiences; and, most importantly, the people who are part of the early child development setting. In early childhood education, a curriculum approach includes the “what” and “how” and is a blend of curriculum and pedagogy. Curriculum approaches are based in a belief system about early childhood education that informs educators’ work with children. Children benefit from a planned curriculum approach; having specific goals for children’s learning guides decisions about what to include in the environment and embed in children’s experiences (Institute of Medicine & National Research Council, 2015; Ginsburg, Lee & Boyd, 2008; Kagan & Kauerz, 2012). Holistic curriculum approaches support emotional maturity, social competence, cognition, language development and physical well-being. Preschool Programs RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE In Canada and other countries preschool programs help children acquire social and learning-related skills before they enter grade 1. These are structured programs with recurrent activities. Preschool programs are central to supporting and LO 5.1 strengthening young children’s learning and development. The curricula of these —what is taught and what programs form the “front line” of children’s experiences is learned (Tremblay et al., 2012; Kagan & Kauerz, 2012). CONSIDER: How is the curriculum central to what children experience in preschool (or ECE) programs? What does it mean to say that the curriculum is the “front line” of children’s experiences? Early childhood educators intentionally guide and construct opportunities to extend children’s learning. This is the “how” or the pedagogy that is part of a curriculum approach. Pedagogical strategies across the continuum CHAPTER 5 Early Childhood Education Curriculum Approaches 91 a oe ¢ t2 CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about curriculum planning for preschool. of Courtesy Bertrand Jane A Akira lives in an apartment building. She often talks to her family about who lives in the other units. 92 re and from child-directed to educator-guided approaches provide structu skills and es direction for educators who support the development of capaciti d & while respecting a child’s interests and choices (Bennett, 2005; Bertran educathat es strategi of Riehl, 2009; Miller & Almon, 2009). The repertoire tors use includes investigation and exploration; modelling and demonstrating; open questioning, speculating, and explaining; shared thinking and guided learning; and explicit or direct instruction. Curriculum approaches for early childhood programs include pedagogy that offers both intentional and spontaneous opportunities for learning that may be child directed or adult guided. Most early childhood programs have elements of both child-directed play and adult-guided instruction, but the balance between the two varies from program to program. The practical application of a curriculum approach may include guidelines on how to set up the physical environment, structure the activities, interact with children and their families, and support staff members in their initial training and ongoing implementation of the program. The daily schedule and routines define the use of time that sets the architecture of children’s daily lives in early _ childhood programs. Indoor and outdoor physical environments are set up to provide opportunities for children’s play, independent problem solving and inquiry. Children can learn to make choices and demonstrate responsibility. The available resources and experiences nurture and extend children’s learning. Early childhood educators plan opportunities that allow children to explore language and communicate their thinking and learning in meaningful ways in a variety of contexts. Early childhood education programs are social settings that guide children in learning about the world around them. The social context is a critical element to take into account in considering how children learn and develop. Early childhood education curriculum approaches reflect differences in culture. Family structure, social and economic characteristics, community influences, and ethnic and linguistic backgrounds are also part of the social environment and part of learning and development. Several defined curriculum approaches found today in early childhood education programs have their roots in earlier times. For example, Montessori is over 100 years old and continues to thrive as a distinct curriculum model that extends from the early years through secondary education. The Abecedarian approach, HighScope and developmentally appropriate practice are three curriculum approaches that evolved from the interpretation of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development in the 20th century and continue to thrive in many early childhood education programs. Reggio Emilia curriculum evolved in Italy following World War II and became an international inspiration to early childhood education. Informed by Reggio Emilia and its alignment with Vygotsky's theory of early development, the emergent curriculum approach is frequently adopted by early childhood education programs today. SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning Montessori Education Montessori education is grounded in hands-on experiential learning and self- directed learning with educator guidance. Montessori classrooms are set up to encourage children to maximize opportunities to explore, create and investigate with the learning materials and with other children. This curriculum approach was developed by Dr. Maria Montessori in Italy in the early 1900s. It is based on her observations and experiments while educating young children with special needs and disadvantaged children (Lillard, 2016). Montessori took her cue from children. She observed them in the classroom and set out to design an early education system. Her vision was a transformation of the rote learning typical of public schools in Europe and North America in the late 1800s and early 1900s to learning that recognized individual learning paths. ROTELEARNING The memorization of information through repetition. My vision of the future is no longer people taking exams and proceeding then on that certification ... but of individuals passing from one stage of independence to a higher [one], by means of their own activity through their own effort of will, which constitutes the inner evolution of the individual. (Montessori, 2007, p. 1) Montessori proposed a developmental continuum of successive levels of education from the early years (0-7 years), to the middle years (8-12 years), and then to adolescence (Montessori, 2007). She compared the changes from one level to another to the metamorphosis of an insect from an egg, to a caterpillar, and then to a butterfly. The core elements of the Montessori approach recognize the roles and interconnections of the educator, child and environment (Montessori & Foteva, 2007). The prepared environment and the structured learning materials are considered the “third teacher.” The specific learning materials and the prepared environment are central. Learning materials are designed to support self-correction. They alert children to mistakes and allow self-correction with minimal support from educators. For example, a set of 10 wooden cylinders ranging in size from smallest to largest are inserted into a wooden block with matched spaces for each cylinder. When the cylinder is placed in the correct place, it fits. If a child places it in a place that is too large or too small, it does not fit and, therefore, is self-correcting. The materials are designed to move from concrete to abstract concepts; for example, from learning materials with objects to materials with objects and numerals to, finally, materials with only numerals. The Montessori classrooms or groups consist of multi-age children. Children in preschool groups range from three to six years of age and include kindergarten-aged children. Transitions from one age group to another are reduced. Children progress is based on their individual abilities rather than more narrow age groupings that can limit expectations about what children know and can do. Younger children learn by watching and listening to older children while older children learn by demonstrating concepts and skills to younger children. The mixed-age groupings encourage positive social interactions among children (Lillard, 2016). CHAPTER 5 Early Childhood Education Curriculum Approaches 93 The Abecedarian Approach in The Abecedarian approach (introduced in Chapter 2) continues to be adopted a. It early childhood education programs in Canada, the United States and Australi al views early language development as the pathway to social competence, emotion maturity, language skills and cognition (Campbell et al., 2001, 2008). The Abecedarian approach has the following four core elements. 1. Language priority: involves making the children’s experience an opportunity for listening, talking and learning vocabulary. 2. Conversational reading: involves reading to one or two children a few times a day and encouraging their dialogue and interactions. 3. LearningGames: consists of more than 200 structured learning experiences or games that educators can play with one or two children (Sparling & GAREGINING wxspecesemeemese Looking after physical and emotional needs for safety and well-being. re oe ¢ t= CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about LearningGames. Lewis, 2008). 4. Enriched caregiving: involves using daily, repeated care routines to make emotional connections and to integrate educational content into those routines (Sparling & Meunier, 2019). ~ Source: Sparling, J., & Lewis, I. (2008). The Creative Curriculum® LearningGames® (5-book set). Washington, DC: Teaching Strategies LLC. Sparling, J, & Meunier, K. (2019). Abecedarian: An early childhood education approach that has a rich history and a vibrant present. EC, 51, 207-216. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-019-00247-2. The core elements guide quality educator—child interactions. They are carried out intentionally, frequently (multiple times a day) and individually. Educators are expected to match interactions with a child’s individual interests and abilities. These strategies are shared with families so they can be reinforced at home. HighScope HighScope, like the Abecedarian approach, was designed as part of a research study in the 1960s and was influenced by Piaget's theory of cognitive child development. Children are viewed as active learners who construct their own knowledge through exploration and experimentation. They are guided by educators who plan the daily routines, learning experiences and environment. Educators aim to offer activities that provide children with key experiences that are developmental challenges they can meet with educator scaffolding. A central element of the daily routine is a plan-do-review sequence (Epstein, 2012). During a short (10- to 15-minute) group time, children plan what they will do during a block of time. They identify the play area, learning materials and friends they will play with. The children make decisions about what they choose to do based on the learning experiences educators have set up. Children then carry out their ideas and participate in the activities they have identified during a block of time that is usually between 45 and 60 minutes. Then, with each other and an educator, children recall what they have done and reflect on what they have learned. The plan-do-review sequence supports children’s growing executive function as they learn to be learners. 94 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning In a HighScope program, educators create a predictable learning environment with open-ended materials that reflect children’s family life, culture and language. Play areas are organized and labelled to promote independence. Educators plan learning experiences through eight content areas: 1. Approaches to learning . Social and emotional learning . Physical development and health . Language, literacy and communication . Mathematics . Creative arts Naouf WN . Science and technology 8. Social studies (Epstein, 2012) Source: Epstein, A. (2012). Approaches to learning. Ypsilanti, MI: HighScope Press. HighScope curriculum recognizes that the pace of children’s development and learning varies across the eight content areas. Each content area includes key developmental indicators (KDIs) that guide specific learning experiences that are part of the HighScope curriculum. (The KDIs were formally called “key experiences.”) An example of a KDI for creative arts is “Movement: Children express and represent what they observe, think, imagine and feel through twoand three-dimensional art.” In total there are 58 KDIs that identify learning goals for children. KDIs help educators understand what children do and say along a continuum of development. KDIs also help educators maintain reasonable expectations. They focus educators’ observations and interpretations of children’s activity. Together with the curriculum content, HighScope offers educators a child development “filter” for observing and making appropriate curriculum decisions (Epstein, 2012). Today, HighScope curriculum is adapted and used in many different countries around the world. However, some educators have raised concerns about exam- KEY DEVELOPMENTAL INDICATORS (KDIs) Descriptions of observable child behaviours that indicate a child’s knowledge and skills in HighScope content areas. CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to access a list of available KDIs. ples of rigid implementation of HighScope curriculum without enough consideration of who the children are and what their cultural context is (e.g., Curtis & Carter, 2015). At the same time, critics recognize that HighScope and developmentally appropriate practice (discussed in the following section) helped to make early childhood education environments and routines more child-centred. Developmentally Appropriate Practice Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) is a curriculum approach based on knowledge of the development of children’s abilities and observation of individual differences, including abilities, interests and culture (Gestwicki, 2011). It can be applied in settings with children from infancy through middle childhood. The approach considers that all areas of development—physical, social, emotional and cognitive—are important and that it is the early childhood educator's responsibility to plan an environment and support experiences to enhance all areas of development. CHAPTER 5 Early Childhood Education Curriculum Approaches DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICE (DAB) caneree ne Early childhood education practices that are grounded in child development concepts and knowledge, and observations of and interactions with young children, their families and their cultural context. 95 e contain a Programs designed on developmentally appropriate practic into related number of common characteristics that can be incorporated lly appropmenta develo a curriculum approaches. Typically, educators, in priate program: ® Support the whole child; that is, all areas of the child’s development; © Use observations of children’s individual interests and developmental progress to plan the curriculum; © Promote children’s active exploration and interactions with others; ® Use learning materials and activities that are concrete and part of the lives of young children; © Provide for a wide range of developmental interests that meet the children’s individual needs and skills; © Offer increased challenges as children’s abilities and skills progress; and @ Provide materials and allow time so children can choose activities (Bredekamp, 1987). - The Reggio Emilia Approach After World War II, preschools opened in the northern Italian town of Reggio REGGIOEMILIA A Curriculum approach in an Italian town by the same name that is child-centred and focused on children’s exploration and inquiry. Emilia and they continue to operate today. The municipal government of Reggio Emilia supports 35 schools, serving children aged 3 to 6, and infants and toddlers up to age 3. About 73 percent of the town’s children, from zero to five years in the town attend a Reggio Emilia infant-toddler centre or preschool (Reggio Approach, 2020). This city-run early child development program has captured the attention and imagination of early childhood practitioners in Canada and around the world for several reasons. First, it enjoys a high degree of community support and is viewed as an essential part of a cohesive, healthy and productive community. Second, the schools’ physical beauty and attention to detail are evident to all who visit the program. Third, the program philosophy and curriculum build on Lev Vygotsky’s concept of the social construction of knowledge and skillfully integrate other theoretical concepts, including Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, John Dewey’s concept of progressive education and Urie Bronfenbrenner’s ecological environment theory (Berk & Winsler, 1995). Loris Malaguzzi was the founder and leader of the Reggio Emilia approach and programs. He based his system of early childhood education on a few key principles: 1. Child-centred programs, which respect children and emphasize the reciprocal adult—child relationship; 2. An “environment as teacher” approach, which organizes space to promote relationships, creates aesthetically pleasing surroundings; promotes choices and activities; stimulates all areas of learning; and reflects children’s ideas, values, and culture; 3. A curriculum centred on children’s interests, reflected in projects that are undertaken in considerable depth and detail: 96 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning 4. A spirit of collaboration between early childhood practitioners and young children in facilitating intellectual discovery through social process; and 5. The participation of families as an integral part of the educational experience (Gestwicki, 2011). Emergent Curriculum Across Canada many ECE programs are adopting an emergent curriculum approach that allows them to incorporate some of the principles found in Reggio Emilia programs. However, the Reggio Emilia approach is not a curriculum approach that can be transported from its roots in northern Italy to Canadian settings. It is a way of thinking and interpreting the immediate surroundings (natural environment and social community) and following the lead of children and their families to create a unique early childhood setting. Emergent curriculum is an approach that encourages educators to respond to their immediate surroundings— physical place and people—and guide children’s natural curiosity about their envi- Early learning environments that are responsive to children’s interests, questions and explorations to create meaningful learning experiences. ronment to encourage learning. Emergent curriculum first appeared in the 1970s, and Elizabeth Jones coined the term in the introduction to a curriculum book (Jones & Nimmo, 1994). Many North American ECEs are finding emergent curriculum a useful framework that integrates knowledge about child development and an approach to planning that allows the child’s interests to take the lead (Goulet, 2001). ; Daily Preschool Curriculum in Action Mohamed works in a preschool! program located in a downtown school in a large city. The children are following the construction of a high-rise office building next door with great interest. During outdoor times children line up at the fence and watch the comings and goings of excavators, front-end loaders and cranes. One day, Mohamed moves tricycles, wagons, and some large empty boxes down by the fence. He notices that Carla has sat down on one of the tricycles and is moving it back and forth making a vrrrooom sound. Before long, Carla is joined by three other children and they are orchestrating tricycles and wagons around an area they name “the building site.” Mohamed takes an active role in the children’s play. He joins the children and asks if they would like to put a large fence up around the building site. Carla says, “Yes, and we will need to make big signs that say LEARNING TOGETHER LO 5.3 ‘Danger’ and ‘Workers Only.” A week later, the building site is still a popular area of the playground and now includes a digging area in the sandbox; structures made out of blocks, tubes, and boxes; and numerous picture and word signs giving directions for construction (continuea) CHAPTER 5 Early Childhood Education Curriculum Approaches 97 more questions vehicles and warning of dangers. The children are asking more and what the proper about how the construction vehicles work and debating about to many of names for each of them are. Mohamed does not know the answers tion construc about books their questions, so he has brought in several picture onbuilds vehicles. The children’s keen interest is the starting point, and Mohamed the children’s pretend play to elaborate learning and literacy opportunities. CONSIDER: Why is this an example of emergent curriculum? How is it different from other curriculum approaches discussed in this chapter? Educators set up materials and physical play spaces that invite children to explore and revisit. By following and responding to children’s interests, questions and ideas, educators challenge children to try new combinations and figure out how the world work. Educators ask questions such as “What can you do with this” or “What do you think would happen if ...?” Emergent curriculum often includes projects that are the in-depth study of a particular topic that is undertaken by a group of children and emerged from their questions and interests. The focus of projects is usually drawn from what is familiar to children in their daily lives. Projects involve children seeking answers to questions that they have formulated by themselves, in collaboration with educators or that arose during the course of their investigations. Projects are Educators Veronicka and > Marc are puzzling with the children about what fruit to use and how to Slice it. Westend61/Getty © Images 98 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning based on what children know or what they want to know. Many projects evolve from, and contribute to, socio-dramatic play. Projects include many opportunities for representation that permit children to return to what they knew, rethink and then integrate new knowledge. The “Best” Curriculum Approach? Many practices—what kinds of materials to make available to children, observing children’s interactions with each other, and displaying representations that children have created, for example—are common to a number of approaches. Most early childhood educators find themselves more comfortable in one curriculum approach than another. Early childhood curriculum approaches exist along the same continuum of child-directed to educator-guided and educator-directed as the continuum of play-based learning discussed in Chapter 3 (Bennett, 2005; Miller & Almon, 2009; Pyle & Danniels, 2017). In educator-guided and -directed approaches, educators set up the environment and select activities related to a set of learning outcomes or expectations. The Montessori or HighScope approaches are considered mostly educator guided and directed. Developmentally appropriate practice in child-directed/ educator-guided curriculum follows children’s interests, and emerging skills and aptitudes drive curriculum. The Reggio Emilia approach and emergent curriculum are child directed“and educator guided. Provincial kindergarten curricula have followed an educator-guided approach and are organized to encourage children’s attainment of identified learning expectations. However, as noted in Chapter 5, play-based learning is influencing kindergarten programs and several provinces are adopting emergent curriculum approaches and pedagogy. So, what is the best curriculum approach—what benefits children most? The answer is ... it depends. It depends on you, the children, the families and the community. There is no one best curriculum approach. Researchers are | TABLE 5.1 @ CURRICULUM APPROACHES AND PLAY-BASED LEARNING CONTINUUM Free Play Educator-Directed Educator-Guided Child-Directed Inquiry Play Collaborative Play Learning Games Playful Learning Montessori Abecedarian Approach HighScope Developmentally Appropriate Practice Reggio Emilia Emergent Curriculum CHAPTER 5 Early Childhood Education Curriculum Approaches 99 ch in comparnot able to isolate the benefits of using any one specific approa nuum (OECD, ison to another within the child-directed/educator-guided conti ulum direccurric 2018). Fifty years of research reveals that having a coherent broad tion is much more important than what that direction is—within some | boundaries that we will discuss shortly. Educators can use a variety of pedagogical approaches that combine educator-directed, educator-guided, and child-directed strategies (SirajBlatchford et al., 2003; National Research Council 2001). An effective planned curriculum approach with goals for children’s learning: © Guides decisions about what to include in the environment and embed in children’s experiences; ® Often uses strategies from across the continuum of play-based learning approaches; and © Provides structure and direction for educators who support the development of capacities and skills while respecting a child’s interests and choices (Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, 2015; Bennett, 2005; Miller & Almon, 2009; Ginsburg, Lee & Boyd, 2008; OECD, 2012; Sylva et al., 2004). An effective curriculum can be custom designed for each early childhood program. Although implementing ready-made program models might be easier at first, having a clear program direction and specific learning goals for children and families is more important than what program model is adopted. Research does tell us that some curricula do not support children’s early learning. Laissez-faire approaches (sometimes labelled “free play without any structure”) do not work well. Educators are often hesitant to enter or support the play or nudge children’s ideas as they fear they are hijacking children’s play (Pyle & Danniels, 2017). However, children usually run out of ideas, and chaos ensues. Early childhood programs that promote only child-directed DIDACTNG sissieciesersnienesercaes. Educator-directed approach to teaching specific skills or information. play may be referred to as a laissez-faire approach to curriculum (Miller & Almon, 2009). Didactic approaches such as direct instruction have drawbacks too. They are based on very specific learning goals to be mastered, and isolated specific skills Process of focusing on academic subjects, particularly literacy and numeracy, to prepare children for entry to public education. are often introduced outside the context of children’s lives. In these approaches, learning goals or expectations—rather than the children’s interests, ideas or abilities—drive curriculum. Curriculum that is dominated by direct instruction, a scripted curriculum, and a focus on specific learning goals for academic achievements related to literacy and numeracy is sometimes referred to as the “schoolification” of the early years (OECD, 2006). Early learning happens when educators’ expectations of what children can know and do matches the child’s own interests and abilities in meeting those expectations (Miller & Almon, 2009). The impact of an individual educator can outweigh the effect of a particular curriculum approach (National Research Council, 2001; Whelan, 2009). The quality of pedagogy in implementing and adapting a curriculum to a specific group of children is more important than the specific curricular approach (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000; Sylva et al., 2009, Whelan, 2009). 100 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning SCHOOLIFICATION CURRICULUM APPROACHES TO SUPPORT SELF-REGULATION Chapter 2 introduced self-regulation as a process about monitoring, managing and adapting behaviour, emotions and attention. Self-regulation is about responding to positive and negative stress and is related and interconnected with early childhood education curriculum designed to support mindfulness, growth mindset, social-emotional learning, executive function and trauma-informed practice. The curriculum strategies highlighted here aim to build children’s ability to be calm, alert and learning (Shanker, 2013) and to figure out how to calm themselves when they are upset or faced with challenges. Mindfulness Mindfulness or mindful awareness is the intentional awareness of being present in the moment. — MINDEULNESSseessee» It is a strategy to reduce stress and arousal: to down-regulate. _ intentional awareness of being Mindfulness can improve children’s self-regulation and ability to stay focused. Mindfulness games, simple breathing exercises, and practising yoga can be integrated into children’s play and the daily schedule in ECE programs. Present in the moment. Growth Mindset Growth mindset describes the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence. “A growth mindset is when students understand that their abilities can be developed” (Dweck, 2014). When children believe they can get smarter and be successful, they also understand that effort will make a difference. They put in = GROWTH:MINDSETressssnn» Underlying belief that one’s —-Wualitles can be changed and pe eeLCOS SOG extra effort that leads to higher achievement. Dweck describes the opposite of a growth mindset as a fixed mindset when people believe their abilities are fixed — FIXEDJMINDSE Ties traits that cannot be changed. In preschool early childhood education programs, educators can nurture a growth mindset by encouraging children to recognize themselves as learners, Underlying belief that one’s eee liked ancheannes . encourage problem-solving, and accept mistakes and failures as part of the process. In school-age programs, educators can encourage children to celebrate successes and achievements and value lessons learned when things do not work out as planned. Children who might struggle with academic expectations in the elementary grades benefit when they see themselves as learners and successful in out-of-school programs. Self-regulation is integral to a growth mindset; in turn, a growth mindset strengthens self-regulation. The capacity to manage challenges and frustrations that emerge in play contributes to a growth mindset. Successful new learning happens when challenges are present but are not too difficult or overwhelming. A peer or educator can scaffold learning and contribute to regulating attention. Children’s play with each other in early childhood programs can provide multiple opportunities to promote a growth mindset. Educators can be explicit about children’s learning. For example, “Look at the tower you built. It is very tall and not falling over.” Such comments are beneficial when they are authentic and relate to new evidence of learning. Bland generalities such as “that’s a nice tower,” on the other hand, are not beneficial. CHAPTER 5 Early Childhood Education Curriculum Approaches 101 Social-Emotional Learning SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE Ability to regulate one’s own emotions, behaviour and attention; to interact and get along with others, solve problems and communicate effectively. SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING (SEL) Social and emotional abilities that support learning and well-being. CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about CASEL. life in the Social-emotional competence is recognized as an essential skill for atten21st century. A child’s lack of ability to regulate and modify emotions, shift later tion, tolerate frustration and co-regulate with others interferes with children’s academic achievement (Shanker, 2013). Social-emotional learning (SEL) is about a suite of competencies that underpin children’s ability to learn, get along with others and be happy. Selfregulation of attention, emotions and behaviour is interconnected with SEL. There are several different frameworks that define SEL for preschool and school-age children. One of the most dominant frameworks comes from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), a research, policy and practice centre based in the United States that supports educators and policy leaders in ECE programs and in schools from kindergarten to grade 12. CASEL defines SEL as “the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions” (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional ~ Learning [CASEL], 2012). CASEL identifies five SEL competencies: selfawareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making. The same framework is used by several Canadian initiatives that focus on SEL (e.g., Shanker, 2013). Educators can introduce preschool and school-age children to SEL and self-regulation strategies. Source: CASEL, https://casel.org. Executive Function Executive function, which is interconnected with self-regulation of attention and behaviour. Yoga, music, aerobics, martial arts, storytelling, dancing, and games such as Simon says support preschool and school-age children to acquire executive function skills (Morton, 2013). Also, educators can encourage children to take part in dramatic and socio-dramatic play where they learn to take on roles and follow an evolving plot. Researchers report that activities that challenge children to solve problems, such as doing a puzzle or finding hidden treasures in the playground, contribute to executive function skills. Trauma-Informed TRAUMA-INFORMED BRAG ssrererrercceerre GR ce, Understanding, recognizing and responding to the impact of trauma. Practice Trauma-informed practice is a framework that involves understanding, recognizing and responding to the impact of all types of trauma. Childhood trauma is defined as “an actual or perceived danger that undermines a child’s sense of physical or emotional safety or poses a threat to safety of that child’s parents or caregivers” that then “overwhelms their coping ability and impacts their functioning and development” (Nicolson, Perez & Kurtz, 2018, p. viii). Trauma disrupts children’s ability to regulate their emotions, behaviour and attention. Source: Nicolson, J., Perez, L., & Kurtz, J. (2018). Trauma-informed practices for early childhood educators: Relationship-based approaches that support healing and build resilience in young children (1st ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. 102 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning Many young children who attend early childhood education programs have experienced trauma such as abuse, neglect, violence or challenging family circumstances. These experiences can have impacts that extend beyond childhood including higher risks for health problems, reduced academic achievement and difficulties in forming positive relationships (McCain, Mustard & McCuaig, 2011). Educators can support children experiencing trauma by supporting their ability to self-regulate while they are playing, particularly their ability to selfregulate emotions. Educators can also consider how to reduce stressors in the environment. Reducing noise levels and bright lights can reduce sensory stimulation that may be stressful. Soft places to sit, quiet places to be alone, and soothing water play are examples of how the environment can support children. Loud Noises Three-year-old Fatima is in the playground sandbox at her preschool program. She is humming to herself while she fills up a pail and dumps it onto a big pile of sand she is making. A firetruck and police car with sirens blaring come down the street outside the playground. Fatima immediately bursts into tears and screams “Stop! Stop! Stop!” LEARNING TOGETHER LO 5.4 ~ Bronwyn, the preschool early childhood educator, quickly walks over and crouches down beside Fatima. Bronwyn is at eye level with Fatima and says, “You are safe here at preschool. The sirens are from the police car and firetruck that are heading to help some people, but we are fine here at preschool. Let’s take a deep breath together.” Bronwyn gently hugs Fatima and together they take several deep breaths. Fatima then sits close to Bronwyn and resumes filling up the pail with sand and dumping it on the pile. Bronwyn comments “Fatima, your pile of sand is getting very high.” Fatima is a recent newcomer in Canada. Her family fled the recent conflict in Syria. Fatima was a toddler when they left their home in the middle of the night amidst sirens, bombs, and other loud noises. CONSIDER: How is Bronwyn supporting Fatima’s self-regulation? INDIGENOUS CURRICULUM APPROACHES Effective Indigenous early childhood programs are generated by First Nations, Inuit, Métis and non-status Indigenous communities. Indigenous and non-Indigenous early childhood settings require programming that values Indigenous languages CHAPTER 5 Early Childhood Education Curriculum Approaches 103 d on it. and culture and is generated from the community rather than impose n have Many approaches to measuring successful learning for Indigenous childre d acquire dge knowle ed reflect focused on the classroom and have not sufficiently through experiential learning, including learning from Elders, traditions, ceremo- nies, family and the workplace (Ball, 2008; Canadian Council on Learning, 2007 ; Fearn 2006). indigenizing Practices Chapter 4 introduced Indigenizing ECE practices in outdoor play that can also be applied to curriculum approaches. Educators can respectfully include Indigenous perspectives, cultures, languages and ways of knowing into the early learning environments by seeking out the knowledge and advice of local Indigenous communities. ECE programs should obtain permission to use cultural materials or practices by consulting first with Indigenous individuals, families and other Indigenous community members. Educators should respect the unique community protocol: to obtain permission before using any Indigenous educational plans or ~ resources, educators should contact Indigenous education co-ordinators, educators’ support workers or counsellors in their communities to identify local resources and contacts such as Elders, chiefs, First Nations tribal or band councils, Aboriginal cultural centres, Aboriginal Friendship Centres, and Métis or Inuit organizations. Language Nests In Canada, the legacy of residential schools includes the loss of Indigenous language speakers because Indigenous children were forbidden to speak their language. Today, knowledge of Indigenous languages varies widely across First Nations, LANGUAGE NEST... An immersion approach to revitalize Indigenous languages in early childhood education programs. 104 Inuit and Métis children (Halseth & Greenwood, 2019). Inuit children often have more exposure to their culture and language than off-reserve First Nations and Métis children. Indigenous languages are primarily oral—the sound, meaning and relationships conveyed in the spoken word relate the essence of Indigenous knowledges in a way that the written word cannot (Greenwood, 2016). Indigenous languages acknowledge and respect the constantly changing energy of the land. Across Canada, Indigenous families are reclaiming their language and culture through a number of organizations and institutions. Language nests, a curriculum approach that aims to promote Indigenous language learning for young children, are being offered by several of these institutions. Language nest programs are Indigenous cultural early childhood language immersion programs. Young children learn their Indigenous language through meaningful interaction with proficient speakers, often community Elders. The language nest approach uses only an Indigenous language without any English in the early childhood program. This full immersion creates the “nest.” The approach supports a natural way to learn a language rather than direct language SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning instruction or specific times of the day or week for an Elder to take part in a group time with the children. Language nest pedagogy is anchored in the ways of the community and is grounded in sharing a specific local language and culture (Greenwood, 2016). The concept of the language nest originated in New Zealand in the early 1980s as a part of Maori language revitalization and has served as a model for other countries, including Canada. Some First Nations communities in British Columbia and elsewhere in Canada have been working toward creating language nests (Greenwood, 2016). Language immersion programs are considered to be the most successful way of reviving languages (Mclvor, 2006; Mclvor & Parker, 2015). Adapting Curriculum Approaches in Indigenous Communities Indigenous communities may indigenize curriculum approaches to reflect their culture. In Australia, researchers and educators worked with Families as First Teachers play groups located in schools in two remote Indigenous communities to adapt the Abecedarian Approach. To date, they have found that the regular use of the Conversational Reading and LearningGames components has increased children’s language and overall learning skills (Page et al., 2019). For the Conversational Reading element, a simple see (notice what the child is looking at) show (child points to parts of the picture or acts out an answer to a question about the book) _and say (child answers questions about the book) strategy guides adults’ interactions with children as they read picture books together. Parents and other family members take part in the playgroup and are encouraged to use the same strategy at home. The Manidoo ECD Hub Centre at Lord Selkirk Park—A Promising Initiative = e 12 ¢ CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about the literacy project at Manidoo. MAKING IT HAPPEN LO 5.3 The Abecedarian Approach began in a disadvantaged community in North Carolina more than 50 years ago (Campbell et al., 2001; Campbell et al., 2008; Campbell et al., 2014) where it was found to provide long-term benefits. It is now replicated in what was once one of Canada’s most disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods — Lord Selkirk Park, a public housing complex in Winnipeg’s North End. The enriched early childhood education curriculum is offered to children aged 6 months to five years in a child care centre attached to a family resource centre. The centre started in February 2012 and is a collaboration of Red River College (RRC), Healthy Child Manitoba, and a community organization, Manidoo Gi-Miini Gonaan (The Great Spirit of Giving). Most of the children and several educators are Indigenous. (continued) CHAPTER 5 Early Childhood Education Curriculum Approaches 105 bse staff mentoring that Red River College provides professional learning and arian approach with a focus emphasizes consistent, intentional use of the Abeced Is enhanced bya home centre on language and literacy. Learning in the child care tion with the family. visitor from the centre who can establish and maintain a connec has Increased after A recent study showed that early language development group children two years in this program compared to a slight decline in control (Stevens et al., 2019). CONSIDER: Why do you think that the Abecedarian approach has been successful at Manidoo ECD Hub Centre? SS SUMMARY - © Several curriculum approaches that include distinctive theories and practices are found in today’s ECE programs across Canada. © Curriculum approaches found in ECE programs are based on theories and knowledge about how children learn, values and beliefs about what children know and can do, and children’s cultural context. ¢ Curriculum approaches can be considered in the context of the continuum of playbased learning. @ Educators can identify which curriculum approaches best suit their own image of the child and understanding about children’s learning and well-being. = ®_:- Specific curriculum strategies support children’s self-regulation. ¢ Curriculum approaches can reflect Indigenous perspectives, knowledge and culture. REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Describe the key elements of the following curriculum approaches: Montessori, developmentally appropriate practice, HighScope, Reggio Emelia and emergent curriculum. LO 5.1 2. What does indigenizing practices mean? LO 5.2 3. How do the curriculum approaches described in the chapter relate to the continuum of playbased learning? LO 5.3 4. Describe five curriculum strategies that support children’s self-regulation. LO 5.4 STUDY ACTIVITIES if Search online for information about the Reggio Emilia approach. Prepare a presentation for families to explain Reggio Emilia. LO 5.1 106 2. Review Indigenous perspectives about childhood outlined in Chapter 2. How can educators incorporate Indigenous values and beliefs about SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning childhood in the design of ECE curriculum and pedagogy? Prepare a short oral presentation for educators. LO’5.2 . Visit an early childhood program that is implementing a specific curriculum approach. Interview an educator about how their practice implements the curriculum approach. If possible, record the interview with the educator’s permission and share with your classmates. LO 5.3 . Explore the resources at MindUP (https:// mindup.org) designed to teach school-age children skills and knowledge related to selfregulation and mindfulness. LO 5.4 . Identify which curriculum approach(es) align with your image of the child. LO 5.5 KEY TERMS Caregiving (p. 94) Language nest (p. 104) Curriculum approach (p. 90) Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) (p.95) Didactic (p. 100) Emergent curriculum (p. 97) Fixed mindset (p. 101) Growth mindset (p. 101) Key developmental indicators (KDIs) (p. 95) Mindfulness (p. 101) Reggio Emilia (p. 96) Rote learning (p. 93) Schoolification (p. 100) Social-emotional competence (p. 102) Social-emotional learning (SEL) (p. 102) Trauma-informed practice (p. 102) SUGGESTED READINGS Conversational Reading. (2015). Abecedarian Approach Australia. Retrieved September 9, 2020, at https://3a.education.unimelb.edu.au/assets/3a -public/downloads/3 A-Conversational-Reading-Booklet.pdf Enriched Caregiving. (2015). Abecedarian Approach Australia. Retrieved September 9, 2020, at https://3a.education.unimelb.edu.au/assets/3a -public/downloads/3 A-Enriched-Care-Booklet.pdf _ Language Priority. (2015). Abecedarian Approach Australia. Retrieved September 9, 2020, at https://3a.education.unimelb.edu.au/assets/3a -public/downloads/3A-Language-Priority-Booklet. pdf Pirurvik Preschool. (n.d.). Early childhood education: Inuit Qaujimajatugangit & Montessori, Pond Inlet, Nunavut. Retrieved September 9, 2020, at https:// www. pirurvikpreschool.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/IQ-Mont -Pirurvik-GUIDE-English.pdf CHAPTER 5 Early Childhood Education Curriculum Approaches af ad CENGAGE MINDTAP For additional resources, visit MindTap. 107 CHAPTER Early Learning Frameworks LEARNING OBJECTIVES 6.1 Identify key characteristics of early learning frameworks in Canada and internationally. 6.3 Describe early learning frameworks in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. 6.2 Analyze the similarities and differences among provincial and territorial early learning frameworks in Canada. 6.4 Describe how early learning frameworks inform practice and practice informs early learning frameworks. Early learning frameworks describe the purpose, goals and approaches in deciding what is offered (curriculum) and how (pedagogy) in early childhood education settings (Bertrand, 2012). They can bridge the ideas and practices considered in the continuum of play-based learning, outdoor play pedagogy and across a range of curriculum models. This chapter describes early learning frameworks across Canada and in a select number of other countries. THE PURPOSES OF EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORKS EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORK =——is Learning areas in ECE settings. 108 Early learning frameworks aim to “to encourage a shared sense of purpose between parents and early childhood centres; to promote social and cultural values important for society; to ensure a certain unity of standards and to inform and facilitate communication between staff, parents, and children” (Bennett, 2004, p. 1). Early learning frameworks describe the purpose, goals and approaches in deciding what is offered (curriculum) and how (pedagogy) in early childhood education settings (Bertrand, 2012). They can bridge the ideas and practices considered in the continuum of play-based learning (Chapter 3), in outdoor play pedagogy (Chapter 4) and across a range of curriculum models (Chapter 5). Early learning frameworks stimulate conversations among early childhood educators and family members on values and beliefs about early learning. They offer educators tools to plan and carry out early learning experiences that reflect a framework’s vision and principles (Langford, 2012). They also build a common understanding of quality practices across different types of settings, providing a common professional language and way of thinking about environments for young children in a variety of programs. If early learning frameworks cover a broad age range—for example, from infancy to age eight—they can contribute to continuity of learning. Early learning frameworks also serve to engage educators to reflect on their own practice and to consider children’s families, communities and cultural background. The framework documents guide planning without enforcing a particular curriculum approach. Children’s daily experiences are recognized as part of an integrated curriculum. Early learning frameworks are holistic and typically differ from curriculum guides for kindergarten to grade 12 education that are organized around subject areas and specific learning outcomes. The early learning frameworks focus on broad holistic goals such as social-emotional well-being, thinking and language for learning instead of specific outcomes for subject areas. Early Learning Frameworks in Canada Early learning frameworks are relatively recent additions to the practice of early childhood education. Over the past 25 years Canadian and international jurisdictions developed early learning frameworks to support programming in early childhood education settings (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018; Langford 2012; McCuaig, 2014). They were influenced by Te Wharki (Ministry of Education, New Zealand, 1996), an early learning framework developed in New Zealand that is described later in this chapter. Te Wharki introduced a vision of young children as capable learners and the notion of curriculum encompassing all that children experience in an ECE environment. Echoes of Te Wharki are found across Canada’s early learning framework. Early childhood education policy reports from the Organisation of Economic and Co-operative Development also influenced the initiation of Canadian early learning frameworks. Starting Strong (OECD, 2001) stated, “Developing appropriate pedagogical frameworks— general goals and guidelines—for work with young children is fundamental to raising and maintaining quality across ECEC [early childhood education and care] systems across an ECEC system” (p. 109). The report notes that pedagogical (or early learning) frameworks provide values and pedagogical orientations for early childhood centres but do not provide specific directions on how to achieve goals. Starting Strong II (OECD, 2006) expanded the attention of policy makers and ECE leaders to the use of pedagogical frameworks, noting the trend toward early learning frameworks that guide the practice of educators. In 2004, an OECD review of early childhood education and care in Canada recommended a national quality framework: © Goldswain/Shutterstock Warren A Small children become confident learners one small step at a time. A statement of the values and goals that should guide early childhood centres ... to facilitate development and learning, an outline of the knowledge, skills, dispositions and values that children at different ages can be expected to master CHAPTER 6 Early Learning Frameworks 109 ines outacross broad developmental areas; and ... pedagogical guidel and lining the processes through which children achieve these goals, 11) p. how educators should support them. (OECD, 2004, nts In Canada, the 2005 federal/provincial/territorial child care agreeme committed provinces and territories to develop detailed action plans to develop early learning and child care (McCuaig, 2014). Provincial early learning frameworks that included statements of principles, approaches and tools to guide practice in ECE settings began to appear across Canada. Since 2004, provinces and territories have created individual early learning frameworks to guide curriculum and pedagogy in early childhood education settings. In some jurisdictions the frameworks are intended for children from birth to age five; in other jurisdictions the range extends to age eight years. While each provincial and territorial framework is unique, all share common principles and practices. The frameworks emphasize children’s play as the foundation of early childhood education and recognize child-directed, educator-guided and educator-directed play. The frameworks are a guide for making decisions about early childhood education practices. Table 6.1 highlights the visions for children in early learning frameworks across Canada. They are underpinned by an image of the child as competent and capable and having a right to environments that allow for a happy childhood. TABLE 6.1 ® CANADIAN EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORKS Early Learning Framework Vision Age Range Newfoundland and Labrador Navigating the Early Years: An Early “Children living in this province are respected, valued, nurtured and supported to grow, O-8 years Childhood Learning Framework learn, and develop” (2019, p. 6). Nova Scotia Capable, Confident and Curious: Nova “An image of a child who is Curious, creative, full of potential, capable and confident ...” Scotia’s Early Learning Curriculum (2018, p. 3). 0-5 years Framework Prince Edward Island “Children in PEI are healthy, happy, curious Early Learning Framework: Relationships, and creative, playful and joyous” (2012, Environments, Experiences en New Brunswick “All children will grow to their fullest potential New Brunswick Curriculum Framework for Early Learning and Child Care With dignity, a sense of self-worth, and a zest for living and learning” (2008, p. 1). Quebec Meeting Early Childhood Needs: Québec’s Educational Program for Childcare Services “... the child as being the primary architect of his or her development and play as being the privileged activity ...” (Ministére de la Famille Update et des Ainés, n.d., p. 71). an Ontario “Children are competent, capable of comEarly Learning for Every Child Today (ELECT) _ Plex thinking, curious and rich in potential” How Does Learning Happen? Ontario’s (Ontario Best Start Early Learning Panel, 2007, p. 6). Pedagogy for the Early Years 110 O-5 years SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning 0-5 years 0-5 years O-8 years Early Learning Framework Vision Age Range Manitoba “Early childhood and child care programs demonstrate quality and foster social, emo- 0-5 years Early Returns: Manitoba’s Early Learning and Child Care Curriculum Framework for tional, physical and cognitive development of Preschool Centres and Nursery Schools; children” (2011, p. 1). Early Returns: Manitoba’s Early Learning and Child Care Curriculum Framework for Infant Programs Saskatchewan “Early learning programs are holistic, respon- Play and Exploration: Early Learning Program Sive and developmentally appropriate” (p. 4). 0-5 years Guide “Potential of strong, active and energetic early childhood communities grounded in the rights of children and reflective of Alberta's diverse families” (Makovichuk et al., p. 6). O-5 years British Columbia “Respectfully living and learning together” O-8 years British Columbia Early Learning Framework (p. 44). Alberta Flight: Alberta’s Early Learning and Care Framework Northwest Territories “Young children from birth to school entry Northwest Territories Early experience quality, nurturing and respon- Learning Framework— Nurturing Capable People from Birth to sive early learning environments as they grow and develop to live fulfilled lives as Capable People and contribute to strong # healthy communities” School Entry (p. 8). Council of Ministers of Education, “Critical skills for the 21st Century include Canada (CMEC) creativity and imagination, problem-solving and critical thinking, communication and collaboration. ... personal/social awareness, ethics and responsibility, as well as awareness of one’s positive personal, cultural and linguistic identities” (p. 7). CMEC Early Learning and Development Framework 1 Early learning frameworks are in development in Yukon and Nunavut. © NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR—NAVIGATING THE EARLY YEARS: AN EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNING FRAMEWORK A sense of belonging is fostered when children feel they are loved, valued, and included both within their own family unit and in society as a whole. Children feel they belong when they are accepted and understood in the contexts of their cultures. Children experience belonging when they are free to express themselves in ways that are meaningful to them (Government of Newfoundland & Labrador [NL Department of Education and Early Child Development], 2019, p. 32). A fisher’s knot, which represents Newfoundland and Labrador culture, is used as a symbol of the province's early childhood learning framework. Each of the four coloured strands in the fisher’s knot represents one of the framework’s CHAPTER 6 Early Learning Frameworks O-8 years early learning goals: well-being and belonging, communication, play and exploration, and social contribution. strength Each goal impacts the overall development of a child and draws mised. from the others. If one strand is frayed, the strength of the knot is compro of pment develo the The framework encourages a holistic approach to children. Like the interwoven strands of the Fisher’s Knot, the framework respects the strength of the whole during the critical period of early childhood (Government of Newfoundland & Labrador [NL Department of Education and Early Child Development], 2019, p. xiii). Newfoundland and Labrador’s early learning framework is designed for early childhood settings for children from birth to eight years old. It is organized into seven sections: 1. Overview of the research findings related to early learning and child development and discussion of how a framework supports young children’s learning. 2. Introduction and description of the framework’s purpose, vision and scope. 3. Principles of early learning comprise three broad categories: who we are, our connections and how we learn. The principles are written from the perspective of a child to emphasize the child’s perspective. Each category includes several elements. “Who we are” includes individuality, diversity and citizenship; “Our connections” includes parents, caregivers, families, friends, community of care, and growing up in Newfoundland and Labrador. “How we learn” includes learning environments, play and inquiry-based learning, and effective communication. 4. Goals for early childhood learning based on evidence-based practices to promote the role of educators and to bring consistency and cohesion to their work. The goals include well-being and belonging, communication, play and exploration, and social contribution. 5. Connections that educators share with other adults who care for children to strengthen children’s optimal learning and development. The section emphasizes connections between educators and families. 6. Glossary of early terms used in the framework. 7. Bibliography of references and resources used to develop the framework. NOVA SCOTIA—CAPABLE, CONFIDENT AND CURIOUS: NOVA SCOTIA’S EARLY LEARNING CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK Everyone’s Image of the Child shapes their decisions and beliefs about how children learn. The image influences the types of early learning environments that are provided for children, the role of the educators in preparing early learning environments, and relationships with children and families. If an educator believes that children are capable human beings, that their ideas and interests matter, and that their natural curiosity and love of learning inspires them to explore their environments— then the early childhood environment will be designed and structured to allow 112 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning TABLE 6.2 @ CAPABLE, CONFIDENT AND CURIOUS: NOVA SCOTIA’S EARLY LEARNIN G CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK —PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES Principles Practices iE Play-based learning 2. Relationships 1. Adopting holistic approaches that recognize the integrated nature of children’s learning and development 3. Inclusion, diversity and equity 2. Being responsive to children 4. The learning environment 5. Reflective practice ee). Teaching intentionally 4. Valuing the cultural and social contexts of children, their families and communities 5. Providing for continuity in experiences and enabling children to have successful transitions throughout early childhood 6. Using authentic assessment to monitor and support children’s learning and development Source: https://www.ednet.ns.ca/docs/nselcurriculumframework. pdf. @>=: children to explore, use their senses, and confidently express their own ideas and opinions (Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2018, p. 9). Nova Scotia's Early Learning Curriculum Framework is based on a set of five principles and six practices summarized in Table 6.2. CAPABLE, CONFIDENT and CURIOUS: Nova Scotia's Early Learning Curriculum Framework also has broad learning goals: well-being, discovery and invention, language and communication, and personal and social responsibility. Together they guide educators’ reflection and critical thinking. They form the basis for assessment of children’s learning and holistic development. Each of the learning goals is supported by learning objectives as listed below. PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND—EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORK: RELATION SHIPS, ENVIRONMENTS, EXPERIENCES Children’s play is rich in its - complexity. When children are engaged in play, and especially in socio-dramatic play, they are creating their own meaningful fantasy worlds. During this type of play, children are able to reconstruct and test out theories or concepts in a secure, safe manner where the child is in control of the situation. By assuming various roles and responsibilities in the play activity, the child is able to integrate the learning that comes from reviewing and re-thinking the experience (Flanagan, 2012, p. 17). In Prince Edward Island, Early Learning Framework: Relationships, Environments, Experiences is the curriculum framework of the Preschool Excellence Initiative. It outlines four broad goals for early learning: 1. well-being; 2. play and playfulness; 3. communication and literacies; and 4. diversity and social responsibility. CHAPTER 6 Early Learning Frameworks 113 ’S EARLY LEARNING TABLE 6.3 @ CAPABLE, CONFIDENT AND CURIOUS: NOVA SCOTIA TIVES CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK —LEARNING GOALS AND OBJEC Learning Goals Learning Objectives Well-being Children feel safe, secure and supported. Children become strong in their social and emotional well-being. Children take increasing responsibility for their own health and physical well-being. Children develop knowledge and confident self-identities (p. 49). Children develop dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, and imagination. Discovery and Invention Children develop a range of skills and processes such as problem-solving, inquiry, experimentation, hypothesizing, researching, and investigating (Oso): Language and Communication Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes. Children engage with a range of texts and gain meaning from these texts. Children express ideas and make meaning using a range of media. Children begin to understand how symbols and patterns systems work Children use information and communication technologies to access information, investigate ideas and represent their thinking. Acadian and Francophone children in French minority language communities develop a strong foundation in French (p. 52). Personal and Social Responsibility Children learn to interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect. Children develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active community participation. Children respond to diversity with respect. Children become aware of fairness. Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment (p. 54). Source: Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Child Development, 2018. NEW BRUNSWICK—CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK FOR EARLY LEARNING AND CHILD CARE The uniqueness of each child is implicitly integrated into the philosophy of early learning and child care that underlines the framework. By design, the curriculum will not merely accommodate, but actively honour the diversity of New Brunswick’s children and their languages and heritages. This is a challenging and daunting task, one that requires a clear vision and a resourceful, collaborative, and creative approach to providing for our youngest citizens’ full participation in the social and cultural life of their communiti es (Early Childhood Research and Development Team, 2008, p. 2). 114 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning The New Brunswick Curriculum Framework for Early Learning and Child Care provides a foundation for an emergent curriculum for children from birth to five years. It aims to “encourage optimum development in an atmosphere of trust, security and respect” (Early Childhood Research and Development Team, 2008, p. 3). Play is viewed as integral to children’s learning and richly formative in their capacity for relationships, based on the belief that play must be accorded a key place in the lives of young children. Research and theory support the long-held contention that play is essential to quality of life in childhood and a primary means of understanding the world. Consequently, this curriculum framework articulates ways educators can maximize the potential of play for children’s care and learning. QUEBEC—MEETING EARLY CHILDHOOD NEEDS: QUEBEC’S TIONAL PROGRAM FOR CHILDCARE SERVICES UPDATE AND EDUCATION PROGRAM: PRESCHOOL EDUCATION EDUCAQUEBEC A child learns by exploring, interacting, observing, imitating and listening: the child’s thoughts are structured on the basis of what the child sees, hears, touches or feels and on the basis of the relationships that the child has with the adults and the children around him or her. This is active learning: it is by acting that the child learns about him or herself, about others and about his or her environment. Engaging in a gesture, an action or an activity, with help at first, then without, enables a child to develop self-confidence and autonomy. (Meeting Early Childhood Needs, n.d., p. 18) Meeting Early Childhood Needs: Quebec's Educational Program for Childcare Services Update outlines the educational program for child care programs in Quebec. It identifies five principles: 1. Each child is unique. . Children are the primary agents of their development. . Child development is a comprehensive, integrated process. . Children learn through play. . Cooperation between child care personnel or home child care providers an & WN and parents is essential for the harmonious development of the child. The framework stipulates that the educational program should be organized to foster children’s overall development, particularly their emotional, social, moral, cognitive, language, physical and motor development. Also, the program should help children to adapt gradually to life in society and to integrate harmoniously. The Quebec Education Program: Preschool Education is the guide for curriculum in Quebec’s four-year-old kindergarten programs. This document promotes play and spontaneous activities, with a view to getting children to express themselves, experiment, construct their learnings, structure their thoughts and develop their worldview. They learn to be themselves, to interact with others and to solve problems. They develop their imagination and creativity. Spontaneous activity and play are their way of mastering reality; this justifies giving play a central place in preschool education and organizing the space and time accordingly. At the time of publication of this text, revised curriculum frameworks for Quebec ECE programs were not translated from French to English. CHAPTER 6 Early Learning Frameworks 115 (ELECT) AND ONTARIO—EARLY LEARNING FOR EVERY CHILD TODAY FOR THE EARLY HOW DOES LEARNING HAPPEN? ONTARIO’S PEDAGOGY r LEARNING YEARS Early Learning for Every Child Today brings togethe ended established research findings and diverse perspectives, beliefs and recomm practices. It recognizes that families, communities and cultures hold distinct values about how young children should experience and interact with the world around them. “Values are complemented by detailed attention to the early child development research in the fields of early childhood education, family studies, developmental psychology, neurosciences, anthropology, sociology, pediatrics and epidemiology” (Ontario Best Start Panel on Early Learning, 2007, p. 7). Setting out and acting on a strong image of children, families, and educators has a profound impact on what happens in early years settings. Reflecting on a shared understanding and working towards greater consistency between what we say and what we do provides a means to strengthen and transform early years programs across the province (Government of Ontario, 2014, p. 6). In Ontario, Early Learning for Every Child Today (ELECT) (Ontario Best Start Panel on Early Learning, 2007) and How Does Learning Happen? Ontario's Pedagogy for the Early Years (Government of Ontario, 2014) accommodate a variety of curriculum models and pedagogical methods that are consistent with six guiding principles: 1. Early child development sets the foundation for lifelong learning, behaviour and health. 2. Partnerships with families and communities strengthen the ability of early childhood settings to meet the needs of young children. 3. Respect for diversity, equity and inclusion are prerequisites for honouring children’s rights, optimal development and learning. 4. A planned curriculum supports early learning. 5. Play is a means to early learning that capitalizes on children’s natural curiosity and exuberance. 6. Knowledgeable, responsive early childhood professionals are essential. Source: © Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2014. Reproduced with permission. MANITOBA—EARLY RETURNS: MANITOBA’S EARLY LEARNING AND CHILD CARE CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK FOR PRESCHOOL CENTRES AND NURSERY SCHOOLS AND EARLY RETURNS: MANITOBA’S EARLY LEARNING AND CHILD CARE CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK FOR INFANT PROGRAMS The child-centred approach to curriculum is focused on meeting the needs of each child and built around the idea that children create their own knowledge and learn through active involvement in play. As children grow and develop, play changes, so their interactions, relationships, environments and experiences must evolve with them. Observe children during play. Watch 116 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning for play experiences that engage other children and transform the children’s space and materials. Write notes and reflect on what you see and hear to discover children's interests and abilities, and share these notes with co-workers (Government of Manitoba, 2011, p. 7). In Manitoba, Early Returns: Manitoba's Early Learning and Child Care Curriculum Framework for Preschool Centres and Nursery Schools is used to develop, describe and enhance curriculum in preschool/child care centres and nursery schools. It identifies four key principles: holistic child development, learning through play, inclusion and diversity. Manitoba’s framework promotes fostering the social, emotional, physical and cognitive development of children, and the design of play-based, developmentally appropriate interactions, relationships and environments, as well as planned and spontaneous experiences that provide opportunities for all children in the program to develop to their fullest potential. Early Returns: Manitoba's Early Learning and Child Care Curriculum Framework for Infant Programs (Government of Manitoba, 2014) supports curriculum design in programs for infants. “How staff plan for and respond to infants is based on goals for children’s social, emotional, physical and cognitive development. Staff must understand and respond to the abilities, interests and needs of each child. The infant is the centre of curriculum” (Government of Manitoba, 2014, p. 2). The infant framework notes that the caregiving routines, exploration and play create learning opportunities and provide opportunities for responsive interactions. SASKATCHEWAN —PLAY AND EXPLORATION: EARLY LEARNING PROGRAM GUIDE The educator creates an environment that reflects children’s strengths and interests, and which supports the child’s holistic growth. When children are viewed as capable, competent and full of ideas, adults begin to observe and listen to the ideas children contribute, fostering a shared learning opportunity between adults and children. (Government of Saskatchewan, 2013, p. 9). In Saskatchewan, the Play and Exploration: Early Learning Program Guide aims to encourage stimulating and dynamic regulated child care environments that facili_ tate and guide play in regulated early childhood education programs. Exploration and discovery are viewed as important processes in enhancing children’s holistic development. Early childhood educators are encouraged to support children’s learning in an environment that stimulates exploration, curiosity and interactions with others. Saskatchewan’s pre-kindergarten programs for three- and four-year-old children use Better Beginnings, Better Futures: Effective Practices Policy and Guidelines for Prekindergarten in Saskatchewan, 2008, a document that serves as a guide to holistic, developmentally appropriate and caring learning programs. It focuses on the healthy development of the whole child—social-emotional, physical, intellectual and spiritual. It includes an extensive list of developmental benchmarks for each of these domains. Family engagement and community partnerships are also foundational components. CHAPTER 6 Early Learning Frameworks 117 ING AND CARE FRAMEWORK ALBERTA—FLIGHT: ALBERTA’S EARLY LEARN different than An early learning and child care curriculum framework is d on broad a traditional curriculum. In early childhood, curriculum is focuse learning Early area. t subjec holistic goals rather than specific outcomes for each ences and child care curriculum frameworks embrace children’s everyday experi the as the sources of curriculum meaning making. Early childhood educators use ay everyd en’s goals in the curriculum framework to describe and interpret childr experiences (Makovichuk et al., 2014, p. 4). The principles and learning goals outlined in Alberta's early learning framework are informed by the one created in New Brunswick in 2008. Also, principles adapt those of the Alberta Education Kindergarten Program Statement to encourage continuity between the ECE programs and formal schooling for children and families in Alberta. The principles are: @ Children’s life-long health, well-being, learning and behaviour are strongly connected to their early childhood experience. © Childhoods differ depending on social, cultural and economic circumstances. e Children interact and learn in multiple learning communities and their learning is profoundly influenced by the relationships within and between these communities and, specifically, with respect to the relationship with the family. e Children thrive when they are nurtured in close, consistent relationships, and their families benefit from these close caring relationships as well. e Children are active co-constructors of knowledge through first-hand experiences in reciprocal relationships with people and things in their environment. © Children are unique learners who construct and represent knowledge using multimodal literacies for exploration and expression. ¢ Children are citizens and active participants in society (Makovichuk et al 2014), The four learning goals are well-being, play and playfulness, communication and literacies, and diversity and social responsibility. BRITISH COLUMBIA— BRITISH COLUMBIA EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORK “The Early Learning Framework is an invitation to re-envision early care and learning spaces, education systems, and society. It is intended to promote dialogue about understandings of childhood, knowledge, education, and learning” (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2019, p. 11). The revised early learning framework was launched in 2019 and acknowledges changing perspectives. The age focus expanded from birth to five years to birth to grade 3, and there are explicit links to BC’s Core Competencies for children from kindergarten to grade 3. The revisions acknowledge the impact of colonization of Indigenous people and aim to contribute to reconciliation. There is a shift in language. For example, the terms “living inquiries” and “pathways” replace “areas of learning” and “learning goals,” respectively. 118 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning The principles in the revised framework are: * Children are strong, capable and full of potential. Families have the most important role in contributing to children’s wellbeing and learning. e Early years spaces are inclusive. People build connection and reconnection to the land, culture, community and place. Environments are integral to well-being and learning. Play is integral to well-being and learning. Relationships are the context for well-being and learning. Learning is holistic. The living inquiries are: — — — — Well-being and belonging Engagement with others, materials, and the world Communications and literacies Identities, social responsibility, and diversity (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2019, p. 15). The BC Early Learning Framework has extensive information on, and input from, Indigenous communities. The framework incorporates the First Peoples Principles of Learning (First Nations Education Steering Committee, 2012), which is described as “an expression of the shared wisdom of Elders from Indigenous communities throughout British Columbia” (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2019, p. 14). The First Peoples Principles of Learning are that learning: e Ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits and the ancestors Is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential and relational Involves recognizing the consequences of one’s actions Involves generational roles and responsibilities Recognizes the role of Indigenous knowledge Is embedded in memory, history and story Involves patience and time Requires exploration of one’s identity Involves recognizing that some knowledge is sacred and only shared with permission and/or in certain situations The BC Early Learning Framework recognizes Indigenous context in Canada and the Truth and Reconciliation report (National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, 2015). The report calls for culturally appropriate ECE programs for Indigenous children and articulates the rights of Indigenous families and communities to share responsibility for the education and well-being of their children (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2019). FEDERAL—CMEC EARLY LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK As children explore with their senses, bodies and minds, investigating their questions and ideas, developing and testing theories about the world around them, they are building capacities for critical thinking and reasoning, creativity, CHAPTER 6 Early Learning Frameworks 119 across subject areas and imagination. These skills are essential for school success development from science to the arts. It is the role of the early learning and as well as play n’s educator to observe and document the learning from childre ood to serve as facilitator and provocateur of their learning (CMEC Early Childh Learning and Development Working Group, 2014). The Early Childhood Learning and Development Working Group of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) developed the CMEC Early Learning and Development Framework. It builds on provincial and territorial objectives and attempts to offer a pan-Canadian approach to early learning and development to inform the development of provincial and territorial frameworks. LEARNING TOGETHER ECE Program in an Indigenous Community George is an Elder who shares his Cree community's language and culture through _ his participation in the ECE program located in the local community centre. He tells stories of the four seasons and of how ancestors lived and honoured Mother Earth. Sometimes he retells stories about hunting with his family when he was a young boy. He introduces Cree vocabulary and asks children to repeat the words with him. One day after a story about hunting, four of the children acted out the story, pretending to take on roles as hunters. The children often tell their own stories about family life and community feasts. One of the educators records George’s stories so that they can be reheard and posted online for families. The centre plans to print the stories with English and Cree text with pictures created by the children. The printed stories can be available at the centre and children can take a copy home. CONSIDER: How does this experience illustrate practices that support the principle of belonging that is included in most of the early learning frameworks? Similarities and Differences Among Canadian Early Learning Frameworks Early learning frameworks across Canada have many similarities (McCuaig, 2014). Families and communities are understood to be partners who have a role in the program's ability to meet the needs of young children. Respect for diversity, equity and inclusion are embraced as essential for optimal well-being. A planned, 120 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning play-based curriculum is recognized as optimal to leverage children’s natural curiosity and exuberance to learn. Jurisdictions continue to add to their frameworks with resources to-enrich programming. However, there are also differences among Canadian early learning frameworks. These can be connected to differing theoretical perspectives and understanding of childhood. One area with different perspectives is child development theory. Ontario’s Early Learning for Every Child Today (Ontario Best Start Panel on Early Learning, 2007) includes a continuum of development for overlapping age groups—infants from birth to 24 months; toddlers from 14 months to 3 years; preschool/kindergarten from 2.6 to 6 years, and school-age from 5 to 6 years. It is organized into five broad developmental domains: social; emotional; communication, language and literacy; cognition; and physical. Root skills and related indicators are identified within each of the domains. The continuum of development is not intended to be a rigid checklist of developmental milestones but a guide for educators to better understand what they are observing and what to expect might come next. It describes predictable sequences of development but states that it is not a “lock step, universal pattern of skills that should be achieved according to a specific timetable” (Ontario Best Start Panel on Early Learning, 2007, p. 22). It provides a reference point that is one contribution to interpreting observations of children in ECE programs and to focus planning of learning experiences. Other contributions such as culture, context and families are also highlighted. Including developmental domains and trajectories in early learning frameworks is criticized by other recent initiatives. The British Columbia Early Learning Framework (BC Government, 2019) challenges the dominance of the mid—20th century developmental theories (described in Chapter 2) that set out age-related stages of development. The British Columbia framework recommends avoiding a tool such as the continuum of development that is included in Ontario’s framework. INTERNATIONAL EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORKS Just as the developers of Canadian early learning frameworks have learned from each other, the exchange of ECE ideas extends across countries. In this section, early learning frameworks from New Zealand, Australia and Ireland are described. Te Whariki, New Zealand Early childhood curriculum framework Te Whariki launched in 1996 and is based on the concept of a whariki, an Indigenous Maori word for woven mat. The term highlights the idea of how different strands are interconnected to build the curriculum framework. The strands comprise four guiding principle-—empowerment, holistic way, family and community, and relationships— and five aims for children: well-being, belonging, contribution, communication and exploration. CHAPTER 6 Early Learning Frameworks 121 In Te Whariki, the curriculum is described as “the sum total of the experiences, activities, and events, whether direct or indirect, which occur within an environment designed to foster children’s learning and development” (Ministry of Education, New Zealand, 1996, p. 10). Its overarching aspiration for children is “to grow up as competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body, and spirit, secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society” (p. 9). Te Whariki highlights the need for educators in each ECE program to adapt the curriculum in response to the development and changing capabilities of the children at the program. Te Whariki influenced early learning frameworks in many countries, particularly Australia and Canada. It aligns with the growing interest over the past two decades in emergent and Reggio Emilia curriculum approaches, which were described in Chapter 5. It also championed and continues to champion a playbased learning approach, in contrast to a school readiness approach that focuses Narrative descriptions about a child or a group of children’s learning that is prepared by educators from the perspective of the child and may include contributions from children and/or families. on literacy and numeracy achievements. Te Whariki introduced the use of narratives called learning stories, rather _ than testing to assess children’s learning. An extensive review of Te Whariki led to an update in 2017 comprising two documents: Te WharikiHe whariki matauranga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa Early childhood curriculum and Te Whariki a te Kohanga Reo. The two documents are in one book that shows the unique Indigenous curriculum pathway for children in Kohanga Reo and a bicultural pathway for children in early childhood education. However, the principles, strands and goals of Te Whariki remain the same. There are far fewer learning outcomes and there are clear links to the learning that happens at school/kura. Te Whariki is online at http://tewhariki.tki.org.nz. The website includes information and many resources. More information is available at www. ero.govt.nz/publications/working-with-te-whariki/appendix-4-prescribedcurriculum-framework. Australia Belonging, Being and Becoming Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) (DEEWR, 2009), is Australia’s mandated framework for educators in ECE programs. It offers guidance in designing quality programs for children and outlines early childhood principles and practices that benefit young children’s learning from birth to five years of age as they transition to school. The Early Years Learning Framework identifies broad learning outcomes that early childhood teachers and educators can use to describe and interpret children’s experiences and to assess and communicate children’s progress. It also describes pedagogical practices for the ongoing cycle of planning, documenting and evaluating children’s learning. EYLF was a collaborative initiative led by the Government of Australia with input from educators and early childhood teachers, early childhood academics and all levels of government. 122 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning Internationally it is aligned with pedagogical directions from Italy’s Reggio Emilia and New Zealand’s Te Whariki. It is grounded in a play-based learning approach that values child-directed experiences and inquiry. Play-based learning is described in the EYLF as “a context for learning through which children organise and make sense of their social worlds, as they actively engage with people, objects and representations” (DEEWR, 2009, p. 46). My Time, Our Place: Framework for School Age Care in Australia (DEEWR, 2011) is a national framework for school-age care for children from 5 to 12 years. It was created to assist educators to plan before- and after-school programs that a ® oe ¢ 12 CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about educational frameworks from Australia and New Zealand, including Te Whariki. would extend children’s learning and well-being beyond their school time. My Time, Our Place is coordinated with Australia’s early learning framework for younger children in ECE programs. The principles, practices and outcomes extend to the full range of before- and after-school programs. My Time, Our Place (DEEWR, 2009) promotes opportunities for leisure and play-based experiences that meet the interests of school-age children. It embraces the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which includes the right to relax and play and join in a wide range of cultural, artistic and other recreation experiences. The educators guide for My Time, Our Place reports what school-age children want in a before- and after-school program: ¢ A space to hang out that is different or separate from younger children in a related ECE program © Control about how they spend their recreation and leisure time @ Privacy and spaces to chill out and relax (DEEWR, 2012) My Time, Our Time recognizes that before- and after-school programs are in a unique position. School-age children are able to articulate what they want and need in more detail than younger children; their thinking skills are more complex. Their capacity to collaborate with each other is more extensive. Before- and afterschool programs can make it possible for children to be in the lead in program planning. When this happens, educators can join in and can provide resources. _lreland In 2009 Ireland introduced Early Childhood Curriculum Framework Aistear (NCCA, 2009) for ECE programs for children from birth to age six. Aistear is the Irish word for “journey.” It references the idea that young children are on their journey as lifelong learners. The framework is organized around four areas of early learning: well-being, identity and belonging, communication, exploring and thinking. It celebrates early childhood as a time of being and of enjoying and learning from experiences as they happen. Aistear was inspired and informed by Te Wharki and extensive consultation with educators, children, parents, post-secondary education institutions and professional learning leaders, researchers and policy makers. Four research papers gathered evidence about the relationship of education and care perspectives, how children learn and develop, how play benefits children’s learning, and how formative assessment supports early learning. CHAPTER 6 Early Learning Frameworks Using observations to assess or take stock of what a child knows and can do for the purpose of planning future learning opportunities. 123 _ RESEARC INTO. « _ PRACTICE The Voices of Children g for Children’s | Aistear included children’s views and input from a study, Listenin g (NCCA, 2007), Stories: Children as Partners in the Framework for Early Learnin programs. which gave children the opportunity to voice their experiences in ECE Researchers listened to 12 children ranging in age from nine months to six years in 11 ECE settings. The researchers also joined them in their routines and activities. A narrative description was shaped by the verbal and nonverbal interactions @eos between the researcher and a child. The descriptions told the story about what children actually experienced and what they thought about their experiences. The researchers learned that what mattered to children were many of the same things that are revealed in other types of research. Play was important to children—particularly outdoor play. Other themes included the role of relationships, connection to family, the power of communication through multiple movements (such as dancing, gesturing, jumping, running, etc.), belonging, culture and \ diversity, and the importance of observing and listening to children. CONSIDER: Why is this type of a study valuable for understanding early learning environments in ECE programs? Source: NCCA, 2007. a B o ¢ 4 ® CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about Aistear. 124 SHARED FOCUS The Canadian and international early learning frameworks discussed in this chapter reveal many common themes such as image of the child, relationships, well-being, and diversity and inclusion. The theme of play-based learning in ECE programs is a central approach to curriculum and pedagogical practices in Canadian and the majority of international early learning frameworks. The continuum of play-based learning described in Chapter 3 includes a range of strategies and experiences from free play to learning games. The same range is found in the examples of curriculum approaches in Chapter 5. The presence of play in early learning frameworks—and the research described in Chapter 3—recognizes that play is what matters most to young children. Learning is the other half of play-based learning and is also central in the early learning frameworks and curriculum approaches. Specific pedagogical strategies to support learning vary from free play to learning games but they share a common emphasis on intentional teaching—a key professional practice discussed in Chapter 9. It includes observation, documentation, planning and assessment, which are the components of the cycle discussed in Chapter 9. SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning Good Education Cares; Good Care Educates Education and care components are recognized in the current language used to describe licensed or regulated ECE programs, such as child care centres, nursery schools and preschools, which are usually not part of public education. In Canada, the current federal government initiatives introduced in 2015 uses the term “early learning and child care.” Internationally, the term “early childhood education and care” is common. Recall the history of ECE programs in Canada outlined in Chapter 2. The development of the “care” and “education” sectors over the past 150 years presents challenges in creating coherent ECE programs and systems in Canada and elsewhere. Early Years Study 4 (McCain, 2020) recognizes the relationship between care and education and notes that quality care provides learning opportunities, while early learning environments provide care for children. The early learning frameworks emphasize the role of educators in ECE programs in ensuring that learning takes place in daily routines and that learning opportunities are offered in a caring manner. One of the research papers for Ireland’s early learning framework describes the care and education as inseparable (Hayes, 2007). The framework proposes “a ‘nurturing pedagogy’ which emphasises children’s feelings and dispositions such as motivation, confidence, perseverance, and how they see themselves as learners. It promotes communication, thinking and problem-solving skills” (NCCS, 2007 p. 1). The early learning frameworks included in this chapter agree with a nurturing pedagogy. Educators are encouraged to talk with and listen to children, and to learn and explore alongside children. Educators are also encouraged to observe, reflect and interpret what children say and do as they plan for future learning experiences. <4 Children are curious and explore the world around them. Paffy69/istock.com © CHAPTER 6 Early Learning Frameworks 125 ko What Is the Impact of Early Learning Frameworks? d and continue Canada’s provinces and territories and other countries have investe and dispment develo to invest considerable time and financial resources in the created tribution of their respective early learning frameworks. Also, many have on entati implem the with assist to resources and professional learning opportunities ECE ry of the frameworks in early childhood education programs. Post-seconda programs have revised course content to accommodate including their province's or country’s framework in the preparation of educators. So, have the early learning frameworks made a difference? To date, there is an absence of studies about how the effects early learning frameworks and related guidelines and resources have had on educators’ practices or children’s experiences in ECE programs. A group of Australian researchers point to the need to build a cumulative knowledge base from across countries that could track the impact of early learning frameworks (Sumsion, Harrison & Bradley, 2018). SUMMARY e Early learning frameworks are designed to use children’s everyday experiences as the starting point for curriculum and pedagogy in ECE programs. e Early learning frameworks are grounded in a shared vision or principle of an image of the child as competent and an active learner. ¢ In Canada, each province has developed an early learning framework to guide professional e Early learning frameworks from Australia, New Zealand and Ireland have many similarities with those in Canada. Australia has developed a framework to guide practice in before- and after-school programs. ¢ All of the frameworks emphasize play-based learning as central to ECE programs. The frameworks differ in how child development pathways or trajectories are presented. practice in ECE programs. The territories have frameworks in development. nn — —£ PDD) REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Describe the common characteristics of early learning frameworks in Canada. LO 6.1 2. What are the unique features in the early learning framework in your province? LO 6.2 4. Describe how early learning frameworks inform practice and practice informs early learning frameworks. LO 6.4 3. Describe early learning frameworks in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. Lo 6.3 126 SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning STUDY ACTIVITIES 1. Visit a local ECE program and observe one of the play areas. Notice what is posted on display boards at the centre’s entrance and in the play area. What evidence do you see that relates to the principles and practices outlined in the early learning framework in your province or territory? LO 6.4 2. Compare your provincial or territorial early learning framework with one for another jurisdiction. Prepare a graphic that illustrates what is similar and what is different. LO 6.2 3. Visit the websites listed in Table 6.1 on pages 110-111 for provincial early learning frameworks and check for new messages on the home page or landing page for each one. Create a PowerPoint presentation or a large poster with the updated messages you have found on the websites. LO 6.1 . Review an online overview of Norway’s Early Childhood Education and Care Curriculum Framework for Kindergartens (the term used for ECE programs for children from 0 to 5 years). Identify similarities with Canadian and international early learning frameworks that are described in this chapter. Prepare a short oral report that highlights the similarities you have found and present to your peers or record it for a short podcast. LO 6.3 KEY TERMS © Early learning framework (p. 108) Formative assessment (p. 123) Learning stories (p. 122) SUGGESTED READINGS Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. My time, our place: Educators guide to school-age child care in Australia. https://www.ecrh.edu.au/docs/default-source/resources/ educators’-guide-to-the-framework-for-school-age-care/educators-39 -guide-to-the-framework-for-school-age-care. pdf?sfvrsn=6 and exploration for infants Play Early Learning and Child Care Branch. (2010). and toddlers, a companion booklet to play and exploration: Early learning program guide, fall 2010. Regina, SK: Government of Saskatchewan. Early Learning and Child Care Branch Essential. (n.d.). Children first:A resource for kindergarten. Regina, SK: Government of Saskatchewan. https://www.edonline.sk.ca/bbcswebdav/library/Curriculum%20Website/ Kindergarten/Resources/Core/Children%20First%20A %20Resource%20 for%20Kindergarten.pdf CHAPTER 6 Early Learning Frameworks 127 Early Learning and Child Care Branch Essential. (n.d.). Learning experiences: For three, four and five year olds. Regina, SK: Government of Saskatchewan. https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Essential+ Learning+Experiences:+For+Three, +Fourt+and+Five+ Year+Olds+ Regina&ie=UTF-8&0e=UTF-8 Government of Manitoba. (2017). Starting early, starting strong. Retrieved a ¢ ¢ ie CENGAGE MINDTAP For additional resources, visit MindTap. 128 September 9, 2020, at https://www.gov.mb.ca/healthychild/ecd/ecd_ birthto6_playbased.pdf Government of Ontario. (2014). An introduction to How does learning happen for educators. Retrieved September 9, 2020, at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/ childcare/EducatorsEn.pdf Ontario Best Start Early Learning Panel. (2007). Early learning for every child today (ELECT) Toronto, ON: Government of Ontario. Retrieved October 9, 2020, at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/childcare/ExcerptsFromELECT pdf SECTION 2 Play-Based Learning Early Learning Environments The previous section considered play-based learning from several perspectives including outdoor play, curriculum models and early learning frameworks. This section explains the essential elements for early childhood education programs for infants, toddlers, preschool, kindergarten and school-age children. Chapter 7 sets out how to organize the use of time (schedules and routines) and the physical environments. It expands on the interactions and relationships between educators and children, among children, and between educators and families. Chapter 8 considers the design of a variety of early learning experiences for young children. Chapter 9 considers how best to plan and assess learning experiences. Chapter 10 reviews what we know about quality early childhood education and how to evaluate quality. The design and implementation of early learning environments discussed in this section expands on professional principles and practices for early childhood educators outlined in Chapter 1. CHAPTER SEVEN Time, Space and People 133 CHAPTER EIGHT Learning Experiences 153 CHAPTER NINE Intentional Teaching 182 CHAPTER TEN Quality Matters 201 129 ECE LEADERS Dr. Christine McLean Dr. Christine McLean is currently Assistant Professor, Child and Youth Study, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Christine is an ECE advocate and researcher who has worked in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and across Canada to champion early childhood education and a professional early childhood workforce. She completed her PhD in Early Learning at OISE, University of Toronto. In thinking about what is essential for early learning environments, strong pedagogical leadership 's the first thing that comes to mind. Pedagogical leaders promote reflective practice in an atmosphere where educators can learn from each other, try new things and learn from their mistakes. Early Childhood Education post-secondary programs now introduce reflective practice in their curriculum, and the ability to be reflective is a vital part of the practicum feedback process. Recent ECE graduates and even those who have been in the field for a while comment that they miss having a practicum supervisor who notices their practice, provides feedback and asks questions. Recent graduates are really apprentices who benefit from ongoing mentoring and coaching. Instilling reflective practice as part of the culture of an ECE program involves everyone, and these types of reflective programs provide the best type of early learning environments for new ECE graduates. This type of pedagogical leadership can come from the centre supervisor or director or from another designated position, but it is vital that it is supported at all levels within the program. Educators need dedicated and protected time to meet, discuss, reflect, plan and learn together. Strong pedagogical leadership recognizes that protected time is an important component of good practice. Educators are expected to take on professional learning to understand new directions such as early learning frameworks and reflective practice and so they require time, encouragement 130 and support to do that. Protected time can be a regular opportunity for pedagogical leaders to guide or support the reflective process. To be reflective practitioners, educators need to know what types of questions to ask each other and ideas about how to engage in these conversations. These are learned skills that pedagogical leaders can support. Early learning environments need engaged educators who are fascinated with children and the early years. Qualifications are not enough. You can have ECE qualifications, but if you’re not curious yourself, the early learning environment suffers. To be engaged, educators need to be in a program that delights them and the children. If you are not having fun and you are not excited with what’s happening around you, it can be a really hard job. The staff morale and wanting to come to work in the morning are measures of quality. Staff turnover is a big measure of quality. We chose to go into this profession and we knew what we were getting into, for the most part, but if we’re in a workplace that sucks the energy out of us or where we don’t feel like we’re making any headway, then we’re not enjoying our work and, consequently, we are not engaged. A well-designed early learning environment responds to where the children are, where they want to go and where educators want them to go. The daily schedule is responsive to the children’s growing and evolving interests that includes childand adult-initiated activities and a predictable but SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments m | 0 am Ge 9 9 a ec OU 8 gum flexible schedule. Families are welcomed and considered part of the team, and they feel that reflected in the learning environment. But it’s more than just being responsive—it’s also being provocative. We can get stuck if we rely on children to come up with all the ideas. Some of my students who are learning about emergent curriculum often ask, “How do | know what they are interested in?” or “I can’t figure out if they’re interested in anything.” This might mean that the environment hasn’t provided enough interest to the child—it hasn’t provided the provocations necessary to engage the children. The environment needs to be responsive but also provocative to help children discover new experiences. It is about creating experiences that children can recall and build on. Educators invite children to discover new things. To plan for learning experiences that respect the image of the child as capable and curious, educators need to hold those views themselves. Viewing children in this way is different from viewing children as innocent, naive, and in need of help and support. When | view children as capable and curious, | am thinking more carefully about the power relationships between children and adults. | don’t “call the shots” if | truly believe children are capable. | need to consider how | put my image of the child into practice, When | respect the image of a child as capable and curious, | trust their abilities to handle daily routines and make decisions. | can help children to see each other’s competence. Rather than preserving the old power dynamic where the child comes to an educator looking for help or advice, the educator refers the child to another one of the children who has demonstrated competence in a particular area; for example, block building or cutting paper. The children start to see each other's skills and they, themselves, fee! competent in certain areas that the adult has noted and mentioned in the presence of the other children. It’s just creating that atmosphere of, “I trust you, | trust your abilities, | see you as being competent and capable and | want you to see yourself and your peers in the same way.” Ge fp 0 U0 gm Pedagogical documentation is tangible evidence of activities that happen in a play-based program. Educators and parents can find it difficult in play-based programs to not have tangible evidence that something actually happened today, for example, a completed worksheet or a hand-made craft to take home. Viewing pedagogical documentation provides parents with insight into what their children are doing and why it is important. Educators can find validation of their practice in their documentation. It can be rewarding for early childhood educators to see not only their own practice documented but the practice of their colleagues as well, Knowing that others can see and appreciate what they have done. Pedagogical documentation can be a catalyst for discussion between early childhood educators and parents, between early childhood educators and children, between parents and children, and also among children themselves. These conversations build relationships and give early childhood educators something authentic to talk about with the children. The children see the value that the early childhood educators are placing on them and what they do. Pedagogical documentation allows educators to hear about children’s own learning epiphanies. Having an authentic conversation with children is not always easy. When educators do have quiet time together with a child, documentation can springboard into some deeper conversations. Educators have authentic and reflective conversations with children about their experiences when they ask questions like “how did you know what to do there?” or “do you remember how you figured that out?” “Tell me about that.” “It looks like you used the red and blue paint together to make that shade of purple.” Those types of questions and comments don’t always come naturally and educators can benefit from being coached on developing a repertoire of responses to children’s experiences. Conversations, of course, do not have to focus only on documentation. They happen in real life, in real time, as educators and children talk about the (continued) SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments 131 00 o am gg aweamJ process and the problem solving that is occurring in the children’s play. Commenting on these processes helps both the educator and the child tune into the learning process. When educators are purposefully looking for ways to comment on the process of learning—not “that’s a lovely picture,” but “look what happened when ...,”—when they are talking about the process like that, they are creating an atmosphere where children are learning to reflect on their own learning. Then children may start to draw the educator’s attention to what they figured out. Quality measurement tools such as_ rating scales like ECERS [Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale] can be useful as long as we are aware of their limitations. These tools can point out areas 132 for improvement in our programs that we had not noticed but yet we can easily change. Feedback gained through the process of assessment can be. a catalyst for change and a useful way to begin a conversation about what quality looks like without getting too hung up on the scores. It is a starting point to look at your physical environment and materials. It is hard, however, to measure intentionality, responsiveness, provocation, respect and inclusiveness. Educators need to have a way to think and talk about those softer process types of quality, too. This brings us back to pedagogical leadership and an understanding that the work of early childhood education needs to be taken seriously. Courtesy of Christine McLean SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments m EU am Gem 9 9 om ce8G ff mm bem fp 0 UU | em I Time, Space and CHAPTER People LEARNING OBJECTIVES 7.1 Design the physical environment to support children’s ongoing well-being and learning. 7.2 Consider how daily schedules, routines and 7.4 Organize time, space and people to create environments that support children’s active learning. transitions shape the learning environment that children experience. 7.3 Recognize how daily interactions build relationships among-and between children, educators and families. This chapter shows how environments in ECE programs are created by the organization of time and space that lays the foundation for how people interact. The learning environment’s space, schedule, and routines shape a community for educators, children, and their families. Educators cultivate a sense of belonging to the shared community. Daily interactions between and among children, educators and families forge caring relationships that provoke thinking and nurture ‘well-being and learning. TIME The organization of time is the backbone of ECE programs. A lack of routine creates an unpredictable environment that can be unsettling for young children, while a rigid, prescribed schedule limits young children’s opportunities for learning. Ideally, routines and schedules set the flow of the day and provide predictability for children. Children of all ages need time to investigate their ideas and environment. They need time to become absorbed in discoveries about how things work and how to create new things. When the daily schedule is chopped up into short, defined times for routines and specific types of learning activities, children’s ability to become deeply absorbed and concentrate on their explorations is diminished. 133 LEARNING TOGETHER LO 7.2 Playing and Learning Together proJosie and Petr are four-year old friends. They attend the full-day kindergarten is orgagram at Lawrenceville Public School in rural Ontario. The daily schedule of block two-hour a and morning the in nized around a two-hour block of time other each with play time in the afternoon. During these time blocks children can and take part in guided learning opportunities without interruptions for transitions or daily routines. At 9 a.m., the educators gather the children together, and sing a good-morning song of welcome. Special events such as new siblings and birthdays are noted. At about 9:10, educators point out indoor and outdoor learning experiences that are available. Children choose where they want to go. Josie and Petr run over to the block centre. “Okay, today we are going to build a bigger castle than yesterday,” says Josie as she pulls the wooden blocks from the shelf. Petr is pulling out a bucket of rocks, a box of sticks, and the basket with pieces of ribbon and shiny squares of fabric. Ashraf joins the block area and sits down beside Josie and Petr. “Hey, | have a good idea,” says Ashraf, “let’s build a really, really tall tower. With sparkles on the roof.” Asraf is holding up two glittery fabric squares. CONSIDER: How does the morning schedule support children’s learning? Daily Schedules Daily schedules that are child-centred begin with blocks of time for children’s play and exploration with each other. Schedules must accommodate opportunities for a variety of play-based learning experiences and daily care routines. Daily schedules determine how children are grouped together in ECE programs. THE POWER OF SMALL GROUPS Opportunities for small-group play-based learning experiences are essential. Studies find that focused small groups best support children’s language and thinking skills (Mitchell, Wylie & Carr, 2008; Schweinhart, Weikart & Larner, 1986; Siraj-Blatchford, 2010). Many of the curriculum approaches discussed in Chapter 5 prioritize learning experiences in small groups. In infant and toddler groups, educators can set up materials and activities for two or three children. Small-group play experiences in infant and toddler settings are often short periods of time that are focused as well as flexible. Small groups of four to eight preschoolers encourage children to meet together to 134 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments explore materials and solve problems guided by educators. Educators can make small group times a priority and allow the daily schedule to include extended periods (60 to 90 minutes) uninterrupted blocks of time. Small groups in beforeand after-school programs offer children opportunities to take on projects and games that may extend over several days or weeks. Children can be active participants who form small groups in indoor or outdoor areas and initiate play with each other, drawing on available materials and resources. Educators can observe and may join the group to nudge children’s thinking or offer ideas to extend the activity. Sometimes children benefit from a small amount of direct instruction about a technique, concept or process that can expand the children’s learning potential of their play with each other. In other instances, educators plan learning experiences to emphasize a learning goal for a small group of children. Guided-learning experiences are structured while engaging children’s active participation and interests. In other words, planned small group learning experiences can be child centred. LARGE GROUP EXPERIENCES Large group times in early childhood education programs for preschoolers and toddlers are usually initiated by educators and often include singing, movement or storytelling. “Circle time’ is a long-standing staple of early childhood education programs. Recall the Froebel kindergartens discussed in Chapter 2. Current practice in early childhood education has mostly moved away from extended time in large group or circle time, particularly for direct instruction. However, large groups can be an opportunity to build a sense of community. Music and movement activities and storytelling can be valuable share experiences. Social interactions are promoted, and what children are asked to do is not beyond what children already know and are able to do. Also, a welcoming group time can introduce events of the day, new play materials and learning experiences, as well as recognize special events such the arrival of a new sibling or a child’s birthday. Educators can avoid large group activities that require preschool chil_dren to take individual turns that require wait times because these activities may be uncomfortable for some children. Instead, when planning and carrying out large group experiences, educators can pay attention to children’s attention spans, variation in individual abilities and interests, the length of time they have attended ECE programs, the dynamics of the group, and the time of day. Large group times in before- and after-school programs can be meetings for children to plan activities and discuss issues about the schedule, snacks, conflicts between children, rules for using popular spaces, and equipment and choices for field trips. Children may take turns being the chair rather than having the time led by an educator. An agenda, perhaps generated by the group, can be posted on a large sheet of paper, whiteboard or chalk board. Decisions that the children make can be written down and posted in the play space. CHAPTER 7 Time, Space and People 135 MAKING IT HAPPEN LO) 7.2 Waiting for the Bathroom Before lunch at 11:15 a.m. the two- and three-year-old children at Maryville Preschool come in from the playground and sit in a circle. There are 16 children ° in the group. One educator picks up a picture book and asks the children to be quiet so she can read the story. The other educator takes two children at a time into the bathroom to wash hands before lunch. Some of the children also use the toilets. It is now 11:25. Six children have washed their hands and rejoined the group listening to the stories. Two more children are tapped on the shoulder to leave the group to head to the bathroom. “Wait,” says four-year-old Sydney, “I want to hear the end of the story.” She is told that it is her turn and she must head to the bathroom. Sydney is not happy. Three-year-old Alex is fidgeting and gives the child behind him a poke. The educator asks, “Alex, listen to the story and find out how the squirrel finds her mother.” Just then, Alex is tapped on the shoulder to go to the bathroom. ~ A few minutes later, everyone has washed hands. The story reading ends abruptly halfway through the book and the children head to the tables set up for lunch. CONSIDER: Why is this large group time not engaging the children? ROUTINES AND TRANSITIONS Daily routines, including mealtimes, sleep times for younger children, toileting, and transitions between indoor and outdoor play spaces are a necessary part of the daily life in ECE programs. Children make a transition when they arrive from home and when they are picked up at the end of the session or day. Predictable routines can be organized to offer learning opportunities, create a sense of security and contribute to children’s autonomy and agency. Poorly organized routines create stress and can be unpleasant for children and educators. Routines that offer positive experiences: * Consider children’s abilities and growing autonomy and encourage children to carry out routines with minimal adult assistance * Build in learning experiences, particularly those that strengthen children’s self-regulation and language ¢ Minimize wait times ¢ Provide visual cues such as photos and graphics that help children understand what comes next Routines can nurture young children by providing a predictable environment and helping them develop the abilities to take care of themselves and to contribute to their community in the ECE program. 136 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments MEALTIMES Mealtimes, typically lunch, are an opportunity for children to meet in small groups in a social setting. The table can be set with cutlery and dishes. The addition of a tablecloth or placemats and flowers promotes a relaxed atmosphere. Involve children, including older infants and young toddlers, in setting the table. If heat-proof dishes are used, young children can serve themselves. Educators can encourage children to make decisions about what they eat and where to sit. Educators should join children at the table and take part in the meal and in conversations. This is an essential practice to maximize opportunities for children’s learning and well-being. Children are more likely to eat and try new foods when educators are part of the experience and not standing over the children and supervising behaviour. Mealtime conversation is also an opportunity to review the morning’s events. Educators can encourage children to talk about their experiences and contribute their ideas. As well, educators can respond to topics of conversation that children initiate and encourage them to respond to each other. Clean-up can be organized to so that children—including toddlers—can scrape their own plates and clear the table after meals. Morning and afternoon snack times may be organized as part of a large group experience, in small groups or in a flexible routine where children can help themselves when they are hungry. MAKING IT HAPPEN Mealtime in the Infant Room Rose Ave Early Learning Centre is located in southern Ontario. It includes an infant room for 10 babies, currently ranging in age from 6 months to 17 months. The lunch meal is served at a long, low table. The infants sit around the table in low chairs with sides. Educators also sit at the table on low seats with the children. The infants are on individual schedules for sleeping, bottles and food, but most of the older babies (from around 12 months) sit together at the lunch meal. Today, seven babies are sitting at the table with two of the educators. Two babies are sleeping and one educator is giving the youngest infant a bottle. Educators pass around the lunch meal serving dishes to each infant and encourage them to choose what they want. Educators offer spoons that have easy-to-hold handles and encourage the infants to feed themselves. LO 7.2 One educator, Surfra, comments, “We used to feed the babies in high chairs, making decisions for them. We did not give them a chance to try for themselves. When we changed the lunch routine to eating together at a table, we were surprised by how much the babies can do for themselves. Also, when they are sitting beside each other and we are at the table eating the lunch, they seem to be more likely to try new foods. Of course, we need to offer assistance and take note of what they are eating. Overall, though, lunch time is more relaxed and a happier time.” (continued) CHAPTER 7 Time, Space and People 137 i CONSIDER: of kinds What t? independen this be can infants that Are you surprised routine lunch of kind this about concerns do you think parents might have for infants? REST TIME Rest time is typical in ECE programs for infants, toddlers and young preschoolers. It is a time for sleep or quiet, solidary activities. Young infants are on individual schedules for sleep that follow the infant’s needs and family preferences. Older babies, toddlers and preschool children typically have a rest-time routine following lunch. Educators encourage children to relax during rest time, and most children will have a nap. Educators can tune into children’s activity and relaxation _ rhythms and support them in having a period of quiet relaxation. Children can learn to determine, if, when and for how long they actually sleep. Relaxing rest times can respect children’s agency when educators: ¢ Encourage children, including toddlers, to help set out beds or cots for sleeping and put on sheets and blankets e Play restful music to encourage relaxation ® Consider reducing light while avoiding very dark sleep spaces that might frighten children @ Are available to provide comfort and cuddles for children when they wake up from sleep TOILETING Infant and toddler diapering routines are opportunities for nurturing and stimulating one-on-one interactions between educators and individual children. It is a prime time for using language, introducing new vocabulary and reciting favourite rhymes and songs. As children are ready to learn how to use the toilet, educators who are attuned to children’s feelings and abilities are able to guide the process, without pressuring and making the experience a negative one. Third Space of Childhood Much of children’s lives are spent at home and in ECE programs or schools. For school-age children the “third space of childhood” apart from home and school has shifted from unstructured time spent with peers to time spent in scheduled, structured activities (Collins, 2018). The third space of childhood is a time for exploring and creating a culture of childhood that is not dominated by adults. It is a social space that is owned by the children. It can be a valuable bridge between home and school contexts (Yahya & Wood, 2017) that supports school-age children’s understanding of 138 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments differing cultures and values. The third space of childhood brings together what children know into their play and makes the transitions between home and school easier (Alcock, 2017). Before- and after-school programs can be structured to be a third space for school-aged children. The programs can offer children recreational space that is unstructured and dominated by playing with friends. Many decisions about what activities are available can be made by the children. They can make choices about how to use their time. Indoor and outdoor spaces can be designed and organized by children. Educators can be resources who are on call to children and who ensure basic safety. They are attuned to the needs of children who want to pursue friendships and activities without educator involvement. They do remain aware of, and responsive to, children who want them to play games or facilitate recreational or creative experiences. During the school day, recess is another opportunity time for unstructured play chosen by children and is a complement to, not a substitute for, physical education, with multiple social and cognitive benefits (Council on School Health, 2013). Recess is an essential, planned respite from academic tasks. It is a time to socialize with friends, to play, move and imagine. It is time that is not planned by adults. The Recess Project at Ryerson University promotes children’s need for, and right to, recess that is unstructured and is dominated by social interactions and friendships (McNamara, 2020). The initiative is supported by the National Advisory Committee on Recess. Studies reveal that school children see recess as a social space in their day rather than as a time to increase physical activity or have a break from class (McNamara, Lodewyk & Franklin, 2018). For some children it may be the only time for unstructured time with friends. Recess and before- and after-school programs provide the regular opportunities children need to play, socialize, rest and re-energize. These opportunities improve mood, well-being, school engagement, behaviour, learning, attendance and overall school climate (McNamara, Lodewyk & Franklin, 2018). CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about The Recess Project SPACE The physical environment in early childhood education programs can create spaces that benefit children’s learning, development, and well-being, and encourage family engagement. Space can be organized to reflect a vision of active, competent children that offers challenges and opportunities for exploration while providing safe and healthy environments. Early childhood education offers places for learning while meeting requirements for daily living routines for eating, toileting and sleeping. Space and materials can be organized to allow and encourage young children to fully participate in daily life, including food preparation and clean-up tasks. Educators can plan for spaces that connect children across age groupings, including meeting places indoors and outdoors. Design features can offer glimpses from one area to another. CHAPTER 7 Time, Space and People 139 LEARNING TOGETHER LO 7.4 Inside an ECE Centre ABC Early Learning Centre has infant, toddler, preschool and before- and after y school programs. The centre is located in a wing of a large public elementar school in an urban centre in Ontario. The entrance to the centre’s wing is adjacent to the main entrance to the school and its reception office. It is a welcoming space with comfortable chairs and shelves filled with children’s picture books and information sheets for families. Children’s art is featured on the walls in simple, visually appealing displays. The infant, toddler, preschool and school-age spaces open up from the centre’s entrance. The infant room is a bright space with cozy corners, soft textures and spaces for babies to crawl, walk, climb and jump. Play materials are within reach. They are displayed on shelves that are not cluttered. Six of the infants are seated in very low chairs around a table with two educators. They are having snack—yogurt and bananas. The toddler room is adjacent to the infant room and has a door with a large glass _ _insert—babies and toddlers delight in looking in on each other. The toddler space is also bright and uncluttered with opportunities for movement and exploration. Today a large, low water table is attracting children. An educator is kneeling beside the children and joining in the exploration of sponges and recycled small plastic containers that are in the water. Ella, an educator, comments to two-year-old Arnold, “Wow you are pouring lots of water on the sponge. What happens to the sponge?” The preschool room is next door and is another attractive, bright space. Most of the children are sitting together with two of the educators who are pointing out what is on offer today, including a visitor from the neighbourhood veterinarian. The morning snack is set up on a nearby table where children can help themselves. In one corner of the room is a large space that includes a collection of blocks, a large cardboard refrigerator box, and several containers of various items including rocks, pinecones and fabric squares. The before- and after-school space is a resource room with organized storage space for materials and supplies and planning space for educators. The programs for children who are attending school take place in their classrooms. Educators at ABC Early Learning Centre collaborate with school teachers to share the space before and after school hours and on professional learning days and school holidays. Also, the school gym and music room can be used outside school hours. Each of the playrooms has access to outdoor space that includes natural elements—grass, plants, trees, large planters, large rocks, sand and access to a water tap (when warm enough so the water does not freeze). There is a large storage shed with tricycles, scooters, small wheelbarrows and gardening tools that are shortened for smaller people to use. CONSIDER: What do you think are the essential elements of this early learning environment? 140 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments Child Care Space Regulations All provinces and .territories have minimum indoor space requirements for licensed child care programs (Akbari et al., 2021). Requirements range from less than three square metres per child in Nova Scotia, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Quebec and Ontario, to four square metres in Yukon. All provinces and territories have some specification for children’s bathroom facilities. Although Saskatchewan requires access to kitchen facilities, most provinces/territories do not require a licensed child care centre to have a kitchen. At minimum, Quebec requires a kitchenette that contains a fridge and range or hot plate. Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Yukon require designated spaces for children to eat. All provinces/territories except Newfoundland and Labrador have specific outdoor space requirements. Newfoundland and Labrador is the only jurisdiction that requires the outdoor play space to be on site. Ontario requires it to be adjacent to the premises. School-operated programs are governed by education legislation that has few space requirements. Play Zones and Pathways Play spaces can be designed for maximum flexibility for learning experiences and groupings of children. Indoor and outdoor play spaces can be organized to ensure play zones for children and accommodate spaces for daily routines. Play zones include spaces for quiet play and spaces for noisy play. They could also include wet zones for water, paints, clay and other messy materials, and dry zones for other types of play. Educators can make the access to the outdoor environment as seamless as possible from the indoor environment and consider the transitional spaces between the indoors and outdoors. The layout of indoor and outdoor spaces includes pathways that people use to get from one area to another. Educators can think about the flow of activities from the child’s perspective and design pathways to allow children to move freely between areas and have a clear view of what is available. Aesthetics A centre’s aesthetics recognize children’s sensory experience, much of which is AESTHETIC »>==ssssee= determined by windows, lighting, acoustics, furniture and equipment. The place- _ Overall attractiveness of an ment and organization of materials and objects are also part of the aesthetics. Objects can be positioned on shelves so that they contrast or they repeat patterns. Natural light and natural materials increase the aesthetics of the play spaces in ECE settings. The clutter of space with too many materials, too much equipment, broken RICE OF enivonivent equipment and furnishings, and/or too many images and colours can lead to visual overload that takes away from the aesthetics. UNIVERSAL DESIGN Inclusive Spaces Ensuring indoor and outdoor environments are accessible ; to all children, including ; eaNer: those with disabilities, is an essential requirement for inclusive ECE programs. Universal design is “the design of products and environments to be usable by all CHAPTER 7 Time, Space and People Organization of physical environment olete aie space et a including and things to be peavaivone wicul ie ther adaptation. 141 tion or special- people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adapta ized design” (Ostroff, 2001, p. 1.3). Creating Spaces to Welcome Families Convenient, well-designed early childhood program facilities accommodate young children and their families. ECE programs can organize spaces that encourage interactions among siblings, offer room for documentation of learning that keeps families engaged and informed, and offer adult-size places for gatherings and private discussions. The organization and design of the physical space can encourage utilization and family involvement (Beach & Friendly, 2005). To encourage wide utilization, facilities need to appeal to parents who want their children to attend safe, physically attractive and well-maintained environments. Programs should be located where parents will use the services: near homes, workplaces and commuting routes (Susman & Gillman, 2007). - PEOPLE The use of time and the organization of the physical space set the stage for the early learning environment. People and their interactions with each other are the active ingredients that bring the stage to life. Interactions occur between educators and children, and amongst children, who live together in the ECE environment for several hours a week. They also occur between children and their families, who generally care deeply about their well-being. Educators and Children “We need reflective and well-informed practitioners, who do not assume there is one best practice which suits all, but who are able to recognize, explore, and discuss the arc of human possibilities” (Penn, 1999, p. 4). Early childhood educators are critical to the provision of high-quality ECE programs. Above all else, early childhood educators recognize their professional roles and responsibilities in supporting optimal learning and well-being and respecting family relationships. As caregivers, ECEs meet children’s physical needs for safety, nutrition, health care and hygiene. Caregiving means ensuring that children eat healthy foods, get enough rest, and are in safe, secure physical environments. Ensuring children are safe means protecting children from harm. Safety must be a priority for all ECE programs. Educators have an obligation to be aware of situations that put children at risk of harm and an obligation to take action if they suspect any form of child maltreatment. RESPONDING TO HOW CHILDREN FEEL AND THINK Interactions with parents and other adults are central in a child’s early life and evidence shows that these relationships actually shape brain circuits and lay the foundation for later learning, behaviour and health (McCain, Mustard & McCuaig, 2011; National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2004). Children begin life ready 142 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments for the relationships that drive early brain development (Greenspan & Shanker, 2004). Primary caregivers mediate experiences that encourage the baby’s brain to become highly attuned to the quality of those early experiences. As discussed in Chapter 2, the abilities of children to regulate their own emotions, behaviours and attention increase over time with maturation, experience and responsive relationships. Children’s most important relationships, of course, are with their parents and other family members. The parent-child relationship is the most powerful influence on children’s early development, particularly in the first two years. Learning to respond to and stimulate children from birth builds core abilities to cope and be competent and capable. Researchers and early childhood education leaders agree—optimal early learning environments pay attention to children’s emotional, social and cognitive development and well-being. Neuroscience research highlights the role of responsive back-and-forth interactions with young children. Adults who are responsive to how children think and feel create an emotional climate that supports how children use the learning environment (Curtis & Carter, 2015). Responsive educators are aware of children’s cues, responsive to what children are feeling, and communicate clearly with children. They respond to children and wait for children to respond. Their guidance adapts to what a child is expressing verbally and non-verbally and doing. Infants and toddlers are investigators who are intent on making sense of the world around them. They are looking and listening, and they investigate people, places and things. Their growing abilities to understand and communicate through gestures and then words expand their abilities to learn and interact with others (McCain, 2020). By three years of age, children are able to build bridges between ideas, an ability that supports problem-solving and planning abilities (Greenspan & Shanker, 2004). Educators can support children through the problem-solving process and encourage them to try new things, persist and find alternative solutions. Educators can challenge children to use their observations to predict and draw conclusions, to think about how things work and to think about why something happened. This process encourages them to reflect on what they could do differently or change the next time. School age children who participate in before- and after-school programs are negotiating at least three daily environments (home, school, and before- and after- school program). Some are living in two homes through joint custody arrangements. They are refining their abilities and learning new skills. Educators can create environments that challenge while offering comfort and safe spaces. How the environment is organized to support emotional stability and nurture children’s emotional and social well-being. Pedagogical Strategies Table 7.1 describes four similar pedagogical strategies for educators to use to interact with children to support their learning and thinking skills. All of the strategies share a focus on two-way or back-and-forth conversations and interactions. Children are recognized as people with ideas and preferences that educators listen and respond to as well as respect. CHAPTER 7 Time, Space and People 143 ING TABLE 7.1 @ INTERACTIONS TO SUPPORT CHILDREN’S THINK Intentional teaching Scaffolding is introduced as Purposeful design and organization of the learning environment deliberate and a professional practice in early childhood education. Educators are 2009). thoughtful in their [daily] decisions and actions (DEEWR, know Conversations, decisions and actions that build on what children already to required is and can do. ECEs match their interactions and responses to what best assist a child’s learning. Educators help children to stretch their abilities in their learning through scaffolding. To help a child take the next step, the adult provides a bridge. Shared sustained thinking Cognitive sensitivity An episode in which two or more individuals “work together” in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate activities or extend a narrative. .... both parties must contribute to the thinking and it must develop and extend the understanding (Siraj-Blatchford, 2010, p. 157). The ability of an educator to get inside a child’s ideas and find out what they are thinking underpins the ability to respond to a child’s interactions. Cognitive sensitivity involves a positive back-and-forth interaction; clarity in how the educator is able to offer clear instructions that are understandable; and the ability to pick “up on non-verbal cues to understand a child’s emotional state and to spark the child’s interest. Interactions becomes an opportunity for educators to expand what a child knows and create an environment that stimulates thinking (Pauker, Perlman, Prime & Jenkins, 2018). An encouragement from an educator to a child or group of children to do something. PROVOCATION Deliberate decisions to provide unique materials, objects or environments with learning potential that challenge or intrigue children to engage and explore. Children ask a lot of questions. Even before they can talk, infants point to things and want to find out more. Children’s questions are excellent opportunities for educators to engage in conversations that go back and forth and build opportunities for learning. Questions open the door for investigation and thoughtful discussion. Educators can find out more about children’s ideas and thinking by listening and paying attention to questions. Back-and-forth interactions and conversations respond to and build on what children are thinking and feeling. Researchers at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University use the term “serve and return” to describe back-and-forth interactions between children, particularly infants, and adults (Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University, n.d.). Think about a game of ping pong or tennis. When an infant or young child makes a gesture to or smiles at an adult, they are making a serve and looking for a response or return. Educators can notice the serve and share the child’s focus of attention. Keeping up a chain of serve-and-return interactions is similar to sustained shared thinking that builds on children’s ideas and questions. Educators often use invitations and embed provocations in the learning environment to extend children’s ideas and their learning. They may think about Variety of strategies including understanding, nudging, encouraging, supporting, problem solving and goal setting used to guide children’s behaviours rather than punishing or rewarding strategies. questions to pose to children that will encourage sustained shared thinking POSITIVE GUIDANCE Educators use positive guidance in their relationships with young children. Building positive relationships with children means both directly and indirectly guiding children’s behaviour, based on an understanding of children’s emerging self-regulation abilities. Direct positive guidance includes 144 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments Cognitive Sensitivity A research team at the University of Toronto is studying how best to promote preschool children’s language and cognitive skills (Browne et al, 201 9). They have focused on the idea of bridging minds or the ability to figure out what the other person knows, what interests them and what their ideas are. Educators who PRACTICE @73 bridge minds with children are, in the words of the researchers, displaying cognitive sensitivity. Educators can better understand what children know and can do and respond accordingly to encourage learning. Cognitive sensitivity is positively related to children’s language, executive functioning, and social and emotional well-being (Pauker, Perlman, Prime, & Jenkins, 2018). In the study, trained researchers used simple checklists to evaluate interactions of children with siblings, parents or early-childhood educators—based on live or video-recorded interactions of pairs or groups. They now want to create practical tools supporting educators and parents to use the “bridging minds” approach more often in their interactions with children (Sokolovic, Jenkins & Perlman 2018). CONSIDER: How is the concept of bridging minds similar to serve and return, scaffolding and sustained shared thinking? Joining the Conversation The educator created a clearly defined entrance to the house centre. Sitting by the entrance, the educator notices three-year-old Daniel hesitating by the entrance. The educator comments LEARNING TOGETHER LO 7.4 to Daniel about the play she is observing, noting that the children in the house centre seem to be pretending to be fairies and dragons. Daniel nods and enters the house centre. He says to the group of children “Dragons make big noises when they are hungry.” | CONSIDER: Daniel e How did the educator take advantage of the opportunity to encourag to join the conversation? CHAPTER 7 Time, Space and People 145 re-directing children’s behaviour; for example, “The scissors can stay at the table.” Indirect guidance includes setting includes establishing routines that respect children’s autonomy. Positive relationships do not include harsh or punitive measures or the withdrawal of warmth and affection. Besides undermining both the adult—child relationship and the child’s self-esteem, these actions are ineffective in either changing behaviours or supporting children’s abilities to regulate their own behaviour. Children Together Children as young as one year spend most of their time interacting with other children in ECE settings. Interactions between and among children are the starting points for making friends, getting along with peers and sharing experiences. Children learn about friendships while playing with each other and those friendships are important to them. When children are asked about play, children often refer to play with friends (Pelletier, 2017). Two of the big tasks for early childhood education programs are to help children make friends and to become a part of the group. Educators can support children’s interactions and friendships with each other in a number of ways: 1. Introduce learning opportunities that encourage children to work together to plan, exchange, and generate ideas. For example, ask a group of children in a before- and after-school program to plan an upcoming event, such as a costume day. 2. Support children to initiate and sustain relationships to be part of a group of peers. For example, suggest asking children at a water table what additional materials might be added to the play. 3. Identify children’s cultural traditions and first languages as strengths they can share with other children. For example, learn and use a few words in a child’s first language. 4. Assist children who are having difficulties joining in play episodes with other children. For example, model how to enter a dramatic play scenario. “hello, can my baby play with your baby?” Getting along with each other is often a challenge for young children, and children’s play with each other is not always positive. Conflicts may emerge between and among children. Often, preschool and school age children can find solutions and resolve conflicts with each other without guidance from educators. Other times, it can be difficult for young children to manage their emotions and understand the emotions of others. Educators can become involved to assist children to find and negotiate solutions. Unfortunately, children’s play with each other can include teasing, bullying and discrimination of others. Sometimes play mirrors social inequities and discrimination that children have experienced or witnessed in their family and communities. When young children are excluded, bullied or teased on the basis of gender, ethnicity, race or agility differences, educators need to take an active role. Just as educators would intervene when one child hits another, it is essential to intervene in situations and communicate that the behaviour is not acceptable. 146 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments | play with my friends at preschool. Courtesy Jane of Bertrand Give It to Me! Three-year-olds Emma and Thomas are in dispute over a truck in the block area. Emma shouts, “Give it to me!” as she holds her hand up high, ready to hit Thomas hard. Educator: “What happened?” and then pauses. Emma: “He took my truck!” Educator: “How do you feel?” Emma: “I’m mad—very mad.” Thomas: “But | really want the truck.” Educator: “What could we do to solve the problem?” Emma: “Thomas could find another truck.” Emma goes to the shelf and pulls out a truck that is similar to the one she is playing with. LEARNING TOGETHER LO) 7.3 CONSIDER: Do you think that the educator should have been more pro-active in solving the dispute? Why or why not? How did this approach support Emma? CHAPTER 7 Time, Space and People 147 Children in early childhood programs are not MIXED-AGE GROUPINGS In always organized into groups of the same age and stage of development. home-based programs, for example, it is more common to find children from different ages together in the same setting—similar to a family with siblings of various ages or a neighbourhood where children of different ages play together. A mixed-age grouping combines children across at least two or three chronological years. Usually, the grouping remains together for much of the time, with the oldest children moving on each year and new children joining as the youngest in the group. This means that children are in a group for two or three years, and remain with the same early childhood practitioner over this time. In child care centres, multi-age groupings “refers to the placement of children of different ages together in activity and learning areas for substantial portions of the daily schedule” (Bernhard, et al., 2000, p. 80). Rethinking the concept of mixed-age groupings allows early childhood educators to capitalize on the differences in the experience, knowledge and abilities of children (Corson, 2005). Children in mixed-age groupings benefit from relationships with one another. Older children have opportunities to assume — responsibility and to exhibit leadership skills with younger children (Gray, 2011). Younger children learn from the more complex vocabulary of older children. Older children are able to introduce younger children to experiences that are just beyond their abilities to do on their own. Older children have the opportunity to be models and reinforce their learning while younger children learn from them. Educator and Family Interactions One study of morning arrival time revealed that early childhood educators spent, on average, 67 seconds with each parent (Perlman & Fletcher, 2012. This might not be considered adequate time either to build parental involvement in the ongoing environment of the program or to exchange meaningful information to support parents’ involvement in their child’s learning and development. However, exchanges at arrival and departure times that are grounded in ongoing communication such as phone calls, emails and text messages can be brief and still effective in forming deeper connections with families. LEARNING TOGETHER Monday Morning at Roseview Child Care Centre LO 7.3 “Good morning, Vivian,” says educator Helena as three-year-old Vivian is entering the preschool room with her mother. Helena is smiling, squatting down and eye to eye with Vivian. She stands up and looks directly at Vivian’s mother and says, “Good morning, Christine. How goes it today’?” Christine smiles and says “Okay. But | have an early-morning meeting at work. We were rushed at home and | am afraid Vivian did not eat much at breakfast.” (continued) 148 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments Helena smiles and responds, “No problem.” She looks directly at Vivian and Says, “How about you and | get the morning snack set up so you and the other children can help yourself? | think today would be a good day for some granola and blueberries. What do think?” Christine says thank you to Helena and bends to quickly hug Vivian and tell her to have a good day. Helena takes Vivian’s hand and heads toward the food preparation counter. Vivian pulls up the nearby step-up stool and together they wash their hands at the sink. The total time of interaction between educator (Helena) and parent (Christine) is 59 seconds. CONSIDER: Why does this brief interaction between the educator and parent reflect a supportive and caring relationship? What is the educator communicating to the parent about the ECE program her daughter attends? The benefits of family involvement are greatest when: © Activities are planned for children and their families © Relationships between schools and families are based on mutual trust and respect © Schools are sensitive to family culture, values, language and composition (Bernhard, Freire & Mulligan, 2004; Gonzalez-Mena, 2005; BulotskyShearer et al., 2012) To include everyone, early childhood settings must encourage healthy dialogue about the principles and shared beliefs that relate to inclusion, diversity and equity (Moss, 2007; Bernhard, et al., 2006; McKenzie, 2019) and expand communication. When educators offer a wider range of communication opportunities, including translation of newsletters and emails, to parents of linguistic-minority children who are experiencing difficulties with verbal skills, the parents are more likely to become engaged than other linguistic-minority parents. For example, educators can try communicating through emails that are clearly written and use accessible language. Parents are then able to take their time in responding and may find it easier talking with educators. Involving families in early childhood programs needs to go beyond whether parents are involved to focus on how they are involved and what happens as a result. Family involvement in school settings includes parenting workshops, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making and collaborating with the community. The same strategies can be useful in organizing family involvement in early childhood settings (Epstein & Sanders, 2002; Corter, Janmohamed & Pelletier, 2012). Effective strategies begin by identifying the early childhood program needs of families in their communities, and by taking this information into account when CHAPTER 7 Time, Space and People 149 planning the curriculum and pedagogy of the program (Ali, 2005; Bernhard, 2003). To turn belief statements and principles into practice in early childhood programs requires an infrastructure that actively promotes the engagement of all children and their families (Bernhard, Lero & Greenberg, 2006; Centre for Community Child Health, 2008). : RESEARCH | INTO PRACTICE LO 7.1 Chicago Longitudinal Study The Chicago Longitudinal Study studied the long-term impact of the Chicago Parent-Child Preschools (Reynolds, Ou & Temple, 2018). The centre-based ECE programs provide comprehensive early learning experiences to economically disadvantaged children from preschool to early elementary school in central Chicago. At the same time, the program actively engages families in their children’s early learning and provides family support services. The overall goal of the program is _ to promote children’s academic success and to facilitate parent involvement in children’s education It is based on four principles: @ Parent involvement in the early years of school @ |nstructional approaches tailored to children’s learning styles and designed to develop their speaking and listening skills ® Small class sizes to provide for individual attention © Attention to health and nutritional services (Reynolds, Temple, Robertson & Mann, 2002; Reynolds, Wang & Walberg, 2003; Graue, Clements, Reynolds & Niles, 2004) The program is based on the idea that development is optimized in rich, stable learning environments and when parents are involved in the process of learning. Four components make up the program: early intervention, parent involvement, a structured language/basic skills learning approach, and program continuity between preschool and elementary school. The centres involve parents in the education of their children, requiring at least one-half day per week of parent involvement in the program. The parent component includes participating in parent room activities, reinforcing learning at home, volunteering in the classroom, attending school events and field trips, participating in vocational and educational training, and receiving home visits from the school-community representative. A unique feature of the CPC is the parent resource room, which is located in the centre adjacent to the classrooms. The full-time parent-resource educator organizes the parent room in order to implement parent educational activities, initiate interactions among parents and foster parent-child interactions. Children who have participated longer, with greater family involvement, have better outcomes. Instructional approaches that blend an educator-directed focus with child-initiated activities and parental school involvement are the origins of the positive long-term effects of participation in the CPC (Temple, Robertson & Mann, 2002; Reynolds, Wang & Walberg, 2003; Graue, Clements, Reynolds & 150 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments Niles, 2004). Researchers have followed almost 1,400 children for 35 years after they attended CPC (Reynolds, Ou & Temple, 2018). They found higher rates of post-secondary education completion among children who attended CPC compared to children who did not. CONSIDER: How could strategies to directly involve families be used in other early childhood education programs? Sources: Reynolds, Temple, Robertson & Mann, 2002: Reynolds, Wang & Walberg, 2008; Graue, Clements, Reynolds & Niles, 2004; Reynolds, Ou & Temple, 2018 SUMMARY ¢ The use of time, the organization of space and the daily interactions of people that build relationships are critical elements of early learning environments in ECE programs. ¢ The physical environment is designed to accommodate children’s feelings and thoughts. It signals what is on offer for children. ¢ When time and space are set up to accom- ¢ The needs and abilities of children are the starting point for daily schedules and routines that are the backbone of ECE. modate the care and learning of children, the daily interactions between and among children, educators and families can take centre stage. REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Why should educators consider play zones and pathways rather than specific, structured learning centres in thinking about how to organize the physical space, furnishings and equipment? LO 7.1 2. What is the starting point for developing a 3. What does it mean to respond to how children feel and how they think? Lo 7.3 4. How do you respond to a parent who is concerned about whether or not his four-year-old son is actually learning anything at his preschool? When he asks his son about what he schedule for an ECE program for a group of did at preschool, he always answers “I played.” children? LO 7.2 LO 7.4 STUDY ACTIVITIES 1. Visit two ECE settings and evaluate the aesthetics of the interior space. Describe the visual and auditory sensory elements. LO 7.1 2. With permission of the parent or guardian, observe a school-age child who is attending grade 1, 2 or 3 and is also attending a CHAPTER 7 Time, Space and People 151 before- and after-school program. Record how many people (adults and children) the child interacts with. Also note the number of transitions (from one activity to another) the child experiences throughout the day. Prepare a timeline graph to illustrate the child’s interactions and transitions. LO 7.2 3. With permission of the parent or guardian, have a conversation with a preschool child and record it. Try to keep the conversation going as long as possible. Now listen to the recording and count how many back-and-forth exchanges are in one communication chain. Compare your results with other students and discuss what you have learned 4. Compare your early childhood to that of a child that you know who attends an ECE program. What are the similarities and differences? LO 7.4 5. Visit an early childhood education setting in your community that includes young children with disabilities. Discuss with the early child- © hood educators the advantages and disadvantages of inclusion for the children and adults involved. Describe any obvious modifications that have been made in the physical environment to meet the needs of the children and explain why these alterations were made. List any other specialists involved in planning for the children. LO 7.1 about back-and-forth conversations. LO 7.3 KEY TERMS Aesthetics (p. 141) Positive guidance (p. 144) Emotional climate (p. 143) Invitation (p. 144) Provocation (p. 144) Universal design (p. 141) SUGGESTED READINGS College of Early Childhood Educators. (2017). Practice guidelines: Supporting positive interactions with children. Retrieved September 11, 2020, a as CENGAGE ee as MINDTAP BRE cceuicos visit MindTap. 152 at https://www.college-ece.ca/en/Documents/Practice_Guideline_ Supporting Positive_Interactions_with_Children.pdf College of Early Childhood Educators. (2019). Practice guidelines: Inclusion of children with disabilities. Retrieved September 11, 2020, at https://www .college-ece.ca/en/Documents/Practice_Guideline_Inclusion.pdf Curtis, D. & Carter, M. (2015). Designs for living and learning: Transforming early childhood environments, 2nd edition. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments me 8 cep Gem 9 9 cw 0 U8 fF pe Roo Sey CHAPTER Learnin fe Experiences LEARNING OBJECTIVES 8.1 Examine learning pathways. 8.2 Design play-based learning experiences in six broad curriculum areas. 8.3 Recognize learning pathways that reflect children’s daily lived experiences. 8.4 Describe how to incorporate children’s stories and culture into learning opportunities. Learning experiences offer children a wide range of learning opportunities. The power of play-based learning experiences, introduced in Chapter 3, drives young children’s language, well-being and growing thinking skills. Understanding how learning pathways unfold for children and how educators can maximize learning experiences is the focus of this chapter. It considers learning experiences and pathways in six curriculum areas: Social emotional learning Physically active play Dramatic and constructive play Creative arts Language and literacy STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Learning experiences may be organized to align with a particular curriculum approach, such as those discussed in Chapter 5, but many are similar across numerous approaches. LEARNING PATHWAYS LEARNING PATHWAYSsss== Learning pathways can assist educators to understand, engage with and be responDesoription of children’s —_ possible suggest sive to what young children know and can do. Learning pathways ways to challenge children to extend their learning. Early learning research shows that children actively construct knowledge as they interact with the people and things around them. Constructing knowledge is facilitated when new information is connected to what was learned before and what comes next (Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, 2015). dhe ea deals \ariety of curriculum areas. 153 A note of caution about learning pathways. The age at which children acquire knowledge and skills varies. The sequence varies, and the pathways are not linear. Multiple factors are involved including culture, home life, opportunities available in ECE programs, and peers and siblings. Children’s knowledge and skills can vary if minor changes are made in their environment. An essential consideration is the child’s cultural background (Ball, 2010a). Open-ended engagement with local communities can inform educators about how children’s learning pathways are influenced by their cultural context. This is particularly important for Indigenous children who are attending ECE programs. (Greenwood, 2016). It is also essential to recognize disabilities that children may have and adapt to accommodate their needs and specific learning pathways so that they can fully participate in ECE programs. The essential focus is on what children can do, rather than what they cannot do. Still, understanding learning pathways can guide how educators introduce new ideas and experiences to children through direct instruction and indirect guidance This knowledge helps educators identify what might be the next step _ so that they can target learning experiences to just beyond children’s current understanding, in what Vygotsky (1978) called the “zone of proximal development,” which is discussed in Chapter 2. In each of the following curriculum areas, learning pathways are outlined that are related to the area of learning experiences. They include skills and abilities that are encouraged by the learning experiences. They can be related to the broad learning outcomes in provincial and territorial early learning frameworks that are discussed in Chapter 6. Play-based learning is child centred—that is, it is meaningful to the child, encourages the child’s agency and views the child as a competent learner. At the same time, educators can introduce learning experiences according to children’s expected patterns of learning that proceed along pathways. Children are then better able to connect with, and build on, previous learning. Of course, educators can be surprised by a child’s response that takes the learning in a different direction than expected. Typical learning pathways are not prescriptions or checklists. They offer educators a framework to connect concepts and skills that children are ready to explore further and take advantage of learning opportunities. Also, educators can use learning pathways to intentionally provide children opportunities to practise and apply skills in new contexts and to broaden their understanding of new concepts. Learning pathways are messy. While the learning pathways are a general pattern and guide to how children acquire specific skills and abilities, each child is on their own learning path that is influenced by family, community and culture. A child’s disposition and knowledge influence how skills are acquired, and skills may emerge in a different pattern but still reflect the overall learning trajectory. Educators and teachers use learning pathways to guide planning for learning for assessing children’s learning. They do so based on their knowledge of individual children and the individual context of their lives. 154 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments The use of learning pathways is guided by three questions: ¢ What does the child know and can do? ¢ What has the child not yet had the opportunity to learn? ¢ What are the opportunities for learning in the child’s home and community environments? CURRICULUM AREAS While presented separately, the six areas of learning experiences overlap with each other and are interrelated, outlined in Table 8.1. For example, dramatic play contributes to learning to read, write and use numbers. When the environment is designed deliberately to include literacy props and materials—such as having newspapers and pamphlets in the dramatic play area that children can pretend to read—the children’s literacy-related play significantly increases. Educators can encourage children’s interactions with these props during play through modelling, role-playing or conversation. By using and creating environmental print in their dramatic play, children learn what reading is and how print works. Pretend play helps children develop schemas and scripts as organized mental structures that are used to understand print. In all curriculum areas, didactic instruction of isolated skills is less effective than other strategies. For example, early childhood educators recognize that literacy and mathematics are important skill areas. Individual Canadians need these skills to be successful in almost any workplace and to participate fully in a democratic society. Therefore, ECEs can understand that families are often anxious that their children acquire the skills necessary for learning to read and compute numbers when they enter formal schooling. Educators should be concerned too. However, direct instruction in isolated skills such as letter recognition or matching things that are the same and different are often not as effective as other curriculum strategies that embed direct instruction of specific skills into the context of children’s play. In the sections that follow, alternative strategies are offered, including embedding print materials and opportunities to recognize patterns and shapes for children to discover and explore. _ Social-Emotional Learning Social-emotional learning (SEL) helps children develop the capacity to integrate skills, attitudes and behaviours to manage daily challenges and succeed at daily tasks (Housman, 2017). It includes the skills young children need to engage and get along with others, understand and express emotions with respect for others, manage emotions and challenges, handle stress, set goals and make responsible decisions. SEL includes emerging social competence and emotional maturity and underpins all areas of learning experiences in ECE programs. Chapter 5 describes specific curriculum approaches to encourage social-emotional learning that use similar learning experiences. Children in ECE programs bring the social skills they have acquired to date at home and in their communities. Making friends with peers is important to young children and skills such as understanding how to resolve conflicts and enter into play with others help children form friendships with their peers. Learning empathy and cooperation skills strengthen children's social competence. CHAPTER 8 Learning Experiences 155 EMOTIONAL MATURITY TABLE 8.1 @ LEARNING PATHWAYS: SOCIAL COMPETENCE AND Social Competence Learning Pathways Emotional Maturity Learning Pathways Prefer human faces to inanimate objects or animals Express comfort and discomfort Smile at an adult Become calm when comforted by familiar adults Express pleasure, displeasure, anger, fear, joy and Return gaze of an adult excitement Observe peers Show preference for familiar people Imitate adult behaviour Simple back and forth turn-taking games (e.g., peek-a-boo) Take part in simple pretend play Seek out and invite other children to play Frequently check in (Social reference) with familiar people Increase awareness of opportunities to make things happen Identify consequences Notice and respond to distress of others and offer comfort Use gestures and vocalizations to keep connected with others Express aggressive feelings and behaviours Imitate peers and offer toys to peers Seek out others to play with Express self-conscious emotions (shame, embarrassment, guilt, pride) Express feelings in words and play View adults as resources in exploration and problem solving Approach adults as sources of Security and support Exchange ideas and materials with other children Share emotions, communicate and express feelings with adults and peers Respect other children’s belongings and work Take turns in activities and discussions See an injustice and take action to change it Respond appropriately to the feelings of others Identify the emotions of others Attend and listen to peers Accept that the ideas and emotions of others may be different from their own Adapt behaviour to take other people’s points of view into consideration Manage emotions in order to solve conflicts Identify solutions to conflict Engage the exchange of ideas and points of view with others Use language to regulate own behaviour and attention Use ability to take another’s point of view to regulate own behaviour Identify solutions to conflict Demonstrate empathy for the rights of others @©s. Educators can support social-emotional learning pathways by: ¢ Responding to and imitating facial expressions, gestures and sounds that infants use ° Taking turns to imitate in back-and-forth exchanges ¢ Planning learning experiences that focus on specific social-emotional skills ° Reducing stressors in the environment including too much noise, waiting times or visual stimulation 156 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments e Encouraging children to listen to each other ¢ Encouraging children to share feelings and ideas with each other and with ecucators | © Planning learning experiences and routines that require children to negotiate and collaborate with each other ° Recognizing children’s efforts to regulate their own emotions and behaviour Physically Active Play As discussed in Chapter 3, opportunities for physically active play support children’s gross and fine motor skills as well as regulate behaviour and emotions and contribute to overall well-being. Large-muscle control allows for the coordination of more complex movements. Infants and toddlers become increasingly mobile. Preschool and kindergarten children are ready to start combining skills such as running, throwing, catching and jumping into games. Early childhood educators’ observations and assessment as well as children’s own assessments of their progress in physical development inform planning; educators can also use opportunities for movement experiences within other areas of children’s learning. Educators support children in achieving movement goals by reflecting with children on their activity and providing physical proximity and verbal guidance to foster children’s problem solving when they are attempting challenging activities. Talking to children and providing feedback about their physical development, as well as the feelings and emotions attached to them, supports children in assessing their own capabilities and encourages them to try new skills and activities (Archer & Siraj, 2015). TABLE 8.2 @ PHYSICALLY ACTIVE PLAY LEARNING PATHWAYS Sitting, rolling, crawling, walking Explore large outdoor equipment Run, climb and jump Hop and balance Use open-ended materials to move about, build and construct Practise bouncing, catching and kicking balls Gain the ability to control their own movements Increase the distance they are able to walk Increase skill in group games LOR Awareness of body in space and movement Educators can support physically active play pathways by: e Planning interactions that incorporate physical movement and skill practice throughout the day rather than as isolated activities e Facilitating indoor and outdoor active play to support overall gross motor skills along with other areas of development CHAPTER 8 Learning Experiences 157 n childre e Introducing structured games that focus on specific physical skills are ready to acquire e Planning for and participating in energetic physical activity with children e Using transitions as a context for movement activities © Building opportunities for movement into literature and numeracy experiences (e.g., have children suggest movements associated with characters; have children jump onto numbered carpet tiles) © Drawing children’s attention to their body’s response to physical activity (e.g., how fast their heart beats; sweat on their body; the feel of different ground surfaces on their bare feet); how they feel when trying something new (eg., scared, thrilled); how they feel when accomplishing something new or have persevered with a difficult activity (i.e., proud) Dramatic and Constructive Play Dramatic play and creative-constructive play are introduced in Chapter 3. Young children’s play with each other often involves pretending and constructing. Educators design the time and space, and children often (but not always) take the ~ lead in directing the play. When the learning environment is organized to encourage children’s deep engagement in their play, they display what they know and can do. Educators may engage with children to extend the play and embed a variety of learning opportunities. Dramatic and creative-constructive play have a long tradition in ECE programs. Frequently children merge them as their pretend play becomes more complex and incorporates creating environments to accommodate their roles and play narratives. DRAMATIC PLAY Children demonstrate a number of skills, dispositions and abilities during dramatic play as discussed in Chapter 3. Dramatic play contributes to children’s literacy and numeracy acquisition, problem-solving and social skills. Socio-dramatic play expands children’s theory of mind, joint planning, perspective taking and mental representation. TABLE 8.3 @ DRAMATIC PLAY LEARNING PATHWAYS Pretend to be someone or something else Observe before entering play Enter play by assuming available roles Take on and maintain a role in socio-dramatic play, cooperating and negotiating roles with others Take part in setting and following rules and invite others to join them in play Combine reality and fantasy Sustain and extend socio-dramatic play with language, additional ideas and props Take on a role and plot for an extended period of time ®s:. 158 Develop more complex, interconnected play scenarios SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments Educators can support dramatic and constructive play by: Providing rich and varied materials, props and toys that are easily available to children Sharing ideas that extend children’s play experiences and enrich the play ¢ Entering the play to encourage more complex themes and roles * Monitoring the progress of play and coaching children who need support to stay part of the shared play scenario Intervening and redirecting when children tease, bully or harass other children while playing a role Observing children’s socio-dramatic play to assess a wide range of skills and dispositions ¢ Identifying children who have difficulty entering play and might need more guidance from educators in entering play with other children Entering children’s pretend play and modeling play strategies to support children who find engaging in socio-dramatic play challenging CONSTRUCTIVE PLAY As discussed in Chapter 3, constructive play includes building using a variety of materials. Building with blocks or other materials may be a shared experience in which children plan together and use language to discuss the building. Constructive play can lead to figuring out how things are constructed and work and thinking about what can make them work differently or more efficiently. Solving practical problems that emerge in constructive play involves concepts to design, build and test solutions. Children then deepen their understanding of concepts such as gravity, balance and stability. Children have opportunities to experience the added value of tools. TABLE 8.4 @ CONSTRUCTIVE PLAY LEARNING PATHWAYS Explore new materials before beginning construction Build three-dimensional structures using a variety of materials Experiment with building a variety of structures Begin to recognize the three-dimensional figures that the structure contains Investigate the relationship between two-dimensional shapes and threedimensional figures in objects that they have made Demonstrate an understanding of basic spatial relationships and movements ®> Educators can support constructive play learning pathways by: @ Providing an abundance of natural and manufactured materials for building structures; keep in mind it is more helpful to have a large amount of a few types of blocks and loose parts rather than only a few of many types e Ensuring adequate time and space for constructive play to expand over a number of days and sometimes weeks ® Asking questions that provoke children to solve difficulties they might encounter while constructing and consider “what if” scenarios CHAPTER 8 Learning Experiences 159 e Designing the space so that children’s connections with visual arts and socio-dramatic play are possible ° Engaging in conversations with children that encourage them to describe the process of construction, the problems encountered and the solutions developed e Identifying children who find it difficult to get started or remain engaged in constructive play in order to provide more support and guidance Creative Arts Creative arts offer children multiple ways to express themselves and represent their understanding of the world around them. Children’s sense of self finds expression in creative arts. Different ways of thinking, exploring and learning are expressed through drawing, painting, sculpturing, music, dance and movement. Children investigate material properties and potential. Creative arts offer ways of connecting sometimes quite different ideas and are often are a bridge between child-directed socio-dramatic and constructive play and educator-guided literacy, mathematics and science learning experiences. The arts are a vehicle for children to understand different cultures as well as to express their own culture. VISUAL ARTS Children experiment with the possibilities to transform the two dimensional such as a drawing into the three dimensional and vice versa, as well as transforming a large world to a small scale. The physical manipulation of two- and three-dimensional materials and pencils, markers, crayons and paint Children experiment with paints and brushes. p> Pare, Ingram Publishing/Thinkstock 160 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments brushes build children’s capacity for planning, remembering and representing their experiences and understandings. Drawings, collages, paintings and sculptures can be incorporated into socio-dramatic and constructive play. Children often combine writing and drawing, and educators can capitalize by using drawing to make the link to literacy. MUSIC The human voice is the central instrument that children use to make music. Songs are part of the rituals that evolve in early learning environments. Singing offers opportunities to explore sound, tempo (speed) and pitch. Learning a song requires attention to the words and the melody. Percussion musical instruments, such as shakers, tambourines and drums, offer opportunities for children to explore musical patterns (rhythms). Simple, high quality xylophones and keyboards support children’s understanding of melody. DANCE AND MOVEMENT Young children move and react to music. Dance and movement involve strength, body awareness, energy, emotion, control and communication. Children can experience the contrasts of being tightly controlled and relaxed and become more aware of their bodies. Sometimes bodies are in one place (bending, twisting, swaying and stretching). Other times bodies travel in space and children may hop, jump or walk. Children can express themselves through dance and movement. Dance incorporates speed (tempo), rhythm, duration, phrases (a series of movements that can be repeated or varied) and keeping the beat. TABLE 8.5 @ CREATIVE ARTS LEARNING PATHWAYS Visual Arts Discover that scribbles can become lines that have meaning Find that shapes emerge as two ends of a line are joined Realize that shapes can become symbols to communicate meaning Draw and paint to record play experiences Extend abilities for symbolic representation and explore feelings Relate models, pictures and photographs to real objects and places Use variety of materials to express ideas and create 2- and 3-dimensional visual art forms Explore a variety of tools, materials and processes of their own choice to create visual arts forms in familiar and new ways Music Identify sources of musical sounds Show enjoyment when listening to music Make choices and demonstrate preferences in music Identify musical sounds Use a singing voice and singing songs Develop distinct melody Play a simple musical instrument Use musical instruments to move from exploration to producing patterns to reproducing patterns (continued) CHAPTER 8 Learning Experiences 161 Dance and Movement cultures for dance Use rhymes, stories, legends and folk tales from various and movement Isolate individual body movements Move to music Move to a steady beat Move in sequences to a common beat e, Communicate understanding of something (e.g., a familiar story, and experienc and a song, a play) by representing their own ideas and feelings through dance movement LOER © ® e © ¢ ¢ e Educators can support creative arts learning pathways by: Acknowledging children’s process and problem solving involved in a drawing, painting, collage or sculpture Recognizing that some materials and learning experiences may trigger children’s sensory likes and dislikes Encouraging children to revisit visual art pieces Encouraging children to explain their process Introducing musical instruments, including simple percussion instruments, string instruments and keyboards Introducing songs that have a simple melody, a call and response, repetitive phrases, an action or a strong beat and can be easily adapted (adding new words) Introducing, naming and exploring body movements Language and Literacy LITE sscerecsccmemesimemnsse RA CNor Ability to use written language (reading and writing). Awareness of the meaning of print that develops before early reading and writing. EARLYLITERACY A collection of skills needed before learning to read. 162 Language and literacy experiences in ECE programs build on opportunities embedded in children’s play and introduce learning experiences that focus on skills children are ready to acquire as they move from oral language to making sense of print. Educators provide environments that prepare children for learning to read. ECE programs can be structured in a number of ways that support oral language, emergent literacy and then early literacy abilities as they develop. ORAL LANGUAGE Early oral language and vocabulary matter to later achievement (Rvachew, 2018; Hart & Risely, 1995). Infants understand what is said to them before they express themselves. From birth, babies respond to familiar human voices. First, children utter single words and then two-word sentences, followed by more complex statements. The size and variety of vocabulary by age two years is connected to the conversations children have heard and that have been directed at them. Oral language is critical to the success of literacy development. Literacy learning experiences build on children’s transition from oral language into an understanding of print as a way to represent experiences, ideas and knowledge. Children develop a sense of narrative and the ability to make symbolic representation and actions. They begin to acquire reading strategies, including letter knowledge and lettersound phonetics (Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, 2015). SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments How children use oral language is specific to their cultural and linguistic contexts. While oral language is innate to the human species, its depth and breadth is shaped by early experiences and environments. Children who are English language learners benefit when their home language is valued by educators so that they can maintain and enrich their first language while they are learning English (Chumak-Horbatsch, R. 2012). Their engagement also increases when their first language is recognized in learning environments. A variety of specific strategies, called linguistically appropriate practice (LAP) (Chumak-Horbatsch, 2019), can support English or French language learners and educators working with multiple home languages. Using LAP, educators can raise the comfort level of the children who are English or French language learners and develop their capacity to become engaged learners. Educators cultivate relationships when they respond to children’s multiple languages as strengths and gifts brought to the group (Chumak-Horbatsch, 2012, 2019). Children learning English or French as an additional language benefit when their home language is valued (Ball, 2010b; Chumak-Horbatsch, 2012, 2019; Tabors & Snow, 2001). Children learning an additional language benefit when they continue to learn vocabulary and conceptual skills in their home language at home (Chumak-Horbatsch, 2019; NAEYC, 2016). Educators can encourage families to use their home language with their child while they are learning English or French when at the ECE program. Language nests, described in Chapter 5, are effective in respecting Indigenous children’s culture and revitalizing languages that are disappearing. Indigenous ways of knowing are reflected in language and influence language learning path- HOME LANGUAGE Language learning in a child’s home environment. LINGUISTICALLY Guidance for educators in ECE programs that includes children who are learning English or French. a B o ¢ aa CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about supporting students who are learning English or French as a additional language. ways (Greenwood, 2016). TABLE 8.6 @ ORAL LANGUAGE LEARNING PATHWAYS Verbal and Use gestures and signs to communicate Non-verbal Listen and respond to others for a variety of purposes SeAUDicaton Listen to and respond appropriately to non-verbal communications of others Express ideas and describe experiences with increasingly complex sentences Describe personal experiences, using vocabulary and details appropriate to the situation Use language in various contexts to connect new experiences with what they already know Ask questions for a variety of purposes Use the language of mathematics, enquiry and reasoning as they play and during group discussions Ask questions to extend their understanding of words Use specialized vocabulary for a variety of purposes Define words by function (e.g., a ball is something you bounce) CHAPTER 8 Learning Experiences 163 Educators can support oral language learning pathways by: © Listening attentively to and observing children’s verbal and non-verbal responses and interactions ¢ Learning and using a few words (such as simple greetings, common objects and family members) of a children’s first languages as part of daily conversation © Modeling richer responses to guide children’s thinking ¢ Introducing new and specialized vocabulary ¢ Prompting children for more detail to increase the length of conversations and often extend the range of vocabulary used Literacy is related to oral language but is a separate EMERGENT LITERACY ability; literacy is the symbolic representation of oral language. Emergent literacy is the development of children’s ability to use print forms of language and includes making marks, scribbling, reciting stories from memory and printing letters. Children show an understanding of pictures and events in a book, such as imitating an action seen in a picture or talking about the events in a story. “Writing and reading become meaningful, and young children understand their purpose even when they cannot read and write themselves. Emergent literacy develops in close relationship to oral language. Conversations with children about their ideas and things that interest them builds vocabulary. Conversations help children express thoughts, learn what words mean, and gain new information about the world. As discussed in Chapter 3, all children learn how to express themselves when they play. They discover the meaning of words that they will later recognize in print, and they learn how to tell stories, which builds reading comprehension. The educator invites children’s questions and ideas about the story she is reading. p> eg ot O& od) © £ > ber) ® 1) — + LU © 164 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments Rosie’s Walk LEARNING TOGETHER Yesterday, Salma read Rosie’s Walk to the three-year-old children in Applegrove Early Years Centre’s preschool! room. Today Salma and her colleague, Becka, are heading out with the children for a community walk. Along the way, Salma asks the children if they see any of the same flowers that were in Rosie’s Walk. LO 8.2 CONSIDER: How does connecting stories from books with what children are experiencing bring literature into children’s lives and reinforce comprehension about what has been read? Reading books builds children’s vocabulary and sense of narrative. Songs also teach new vocabulary. The language in many children’s books and songs introduces vocabulary that we do not use every day and expands the words children hear and come to know. Young children who enjoy books are more likely to want to learn to read when they are older, and to keep trying even when it is challenging. Children learn about print from observing educators use print and enriching the environment with print such as labels for different play materials, children’s names with photos on cubbies, a daily sign-in system that includes names and photos of each child, and lunch time placemats. For younger children, photographs of people and objects can be introduced on labels. Children’s scribbling and drawing help them learn that marks on paper can carry meaning. Children also learn about writing when they see educators writing and reading notes to families or each other. Educators can plan learning experiences that encourage children to explore language and communicate their thinking in meaningful ways in a variety of contexts, such as in conversations with individual children, recording children’s descriptions of drawings and paintings and pointing out new words when reading books aloud to a group of children, Rich and varied materials promote emergent literacy skills. Literacy experiences can be embedded in children’s play and routines in meaningful ways that reflect the continuum from educator-directed to child-initiated activities, as discussed in Chapter 3. These experiences include activities to develop visual discrimination which supports recognizing letters and fine motor control that supports mark making and printing. CHAPTER 8 Learning Experiences 165 TABLE 8.7 @ EMERGENT LITERACY LEARNING PATHWAYS Pathway Sense of Narrative Characteristic | Expect to find meaning in pictures and text Choose to look at reading materials Respond to texts read by the educator Request specific stories, poems and songs Identify personal preferences in reading materials Reread familiar text; confidently make attempts at reading Make connections from books in their daily lives Make predictions regarding an unfamiliar text that is read with and by the educator Retell stories in proper sequence that have been read by and with the educator Discuss and make connections between books and stories in their play Use prior knowledge to make connections Create stories orally and use a variety of media Dictate ideas and stories Refer to print in the physical environment for meaning, rules and directions Retell stories in pretend play and art activities Understanding Print Hold books the right way up and turn pages from the front to the back Associate spoken words with written words by pointing or talking about connections Use illustrations to support comprehension Recognize that spoken words can be written down, read and understood by others Pretend to read Dictate stories Recognize familiar signs (e.g., stop signs, logos) Recognize own name ©: Read labels and names Educators can support emergent literacy by: * Selecting books and storytelling narratives to extend children’s imaginations and vocabulary * Pointing out new vocabulary that comes up in books and use it in other learning experiences, relating the words back to the book ° Asking questions that extend and challenge children’s thinking; that is, predicting, identifying the character’s point of view, asking how a characte r might solve a problem 166 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments ¢ Making connections with what children learn from books and how this relates to other learning experiences Distributing meaningful and inclusive literacy materials throughout the PRINT MOTIVATION Children’s interest and enjoyment of books and reading and recognition of symbols that carry meaning. learning environment (e.g., books at the book display; group lists; duallanguage books, writing materials, shopping lists and newspaper flyers in the housekeeping centre; labels at the block centre; sign-up sheets for ALPHABETIC PRINCIPLE outdoor riding toys) A group of skills that connect EARLY LITERACY Listening, speaking, reading and writing are interrelated, and development in one area supports development in all. Early literacy skills that include vocabulary, a sense of narrative and print motivation develop early in life. These skills are part of emergent literacy and continue to be refined during the preschool and early school years. Early literacy also incudes a collection of alphabetic principle skills that complement vocabulary and a sense of narrative as children learn to read and write. Alphabetic principle includes print motivation, print awareness, letter knowledge and phonological awareness, including phonemic awareness. Print awareness builds on word awareness developed through oral language. Letter knowledge and phonological awareness contribute to the skills necessary for learning to read and can be embedded in children’s play or projects or can be presented in regular, short, isolated activities. Singing helps children hear how words can be broken down into smaller parts, which will help them sound out words when they start reading on their own. Languages are made up of phonemes, which are the distinct sounds in each language, such as “d” in “dog” and “dig” or “th” in “things” and “the.” Young children begin to understand how the 44 phonemes in the English language translate into letters and letter clusters. Early literacy is not about teaching young children how to read. It is about helping children develop the skills they will need to become successful readers. This helps children make sense of printed words when they start reading. Learning experiences designed to support specific early literacy skills are beneficial to preschool children if they emerge out of a child’s interests and satisfy the letters with sounds to read and write. | Children’s understanding that print carries meaning and that books contain letters and words. Ability to recognize and name uppercase and lowercase letters. PHONOLOGICAL Ability to hear and manipulate the sounds of words, including rhymes and syllables and phoneme awareness. PHONEMIC AWARENESS __ Ability to hear and identify phonemes, the smallest unit of distinct sound in speech. PHONEMES. Smallest distinct sounds in a language. child’s needs. TABLE 8.8 @ EARLY LITERACY LEARNING PATHWAYS Alphabetic Principle Recite nursery rhymes, poems or sing songs Identify sounds in their environment, such as animal sounds, traffic noises, music and human speech Fill in rhyming words in familiar poems, songs and books Identify the letter that begins their names and its sound Pick out other words that begin with the same letter or sound as their own names Identify a few consonant letter-sound correspondences in | words in familiar rhymes (continued) CHAPTER 8 Learning Experiences 167 with the Recognize that words can rhyme, can begin or end be can that mes same sound, and are composed of phone manipulated to create new words Identify specific letter sounds and syllables lsolate sound combinations Demonstrate knowledge of most sounds and letters of the alphabet in different contexts Know that printed letters and words represent the sounds and words of oral language Writing Pretend to print letters and words Write own name Write many uppercase and lowercase letters Write most letters and some words when dictated Write high-frequency words Write simple messages using a combination of pictures and symbols Experiment with a variety of simple writing forms for different purposes and in a variety of contexts Educators can support early literacy learning pathways by: © Introducing games that are based on alphabetic skills ® Monitoring to determine children’s strengths in early literacy ¢ Identifying children who might need more explicit, intentional, individual teaching to acquire basic understanding of print STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Grounding science, technology, engineering and mathematics in early learning helps young children to question, explore and reflect on the world around them and how it works. The use of tools expands young children’s abilities to create, construct and represent. Digital technology offers interactive environments that extend children’s immediate, day-to-day physical environments. Children can use digital technology to document their own learning experiences. Research shows that children engage in STEM learning, even in the earliest years of life. Very young children are much more capable of learning about STEM concepts and practices than previously thought. Early experiences with STEM activities are related to later success in those subjects or in school generally (McClure et al., 2017). Educators can facilitate children’s emerging understanding of STEM concepts, skills and processes while harnessing their natural curiosity and encouraging STEM ideas in their play. As educators encourage young children to question, explore and reflect on their ideas about the world and how it works, they are expanding their foundational understanding of science, technology, engineering and mathematics concepts and processes. 168 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments While key STEM learning experiences and learning pathways are considered separately to understand key concepts, they are typically interconnected with each other and with other key learning experiences. Making and tinkering are constructive play and central to STEM learning experiences in early childhood. Making emphasizes learning by doing and creating something, typically in a social environment. Tinkering is repairing or making small changes in something, figuring out how something works by taking it apart and putting it back together, Children improve their understanding of technology when they tinker (or pull apart) tools and simple household machines (Vossoughi & Bevan, 2014). EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY Children’s early explorations and discoveries are the beginnings of STEM. Infants and toddlers are active explorers who like to make things happen in their environments. (Gopnik, 2016). They investigate, test hypotheses and innovate. They rely on their senses to explore and pay attention to patterns. Toddlers experiment with tools and manipulate materials and objects. They solve simple problems, such as getting something out of reach, often through trial and error. Preschool and school-age children carry forward exploration and discovery forward into STEM activities. TABLE 8.9 @ EXPLORATION PATHWAYS Cause and Effect AND DISCOVERY LEARNING Repeat actions that produce an outcome Use objects as tools to solve problems Explore functions of objects Make sounds by shaking and banging objects Explore the functions of objects Exploring Space Track moving objects with eyes Touch, rub and squeeze materials and objects Drop objects into containers and dump them out Crawl in, by and through various objects Put objects in containers and dump them out Put things together and take them out Problem Solving Search for hidden toy or other object Move around or through barriers Coordinate sensory and motor skills Solve problems by trial and error Use objects to solve problems Educators can support exploration and discovery learning pathways by: e Playing peek-a-boo games and hiding objects Introducing objects with a variety of shapes and features Providing objects and materials that can be moved around Providing objects that can be stacked Making tools available that can manipulate objects CHAPTER 8 Learning Experiences 169 world. From SCIENCE. Science is a way of knowing the physical and natural al world. In physic and infancy, children acquire knowledge about the natural the principles preschool, kindergarten and early school years, children can use ing, of the inquiry or scientific process such as asking questions, observ why about s investigating and proposing theories. Children’s ideas or theorie en and how the world works are theories for scientific investigation. Childr ns igatio invest Their form questions and seek to answer their questions. often involve representation that describes what they are finding out. These representations can be for themselves or to communicate descriptions and ideas to others. Inevitably, children’s scientific investigations are connected to skills and concepts associated with other areas of learning experiences. For example, when children share their findings with each other through their descriptions and representations, they are reinforcing emerging literacy skills. TABLE 8.10 @ SCIENCE LEARNING Questioning | PATHWAYS Ask “why” questions Ask questions that can be answered through observation Ask questions to solve problems Ask questions that lead to explorations and investigations Ask questions to clarify understanding Make predictions before and during investigations Collecting and Organizing Information Select and use materials to carry out their own explorations Carry out simple experiments Collect data Describe the materials and tools used Describe and compare data on graphs or other types of representation Name and describe the things that they have observed Use specialized sources (online and books) as a means of extending their observations Describe some natural occurrences, using their own observations and representations (e.g., patterns and cycles in the natural world) Describe similarities and cause and effect in recurring events Share Findings Investigate various materials that have different properties Begin to draw conclusions about cause and effect Identify patterns of events Describe connections between different objects, events and experiences Communicate results and findings from individual and group investigations __Listen to their peers and offer suggestions 170 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments Educators can support science learning pathways by: Planning learning experiences that encourage children to think about and work with a science concept (e.g., change through growth, form and function) for many weeks or months ¢ Encouraging children to hypothesize and then test out their hypotheses ¢ Designing learning experiences that offer specific opportunities to extend scientific inquiry Making appropriate scientific equipment (e.g., magnifying glass or balance scales) available ¢ Providing a rich variety of materials and resources ¢ Observing children and strategically asking questions to clarify, expand or discover children’s thinking and theories ¢ Making suggestions to support children’s further planning, investigation and systematic observations as well as gathering information e Encouraging children to share findings with each othe: through discussions and representations When educators listen to children’s questions with respect and answer them seriously, children feel free to express their ideas. Children learn to ask questions when adults model curiosity and pose questions. If you don’t know the answer to a question, say, “I don’t know, but we can find out together. What else do you see?” This invites children to observe more closely and to generate more than one observation. TECHNOLOGY Technology in ECE is about the design and use of tools, materials, energy and machines (including computers) to solve problems, often extending play and learning opportunities. Technology in preschool/kindergarten is intertwined with construction play, socio-dramatic play, creative arts and science learning experiences. The use of tools—from crayons and pencils, scissors, screwdrivers, and gears to tablets and laptops—are opportunities to learn and master a variety of motor and thinking skills. Digital technology—whether televisions, computers, mobile phones, videos or games on interactive tablets: is a regular presence in the lives of young children. Some of the content is specifically designed to appeal to babies and toddlers, and a myriad of content is targeted to preschoolers and school-age children. While television used to dominate children’s media technology, the past two decades have witnessed a plethora of digital media geared to children, including video games, apps, and learning activities on computers, tablets, and mobile Electronic tools, systems, devices and resources that generate, store or process data. Includes computers, online games, social media, mobile phones and tablets. phones (Donohue & Schomburg, 2017). What about the impact of screen time, time children spend with television, videos, electronic games and other digital technology? Parents, educators and researchers are divided in their opinions about the potential benefits and harm of digital technology on children’s learning and well-being. A central concern of parents and educators is what children are not doing—not being physically active and not interacting with friends—when they are spending so many hours on screens. A report from the Canadian Paediatric Society (2017) points to some risks of digital media including potential exposure to violence, inequitable access to digital technologies, lack of supervision at CHAPTER 8 Learning Experiences 171 and potential reduchome, multi-tasking on two or more devices at once, time for children tion of physical activity. The report recommends no screen to 4 years old, and younger than 2 years, no more than | hour for children 2 years (Canadian no more than 2 hours of screen time for children over 5 ' Paediatric Society, 2017). What about having computers or tablets in early childhood education proters and grams? Observers note that children are quite comfortable with compu tablets, exhibiting curiosity rather than fear when given a new software program. RESEARCH| _ INTO "PRACTICE LO 8.3 : — Digital Technology as a Learning Tool for Young Children Digital technology can be a tool to support learning experiences. Interactive screens such as learning activities on tablets and other digital games are different than television (Woolridge, 2016). For example, when children, even very young ones, are offered interactive screens, they are not passive. They are responsive to what is happening on the screen and they take initiative. Games can be designed to offer opportunities to practise emerging literacy and numeracy skills, to improve attention and to reduce impulsive responses (Woolridge, 2016). Young children learn more from digital media when they watch or play with adults who talk to them about what they are seeing and playing. Children’s literacy skills benefit when adults talk and engage with children around themes, concepts or new vocabulary brought forth by the media, similar to the well-established benefits of interactive book reading (Linebarger & Vaala, 2010). Children older than 24 months who watch on their own do learn new vocabulary words and skills such as problem solving and self-regulation from videos developed with an intentional pedagogical approach or curriculum (Linebarger & Vaala, 2010) or through interactive touch screens. Games can be designed to offer opportunities to practise emerging literacy and numeracy skills, to improve attention, and to reduce impulsive responses Some computer programs integrated with a research-based curriculum are associated with gains in math and reading skills among children in preschool and above (Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, 2015): Children often prefer to work with one or two partners rather than alone and will more often request help from peers than from an educator. Interactive screens can be used as a social activity that invites two children to work together to take turns or experiment or solve a problem. In 2019, a Canadian Paediatric Society statement recognized a number of potential benefits of digital technology for school-aged children (and adolescents). These included the following: ® Online programs can be informative and co-viewed with parents and other family members * Online screen media can improve academic performance in literacy and mathematics, and encourage collaborative learning and enquiry 172 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments e Video games can support children’s skills in getting along with others ¢ Digital technology can help children’s friendships that may be more diverse than their friendships offline. CONSIDER: What are the benefits of including digital technology in ECE programs? Source: https://www.cps.ca/en/documents/position/digital- media. TABLE 8.11 @ TECHNOLOGY LEARNING PATHWAYS Experiment with simple machines and common objects Investigate and use familiar technologies Solve problems while designing and constructing things, using a range of tools, materials and techniques Investigate and discuss how familiar objects are designed to meet a human need Investigate in various ways how different forces make things move Mix and transform materials Predict the outcomes of transformations Demonstrate an awareness of the safe use of all materials and tools used in class Investigate and talk about the characteristics and functions of some common materials, and use these materials safely Recognize the use of cameras to record learning experiences Use a camera (including those on a phone or tablet) to record something meaningful Use digital technology for communication (e.g., Zoom) Use digital technology to retrieve information Use digital technology to create a story or record information @=. Educators can support technology learning pathways by: @ Introducing tools, objects and machines into children’s constructive play and science experiences e Asking questions to figure out children’s thinking when they are inventing and investigating e Finding digital technology applications that can accommodate children with learning challenges and/or developmental delays and disorders CHAPTER 8 Learning Experiences 173 A child’s own interests are a starting point for a new project. x 6) g£je) a) x £ 5 Ss) gje) 2) = oy... — x< ENGINEERING Engineering is “a systematic and often iterative approach to designing objects, processes, and systems to meet human needs and wants” (Katehi et al., 2009, p. 49). Children are natural engineers, wanting to build things and design solutions, and this type of play can have beneficial effects in the long term. Constructive play experiences described earlier in this chapter and in Chapter 3 comprise early engineering. Engineering relies on design thinking as an approach to problem solving. Design thinking challenges young children to move beyond exploration and identify and systematically solve the problems they encounter as they navigate the learning environment. The design process is defined as the engineer’s approach to identifying and solving a problem. This approach is iterative; open to the possibility of multiple solutions; a context for rich mathematical, scientific, and technological conceptual development; and an inspiration for systems thinking, modeling and analysis (Katehi et al., 2009). Design thinking influences how a child responds to new learning situations and encourages persistence, curiosity, creativity, inventiveness, engagement and initiative. Problem solving is central to design thinking. Children become highly engaged in solving the problems they encounter as they construct, create and explore. Young children can think of solutions, test their solutions, revise their solutions and test them again until they achieve the results they want. Educators can use problems that arise within the learning environment to design a system solution. Figuring out how to transport water from the sink to plants that need water, how every child can have a turn using a valued tool or how to repair a broken toy can involve defining the problem, evaluating, testing and revising solutions. 174 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments TABLE 8.12 @ PROBLEM SOLVING/DESIGN THINKING LEARNING PATHWAYS Shift attention Track objects with eyes Look for dropped toys Use trial and error Repeat actions that produce outcomes Search for things that move out of sight Use objects as tools and to remove barriers Put things together and take them apart Identify problems Begin to plan ahead Collect and organize information Brainstorm solutions and outcomes Connect consequences to actions Evaluate the outcomes of their problem solving Use art media and tools to express their ideas, feelings and experiences Use a variety of materials to build with and express ideas Plan ahead Connect actions and outcomes Generate alternative ideas Use art media and tools to express ideas, feelings and experiences Collect and organize information Plan to achieve goals Use problem-solving strategies both individually and with others when experimenting with the skills, materials, processes and techniques used in the arts Present their ideas to others (e.g., through demonstrations, drawings, tellings, music and movement) Educators can support problem solving and design thinking learning pathways by: © Being aware of how children are already solving problems and highlight their efforts e Avoiding immediately solving problems for children and assessing how the problem can be solved with only a small amount of adult support e Ensuring the daily schedule allows blocks of time that allow children to engage with problems © Providing opportunities for problem solving that continues to engage children and evolve, to extend over days, weeks and sometimes months ¢ Keeping an ample supply of loose parts available to children indoors and outdoors that lend themselves to “figuring out” CHAPTER 8 Learning Experiences 175 n to ¢ Planning learning experiences that consider “what is there for childre figure out?” © Making decisions about what materials could be added or taken away, or how the physical space might be reorganized to encourage children’s problem solving © Considering specific questions and comments to extend children’s problem solving Awareness of the meaning of numbers that precedes ability to use numbers in simple computations. Emergent numeracy is the understanding of numbers and what MATHEMATICS they represent. It involves both an understanding of quantity (two comes before three, ten can be made up of two sets of five or a set of three plus a set of seven) and quality (big and little, more and less, a little bit, and a lot). Understanding of quantity and numbers begins very early as children explore objects and their properties. Very young children have an intuitive knowledge of mathematics that is acquired through curiosity about their physical world and real-life experiences. In preschool, educators can capitalize on this prior knowledge as a starting point in developing a foundational learning of mathematical prin--ciples and concepts. Early math is more than simply learning discrete skills such as naming numerals—it is about reasoning and discovery. Preschool children develop an informal understanding of numbers. Opportunities to be introduced to other early mathematic concepts are more likely to succeed in formal mathematics in primary school and beyond (Ginsburg, Lee & Boyd, 2008). LEARNING TOGETHER LO 8.3 Four-year-old Ellie is at the outdoor water table. Beside the water table is a small table with several plastic boats and a half dozen balls of play dough about three centimetres in diameter. Ellie is dropping the play dough balls into the water, watching them sink to the bottom and then pulling them out and starting over again. Sasha joins her. He begins to place the boats in the water and pushes them around. Ellie places a play dough ball on the smallest boat and it sinks. Sasha then places a ball on the largest boat and it does not sink. Ellie says, “Hey, how come that boat keeps floating?” Sasha says, “Because it is the biggest boat and big boats don’t sink, just little ones.” Ellie puts three balls on the biggest boat and it does sink. The educator who has been quietly observing the interaction joins Sasha and Ellie. She says, “That’s interesting. Why do you think one ball sinks a small boat, but it takes three balls to sink a big boat?” CONSIDER: How does the educator’s question provoke the children’s problem-solving skills? 176 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments Pretend play contributes significantly to a child’s emergent numeracy. The language of numbers is the ability to see relations about quantity and builds on understandings about amount (e.g., more and less) early in life (Griffin & Case, 1998). Rich pretend play opportunities with other children and adults provide counting systems, including counting words, mathematical relationships, one-to-one correspondence, order, and numbers for the size of a set of objects (National Research Council 2001). For example, children pretending to be shopping for groceries or eating at a restaurant will often introduce and count pretend money. Typically, children bring together an understanding about quality differences between objects (e.g., big and little, large and small) and a continuum of values in between. Counting bridges a child’s innate capacity for informal mathematics to more formal mathematics systems that are cultural inventions (Page & Tayler, 2016). Educators can capitalize on young children’s informal understanding of quantity and rote counting and introduce them to the concept of numbers using concrete materials and loose parts to explore counting, quantity and number relationships. Mathematics is more than numeracy. Spatial awarenesss, also known as geometry, is an essential mathematic skill that supports number skills. It begins with an understanding of two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes, matching and patterns. Puzzles, shape games, building blocks and obstacle courses are examples of learning experiences that promote children’s spatial awareness skills. Froebel, outlined in Chapter 2, and Montessori curriculum approaches, outlined in Chapter 5, promote specific activities to build children’s spatial awareness skills. Children learn to notice and understand patterns; this is related to spatial awareness. They can start to visualize how to mentally move, rotate, stretch or bend objects in space (Moss et al., 2016). Young children also develop abilities for the measurement of time, temperature, length and mass. Measurement includes comparing and ordering objects and incorporating units of measurement into their play with objects. Data management involves sorting and classifying objects or ideas as well as representing and describing data. For example, children may create graphs such as ones that show how many children have birthdays in each month or how many children are wearing red clothes and how many are wearing blue clothes. TABLE 8.13 Number @ MATHEMATICS LEARNING Includes knowing about shapes, positions, directions and movements. Collecting, Keeping and using information that helps children sort, organize, count, compare and understand information. PATHWAYS Make more-or-less comparisons when using materials Move objects to align them when comparing quantities Count to compare quantities Count to determine quantity using one-to-one correspondence Match numbers to sets of objects Recognize quantity is greater when counting forward and less when counting backward Use counters to represent objects Investigate some concepts of quantity through identifying and comparing sets with more, fewer or the same number of objects (continued) CHAPTER 8 Learning Experiences 177 Recognize some quantities without having to count Identify position of events in a sequence objects or events Identify more than, less than, or same as when working with concrete concrete Perform simple operations of adding to and taking away when working with objects or events Separate a set into two equal groups Share objects equally among more than two groups Measurement Count, order, add and subtract numbers when solving problems involving up to 10 objects Use different measurement tools for measuring different things Use vocabulary of measurement such as “heavier” or “lighter” and “taller” and “shorter” Use non-standard measuring tools, such as feet, hands, fingers or a piece of string to measure Use non-standard units of the same size (e.g., paper clips, straws) Measure length, weight or capacity with standard measuring tools Use the vocabulary of standard units of measure Recognize relationships between attributes (e.g., weight and size, size and capacity) Geometry/Spatial Recognize and name simple shapes Awareness Count sides and corners of shapes Identify common attributes of shapes Recognize and name cubes, rectangular prisms, cylinders and spheres Identify and use common geometric terms, two-dimensional shapes and threedimensional figures through investigations with concrete materials Use spatial terms in context (“forward,” “backward,” “inside,” “next,” “behind,” etc.) Follow and identify directions Use simple maps to find a location Make a map Demonstrate an understanding of basic spatial relationships and movements Patterns Recognize patterns in their environment Create patterns with blocks and art materials Describe patterns such as “plaid,” “checked,” “striped” Represent patterns with movements and with symbols Identify, create, copy and extend a variety of patterns (e.g., sound, colour, shape, number) Identify, create, copy and extending patterns Compose pictures and build designs, shapes and patterns in two-dimensional shapes and decompose two-dimensional shapes, using various tools and strategies Describe relationships such as “smaller than,” “bigger than,” “different than” Describe relative position: “before,” “after,” “between,” “front,” “back,” “next,” “last,” “first to sixth” Place objects, pictures and objects in order along a continuum 178 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments Data Management Represent numbers in different ways (tallies, numbers, graphs) Recognize numbers in print Write numbers Use a graph to compare numbers Describe and compare data on graphs and surveys Respond to and pose questions about data collection and graphs Classification Sort, classify and compare objects and describe the attributes used to sort, classify and compare Move from random classification to classifying by one property and then two or more properties Collect objects or data and make representations of their observations Use math language in informal discussions to describe probability in everyday contexts Educators can support mathematics learning pathways by: @e: 1 ¢ Valuing children’s existing conceptual understanding of mathematics ¢ Monitoring how children’s understanding of qualitative and quantitative relationships deepens ¢ Providing children with opportunities to reason and talk about their mathematical thinking e Exploring mathematical ideas about spatial sense, structure and pattern, number, measurement and data comparisons ® Introducing games that use a simple number line, one-one correspondence and counting (e.g., simplified variations of snakes and ladders) e Introducing games that focus on grouping items into categories @ Being explicit about patterns and numbers Andrea’s Towers Sonya, an educator in a nursery school program, observes three-year-old Andrea building with construction materials. Sonya moves away and comes back a few minutes later to observe Andrea again. Andrea says, “Look how many towers | have now.” She has several block towers all over the table. “| have so many. See how many | have?” LEARNING TOGETHER i633 Sonya responds, “| wonder how many there are?” Andrea begins counting as she touches each one. She counts accurately to 18. She says, “See, | have a lot.” Sonya says, “You do have a lot. | noticed that you did something interesting. You touched each tower when you were counting.” Andrea responds, “Yes, that’s how | keep track of how many.” Sonya says, “That is a great strategy.” CONSIDER: What skill is Sonya reinforcing? CHAPTER 8 Learning Experiences 179 SUMMARY e Learning pathways describe how children’s thinking and learning emerges and evolves in a variety of curriculum areas. © Curriculum areas in ECE programs include social-emotional learning, physically active play, dramatic and creative-constructive play, a language and literacy, and STEM. e Educators design inclusive learning experiences that reflect children’s culture, abilities and communities. REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. What are learning pathways for curriculum areas in ECE programs? LO 8.1 2. Summarize the learning pathways for each of the curriculum areas in a chart. LO-8.2 3. How can educators use learning pathways to design learning opportunities that reflect children’s daily lived experiences? LO 8.3 4. How can curriculum areas reflect Indigenous ways of knowing? LO 8.4 STUDY ACTIVITIES 1. What are three examples of learning experiences you have experienced in an ECE program or observed in a video for three of the six curriculum areas? Identify one for infants or toddlers, one for preschool children and one for school-age children. Prepare a short description. LO 8.1 2. Consider the continuum of play-based learning in Chapter 3. For one curriculum area, design three learning experiences: one that is child directed, one that is educator guided and one that is educator directed. LO 8.2 3. Consider a child you know and design a learning experience in one of the curriculum areas that reflects their culture, abilities and community. LO 8.3 4. Go to CBC’s “Original Voices” website (https:// www.cbc.ca/originalvoices) and identify the Indigenous languages in your region. How can you learn more about local Indigenous voices? LO 8.4 KEY TERMS Alphabetic principle (p. 167) Data management (p. 177) Digital technology (p. 171) Early literacy (p. 162) Emergent literacy (p. 162) Emergent numeracy (p. 176) Home language (p. 163) Learning pathways (p. 153) Letter knowledge (p. 167) 180 Linguistically appropriate practice (p. 163) Literacy (p. 162) Phonological awareness (p. 167) Phonemes (p. 167) Phonemic awareness (p. 167) Print awareness (p. 167) Print motivation (p. 167) Spatial awareness (p. 177) SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments SUGGESTED READINGS Curtis, D. & Carter, M. (2015). Designs for living and learning. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press. Hansel, R. (2017). Creative block play:A comprehensive guide to learning through building St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press. Moomaw, S. (2013). Teaching STEM in the early years: Activities for integrating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press. NAEYC. (2016, August/September). Welcoming dual language learners. Teaching Young Children, 9(5). Retrieved September 14, 2020, at https:// www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/tyc r ares CENGAGE SS Shanker, S. (2013). Calm, focused and learning. Toronto, ON: Pearson. Wright, S. (2010). Understanding creativity in early childhood: Meaning-making and children’s drawings. London, UK: Sage. CHAPTER 8 Learning Experiences MINDTAP or aiciional resceneee, visit MindTap. 181 om [OCceamgg =T>= et aw iia Intentional Teaching LEARNING OBJECTIVES 9.1 Examine a variety of observation methods used in ECE programs. ; 9.2 Describe how documentation records observations of children’s interactions, learning and perspectives. 9.3 Describe how pedagogical documentation reveals children’s early learning pathways and development. 9.4 Examine planning in ECE programs. 9.5 Explain how to use assessment for learning, assessment of learning and assessment as learning. 9.6 Analyze the role of reflective practice in supporting children’s early learning and well-being. Canadian and international early learning frameworks include the intentional teaching practices that were introduced in Chapter 1.These practices support how educators make purposeful curriculum decisions, including how they design the learning environment and learning experiences discussed in Chapter 7 and Chapter 8. Educators in ECE programs are researchers who are learning with the children and with each other. They think about the decisions they make. They discuss their decisions and actions with each other. Educators reflect on how their own experiences and context influence the decisions they make. Chapter 9 explores how educators can be thoughtful and deliberate in using intentional teaching practices to take an active role in children’s learning. While intentional teaching may look different in different curriculum approaches, educators use variations of the same strategies including observing, documenting, planning and assessing children’s learning reinforced by reflective practice. These strategies shown in Figure 9.1 are powerful tools for educators working with young children in ECE settings and work together to promote reflective practice. Children benefit from intentional teaching that organizes the social and physical environments in early childhood education programs. Educators are deliberate, purposeful and thoughtful in both making decisions and their actions in nurturing children’s learning. 182 FIGURE 9.1 © INTENTIONAL TEACHING (LO)9.6 Observation Assessment Reflective : Practice Planning Documentation : INTENTIONAL TEACHING Each of the elements of intentional teaching are described separately in this chapter, but as you read, keep in mind that they overlap with each other. Educators guide children’s learning through intentional teaching. Curriculum decisions respond to children’s play and enrich and extend learning. Intentional teaching is grounded in the observation, documentation, planning, assessment _ and reflective practices that are discussed in this chapter. OBSERVATION Observation is an essential element of intentional teaching and a foundation skill DOCUMENTATION |. Practice of gathering and sharing observations, examples and information about children’s learning experiences that can be interpreted and analyzed. for educators. Children reveal their thinking and learning in different ways. They demonstrate what they think, know and are able to do in the way they interact with their world. As they play, talk and relate to one another and to adults, they provide much for educators to observe. Observation is integral to everything that educators do in ECE programs. It is especially important when educators are working with children and families who need extra supports. Educators observe children and record in as much detail as possible what - children say and do. Observation records are evidence or data that can be used as follows: © To document how children think and learn ¢ To gain insight into what and how children are learning CHAPTER 9 Intentional Teaching 183 g environments © To gather information to inform the design of effective learnin nces that build on children’s curiosity, ideas, abilities and life experie ® To provide information for discussion among educators, related professionals and families © To assemble learning profiles for individual children ® To inform pedagogical and curriculum decisions to build on children’s curiosity, ideas, abilities and experiences Observation in ECE programs is about deliberate watching, listening and recording children’s words and actions as they interact with other children, adults and their surroundings. Observing children is a key professional intentional teaching practice of educators. Educators observe children closely with the goal of getting to know each child. Observations of children involve educators who pay attention, look closely and listen carefully. They note what each child is doing and saying and the vocabulary that is used, and record an accurate and detailed description. Observing children requires careful attention to what children do and say in context of the physical and social environment. ~ The interpretation of observations moves into documentation, which is discussed in the next section. The implications or “what next” of observations are described in the Planning section of the chapter. Becoming a Skilled Observer Early learning observation practices include knowing what to observe, and where, when and how to make the observations. Educators start observations by being present as they watch and listen to children explore their environments and their verbal and non-verbal interactions with each other. Educators can find out a considerable amount of information about who the children are, what they know and what they can do through careful observation of their free (child-directed) play. The interpretation of observations come later. Careful observation captures different pathways children may take to declare their abilities and dispositions. By observing children during daily routines or learning experiences, educators gain insights into what and how individuals learn. OBSERVATION RECORDS Educators choose when and how to record observations from a number of options. Some observations are planned in advance and others are spontaneous. Observation records are often short, written notes that record the evidence about what children are saying and doing. Educators notice what is happening in the moment and jot down a short description. To make this possible, they ensure they have a pen or pencil and small sticky notes or a notepad and make notes without interpretation as soon as possible. The choices of educators about what to observe and what words are chosen to describe children’s behaviour carry bias about what is significant: therefore, the goal is to reduce biases and interpretations as much as possible. Educators can plan time to observe and think about what they want to find out about a child or group of children. Observations may be short and noted throughout the day or focused on a particular routine or learning experience. They are usually 184 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments Barbara and Christopher LEARNING TOGETHER Salema is an educator in an early learning and child care centre preschool room. She observes three-year-old Barbara in the block play area. Compare the following two observation notes: Barbara puts a square large wooden block on top of a smaller block. As she LO 9.2 places the block down, Christopher runs past Barbara and knocks the large block off the smaller block. Barbara stands up, puts her hands on her hips and screams, “Don't knock down my blocks. | am building a tower.” versus Barbara puts a square large wooden block on top of a smaller block. As she places the block down, Christopher runs past Barbara and knocks the large block off the smaller block. Barbara is angry and screams at Christopher. CONSIDER: How does the first observation note describe Barbara’s behaviour and words while the second note summarizes and interprets Barbara’s behaviour? planned for times when other educators are around. Educators may plan what ANECDOTES. to look for and observe without directly engaging with a child or children, or they may engage with children to test a hypothesis about what children will say and do. Anecdotes may be compiled from brief observation notes jotted down in the moment or from memory of observed episodes and may include visual documentation such as photos or children’s drawings. Planned observations can include event samples, time samples or running records. Structured observations such as checklists can include a list of skills or behaviours that can be checked off when observed. Targeted behaviours or experiences in structured observations can provide specific information about a child’s development and learning. A written description that is recorded after an event or interaction is observed and OBSERVING FOR CHILDREN’S PERSPECTIVES While considering what they want to find out about children through observation, educators can take into account the perspectives of children. When educators apply the principle of the image of the child introduced in Chapter 1, they look for the possibilities where the voices of children can be heard. Educators recognize that children live in various contexts and there is no single universal view of childhood. In addition to observing how children interact with their environments and each other, they can note what emotions children are expressing. Some questions educators can ask themselves to guide their observations and what they record can be found in Table 9.1. Educators who view children as competent and capable also respect children’s agency and right to privacy in their play with other children. Educators must ensure that their observations are ethical and respect the rights of children CHAPTER 9 Intentional Teaching includes what was seen and heard. EVENTSAMPLE Observation that is recorded while an event (specific routine or learning experience) is happening. The record includes the preceding conditions, the child’s behaviour in the event and the conditions following the event. TIMESAMPLE Observation record that notes an individual child or group of children’s behaviour at predetermined times. RUNNING RECORD Detailed observation record written over a specific period of time while a behaviour is happening. 185 OF TABLE 9.1 @ OBSERVING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE CHILDREN: QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER TO GUIDE OBSERVATIONS How are children using the physical space? How are they using their time’? What are children saying about what they are doing and thinking? How are children expressing their emotions about their experiences and each other? How motivated are the children? How are the children playing with each other? Are any children playing alone, with a partner or in a group? Do they show any joy and delight in their play? ls the play continuous and intense? What adults are involved? How are children moving their bodies? What objects and materials are children using? How are they using objects and materials? in the process. Observations should be recorded in ways that represent children fairly and equitably. Educators can ask older preschool and school-age children for their permission to observe and record play episodes. DOCUMENTATION Documentation can make learning visible by revealing what has been unfolding in the learning process (Curtis & Carter, 2015). Documentation often begins by observing and recording evidence of children’s efforts and learning. Observations of children’s ideas and experiences can be captured through notes (as described in the previous section), pictures and videos, and supplemented by the child’s own representations. Educators’ decisions about what they are choosing to document, and why, may guide what they choose to observe and record. Or their observations of children may guide what they choose to document. Other considerations include what form of documentation is best and how the documentation will be shared. Children’s representations can be collected through samples or outcomes of their activities. The representations can be dated and collected along with description information that provides details about the context—what the children were doing, what was set up in the environment and what materials were available. Documentation can include records of children’s words and conversations, children’s constructions and written observations. Using Photographs and Videos for Documentation Early childhood educators often use digital technology to record their observations of children’s learning. User-friendly and affordable tablets and computers allow young children to become active participants in the process, documenting their 186 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments Traces of children’s learning are found in their drawings. own learning (Lee & Carr, 2002). Using digital technology including photos and video to record what children are saying and doing can allow educators to capture more information than is possible in written notes. This might uncover more about the context and children’s non-verbal cues. At the same time, educators consider children’s safety, right to privacy and confidentiality as digital records can be widely distributed. Possible power dynamics and bias may exist when recording children’s experiences through electronic technology. Young children often have ideas about documentation and what they want to share and not share with others. | Made a “J” LEARNING TOGETHER Dr. Christine McLean, the early childhood education leader who introduced this section recalls the following story: There is a story from when | was in a centre in Newfoundland where everyone was worried about this little boy. He was five years old and getting ready to go to school, but he had never written his name. His parents were really concerned that he didn’t know his letters and that he didn’t know his name, but he was good at LO 9.2 all kinds of other things. One day this boy was playing with the Play-Doh, rolling it in his hands back and forth and it made a snake. As he was rolling it, the snake turned up on one end as kind of a hook. It just so happened that this little boy’s name started with (continued) CHAPTER 9 Intentional Teaching 187 educator over, an he the letter “J.” He put it on the table and he called Mary, the he said, “Ithink said, “Look Mary, | made a “J.” And she said, “Yes, you did!” And right.” you’re you should document it.” Mary said, “| think he wanted to Mary got the camera and she took a picture of the “J.” Now, and the make all the other letters of his name, Jordan. Mary was taking pictures and she other children came over and they started making letters with their bodies on it. words no were —there took pictures of that, too. Mary made a great display pictures these all She was just beginning to understand documentation and put together of Jordan who made the “J.” He brought the playdough “J” over to the alphabet that was on the wall and he showed where the “J” was. The documentation was able to provide comfort to his parents—to show that he was tuning into —a competent writer who his letters. It also made him feel that he was competent was able to make these letters. The fact that Jordan was able to say “this is something that needs to be documented” points to the fact that children can be aware of these important learning processes that are happening with them. It’s about opening the door to have those types of conversations and support children learning to be learners ~ (McLean, 2020). CONSIDER: How did Mary’s response to Jordan support his self-image as a learner? Courtesy of Christine McLean Pedagogical Documentation PEDAGOGICAL DOCUMENTATION In ECE programs documentation might become pedagogical documentation. Observing and recording what children do in ECE programs through the variety of Interpretation and analysis of documented records of children’s learning that influences planning for the learning environment and learning experiences. methods outlined above is the first step in pedagogical documentation. The next step is analyzing and interpreting this evidence of children’s learning to understand and extend learning. Pedagogical documentation makes children’s learning visible so educators can reflect on the evidence of learning with other educators, families and children. Pedagogical documentation invites educators to collaborate with each other in order to design future context for learning. Their planning can be informed by children’s ideas, questions, skills and abilities. Families can contribute by sharing their understanding of learning that happens at home. Pedagogical documentation also allows children to see their own learning. The interpretation and analysis of documentation allow educators to think about children’s progress and make connections that recognize and expand children’s learning. If children are struggling—such as by having difficulty entering play with other children or following a story—educators can identify specific strategies or other resources to help them. An understanding of the learning pathways discussed in Chapter 8 allows educators to monitor and analyze each child’s progress through observation and documentation, make 188 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments curriculum decisions specific to individual children and have conversations with families. The provincial and territorial early learning frameworks described in Chapter 6 include broad learning goals that can be used to interpret children’s daily experiences. The B.C. Early Learning Framework describes pedagogical narration (often called documentation) this way: The process of noticing and collecting moments from daily practice and sharing these with colleagues, children, and families to make children’s learning processes and inquiries, as well as educators’ pedagogical choices, visible and open to interpretation and reflection. Engaging with pedagogical narration is central to the vision of this framework. (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2019 p. 104). Pedagogical documentation or narration begins with observation of children’s play, then gathers data such as photographs, notes, children’s artwork or videos and then reflects on this information (Stacey, 2015). When educators examine the data, they can intentionally make decisions about how to respond to a child or group of children or what play opportunities might be offered. Co-constructed pedagogical documentation is generated with children and for children. The children are the creators as well as the primary audience who are able to review, reflect on, and revisit their experiences. This type of documentation differs from a more traditional approach to documenting children’s experiences—one in which an educator creates the documentation with an adult audience in mind, using adult interpretations of the event in order to make children’s learning visible (McLean, 2018). CO-CONSTRUCTED PEDAGOGICAL Pedagogical documentation that is led by a child or children who participated in an activity with the support of educators who listen to and record children’s ideas. RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE The Mystery That Is My Child’s Day One study (McLean, 2018) considered the co-construction of pedagogical documentation by educators and children. The process of co-construction took place with the children rather than in dedicated time for reflection and planning. The factors involved in this co-construction process were complex and varied. Practical considerations of time, setting, materials and technical support influ- LO 9.2 enced the process. Factors included: Educators’ values, attitudes and beliefs about the involvement of children in the documentation process e The educator—child relationship e The educator’s perception of children’s abilities to reflect and recall their experiences e The inclusion of children’s voices as an element of intentional program | : planning in a playlearns child their e The parents’ understanding of how and what e based setting i continue CHAPTER 9 Intentional Teaching 189 documentation In the study, parents were asked for their thoughts on the their young chilprovided to them by early childhood educators which focused on k from parents dren’s learning experiences in early learning settings. The feedbac uted to their contrib n ntatio docume was positive. They stated that pedagogical light on shed understanding of how their children learned through play. It helped what one parent referred to as “the mystery that is my child’s day.” CONSIDER: What are the benefits of pedagogical documentation for families? Sources: McLean, 2018; Stacey 2015; British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2019 Sharing Documentation PORTFOLIO... A collection of pedagogical documentation of an individual over time. A mounted display of pedagogical documentation that may include text, photos, and children’s representations and focus on a specific process or project for an individual child or a group of children. When documentation is part of daily practice, educators can easily communicate - with families, respond to individual children’s learning and development, and plan what comes next. Documentation allows educators to answer parents’ questions about how a child is doing. Documentation, including pedagogical documentation, can be shared in numerous ways so that it can be viewed and discussed by children, their families and educators. When documentation is displayed at children’s level to view, they are able to remember and revisit their experiences. Often children will then share their experiences with their families. Educators in an ECE program can select a framework to organize and share pedagogical documentation. Also, an organizing framework can support planning and other areas of intentional teaching. Table 9.2 summarizes some examples of how documentation can be organized. RECORDKEEPING VERSUS PEDAGOGICAL DOCUMENTATION All of the following are records or documentation of a moment in time but none are pedagogical documentation. A checklist of outcomes A photo record of the day’s activities A scrapbook of a child’s drawings and emerging printing A record of skills or content taught to children Posting photographs and samples of children’s mark-making and creative arts on the wall or posting videos online with a description such as “Adul and Emis are making a mud pie.” Visit MindTap to learn more about learning stories. The learning becomes visible only when the documentation is joined by an interpretative analysis of the play or interaction and what children are learning. Then the documentation has pedagogical value. Not all documentation needs to be pedagogical documentation, A record of a moment in time in an ECE program still has value for children, educators and parents. It may lead to discussions with children about the learning or it may lead to further explorations and discoveries. 190 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments & ry e > CENGAGE MINDTAP TABLE 9.2 © PEDAGOGICAL DOCUMENTATION RECORDS Daily Diaries A narrative compiled for families and displayed to show aspects of learning and educators’ reflection and analysis of learning that may include photos or children’s drawings. Learning Note A brief one-page analysis of a child’s or group of children’s participation in a learning experience that ¢ Summarizes a child’s involvement in a learning experience e Identifies the demonstrated learning in the description, possibly making specific references to learning goals e Records ideas for future related learning experiences that could be incorporated into planning Learning Stories A narrative about what a child can do and what they are learning. Learning stories represent learning as an evolving dynamic and ongoing process. They begin with educators’ observations of children that could be learning anecdotes. Educators then compose a narrative that is based on the child’s understanding about what they have learned. Learning stories are written as stories for children; they speak directly to children. Families and other children may add additional comments. Portfolio An individual child’s online and/or paper portfolio can include dated anecdotal observation notes from educators’ observations, photographs, videos, drawings, audio recording of conversations, feedback from children, input from family members, learning notes and learning stories put together in a coherent linked collection that offers an overview of a child’s learning over time. Documentation Panel Documentation panels are a display of a project or a process that includes text, photos and children’s representations on a large surface such as Bristol board. The text includes a description of the learning that is happening. i A Learning Note cgLEARNING bhp Five-year-old Riley and Kashen are kneeling at the table beside the main block construction area. Riley selected a box of tiles from the shelf. He was quickly joined by his friend Kashen. Riley suggested to Kashen they arrange the large tiles first. Kashen agreed and added they could use the smaller tiles to fill in the gaps. Together they began creating a pattern on top of the shelf, moving different sized tiles around as needed to fill in space, discussing placement as they went. They discussed various attributes of the tiles such as the size, texture and colours, and decided on their favourites. Kashen kept his favourite tile aside, telling Riley he was going to put that one on last. Riley found many favourites that he i903 used throughout his pattern. (continued) CHAPTER 9 Intentional Teaching 191 could leave it set up Once their work was complete, the children asked if they | | so they could show their families. leaving any blank The ultimate goal was to fill the shelf with tiles without attriobutes of the spaces. Kashen and Riley are knowledgeable about the various tiles and aware of how to fit them together. . 3 CONSIDER: What might educators plan for a learning experience to follow this experience’? LEARNING TOGETHER LO 9.2 192 Spring Is Coming One spring morning when the preschool group of children entered the playground, three-year-olds Sasha and Tryee noticed a robin in the grass as they entered the playground. “Look,” said Sasha excitedly pointing to the robin, “Spring is coming.” Bronwyn, the preschool educator, quickly took out a small notepad and pencil from her coat pocket and made a brief note. She then pulled out her mobile phone and took a photo of Sasha and Tryee pointing at the robin. She was able to also take a photo of the robin before it flew up into a tree. During the children’s rest time, Bronwyn printed the photos of Sasha and Tryee pointing at the robin. The photo is a clear image of the two girls pointing and looking toward the bird, not the camera. She adds the title “A Robin in the Playground—Spring Is Coming.” The title indicates to the reader that this is a record of an event but not pedagogical documentation. The next day, there are more robins in the playground. Four-year-old Philip asks Bronwyn if the robin is a mommy robin. Sasha says, “I think it is a mommy robin but what is she doing?” as the robin hops around the grass pecking its beak into the ground. More children join to watch the robin until it flies into a nearby tree. The conversation among a group of six children brainstormed about what the robin might eat, how it was probably has a nest and whether it was scared of them. Bronwyn takes notes and then joins the group. Tryee asks, “What does the robin eat?” Bronwyn responds, “What do you think?” The children talked together about their theories about what the robin eats as well as ideas about nest building. Bronwyn listened carefully, taking notes about what the children said. Tryee says, “| don’t know.” Bronwyn replies, “Il do not know either. How can we find out?” SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments After further discussion, the children decide they will watch the bird carefully and try to follow its movements for several minutes. The robin flew away high up into the same tree and the children lost interest and turned to play with each other in the sandbox and on the tricycles. At lunch, Sasha turns to Bronwyn and says, “Do we have any books about birds?” Bronwyn responds, “Yes, let’s have a look after lunch.” They found a picture book about birds. It was a book with pictures of several birds naming different species, including one of a mother and baby robin. Sasha asks, “What does the book say about what robins eat or how they build nests or take care of their babies?” Bronwyn replies, “The book has pictures and names of birds but no other information. Let’s make a list of all of our questions. Then we can find other books and see if we can learn more about robins and what they eat, how they make nests and how they take care of their babies.” A few other children joined, and together they had a list of questions that Bronwyn noted on a large sheet of paper. Over the course of the next week, Bronwyn and the children read several books and found a short video of robins making nests. The children drew pictures and gathered twigs and grass to make nests. Bronwyn continued to take notes and photos as the children investigated more about robins. She often asked them questions about their ideas and theories. Bronwyn then prepared a documentation panel that included notes and photos of the children’s investigation of robins, including her earlier documentation, A Robin in the Playground—Spring Is Coming. She also included her interpretation about the children’s learning. The documentation panel was posted on the display wall near the entrance. One day, a week after posting the documentation panel, Sasha was intently looking at the panel. Bronwyn approached her and discussed the potos, encouraging Sasha to remember the events and the learning that happened. CONSIDER: What is the difference between the first documentation a learning note, and the documentation panel? PLANNING Educators are guided by their observations, documentation and the broad learning goals in provincial and territorial early learning frameworks. Though specific planning tools and strategies for different curriculum approaches vary, planning typically includes the content (the learning experience to be offered to children) and how the content will be implemented (possible interactions, use of space and time). Plans for learning experiences often consider how to set up indoor and outdoor spaces and what materials and resources will be on offer to introduce a learning experience. Educators can also consider what materials and resources may be easily CHAPTER 9 Intentional Teaching 193 suited for accessible. Plans also consider the time in the daily schedule that is best learning experience. Possibilities include times scheduled for small groups, large a groups or daily routines. Planning may describe an anticipated sequence for learning experience, while recognizing that the children’s considerations may take it in a different direction. Planning for inclusive early learning environments and experiences that may be structured or unstructured is key element of intentional teaching. Planning is the backbone to optimal ECE environments that support all children’s wellbeing and early learning. Approaches to planning vary and are tied to the curriculum approaches that are discussed in Chapter 5. Planning allows educators to respond immediately when they recognize children’s learning, leveraging teachable moments. Provocations, such as leaving unique items on display, are likely to result in opportunities for teachable moments. Educators can also plan ahead, preparing that often arise spontaneously fea searpe sale ally rouunes. learning environments and experiences based on their observations and pedagogical documentation. Pedagogical documentation is a powerful tool for planning and identifying ~ provocations to extend learning. Educators’ notes and photos regarding a range of explorations or interactions suggest choices about what interests to follow up, and what patterns might emerge later. When educators notice children’s interest in exploring nature, people, places, and objects as well as print, stories, numbers, shapes, and patterns, and when they name the connections between these experiences and acknowledge children’s dispositions to learn, they are co-constructing early learning curriculum with young children and making the curriculum visible to others. Understanding learning pathways and recognizing what children already know and can do through observation and documentation allow educators to avoid needless repetition that does not inspire or motivate young children. Educators meet to share their >» pedagogical documentation and discuss plans for experiences that will respond to and extend children's learning. Per Davi © 194 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments Educators can target some learning experiences just above children’s current skill level—a proven educational strategy for motivating children’s engagement in learning experiences. Educators can also identify when a group of children would benefit from more input to ensure their continued learning. Educators may design and use a template for planning that can be shared among educators working together with a group of children. It can also be shared with children and their families. ASSESSMENT Assessment of individual children in ECE programs must be sensitive to developmental and cultural diversity, while ensuring optimal opportunities and recognition of potential difficulties. Three approaches to assessment are used in ECE programs in Canada and Australia (DEEWR, 2009). ¢ Assessment for learning involves ongoing noticing and acknowledging children’s learning. e Assessment as learning recognizes the process of assessment as a powerful tool for children’s learning. ¢ Assessment of learning confirms what children know, understand and can do. Assessment for Learning Educators observe and document children and how they engage in play with each other and how they respond to the learning environment. Educators use information from assessment to guide intentional teaching practices. Observing children in everyday experiences, analyzing those observations and other evidence of learning such as children’s representations, and recording the information is assessment for learning or formative assessment. Educators’ observations of children’s play with each other and other daily experiences are formative assessments that can be used for extended learning experiences. Assessment for children’s learning refers to the process of gathering and analyzing information as evidence about what children know, can do and understand. It is part of an ongoing cycle that includes planning, documenting and evaluating children’s learning. Assessment for learning offers a way to study the learning experiences that children are involved in and the skills and knowledge they are acquiring through these experiences. It includes interactions between and among educators and children, children and each other, children and their environment, and children and their families. Assessment as Learning Assessment as learning is also formative assessment. Educators help children use evidence of learning to recognize what they have learned. Documentation that children have created becomes pedagogical or a teaching tool—children use documentation to retell past experiences and to recognize their own learning achievements. CHAPTER 9 Intentional Teaching 195 they have learned Children may seek out educators to document what they realize n, children or achieved. Through learning stories and other forms of documentatio s. Children extend their ability to tell stories and to use text, symbols and number initiative to can look back and follow their own learning pathways. They can take copies have a photo of a learning episode or work product included. Paper or hard easing in ages advant of portfolios that include learning stories might have some children’s access as compared to accessing electronic documentation. Assessment of Learning SUMMATIVE.- ASSESSMENT, Evaluation of specific learning skills or knowledge EARLY LEARNING STANDARDS Expectations for young children’s learning and development. Assessment of learning is summative assessment that is intended to measure what children know, understand and can do. Educators summarize children’s learning based on evidence. Educators can create opportunities for children to demonstrate their understanding of key concepts and their skills. Educators assess the progress of children’s learning and development against specific measures of learning outcomes. Pedagogical documentation such as learning portfolios may provide extensive evidence about an individual child’s progress. Early learning standards are one example of outcome measures that describe what children should know and be able to do (National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance, 2016). These standards are used to inform curriculum and pedagogy and may include performance standards that describe how children can demonstrate that they have met the content standards (Epstein et al., 2004). The standards may be assessed either informally in everyday practice or in more formal ways, including standardized testing. Nevertheless, they do not provide a coherent framework for early childhood programs (Scott-Little, Lesko, Marterlla & Milburn, 2007; Fromberg, 2006). When standardized assessments of early learning outcomes become the basis for early childhood curriculum and pedagogy, educators may “teach to the test” and often encourage a focus on measurable, isolated skills (Fromberg, 2006). Almost all US states have developed early learning standards for prekindergarten-age children, and an increasing number of states have developed infant-toddler early learning standards and guidelines (National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance, 2016; Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2017). Clear and appropriate expectations for learning and development across developmental domains is perceived as essential for optimal benefits for children and for program quality among American and United Kingdom early childhood researchers and policy makers (National Early Childhood Accountability Task Force, 2006: Barnett et al., 2006; Siraj-Blatchford et al., 2007). Standardized direct assessments of young children’s developmental skills are prone to error when given to children under age eight (Miller & Almon, 2009; Meisels, 2007). The results of a single child assessment administered at this age does not provide reliable information; for example, young children may not respond although they have the skill that is being assessed. Yet such tests may be used to assess children’s early learning skills as early as four years of age (Ackerman et al., 2009; Sloat, Beswick & Willms, 2007; Kagan et al., ZO0Ta)% 196 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments Assessment in Full-Day Kindergarten In Ontario, full-day kindergarten for four- and five-year-old children has two priorities: 1. A recognition of play-based learning with a developmental focus 2. An assessment of a standards-based curriculum A study of 20 kindergarten classrooms found that teachers used a range of Strategies including assessment of learning information for report cards; collection of assessment for learning to support planning of future activities; and assessment as learning interactions to help children understand their own learning (DeLuca, Pyle, Braund & Faith, 2020). Self-regulated learning is recognized as strong predictor of later school success (Corter, Janmohamed & Pelletier, 2012). The teachers in the study used assessment as learning to directly and indirectly foster student’s self-regulation. The teachers who were using more assessment as learning to support self-regulation by noticing and naming regulatory behaviours for children tended to actively play with them. The researchers suggest that this allows teachers to provide in-the-moment feedback to children and can complement other assessment strategies. _ RESEARCH ~ INTO PRACTICE CONSIDER: How can educators balance the need to document children’s learning while they play alongside them? REFLECTIVE PRACTICE Educators can learn from daily experiences and issues that arise in ECE settings when they think about what has happened and why. Reflective practice guides decision making and planning as educators analyze different aspects of experiences and consider what should be repeated, extended or changed. It often provokes new ideas and ways of knowing and increases curiosity. The image of the child as com- Consideration of actions in context of beliefs, values and knowledge. petent, capable and connected to adults and other children guides educators as they reflect on their actions. Reflective practice involves thinking about curriculum decisions, examining the philosophies and theories that underlie those decisions, and exploring how personal experiences and biases can influence decision making. “The act of constructing pedagogical documentation as a possible entry point and a motivation for educators to become more reflective in their practice, can, in turn, lead to a more responsive and higher quality early learning environment” (McLean, 2019, 03): Educators can think about their own perspectives and be aware of what captures their attention and what delights them. They can consider how their own background and values influence their responses to what children do, daily situations and what learning they find valuable. Reflective practice also pays attention to seeking children’s views and to their ideas and theories. CHAPTER 9 Intentional Teaching 197 In ECE programs, educators observe, document, plan, assess and reflect on their daily interactions with young children. Jack Vision/Thinkstock © Hollingsworth/Digital Educators make hundreds of curriculum decisions a day. Many of those decisions, such as reminding children to wash their hands after toileting or intervening to help resolve an argument between two children, are made automatically, without thinking about why. At times, reflective practice is about looking back at curriculum decisions. Here are some questions that educators can ask themselves questions whether in the midst of a situation or when looking back. How is the organization and use of the physical space and materials impacting this situation? How could relationships be strengthened? ¢ How might schedules and routines be influencing this experience? How might the child’s culture and family background be influencing this situation? ¢ What questions might we ask to get the perspective of the child’s family? Who else or what other perspectives should be considered? ¢ What child development or early learning theories should be considered in this experience? What learning pathways are unfolding? Looking forward, educators can ask other questions. What values, philosophy and desired outcomes should influence responses? ¢ What new or existing relationships could be strengthened? ¢ Which learning experiences could be a focus that would respond to children’s emerging pathways? ¢ What materials could be offered? ¢ What new vocabulary could be introduced? 198 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments CRITICAL FRIEND, FRIENDLY CRITIC Educators who trust each other and ask each other provocative questions that encourage reflection are critical friends and friendly critics. They offer each other a view of practice and information through another lens. Critical friends and friendly critics critique of each other’s work and take time to fully understand the context of each other's practice (Costa & Kallick, 1993). Critical friends and friendly critics are valuable in supporting each other’s reflective practice. SUMMARY © Observation strengthens other intentional teaching strategies including documentation, planning, assessment and reflective thinking and further emphasizes the professional role of the early childhood educator. Documentation records evidence of children’s learning. When educators analyze and reflect on learning, it is pedagogical documentation. Educators’ plans for curriculum in ECE programs are guided by their observations, documentation and the broad learning goals in provincial and territorial early learning frameworks. Assessment in ECE programs includes three approaches and recognition of developmental diversity. Reflective practice guides the practices of educators in context of values, beliefs and the image of the child. REVIEW QUESTIONS . What skills contribute to effective observation? to create pedagogical documentation that can be shared with children, other educators and families. LO 9.3 LO 9.2 . What is the difference between formative and ie Describe five practices that are elements of intentional teaching. LO 9.1 . What is the difference between records of summative observation and pedagogical documentation? LO 9.3 . Describe three formats that educators can use assessment? LO 9.5 . How does pedagogical practice contribute to reflective practice in early childhood education? LO 9.6 CHAPTER 9 Intentional Teaching 199 : STUDY ACTIVITIES 1. Read the following research brief by Dr. Carolyn Wien about pedagogical documentation. What does Dr. Wien mean when she states that educators and children are researchers in the process of pedagogical documentation? Prepare a poster or PowerPoint to summarize the key points in the brief. LO 9.3 Wien, C.A. (2013). Making learning visible through pedagogical documentation. In Think, feel, act: Lessons from research about young children, pp. 27-30. Toronto, ON: Ontario Ministry of Education. Retrieved September 17, 2020, at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/childcare/ . | ResearchBriefs.pdf 2. Working in partners, find three examples of planning templates used in local ECE programs. Discuss the benefits and limitations of each. Prepare a short presentation for the class. LO 9.4 3. Review the types of planned observations introduced in this chapter on page 185. Use other textbooks and search the Internet to find out more about event samples, time samples and running records. Prepare a written description about how to use each one. LO 9.1 KEY TERMS Anecdotes (p. 185) Co-constructed pedagogical documentation (p. 189) Documentation (p. 183) Documentation panel (p. 190) Early learning standards (p. 196) Event sample (p. 185) Portfolio (p. 190) Reflective practice (p. 197) Running record (p. 185) Summative assessment (p. 196) Teachable moments (p. 194) Time sample (p. 185) Pedagogical documentation (p. 188) SUGGESTED READINGS Harwood, D., Facchini, N., Khan, F., Randle, H., Robitaille, S. & Ratilainen, C. fe eo ¢ 4 & CENGAGE MINDTAP For additional resources, visit MindTap. 200 (2017, Fall). “Good-bye Mr. Raccoon, we'll miss you!” Supporting children’s explorations. eceLink. Toronto, ON: Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario. Retrieved September 17, 2020, at https://drive.google. com/file/d/1r-QpyHZPyKpkVVwyuV43Hw83_m3L16Ft/view Ontario Ministry of Education. (2015). Pedagogical documentation revisited: K- 12 capacity building series. Retrieved September 17, 2020, at http:// www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/CBS__ Pedagogical Document.pdf Wien, C.A. (2013). Making learning visible through pedagogical documentation. In Think, feel, act: Lessons from research about young children, pp. 27-30. Toronto: Ministry of Education, Ontario, Retrieved September 17, 2020, at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/childcare/ ResearchBriefspdf . SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments SS TT en ss a ' CHAPTER Qual ity Matters 1Q LEARNING OBJECTIVES 10.1 Recognize various perspectives about what makes quality early childhood education. 10.3 Identify how to measure quality in ECE programs. 10.2 Identify structural and process components of quality early childhood education. 10.4 Describe the process of continuous quality improvement. Chapter 10 discusses several specific components of quality in ECE programs. It reviews regulatory requirements and evidence-based practices that have been introduced in earlier chapters which promote high-quality early learning environments. This chapter introduces a variety of quality assessment tools used to measure ECE quality. The chapter concludes with a discussion of continuous quality improvement to help readers understand and explain the process. WHAT IS QUALITY IN ECE PROGRAMS? ‘As introduced in Chapter 1, ECE programs vary from child care centres for infants to before- and after-school programs for children up to 12 years. Kindergarten, preschool and nursery school programs may be half-day or fullschool day programs. Licensed home child care is offered in private residences. Early Childhood Education Quality Perspectives The quality of early childhood education can be defined from many perspectives, including the views of children, parents and other family members; early and childhood educators; researchers; public school teachers and administrators; the community. The values and beliefs that shape perceptions of quality vary in different cultural contexts. 201 LEARNING TOGETHER LO 10.1 Looking for Quality in ECE Programs preschool pro-, City View Preschool: Three-year-old Phoebe attends a morning In southwest town small gram located in her neighbourhood public school in a are Ontario. Fifteen children, ages two to four years old arrive around 8:30 am and greeted by two early childhood educators, Maria and Elsa. “Hello, Phoebe,” says Maria, kneeling down to Phoebe’s level. “] see you wore your spring jacket today.” Maria looks up to Steve, Maria’s Dad and says, “Good morning. It really does seem like a warm spring day is shaping up.” Phoebe takes off her jacket and takes it to her cubby and hangs it up on the hook. Her Dad places her small backpack on the top shelf and says “Phoebe, remember there are extra clothes here if you need them.” Phoebe nods. “Hey, Phoebe,” shouts her friend, lllsa. “Come and see the magic tower | am building.” Phoebe says a quick good-bye to her Dad and rushes over to Illsa who is in the block area, passing by a snack table that is open for children to help themselves to water, bananas, oranges and small bran muffins. The block structure is now a half-metre high. The base is made up of wooden blocks. Coloured cylinders sit on top of the wooden blocks. On top of the cylinders are small square plastic blocks. lllsa says, “See all the new stuff” and points to a basket with small rocks and sticks. “Let’s put the rocks on the top. They can be magic rocks that keep bad things out.” Aisha’s toddler child care centre: Two-year-old Aisha attends an ECE program in the downtown area of a large city. Today the educators are taking the toddler group to a nearby park that has a large sand play area and a nearby water pump. They bring along pails and shovels. Pedro's Kindergarten: Five-year-old Pedro’s neighbourhood school is located in a small town. He arrives by school bus at 8:30 a.m. He joins his class and educators in the outdoor playground. Ten minute later the bell rings and he goes inside with his friends and walks to his classroom. He looks at the sign-in sheet and finds his name and puts a check mark beside it. Pedro then finds a spot on the big rug where all of the children meet with their educators to talk about what is on offer today. Sarah's before- and after-school program Nine-year-old Sarah rushes from her Grade 4 classroom down the hall to the gym. She is greeted by Nick and Salema, the before- and after-school program educators. Sarah is excited because today is volleyball practice. Sarah has signed up to be on the team. She knows that Salema is a good volleyball player and coaches high school students at the recreation centre on Saturday. Sarah wants to learn the game and how to play it well. CONSIDER: Think about what you have learned about play-based learning, early learning environments and intentional teaching practices. What evidence of quality do you see in the descriptions of these ECE programs? 202 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments @ Educators share their views on what works and what irks in their program. Courtney © Hale/istock.com EDUCATORS’ VIEWS ON QUALITY Educators should consider their own perspectives on what is essential in a high-quality ECE program. Perspectives on quality may be challenged or reinforced. Ideas about quality often change as an educator’s knowledge and skills broaden. PARENTS’ VIEWS ON QUALITY For some parents, a quality ECE program safeguards a child’s health and safety; the child is happy, and the program is conveniently located and affordable. Quality child care is essential to balancing work and family for many parents. Some parents define high quality early childhood education as a program that offers concrete school readiness activities, such as learning to print letters and to count. Other parents highlight social skills such as cooperation and getting along with other children. Parents may define a quality ECE environment as one that values and respects their child’s abilities and their families’ culture. Or parents may define quality ECE as an environment in which their child makes friends, has positive play experiences and is learning a variety of things about the world around them. CHILDREN’S VIEWS ON QUALITY For young children a quality ECE program is a good place to be, and they have strong views about what they like. Having fun is usually important to children. Responsive adults matter. Most important is play with friends. As discussed in Chapter 7, from infancy on, young children identify play and friends as what they like most about their ECE program (Heagle et al., 2017). CHAPTER 10 Quality Matters 203 kinds of environSchool-age children also have strong views about the school programs. afterments and experiences they want to have in before- and to describe In one study, children who were 10 to 12 years old were asked about play their ideal school environment. The children separated their ideas mathin and learning (Kangas, 2010). They explained that they wanted to learn ences: a more “pleasant way.” They described two categories of learning experi as such play h traditional learning such as reading books and learning throug number games. Before- and after-school programs are not intended to replicate school settings, and the views of children in this study suggest a focus on play, including games and organized sports, is more appropriate than homework clubs or remedial activities to improve academic skills. MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES ON QUALITY Gillian Doherty (2000) reviewed the “reality of multiple perspectives” on quality and suggests that the level of quality in a particular early childhood education program depends on who is making the judgment. Doherty states that it is important to recognize that there are different perspectives and to move away from a judgment of quality that is defined by experts only, without the input of other stakeholders. She concludes that “there appears to be agreement that there are some values that are so critical to the well-being of children that they should be a core part of any definition of quality” (p. 4). These values are Safe care Healthful care Individualized care that promotes equal opportunity Care that provides developmentally appropriate stimulation Care that is characterized by positive interaction with adults Care that encourages individual emotional growth Care that promotes positive relationships with other children Doherty cautions us to keep in mind that there are many ways to support these universal values. Our responses can and should vary to reflect our own cultural realities and those of the children and families we work with in early childhood settings. “Understanding and ensuring quality involves a continuous process of reconciling the perspectives of different stakeholders within the broader context of universal values. It is not a prescriptive exercise” (Doherty, 2000, p. 5). @ ¢ ¢ is What Research Tells Us About ECE Quality CENGAGE The value of high-quality early childhood education for improving learning MINDTAP and behaviour outcomes, especially among children at risk, is well established. Quality early childhood education promotes children’s well-being and long- Visit MindTap to learn more about research into the benefits of quality in early childhood education, term positive impacts on academic learning (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2019; Slot, 2018; Barnett & Frede, 2017, Yoshikawa etal 20 204 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments Why Is High-Quality Child Care Important for Child Development? High-quality child care can have a positive influence on children’s development and school readiness by providing valuable educational and social experiences. Research shows also that only high quality provision can deliver well-being and appropriate development to young children. As an increasing number of mothers are in the workforce and most children ages 3 and older now attend an ECE program on a regular basis, it has become critical that young children from all backgrounds should have access to high-quality child care and early education, j Find out more from the online Encyclopedia on Early Child Development (httpo:// www.child-encyclopedia.com/child-care-early-childhood-education-and-care/ introduction). CONSIDER: What is the primary purpose of child care programs—to support parents in the workforce or to support young children’s learning, development and well-being? Source: Tremblay, Boivin & Peters, 2012. COMPONENTS OF QUALITY IN ECE PROGRAMS The question of which specific quality components in ECE programs foster positive outcomes for children is more complicated. Studies have identified two types of components that contribute to ECE program quality: structural _ STRUCTURAL QUALITY —_ Factors such as adult—child quality and process quality (Garon-Carrier, 2019; Slot 2018) as illustrated in ratios, group size and Figure 10.1. Structural quality includes factors that define the social and physstaff education that can ical environment in ECE programs: the number of children and how many be regulated. educators, the kind of physical space, the types of play materials and activities available, and educators’ qualifications that indicate their level of knowledge and understanding of children’s well-being and early learning. Process quality _ PROCESS QUALITY Interactions between eduindicates the interactions among children, between educators and children, cators and children, among families. children’s and between educators and children, and between eduThe policies and systems that determine how ECE programs are organized, cators and children’s families funded and resourced influence the structural framework and process components of ECE programs. ef se during everyday experiences and routines. * CHAPTER 10 Quality Matters 205 FIGURE 10.1 @ STRUCTURAL AND PROCESS QUALITY gE Educator Qualifications Structural Quality in ECE Programs ADULT-CHILD RATIO. Maximum number of children allowed for every staff member. The structural quality is constructed from three building blocks: low adult-child ratio, qualified educators with specialized training and stimulating environments. Structural factors influence the quality of the process factors. The professional practice of educators can benefit or suffer depending on the framework. EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS Educational qualifications matter; several studies indicate centres with educators who have post-secondary ECE diploma or degree qualifications are linked to better outcomes for children (e.g., Melhuish et al., 2015). ECE programs that have had significant impact on later academic achievement of children who have significant disadvantages have educators with four-year bachelor degrees in ECE (Barnett & Frede, 2017). Related post-secondary education increases the likelihood that all educators have an understanding of early learning pathways and development to guide their work with young children. ECE qualifications increase the likelihood that educators will offer a learning environment that is stimulating and challenging ~ enough to engage children while not imposing unrealistic expectations. College and university early childhood education programs recognize the importance of both theoretical and practical knowledge in preparing early childhood educators. Theoretical knowledge includes information and ideas supported by research about how children learn and acquire language, thinking skills and well- being. Practical knowledge focuses on learning about and using varied strategies to guide children, making decisions that take the immediate situation into account and following appropriate day-to-day routines. 206 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments NUMBER OF CHILDREN Several studies reported that fewer children per educator in a group and fewer children in a group seem to result in better child outcomes (Karoly, Kilburn, & Cannon, 2005; Garon-Carrier, 2019, Japel, Tremblay & Cété. 2005). Small group sizes and high adult-child ratios also contribute to higher quality in ECE programs. Most child care provincial/ territorial regulations in Canada specify ratios that—based on the research—are generally considered to be adequate. Some provinces/territories regulate group size. There is also evidence that ratios and training are interrelated—having a lot of staff with no post-secondary early childhood training is no substitute for qualified educators. It is common sense that the total number of children an educator is responsible for will affect the quality of care and education children receive. Can you imagine the quality of care or child development outcomes in situations in which one ECE is responsible for six infants? Basic safety is missing in this situation, let alone an environment of respect, responsiveness and reciprocity. Optimal child-staff ratios in early childhood settings allow educators to interact frequently with each child, respond promptly to children’s needs, andobserve individual children and the group dynamics. The overall size of the group is another important component. If the total group size becomes too large, even when the number of children each educator is responsible for is small, quality deteriorates. The adults must pay more attention to overall group organization and schedules, taking away from their individualized attention and flexibility in following the lead of children’s activity. In large groups, children’s play and daily routines must fit into a group schedule and pattern. It becomes much more difficult to respond to individual children without creating chaos in the group. Research studies help us to understand the optimal adult-child ratios and maximum group sizes for different ages of children for centre-based early childhood programs. Where a multi-age grouping exists, the adult—child ratio and group size requirements can be based on the age of the majority of children in the group. When infants are included, the ratio and group size for infants _ should be maintained. PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT The physical environment is a powerful influence on our behaviour. Think about how you change your behaviour in different spaces. Large, open spaces encourage big movements. Cozy, small spaces encourage quieter activity. The physical environment gives us messages about what kinds of behaviours are expected. An early childhood education environment that is organized to include defined spaces for big movements, quiet retreats and messy play gives children cues about how to behave. The elements of physical environments that contribute to quality early learning environments are discussed in Chapter 7. Excellent ECE programs have environments structured so that early childhood educators are able to continually observe children. Think about environmental arrangements, curriculum methods and pedagogical practices that allow educators to continually observe the children in their care. Specific practices include encouraging individual CHAPTER 10 Quality Matters 207 OPEN-ENDED MATERIALS” Items that have more than one designated purpose. by exploration or small-group interaction, rather than whole-group activities led ion instruct adult educators; providing open-ended materials that do not require or assistance; and defining observation formats and record-keeping templates as important tasks for educators. The physical environment is an extension of the pedagogical approach of the program. The arrangement of furniture, objects, and materials may reinforce a coherent approach with considerable attention to the details of colour, light and shapes. A chaotic physical environment usually signals a lack of an intentional pedagogy and points to a more custodial type of program. Quality early childhood education provides language-rich environments, - with stimulating materials, in which children feel included and valued. The indoor and outdoor spaces provide safe opportunities for children’s play, independent problem solving and inquiry. The staff plans opportunities that allow children to explore language and communicate their thoughts and learning in meaningful ways. How the environment is set up influences how children explore, learn, and express their understandings of the world around them. The environment can be structured to encourage positive experiences of play, cre~ ating an interest in further learning and exploration. Some environments may focus and calm children, while others agitate and overstimulate them. Environments may excite and motivate or simply bore children. The arrangement of the physical environment can define or limit children’s choices and encourage or discourage the process of learning. Process Quality in ECE Programs A child’s daily experiences are based on the interactions that children have with educators and other children. Process factors define the nature of the interactions and activities that educators, children and their families engage in each day. Building blocks are essential in quality early childhood programs. fj» © Publishing/Thinkstock Ingram 208 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments Educators’ respect, response to and reciprocity with young children is clearly the crux of the issue of quality. Of course, an educator's own values, attitudes and other personal characteristics have an important role in their capacity, but so does their underlying understanding of development. As educators become more knowledgeable about the principles and professional practices of early childhood education practice, their capacity to respect, respond to and reciprocate with all children increases. . RESPONSIVENESS As discussed in Chapter 7, in high quality ECE programs, educators are responsive to how children feel and think. Educators provide emotional security, frequent communication, encouragement to play and challenges to explore. A nurturing, stimulating relationship between a child and educators extends to positive relationships and learning experiences with other children. Effective ECE programs recognize that learning takes place in the context of responsive relationships. _ Responsive educators are able to read children’s verbal and nonverbal signals, and they react promptly to children’s needs and requests. Responsiveness is a sensitivity to each child’s emotional state and mood, as well as attention to their physical needs. Children’s trust emerges when adults are emotionally and physically available and reliable in meeting their needs. Infants and young children are more likely to form positive relationships to responsive early childhood educators than they are to less-responsive educators. Responsive educators are pay attention to what children are thinking. They probe to find out the ideas and theories children have about what is happening in their world. Research evidence points to the quantity and type of interactions that educators have with children as the key ingredient in determining the quality of ECE programs (e.g., Burchinal, 2018; Sylva et al., 2010). Responsive interactions that encourage children’s explorations and language and recognize _ what children are feeling are quality factors related to children’s outcomes (Melhuish et al., 2015; Slot, Lerkkanen & Leseman 2015). Recent studies point to the value of interactions that are imbedded in intentional teaching practices that respond to, and encourage, children’s thinking (Burchinal, 2018). Educators use these strategies as outlined in Chapter 7 and 8 to design and carry out learning environments and experiences. Children who interact with a responsive educator are more likely to get along with their peers. In addition to supporting children’s social skills, responsive educators support children’s thinking and language skills. EVALUATING QUALITY The quality of an ECE program can be evaluated in terms of its objectives. If learning experiences are designed to engage children and challenge their learning, educators can consider whether children had explored the available objects and expressed their ideas. What conversations and questions are children sharing with each other and with educators? What words and phrases are the children using? CHAPTER 10 Quality Matters 209 ant to educators, Evaluating the quality of early childhood education is import ons: questi ing to parents and to policymakers, who might ask the follow | © What is the level of quality offeredby an individual program? child? @ What type of ECE program offers the best experience for my young © What is the most effective use of public fundingtopromote quality ECE programs? © How can the impact of changes in staff qualifications, funding or daily routines be monitored? As noted earlier in this chapter, quality can be looked at from different perspectives. Researchers point to structural and process components of quality. However, which of these elements is most critical in evaluating the quality of early child childhood programs? The first step is to consider which aspect of quality to measure. Policymakers and researchers use three different possibilities: 1. Program ingredients or characteristics, which are mostly the structural . quality factors 2. Child or parent outcomes, which include the achievements, behaviours, and characteristics of children or parents 3. Program outcomes, which attempt to measure what children actually experience, or the dynamics components of quality. Researchers and early childhood educators have a variety of methods to monitor and evaluate their learning environments including rating scales, feedback from families through interviews or questionnaires, and interviews with children. Rating Scales RATING SCALE cc, A measure of quality based on ese Nome. Seicolle iis that are scored a number value ieeeatayaecore WeONOS ST Rating scales identify indicators of framework and dynamic components of quality that young children experience in early childhood education settings. The individual items are measured through observation along a number scale. : : ; ; : Studies relate the results of the rating scales to children’s developmental and learning outcomes. Researchers use rating scales as one method to study the relationship between program quality and funding or structural elements such as staff-child ratios or staff education levels (Bertrand & Corter, 2007). Rating scales can be used to monitor the quality of ECE programs in a region or across a province. In some instances, rating-scale assessments are attached to government funding for ECE programs such as early learning and child care programs that receive public funding. Rating scales can also be used by ECE program leaders and educators to gather information to support quality improve- _ ment. The information from the rating scale scores guide educators to design higher quality environments sometimes with the assistance of a coach or mentor who is from outside the ECE program and has ECE expertise. The most commonly used rating scale to monitor quality in preschool ECE programs in Canada is the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale | (ECERS-3) (Harms, Clifford & Cryer, 2014). The first ECERS was introduced in 1980 (Harms & Clifford, 1980) as a rating scale to assess preschool centre-based programs. Since then, ECERS revisions have added more items on interactions 210 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments and specific learning experiences. ECERS became the most frequently used. measure of ECE quality for research studies in Canada. In addition to the ECERS preschool settings, there are related ECERS tools for infant and toddler settings, school-age settings and family child care settings. The information from ECERS supports educators in making decisions about program development . tg and improvements. The Environmen t Rating Scales Institute (ERSI) provides a number of services and resources related to the use of the various Environment Rating Scales, including training in the administration and interpretation of % eae CENGAGE the results. MINDTAP Examples of the Environment Rating Scales and other rating scales used to measure quality in ECE programs are summarized below in Table 10.1. TABLE 10.1 RP Visit MindTap for more on Environment Rating Scales. @ ECE PROGRAM QUALITY RATING SCALES. The Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale—Revised®, (ECERS-3) (Harms, Clifford & Cryer, 2014) The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS-3) assesses quality in preschool ECE programs for children aged 2 ¥% to 5 years in centre-based settings. ECERS-3 focuses on the organization of ; the environment and educator—child interactions that support cognitive, social, emotional and physical development and health and safety. ECERS-3 also includes items to assess literacy and math activities. The scale includes 35 items organized into six categories: space and furnishings, personal care routines, language and literacy, learning activities, interaction, and program structure. Studies that directly measure the relationship of child care quality to outcomes of child development most frequently use the ECERS-R. Infant-Todadler Environmental Rating Scale®, (ITERS-3) (Harms, Cryer & Clifford, 2017). School-Age Care Environment Rating Scale®, Updated Ealtion (SACERS-Updated) (Harms, Cryer & Clifford, 2013) The Infant-Toddler Environmental Rating Scale (ITERS-3) assesses quality in ECE programs for infant and toddlers up tomonths 36 of age. The scale includes individual items organized into six catego- ; ries: space and furnishings, personal care routines, language and books, activities, interaction, and program structure. The School-Age Environment Rating Scale, Updated Edition (SACERS-Updated) assesses quality in before- and after-school programs for children from ages 5 to 12 years during their out-ofschool time. The scale includes 47 items organized into seven categories: space and furnishings, health and safety, activities, interactions, program structure, staff development, plus six supplementary items for programs enrolling children with disabilities. Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale® Revised (FCCESR-3) (Harms, Cryer, Clifford & Yazejain, 2019) The Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale®, Revised, assesses quality in home child care programs for children from infancy through school age. The scale includes 37items organized into seven categories: space and furnishings, personal care routines, listening and talking, activities, interaction, program structure, and parents and providers. (continued) CHAPTER 10 Quality Matters 211 Classroom Assessment Scoring System (Pianta, La Paro & Hamre, 2008) ) measures The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS to grade the quality of the learning environment in prekindergarten ten. es includ It 2008). 5 classrooms (Pianta, La Paro & Hamre, t, suppor s nal emotio items organized within three broad catego—rie t. organizational support, and instructional (pedagogical) suppor g, reasonin e stimulat to do rs The tool focuses on what educato problem solving, and depth of thinking about materials or experiences. CLASS characterizes effective pedagogy in the early years as “responsive teaching” that has demonstrated a positive impact on young children (Hamre et al., 2014). The CLASS assessment is used in early childhood education research in Canadian programs and often used by early childhood education programs in the United States and Australia (including child care centres, prekindergarten and kindergarten). Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale— Expanded (Sylva, SirajBlatchford & Taggart, 201 1) Sustained Shared Thinking and Emotional Wellbeing Scale (Siraj, Kingston & Melhuish, 2015) ECERS-E was designed to be used with the Early Childhood Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) and expands the scales to four educational aspects of provision: literacy, mathematics, science and environment, and diversity (i.e., planning for children’s individual learning _needs, valuing and respecting other cultures and gender diversity). An extension to the ECERS-R (the ECERS-E), the tool is based on findings from the United Kingdom longitudinal study, Effective Provision of Preschool Education (EPPE), which reported the link between intentional pedagogical practices and positive outcomes for children that carried forward into their school years (Sylva et al., 2010). The Sustained Shared Thinking and Emotional Wellbeing Scale (SSTEW) is an observational tool for assessing practice in centre-based programs for children two to five years old. It complements other program assessments that focus on quality of space, resources, learning experiences and staffing. It is organized as a rating scale that evaluates pedagogical practice that supports children aged from two to five years to develop skills in sustained shared thinking and emotional wellbeing. The tool balances care and emotional development of young children with specific practices that extend and support cognitive and language skills (Marbina et al., 2015). It focuses on scaffolding children’s learning and development in a progressive and consistent way (Siraj-Blatchford, 2009) and also originated from the EPPE study in the United Kingdom. Feedback from Families Parents and other family members who are primary caregivers often share their opinions about the quality of ECE programs, particularly if open communication is encouraged. They may have informal conversations with educators or centre supervisors or directors. If parents are welcomed and feel comfortable in the program, they are more likely to spend time when they drop off and pick up children. Conversations about the learning environment and experiences are 212 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments Assessment for Quality Improvement Assessment for Quality Improvement (AQ!) measures and supports the quality of Infant, toddler and preschool programs in over 700 early learning and child care centres in the City of Toronto. The centres are public and directly operated by the City or have a service contract and receive funding from the City. The AQI outlines clear expectations, practice standards and guidelines. The results are publicly posted on the Toronto Children’s Services website. AQI is a rating scale with items organized into several categories for each of the age groups. The categories include framework or structural elements as well MAKING IT HAPPEN L0)10.3 as dynamic or process elements. The rating scale is from 1 to 5. A score of 1 or 2 for an item indicates that the item is not meeting expectations; a score of 3 shows an item is meeting expectations, and a score of 4 or 5 indicates items that are exceeding expectations. For example, here is one item from the Preschool AQI: TORONTO CHILDREN’S SERVICES, EARLY LEARNING AND CARE ASSESSMENT FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT 2014 Learning Experiences Does Not Meet Expectations ea Meets Learning experiences offered do not reflect the current Program Plan Learning experiences offered are not developmentallyappropriate Learning experiences do not promote choice for children. There is current documentation which demonstrates that Expectations Be observations of children are used in the development of learning experiences Learning experiences are adapted to meet any child’s individual needs Learning Exceeds Expectations 4-5 Photo documentation of learning experiences available Activity reSOUrCes accessible for families Portfolios regarding each child’s development are accessible to families Enrichment program, in experiences are addition to regular program, is based on chil- included monthly. dren’s interests. Source: Courtesy of Toronto Children's Services. Used with permission. Centres receive one-to-one professional learning sessions if they are not meeting expectations. Toronto Children’s Services also offer communities of pracops. ns and worksh sessio tice (continuea) CHAPTER 10 Quality Matters 213 o Institute for Studies Toronto Children’s Services partnered with the Ontari k et al., 2017). The in Education (OISE) to validate the AQI (Perlman, Brunse with validated quality OISE researchers used the AQI in child care centres along m (CLASS), Infant/ | improvement tools: Classroom Assessment Scoring Syste ood Environment Childh Toddler Environment Rating Scale-3 (ITERS-3) and Early Rating Scale (ECERS). for early The AQI is publicly available as a self-evaluation and planning tool of the versions all of copy a learning and child care centres. The City provides the on available AQI for use without charge to any interested party and it is City’s website. . CONSIDER: Why do you think that the City of Toronto posts the scores that centres receive on a public website? _ Perlman, Brunsek et al., 2017; Toronto Children’s Services, 2014. a ® o ¢ a= CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about the AQI from Toronto Children’s Services. more likely to occur at this time, and educators may learn more about what elements of quality are important to parents. Many ECE programs are intentional in collecting information from parents about their views on quality. Parent meetings, individual interviews and parent surveys are options that can be used to collect that information. Children’s Views on Quality If educators view children as capable and competent and value children’s agency, it follows that hearing the voices of children about how they experience the quality of ECE programs is important. Educators can learn much from observation—do children express joy at some point? Are they usually happy to arrive and eager to join friends? Do they become fully engaged in play with other children and in learning experiences that are on offer? Of course, an individual child may be unhappy for a variety of reasons but, overall, is the group of children engaged and seemingly happy much of the time? Educators can use other strategies to learn about children’s views on quality. Chapter 7 included information about how researchers learn from children about what they like and do not like about their ECE programs. Preschool children usually point to both play and friends as what they like most. Educators can use the same approach to find out children’s views about the quality of the program: either individual interviews or a group discussion with preschool children is possible. Preschool children who are four and five years old and school-age children in before- and after-school programs can be surveyed. Questions about what could be changed in the program might reveal insights into their views on quality as well as useful ideas to consider. 214 SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments Continuous Quality Improvement High quality ECE programs never stop evaluating their learning environments and using the results to improve what is on offer to young children and their families. Continuous quality improvement starts with ECE program leaders and educators who use data collected from program evaluations, feedback from families, feedback from children and their own self-assessments, Educators reflect. on program strengths and identify areas for improvement. Educators may work together to annually update goals, objectives and strategies to guide ongoing improvements. Data collected about the quality of the ECE program from environment rating scales, described earlier in this chapter, may be used to inform continuous quality improvements. As well, professional CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT Ongoing analysis of quality evaluation results to understand changes needed to improve the quality of early learning environments for young children and their families. learning opportunities (discussed in Chapter 12) can be informed by collected data and feedback from parents from educators, parents and children. In addition, ECE programs can develop a continuous quality improvement plan as a roadmap for improving early learning environments. The plan can be used to guide daily practice and be a reminder of a program’s approach to continuous quality improvement and identified goals for improvement. Continuous quality improvement also takes place through communities of practice. COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE Educators often participate in communities of practice that support continuous quality improvement and reflective practice. A group of educators deliberately come together in person or online to discuss and think about their daily professional practice in ECE settings. The groups are established over time and become a place and space for participants of the community to engage in reflective practices together. Communities of practice are more intentional than informal conversations and networking. Dialogue is focused on a particular practice topic. Participants are critical friends and friendly critics who challenge each other and learn together. Participants ask questions and make connections to provoke deeper consideration of an idea. The dialogue of the educators in the communityof _ practice leads to new understandings because the structure of the community of practice has provided dedicated time for reflection (Holmes, 2015). As educators in the group learn from each other, they can take opportunities to take new ideas and strategies into their practice and then engage with others in the group for feedback. Communities of practice may have a designated facilitator who keeps the process moving forward. Facilitators can support the conversations by linking common ideas and keeping discussions focussed. Sometimes facilitators can be helpful in navigating difficult conversations that emerge among educators who are passionate about their ideas. Most important, a facilitator can ensure all participants have opportunities and are supported to contribute to the conversation. CHAPTER 10 Quality Matters COMMUNITIES OF RBAGTICR scsescccuersisseeacsy A group of professionals who share a strong interest about a topic related to their practice and come together to collaborate to improve their practice. = o ¢ 1®& CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about communities of practice. 215 SUMMARY © The structural factors of quality include educator qualifications, pedagogical practices, adult-child ratios and the physical environment. e The process factors of quality centre on the interactions between and among educators and children. e The evaluation of quality in ECE programs can be carried out through rating scales and feedback from parents, children and educators. © Continuous quality improvement is an ongoing process that uses evaluation feedback to make changes in the program. REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. How is quality early childhood education defined? LO 10.1 2. What are the differences between structural and process components of quality? LO 10.2 3. How do rating scales measure quality in ECE 5. How can educators find out what parents and children think about the quality of the ECE program? LO 10.3 6. What does continuous quality improvement mean to educators in ECE programs? LO 10.4 programs? LO 10.3 4. What are three rating scales that may be used to measure ECE quality? LO 10.3 STUDY ACTIVITIES 1. Create a checklist of 10 items that you consider to be the most important indicators of quality. Explain why these items are the most important ones to consider. LO 10.1 2. Review the items in the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS-3) Observe a preschool program and assess the environment using ECERS-3. LO 10.3 3. Explore the OECD website for the report Engaging young children: Lessons from research about quality in early childhood education and care What can you find out about different perspectives on quality? LO 10.3 4. Think about your experiences in ECE programs during field placements or while working. Describe a time when you were responsible for more children than is recommended by the research. For example, were you able to engage in conversations? Could you respond to children’s nonverbal signals? Did you observe their activity and the dynamics of the group? LO 10.4 EE OIE KEY TERMS adult-child ratio (p. 206) Process quality (p. 205) Communities of practice (p. 215) Rating scale (p. 210) Continuous quality improvement (p. 215) Open-ended materials (p. 208) 216 Structural quality (p. 205) SECTION 3 Early Learning Environments SUGGESTED READINGS Curtis, D., Lebo, D., Cividanes, W. & Carter, M. (2013). Reflecting in communities in practice: A workbook for early childhood educators. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press, Garon-Carrier, G. (2019). Defining and measuring the quality of early learning and child care. Ottawa, ON: Employment & Social Development Canada. Retrieved September 18, 2020, at https://www.canada.ca/en/ employment-social-development/programs/early-learning-child-care/ reports/2019-defining-measuring-quality.html ¥ Bays Hodgins, D., Atkinson, K. & Wannamaker, L. (2017, Fall). (Re)imagining GENGAGE and (re)engaging in relational encounters: Communities of prac- —____—_ tice for (re)vitalizing pedagogies—The peer-reviewed collection 1(1) eceLink. Retrieved September 18, 2020, at https://drive.google.com/ file/d/1986Mmi2FOQv54jM3aXPeR4suSxwrMHZm/view CHAPTER 10 Quality Matters MINDTAP Por additiena WecorRece! visit Mind Tap. 217 om [CO Ceaemgag awa tia . no o 12?) o = Parl a 2+ Lu © ave aanrv The Early Childhood Equcation Landscape Early childhood education graduates in Canada are entering a workforce with CHAPTER TWELVE Early Childhood Educators: Looking Ahead 247 unprecedented opportunities. The range and numbers of programs seeking early childhood educators are expanding along with the recognition of their professional scope of practice. Public policies and public investment are recognizing the essential role that early childhood education plays in creating childhood spaces for living and learning and for supporting families’ workforce participation. Chapter 11 outlines how early childhood education programs are organized and the role of governments in supporting them. These programs do not include the formal schooling that starts at grade 1. An early childhood education program is a place for children to play and learn together with other friends and is often structured to provide the hours of care for children that allow parents and other primary caregivers to work. The role of public education in providing ECE programs for preschool children in addition to five-year-old kindergarten is growing. Overall, there is little consistency in how early childhood education programs are organized across Canada. Chapter 12 points to the future of a career in the early childhood education profession. Opportunities are expanding for qualified educators, including those that offer reasonable compensation and work environments. Early childhood educators are supported by the growing strength of professional organizations and the resources they offer. The economic and social benefits of ECE are making the case for a more coherent system of early childhood education with more public investment. 218 5 EL ECE LEADERS Jamie Kass Jamie Kass is retired National Childcare Coordinator for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. | am almost 70, a feminist, a professional, an early childhood educator, a trade unionist and now retired. | started working as a “child care worker” after university in 1976. | worked with preschool children, then as the centre cook, and then as the coordinator of a non-profit, community-run child care centre in Ottawa. | returned to school at Algonquin College to take ECE part time while | continued to work at the centre. At the centre | was paid $7,000 a year, with few health benefits. By 1978, frustrations were growing. There was a revolving door of staff. We couldn’t afford to live on our own. We could not purchase many of the toys and equipment we needed. Why were our wages so low? It is a system based on the private market—a market that is fundamentally flawed, and pits increasing user fees from parents against higher wages for workers. The system does not work as a user-fee service—and we would be hard pressed to find any other education or social services operating this way. Perhaps it was the sense of injustice that spurred us on. So back in 1978, we decided enough was enough. If we wanted change, we had to do something. So we started talking UNION—what it was, how it could help us. We found the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and joined. And our understanding of what goes into a collective agreement, making decisions about wage and benefit proposals, bargaining strategies, priority-setting, lobbying governments, and engaging all the workers in these issues was a learning curve. Our understanding of solidarity shifted forever. | also realized that making gains was more than an issue in any one centre or even all the centres in Ottawa; we were plagued with low wages across the province. In 1981, | was there for the founding of the Ontario Coalition of Better Child Care. Women’s, anti-poverty, and social service organizations, and public- and private-sector unions joined with child care groups to form this new coalition. Over the years, we focused a lot of our work provincially— with cross-province tours, Campaigns for direct government funding for wages, increased funding, quality enhancement and expansion, and pay equity. We also developed many position papers calling for the overhaul of child care in our province. In 1982, | went to Winnipeg for a national child care policy conference. | realized we were far from alone—things were happening across the country. Our issues were very similar even with different legislation and public policy in each of the provinces and territories. Out ofthat conference, we formed anational advocacy group —the Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada [now called Child Care Now]—to push the federal government to change. The Canadian Child Care Federation was also born, with a focus on professional and quality workforce issues. We wanted a universally accessible, affordable, not-for-profit, inclusive, publicly funded, comprehensive child care system! Imagine how many times we had to say that! We pushed ourselves to describe what it would look like and how a system could be phased in. (continued) SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape 219 @ agaaunoarvrr:t™ Bre am eas And then our campaigns—this is when | realized the creativity of our movement was expressed through our campaigns: e Sending cookies to the government saying, “No more crumbs for child care” @ Sign On for Child Care with a petition of over 100,000 signatures ® Numerous fights against corporate and for-profit care e We headed to Parliament Hill in Ottawa and to Queen’s Park in Toronto to lobby and protest enough to wear the rubber off our shoes! e And more recently, the Child Care for All campaign We did it to make the system better for children, families, women, and the staff working in the centres. - | started to look more at the quality of programs. What was quality? Did it look like what we were practising? What could we do better to make sure Our programs were inclusive of all children? | got involved with the Canadian Child Care Federation, an organization committed to understanding quality and developing an educated and skilled workforce. | felt an enormous weight to represent the union movement and to show that we cared about the child care program, real inclusion of all children, and training. | started to realize how important education and a sound body of knowledge was for our practice. We have a child care sector that has made advancements in many provinces, in quality resources and enhancements, introduction of provincial curricula and accreditation, direct government funding to increase wages, and recognition and improvement in pre-service and in-service training. ECE programs are expanding in public - schools and early childhood educators in those programs are joining unions representing education workers. Changes are taking place —in Ontario, a college of ECEs formed; provincial-wide curriculum was implemented; child care moved into the Ministry of Education; full-day kindergarten for all four- and five-years-old children was introduced with good paying jobs for early childhood educators and more 220 partnerships and recognition for ECE in the school system. Since 2015, the federal government has become involved again through the Early Learning and Child Care Agreements. We have legislation— Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014. Wages in the ECE sector have stagnated for some, but they have improved for ECEs in full-day kindergarten. Being part of the public sector has made a difference, but we can’t leave behind other ECEs doing the same work. So what does this mean for us as a profession? Front-line staff, supervisors, instructors, and students need to be part of the change and part of the solution. We have three pillars to make progress, and we must ensure that we are part of the solutions for children, families and staff. These pillars include professional organizations, unions and advocacy organizations for policy and action. First off, experience shows us that any professionals that have advanced to promote themselves, such as nurses, teachers, and social service workers, have a strong professional organization, often are unionized, and are part of broad advoCacy organizations. Organizations who represent ECEs must be well positioned to make a case for our professional development needs, the needs of the sector users (families, children), the need to link between public policy and practice, and to fully promote the value of ECEs to the public, the media and the government. In other words, the sector has to promote itself. No one else is better positioned to do this work, but it doesn’t just happen. There is a need for a united voice. Be open to broad policy debates. Don’t be afraid of engaging and talking policy. Government policy affects all our services—who has access, who can afford it, and what are our conditions of work. Make the links. Understand issues of training and education and policies that promote further education. Join, promote and fund organizations that support your goals. Recognize that professional organizations, trade unions, and broad-based advocacy groups all can be critical vehicles for ensuring advancement. Professionals have a key part to play. SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape Ses ers These organizations are not mutually exclusive, and their goals can be complementary. There can be endless opportunities for collective work for change. And you can have fun and use your creativity. It is not all hard work. So, to finish my story, | am now retired. | had a hugely rewarding career. I’ve made lifelong friends and met incredible colleagues. | have learned a huge number of skills from children and from our program development and design. I’ve learned to appreciate good research and policy analysis, and what it brings to advocacy for system change. | have learned how to organize, promote, and inspire parents, other workers, and the ECE workforce in seeing the potential of good quality early learning and care. | have learned how to chair meetings, facilitate conversations, and mediate differences, and to speak publicly. | have learned how to listen. I’ve learned resiliency. The active role | played in the child care movement is now being played by others and | continue ees seed pe to support the work in every way | can. The political landscape in Canada is always shifting and there are always new opportunities to build the child care system our country needs. The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 for all its tragedy has put the spotlight on how essential quality child care is to the well-being of children; the economic security of parents, especially mothers; and also the security of the overall economy. What is not as well understood is the central role of the child care sector workforce [, which] is to get us from what we have now in child care to where we need to be. Now, just as ever, the child care workforce must organize with others, speak out and advocate so that the right policy solutions get adopted. It is time to press for, and win, a fully publicly funded and publicly managed universal system of early childhood education and child care. Courtesy of Jamie Kass SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape 221 CTS * Early Childhood q1 Education Programs and Policies LEARNING OBJECTIVES 41.1 Describe the characteristics of early childhood education programs in Canada. 11.2 Describe programs related to early childhood education programs that provide early learning opportunities for young children and 11.3 Identify early childhood education public policy and funding approaches. 11.4 Identify examples of early childhood education programs and policies outside Canada. support families. Chapter 11 is about the context for early childhood education. The chapter begins with a description of ECE programs across Canada for children up to 6 years and for children 6 to 12 years outside school hours and related programs. Government policies for funding and regulating ECE programs are highlighted. The chapter ends with a few examples of ECE programs outside Canada. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN CANADA As discussed in earlier chapters, early childhood education programs provide playbased learning experiences that encourage children’s competence, coping skills, and overall well-being. ECE also presents opportunities for assistance with personal routines in safe, healthy, and nurturing environments; and, most importantly, positive relationships with other children. The joint functions of learning and caring are essential. In addition, ECE recognizes that families have the most powerful influence on children’s early learning and well-being. The programs care for and educate young children, while supporting parenting, families, and communities. As introduced in Chapter 1, ECE programs, outlined Table 11.1, include child care centres, nursery schools and preschools, prekindergarten, junior kindergarten and kindergarten, Aboriginal Head Start, before- and after-school programs, and regulated home child care. There are about five million children from newborn to 12 years of age in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2019 as shown in Table 11.1). Almost 1.8 million 222 Early Childhood Education Programs Simon lives in Calgary. He is three years old and goes to a nursery school three mornings a week. His father works a night shift and his mother works at the shopping mall on Friday nights and all day Saturdays. One parent is at home with Simon all of the time except for Friday nights when he stays with his grandma. Carla is 12 months old and goes to a child care centre at the university in Vancouver where her dad works. She is often there by 8:00 a.m. and goes home with her dad around 5:00 p.m. Six-year-old Josef and his eight-year-old sister, Anita, attend the local public ele- LEARNING TOGETHER LO 11.1 mentary school in downtown Winnipeg. Before 8:45 a.m. and after 3:30 pm and on school holidays, they attend a before- and after-school program located in the school. Elisheva is a four-year-old who is severely brain damaged. She can sit only with support, cannot speak, and needs to be fed. For a year, she has been in a regulated home child care with two other children. The home child care is part of a municipal home child care agency in Ontario. A trained resource teacher provides the extra help that allows her to play with the other two children. Her mother and father are in the labour force. lan’s parents are both professionals working full time. lan is four years old and attends kindergarten in a Toronto public school. There are 24 children ages 4 and 5 years and one educator and one primary school teacher. Simon, Carla, Josef, Anita, Elisheva and lan are in early childhood education programs. They are guided by early childhood educators who have studied early childhood education or have a combination of equivalent education and experience. The funding, management, and administration of the programs differ while their daily activities are similar. Simon’s nursery school, lan’s kindergarten class, Elisheva’s home child care and Carla’s infant room have a short group time each morning. The children interact with the same group of children in the same setting each day. If the settings are of high quality, the children are exploring rich social and physical environments that support their early learning and well-being. CONSIDER: How do the organization of the ECE programs differ from each other, based on what you know from the descriptions of each one? Sources: Beach & Bertrand, 2000; Bertrand, 2008; Pascal, 2009a. children under 12 years of age are enrolled in ECE programs offered in regulated child care programs and before- and after-school programs, or in public school (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018). More than one million are in regulated child care programs. Over 500,000 children attend school kindergarten and prekindergarten programs. Over the past two decades children’s participation in regulated child care including before- and after-school programs has more than doubled. . CHAPTER 11 Early Childhood Education Programs and Policies 223 RAMS FOR TABLE 11.1 @ EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROG INFANTS TO 12-YEAR-OLDS IN CANADA ECE Programs Children 0-12 Attending 1996 2019 Regulated ECE Programs” 291,000 1,050,000 Kindergarten/prekindergarten/junior kindergarten (public education) 512,900 500,000 Regulated home child care 69,400 140,000 Aboriginal Head Start 12,000 58,000 | ‘Includes regular full-time or part-time participation in licensed ECE programs including child care centres, nursery schools, preschool centres, home child care and before and after-school child care programs Sources: Akbari & McCuaig, 2018; Akbari et al., 2021, adapted from Cleveland, Forer, Hyatt, Japel, & Krashinsky, 2008; Eggleton & Keon, 2009; Fern & Friendly, 2014; McCuaig & Akbari, 2014; McCain, _ -Mustard, & McCuaig, 2011. @ 11.1 Chapter 1 introduced ECE programs and this chapter expands on how they are organized, regulated and funded. Child Care Centres ECE programs that operate at least 6 hours per day, five days a week. Regulated child care centres include group or centre-based programs outside regular schooling for children from as young as three months to those up to six years of age. Most offer full-day programs five days a week. Child care centres may offer preschool or nursery school programs. They may also offer before- and after-school programs as well as programming during school holidays for school-age children. The majority of child centres in Canada offer service for preschool children two to four years of age (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018). Most child care centres offer regular daytime care only. Child care centres may accept children on a part-time basis, but seasonal or emergency care or services for parents who work shifts and irregular hours are scarce across the country (Pasolli, 2019). Child care centres are regulated by provincial and territorial government legislation. Each province and territory has established its own approach to organizing and licensing. Specific requirements concern staff qualifications, maximum number of children, adult-child ratio (the maximum number of children allowed for every staff member), physical space regulations, including the minimum amount of space necessary for each child, daily care routines, and program activities. It is difficult to make a direct comparison of child care centres across jurisdictions. Table 11.2 provides an overview of what types of services are regulated, how many children attend, and what child care centres are called in each province and territory. About 35 percent of Canadian children five years and younger are enrolled in regulated child care centres, including regulated before- and 224 SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape TABLE 11.2 @ REGULATED CHILD CARE CENTRES IN CANADA Province/Territory Child Care Centres Newfoundiand and Labrador Child care centres (full-time and part-time) School-age child care Prince Edward Island Early childhood centres (full-time and part-time, including nursery schoo! and child care centre) School-age child care centres Nova Scotia Child care centres (full-time and part-time, including nursery schools, preschools, child development centres and school-age) New Brunswick Child care centres and school-age programs (full-time and part-time) Quebec Centres de la petite enfance (full-time and part-time educational child care) Services de garde en milieu familial (family child care) Garderies privées (private centres) Services de garde pour les enfants d’age scolaire (school-age child care) Child care centres (full-time and part-time, including nursery schools) Ontario, School-age child care Daycare centres (full-time and part-time, including nursery schools) Manitoba School-age child care centres Child daycare agencies (full-time) Saskatchewan School-age child care centres (Nursery schools/preschools are not licensed) Daycare centres (full-time and part-time, including nursery schools, parent co-ops, kindergartens in regulated centres and drop-in centres) Alberta School-age child care centres Child care centres (full-time and part-time, including preschools) British Columbia Out-of-school care Northwest Territories Child care centres (full-time and part-time, including nursery schools) After-school care (continued) CHAPTER 11 Early Childhood Education Programs and Policies 225 TABLE 11.2 @ (continued) Daycare centres Nunavut School-age child care Child care centres (full-time and part-time) Yukon School-age child care of the country, but they have commonalities in the Regulated child care centres may have different names and age categories in various parts care and education they provide. Sources: McCain, Mustard & McCuaig, 2011; Akbari @©112 & McCuaig, 2018. after-school programs for children in school, and ECE programs for four- and five-year-old children (Statistics Canada, 2019). In Canada, regulated child care centres may be operated by non-profit organizations or commercial operators, or they may be publicly operated by governments such as local municipalities, school boards or public community colleges. Organizations that are incor- Most child care centres in Canada are not-for-profit organizations and are operated for the primary purpose of offering early childhood education to young porated as non-profit and gov- children. A non-profit centre might be a stand-alone organization with a volun- erned by a board of directors. teer board of directors, including parents, community members, and individuals with child care centre expertise, or it might be operated by a larger agency or institution. For instance, the YMCA in Canada operates over 600 centres. Many community colleges and a few universities directly operate child care centres, which also provide model sites for ECE students. FOR2PROFIT ieee, Organizations that are owned ee Se en Child care centres are for-profit organizations, whereas some other provinces or territories, such as Manitoba, have only a few for-profit child care centres. Public child care centres, which are directly operated by a government, : ; , : : Pere In Newfoundland, Alberta, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick, most are less common in Canada. Twenty-three Ontario municipalities operate about 135 centres (Akbari et al., 2021), as do three municipalities in Alberta and four in Saskatchewan (Muttart Foundation, 2016). Some Alberta municipalities operate school-age child care programs. In Quebec, the provincial department of education administers school-age centres, which are located in elementary schools. Parents’ fees, which may be eligible for government subsidies, pay for the majority of the costs of regulated child care (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018). In most jurisdictions, provincial or territorial governments provide grants directly to child care centres. These funds may include operating, start-up, and capital funding for children with disabilities as well as funds to enhance wages. Nursery Schools and Preschools Nursery schools and preschools usually offer two- to three-hour early childhood education for preschool children (two to six years old) during the school year (September to June). Nursery schools and preschools are part-day programs; they may be part of a child care centre or operate as an individual program. 226 SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape In most provincial/territorial jurisdictions, nursery schools and preschools are regulated through the same legislation as child care centres and must meet similar structural, funding and organizational requirements. However, nursery schools in Saskatchewan, Yukon, and Quebec are not covered by child care legislation. Nursery schools and preschool programs may be non-profit or commercial operations, or they may be publicly run by municipalities or school authorities, There are no statistics available on how many children attend nursery school programs or how many programs exist. Some provinces and territories include nursery schools in their report of regulated child care centre spaces, whereas others exclude them. Sometimes nursery schools are considered part-time child care centre programs and are combined with school-age before- and afterschool programs. Preschool children who have a parent who is not in the paid labour force but who attend ECE programs often attend nursery school or preschool. Some of the children whose parents participate in the paid labour force or in training and education programs also attend nursery school programs. Families might use nursery school services in combination with other non-parental child care arrangements, or they might juggle their work and study responsibilities around the nursery school hours. Regulated Home Child Care Regulated home child care is in the home of the provider. These programs are regulated through provincial/territorial legislation and require a safe and healthy environment that promotes children’s optimal development and well-being. Government regulations, policies, and funding shape the structure and organization of regulated home child care, which varies across provinces and territories (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018; Beach et al., 2009; Flanagan & Beach, 2010). The provincial and territorial governments either license and regulate caregivers or license or recognize a home child care agency that supervises individual programs. As outlined in Table 11.3, each province or territory sets out the maximum number of children who may be cared for by an individual in a regulated or unregulated home setting. If there are additional children, the program must meet the province or territory's requirements for regulated child care centres, Regulated home child care programs can often be adapted to meet the needs of working parents and diverse families in both isolated settings and urban settings. It may be possible to start earlier and end later than child care centres in order to accommodate parents’ work hours. Also, these programs can accommodate an individual child or a small mixed-age grouping from infancy to early adolescence. Kindergarten and Prekindergarten Provincial and territorial public education systems offer kindergarten across Canada. Many offer ECE programs to younger children. Provincial/territorial education legislation sets out requirements for a child’s minimum age, the number of instructional days and hours, and teacher qualifications. T here may also be specific adult—child ratio and maximum group size requirements. At this time in Canada, CHAPTER 11 Early Childhood Education Programs and Policies 227 TABLE 11.3 @ REGULATED HOME CHILD CARE IN CANADA Province/Territory Newfoundland Prince Edward Island Nova Scotia Regulated Home Child Care sed by a | Regulated family child care homes may be directly licensed or supervi own chil-: r's caregive the ng licensed family care agency. Up to four children (includi dren under seven years) are permitted. l govRegulated family home centres are licensed and monitored by the provincia of age), years ten under own, 's ernment. Up to six children (including the caregiver homes. with a maximum of three children under two years of age in regulated Family home day cares are supervised by licensed family home day care agencies. Six children, including the caregiver's own preschool children, are permitted. If all the children, including the caregiver's own, are school age, eight children are allowed. New Brunswick Regulated community day care homes are regulated by the provincial government. Care for one of the following groups of children: a maximum of three infants, five children between two and five years of age, nine school-age children, or a mixed-age group of six children, including the caregiver’s own children under twelve years. Quebec Regulated home child care settings are supervised by Child Care Coordinating Offices. Up to six children including the caregiver’s own children under nine years and no more than two children under 18 months. If another caregiver, up to a maximum of nine children including the caregiver’s own children under nine years and no more than four children under 18 months. Ontario Province licenses home child care agencies (which may also offer centre-based programs) to contract with and supervise child care homes. Up to a maximum of five children up to 13 years of age. No more than two of the children may be under 18 months, including the caregiver’s own children under six years. Manitoba Regulated family child care homes are directly licensed by the province. Up to eight children under twelve years, including caregiver's own children under 12 years. No more than five children may be under six years, and no more than three children may be under two years. Group family child care provided by two or more providers in one of their homes for up to 12 children, aged three months to 12 years. Saskatchewan Regulated family child care homes are licensed and monitored by the provincial government. Up to eight children between six weeks and 12 years, including the caregiver's own children under 13 years. Only five of the children may be younger than six years, and only two may be younger than thirty months. Group family child care homes with an assistant may have up to 12 children. Alberta The Family Day Home Program is a contracted agency model. Provincial government contracts with family day home agencies to approve and monitor family day homes according to provincial standards. Up to six children under 11 years, including the caregiver's own children under 11 years. A maximum of three children may be under three years, and no more than two children may be under two years. 228 SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape Province/Territory Regulated Home Child Care British Columbia Family child care homes are individually licensed by the provincial government. Up to seven children birth to 12 years, including the children living in the home. No more than three children under four years with no more than one child younger than 12 months. No more than four children under four years if no children under 24 months. Northwest Territories Regulated family day homes are individually licensed by the territorial government. Up to amaximum of eight children under 12 years, including the caregiver’s own children. Nunavut Regulated family day homes are individually licensed by the territorial government. Up to a maximum of eight children under age twelve, including the caregiver’s own children. Yukon Regulated homes are individually licensed by the territorial government. Up to eight children, including the caregiver’s own children under six years. If there are two Caregivers, an additional four school-age children are permitted. Sources: Akbari & McCuaig, 2018 112 most five-year-old children attend a full-day kindergarten program. In September 2010, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, and Ontario joined New Brunswick, Quebec, and Nova Scotia in offering full-day kindergarten. Newfoundland and Labrador introduced full-day kindergarten in 2014. In other jurisdictions, most kindergarten is offered on a part-time basis, either half-days (morning or afternoon) or two to three full days (school days) per week. In these jurisdictions, many individual schools offer full-day programs, often targeted toward disadvantaged communities. Half-day programs are usually two to three hours in length, and full-day programs are four to five hours long (excluding lunch programs). Kindergarten attendance is compulsory in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. In all other jurisdictions Full-day ECE program available to all four- and five-year-old children in Ontario public schools that offers a playbased learning approach. _ kindergarten attendance is voluntary. Families are not required to pay fees for their children’s participation in publicly funded kindergarten. Full-day kindergarten in Ontario is also offered to four-year-old children. There are growing numbers of prekindergarten/junior kindergarten programs for four-year-old children in Quebec, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Northwest Territories. Nova Scotia introduced the PrePrimary Program for four-year-olds in 2016 and it is now offered across the province. Approximately 350,000 children attended public education kindergarten or senior kindergarten programs and 150,000 children attended junior kindergarten or prekindergarten programs in Canada (Akbari & McCuaig 2018; McCain 2020). Age limits for attending kindergarten programs vary slightly across provincial/territorial jurisdictions, but most require children to be at least four years and eight months old in September (five years by December 31) to attend kinand at least three years and eight dergartenor senior kindergarten programs, months old in September (four years by December 31) to attend junior kindergarten programs. CHAPTER 11 Early Childhood Education Programs and Policies 229 , Kindergarten programs often intersect other ECE programs. For example other like Also, s. building child care centres are often located in public school ECE programs, kindergarten programs are intended to provide educational and social experiences for young children in preparation for formal schooling in grade 1. At the same time, many Canadian families use kindergarten programs as part of a child care package (Cleveland, 2018). Kindergarten programs and other early childhood education programs for young children often share many of the values and assumptions that underlie curriculum approaches. There are a number of initiatives that have attempted to coordinate child care centres and kindergarten, including school board policies and practices to encourage increased collaboration, shared physical space, and common curriculum planning and professional development opportunities (Corter et al., 2006; McCain, Mustard & McCuaig, 2011, McCain, 2020). Before- and After-School Programs Before- and after-school programs for school age children (up to age 12 years) include licensed child care centres, school-operated programs, and recreation programs offered by municipalities and agencies. They may be organized to extend the school day and offer programming during school holidays. After-school activities like sport, music, craft and dance build children’s confidence, help them make friends and learn to get along with people (including adults), keep them fit and healthy, and help them develop new skills and discover talents and interests (ABS, 2012; Tanner et al., 2016). Before- and after-school programs can be organized to accommodate parents’ work schedules and to provide regular non-parental care arrangements. Before- and after-school programs are oppor- p> tunities for school-age children to create their own experiences with their friends. Prod BAZ © 230 SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape Before- and after-school programs may offer a variety of regular sports and recreation and music, creative arts, and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) activities to school-age children (ABS, 2012; McClure et al., 2017). Children who participate in visual arts and music activities at ages 7 to 12 develop better persistence and concentration and learn to work as part of a group. Sport, recreation, and cultural activities are also important because these types of activities help children develop non-cognitive skills, including perseverance, Conscientiousness, self-control, trust, attentiveness, self-esteem, resilience _ and empathy. Children who participate in sport, recreation or cultural activities have better school attendance and fewer behaviour problems as well as achieve more academically (Metsapelto and Pulkkinen, 2014). Public schools are becoming more involved in offering before- and afterschool programs (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018). In Ontario, there is now a legislated requirement for schools to have before- and after-school programs (operated by school boards or third parties) if required by 12 families or more. In Quebec, before- and after-school programs are part of the public education system. The pre-primary program for four-year-olds in Nova Scotia schools offers outdoor before- and after-school programs. Aboriginal Head Start Aboriginal Head Start (AHS) is an early childhood education program for Indigenous children. The AHS program, a learning environment that reflects Indigenous languages and cultures, is intended to prepare children for school. The federal government established the Aboriginal Head Start Urban and Northern Communities (AHSUNC) in 1996 to meet the needs of at-risk First Nations, Métis and Inuit children living in large urban and northern communities by offering early childhood education programs. AHSUNC provide comprehensive early learning experiences for children and their families based on caring, creativity and pride flowing from the knowledge of their traditional beliefs within a holistic and safe environment (Bertrand, 2005). In 1998, Aboriginal Head Start On-Reserve (ANSON) extended _ the Head Start program to First Nations communities. There are now 356 AHS On-Reserve programs serving over 11,000 children in First Nations communities. The 135 AHSUNP programs in urban and northern communities serve 4,700 to 4 800 Métis, First Nations and Inuit children (Halseth & Greenwood, 2019). Indigenous children, families and communities benefit from effective early childhood education programs (Ball, 2008; Halseth & Greenwood, 2019). use National evaluations of Aboriginal Head Start to date suggest an increased litin improvements moderate practices, cultural and languages of Aboriginal Agency Health (Public eracy, and increased health and physical development of Canada, 2007; Office of Audit & Evaluation, 2016). The evaluation of AHSUNC showed significant improvements in children’s language, motor and ARRaKe skills, social skills, communication, behaviour and attitudes, and emotional maturity (Office of Audit & Evaluation, 2017). Nearly three-quarters of parents and other caregivers noted that their child learned Indigenous words. Also, 71 percent of parents noted that their child was more aware of Indigenous cultures due to attending AHS (Halseth & Greenwood, 2019). CHAPTER 11 Early Childhood Education Programs and Policies 231 PROGRAMS AND SERVICES RELATED TO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROGRAMS for Early childhood education is often built into related programs and services and child other young children and their families. Also, ECE programs may offer family resources and services. Child and Family Centres CHILD AND FAMILY A family support program that offers ECE programs to young children and other supports and resources to their families and caregivers. FAMILY SUPPORT A range of services aimed at improving family and child well-being and building their strengths. Services can include parenting, healthy living, employment and housing resources, and early childhood education. ECOLOGICAL APPROACH | Awareness of family’s immediate context, community context, and broader policy and system context. Child and family centres benefit families and young children and can be voluntarily accessed in most neighbourhoods and communities across Canada. Child and family centres are family support programs that complement and aim to enrich a family’s existing strengths and resources. These programs may address existing problems or aim to prevent potential problems. They may be offered as separate programs or in combination with each other or with ECE programs. The category is a broad one that includes a variety of services, strategies and activities. Child and family centres help parents and other family members to participate fully in their young children’s early learning and development. Young children and their mothers, fathers, grandparents, uncles, aunts, or older brothers and sisters and other caregivers attend playgroups or drop-in centres together. Child and family centres can be identified by common principles, functions and types of activities. They share the following set of principles: ¢ Anecological approach to services for children, families, and communities e An emphasis on prevention and wellness of families ¢ A recognition of the need for social networks to support families e An emphasis on interdependence in families’ needs and abilities to give and receive support: A view of parenthood as an important stage of adulthood e An acceptance of cultural diversity in approaches to childrearing ¢ A recognition that play is essentialtooptimum child development (Kellerman, 1995) On the basis of these principles, child and family centres offer program activities that best serve their own mandate, primary functions and community. Family and program staff work together to determine which services will be offered. Child and family centres are multidisciplinary; they cut across health, social services, education, recreation, and child care service categories. Program staff bring experience and credentials from different disciplines, and programs establish working links with other community services. Child and family centres may direct specific services toward problems, but the overall approach is to provide support with the realization that all families experience difficulties from time to time and that their strengths can be used to work through the difficulties. Support to users may include in-service training such as workshops, drop-in programs, child care information, and referral services. Family resource programs encourage peer support groups among mothers, fathers, other family members and caregivers. In addition, toy-lending libraries often offered at child and family centres promote optimal child development, provide material support, draw parents together to encourage informal social networks, and 232 SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape provide adaptive play materials and activities for children with disabilit ies and their families. Strategies to support and enrich family literacy are also often included in child and family centres. Family literacy initiatives “recognize the influence of the family on the literacy development of family members and try to sipport families in literacy activity and in accessing literacy resources” (Thomas, 1998, p. 6). Family literacy is about the ways families use literacy and language in their daily lives to do everyday tasks. Specific family literacy activities include storytelling and music circles for young children and parents or caregivers adult edu, cation using family experiences, book bags for infants and young children and PAMILY UITERAC Neeser How parents, children and other family members use literacy at home and in the community. their parents, and the creation and use of play materials that encourage the acquisition of skills necessary to support literacy. Activities In Canada, the most common child and family centres activities are | MAKING IT HAPPEN LO 11.1 o Playgroups and drop-in programs © Parent support groups ©@ Parenting, caregiver, and early educator courses and workshops @ Toy-lending libraries @ Special events for children and families © Child care information and referral services Some child and family centres provide additional programs and services, often in partnership with other community, public health or early intervention services: Respite care for parents and caregivers, and child care while parents/caregivers participate in other family resource program activities “Warm-lines” (non-crisis telephone support or electronic discussion groups) Crisis intervention and counselling (including informal and peer counselling) Early childhood intervention services for families and their children with developmental challenges or at risk of developmental delays Services and support programs to meet specific needs, such as prenatal and postnatal support for teen mothers and fathers, support groups for survivors of violence, English- or French-language learner classes, life-skills courses, and literacy programs Community development initiatives, including planning and advocacy for children’s and family services ~CONSIDER: Think about how a child and family centre could best support families with young children in your community. What would be the program's primary function? What types of activities should be included? What is the role of staff members who are early childhood educators? Source: McCain, Mustard & Shanker, 2007. CHAPTER 11 Early Childhood Education Programs and Policies 233 settings and Child and family centres’ activities are found in a variety of imately approx are There . under different sponsorship and funding across Canada ce and 3,000 such programs across Canada, with representation in each provin territory (Families Canada, 2020). Table 11.4 provides an overview. TABLE 11.4 @ CHILD AND FAMILY CENTRES British Columbia Over 300 StrongStarts are child and family centres operated by public education in about half of the elementary schools across the province. Alberta Family Resource Networks coordinate prevention and early intervention services including child and family centres. Saskatchewan Early Years Family Resource Centres in 10 communities provide activities for children and resources and supports for their families. Manitoba Family resource centres offer programming, supports and resources for parents/caregivers and their children, with an emphasis on culturally appropriate activities that involve young children, parents and other caregivers. Ontario EarlyON Child and Family Centres are provincially funded family support programs delivered in local communities. Early learning and family Support programming are offered to parents and other caregivers of young children. Quebec Almost 300 centres, Known as family centres, parent-child resources or centres, Parent’aime and Parent’ailes, offer play experiences for children and their caregivers and variety of other parenting programs. New Brunswick Thirteen Family Resource Centres, with 90 outreach sites, offer a variety of programs and activities for young children from birth to six years, parents and other caregivers; include drop-ins, parent education and support, collective kitchens, toy-lending and resource libraries, and family literacy. Nova Scotia Twenty-seven Family Resource Centres provide community-based services including child and family drop-in programs and family supports. Prince Edward Eight Family Resource Centres offer programs and resources for children and families, including drop-in play, toy-lending libraries, programs for young children and their parents or other caregivers, parent education and support groups, parent resources, prenatal nutrition programs, and outreach. Island Newfoundland & Labrador Northwest Territories 234 Thirty-one Family Resource Centres offer a variety of programs and services to families with children ages 0-6, including drop-in programs, parenting resources, book and toylending, and partnerships with related services. Child and Family Resource centres offer respite care, toy lending, library resources, family literacy, drop-in programs for children and adults, and nutrition programs. Local community priorities and decision making determine specific activities. SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape pkon fs este . “Community Action Program for Children Projects support child and family centres and ys ‘elated family support activities. Nunavut RS Sources: ECE Report 2017 (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018) & Early Years Study 2020 (Akbari et al., 2021); Atkinson Centre, OISE, University of Toronto ecereport.ca. TAR) Action Program for Children Projects support child and family centres and related family support activities. © 1M o 4 te CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about child and family centres in each province and territory. StrongStart BC ) scalars StrongStart BC provides over 300 school-based drop-in centres across the province for families or caregivers and their preschool children, at no cost to families. StrongStart BC centres are designed to fill an early childhood education niche for preschool children who are not in a child care centre or preschoo! program but may be at home with their parents or other caregivers such as grandparents, other relatives or nannies. MAKING IT HAPPEN EO 11.2 ~ school. The centres are located in schools andFyhe co-Siocated with otheren childhood programs such as child care centres or preschools as part of emerging school-based hubs. -StrongStart BC centres help: © Parents to participate in their children’s early learning and development ® Children to establish school-family relationships before they enter kindergarten ¢ Families to enhance the home learning environment Children and caregivers benefit from the StrongStart BC centre by engaging in program offerings that include literacy as well as physical and social experiences by a qualified early childhood educator. Programming is guided by BC's modelled Early Learning Framework. The program’s aims supplement activities that can be offered in the home and to offer parents and caregivers new ideas and skills they can transfer to the home environment. (continued) CHAPTER 11 Early Childhood Education Programs and Policies 935 | CONSIDER: environment? learning home s How does StrongStart BC support young children’ Source: Government of BC (n.d.). The federal Community Action Program for Children (CAP-C) is a national community-based program launched in 1993, funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada that provides funding support to community programs for _ high-risk families with young children. Many child and family centres across Canada are part of CAP-C projects. The initiative involves community coalitions, which deliver health and community services, including early education, to children up to six years of age living in conditions of risk. Project initiatives include home visits, Head Start programs, parent training, nutrition education, - counselling, collective kitchens, and traditional Aboriginal healing programs. There are approximately 425 CAP-C initiatives in over 1500 locations across Canada. Over 200,000 children, parents and other caregivers visit CAP-C projects annually and as many as 28,000 visit every week (Office of Audit and Evaluation, Health Canada; Public Health Agency of Canada, 2016). Other programs that are related to early childhood education deliver programs to young children and families. While they may include young children and offer play opportunities, their primary purpose is to resource, support and - strengthen families. They may or may not offer a consistent, intentional early learning program to a group of young children. Early Intervention Services EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES mmmmmmmem® Programs and services that dn errs oe Govclooment is ce eyed ona: risk, often offering comprehenSIVE Services. Specific public policies, programs and activities are designed to meet the needs of young children and their families with specialized needs in order to promote healthy development during early childhood (Shonkoff & Meisels, 2000). These initiatives are included under the broad term early intervention services and draw = on the knowledge and expertise of early childhood education, child and family : : : : : development, education, health, and social services. Early intervention ‘ services include a wide range of programs and approaches offered to families with children ___who have developmental challenges or who are at risk of developmental delays Early intervention (EI) is a systematic method of taking action based : on the child’s needs during the early years. EI programs deliver services to children (from birth to age three or from birth to age six, depending on the province or territory) who have developmental challenges or who are at risk because of a disability or psychological/social factors. EI can include programming that compensates for environmental risks and that provides therapeutic interventions that address developmental difficulties. These services typically include a home-based component, early identification assessment, program planning — (family service plans and individual program plans), and specialized equipment. The programs may also offer family support and early childhood services such 236 SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape as family resource programs, parent/caregiver support groups, nursery schools, and toy-lending libraries. : EI services, like regulated child care programs, lie within provincial/territorial jurisdiction. Each province and territory organizes the structure of the EI services and determines how they are funded. Most provinces offer preschool speech and language services to support children with language delays. EI programs may be discrete services or integrated into other health, social service, education or early childhood education programs. Inclusive early childhood education is “a program that includes children with disabilities in the same programs they would attend if they did not have disabilities” (Irwin, 1995, p. vii). Chapter 1 noted that inclusive ECE programs are accessible to all children, designed to meet the needs of each child and regularly evaluated to ensure full participation (Underwood & Frankel, 2012). “Inclusive” means full participation of children with disabilities, not only their physical presence. ECE programs that include all children require financial support to accommodate the requirements of children with special needs. Most provinces and territories provide additional funding to accommodate children with special needs in regulated child care programs (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018). Most provinces and territories do offer additional financial support for children with disabilitiesto participate in ECE programs. Manitoba requires child care centres that receive public funding to accommodate children with special needs. Alberta and Prince Edward Island require designated programs to admit children with exceptionalities (Philpott et al., 2019). INTEGRATING EARLY EDUCATION AND CHILD CARE Across Canada a more integrated approach to the delivery of early childhood education programs applies the recommendations coming from the Organisation for Economic and Co-operative Development (OECD) and other policy research (McCain, Mustard & McCuaig, 2011). The Canadian review completed in 2004 by the OECD focused attention on the problems created by the two solitudes: _ education and child care.Inparticular, the OECD review team stressed the need to. remove the divide between kindergarten programs and child care and emphasized the need to create “bridges between child care and kindergarten education, with the aim of integrating ECEC [early childhood education and care] both at ground level and at policy and management levels’ (OECD, 2004, p. 7). Toronto First Duty Between 2000 and 2010 Toronto First Duty (TFD) transformed kindergarten, child care, child and family centres, and early intervention services into a new delivery MAKINGIT HAPPEN LO 11.1 LO 11.2 model (Corter, Janmohamed & Pelletier, 2012). TFD was an early learning and care (continued) CHAPTER 11 Early Childhood Education Programs and Policies 237 pment from conception initiative for every child and it supported healthy develo to work or study, to entry to grade 1 at the same time as it supported parents child care and in their parenting roles. TFD’s starting point was the integration of r-old chil- . and public school through kindergarten programs for four- and five-yea includes a primary dren. TED demonstrated the strength of an educator team that model that staffing the is This . teacher and a qualified early childhood educator ent for governm l provincia was recommended (Pascal, 2009a) and adopted by the full-day kindergarten in Ontario.. as CONSIDER: ECE combining of challenges the and benefits What do you think are the services? and programs including kindergarten and related programs LEARNING TOGETHER LO 11.1 LO 11.2 Practices of Integration ABC Primary School in Victoria, BC, has two kindergarten classes. Many of the children attend an on-site child care centre on alternate days and before and after the kindergarten program. Anna, the kindergarten teacher, and Mercedes, the child care program supervisor, have organized a common place for coats and cubbies in the hallway between the kindergarten class and the child care room. The children attending both kindergarten and child care are able to keep their personal belongings and messages and art to take home in one place. Mercedes and the school principal are meeting to prepare a joint professional development session on play and early literacy for the child care staff and kindergarten teachers. The principal invited the child care staff to participate in the teachers’ orientation session on the new kindergarten program. Coordinating space, routines, and staff learning and development helps reduce stress and remove barriers to learning and communication. 7 CONSIDER: How would five-year-old children attending kindergarten benefit from these practices? What are the advantages of a common cubby for each child who attends the kindergarten and child care? Recent OECD reports continue to promote the integration of care and education (Shuey et al., 2019). Some initiatives over the past two decades have used ECE programs as a platform for related family services, early intervention and public health services, and health care. For instance, ECE programs offered through public education may offer extended days to accommodate parents’ 238 SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape employment. Child care centres can leverage services and resources for vulnerable families and be an effective platform for delivery. Child and family centres may include early intervention services or be in the same location and organization as a child care centre. ECE programs can be an effective platform to deliver a host of other services as a central hub within a community or connect parents with a network of other services and resources. | Community Early Child Development Centres ECE programs can also be an effective platform to bring together public health, early intervention services, parenting resources and supports (Corter, Janmohamed & Pelletier, 2012; McKenzie, 2019). In addition to bringing together ECE programs and schools, the range of services can include parent education, health and development screenings, nutrition programs, clothing exchanges, and pre- and postnatal services. Integrated centres based in neighbourhood schools can serve as a central hub. The school is an integral partner building positive relationships with families and working toward a continuity of learning from the early years into primary grades (McKenzie, in press; Jacobson, 2019, 2020). The primary purpose of the integrated centres is to better support families and their young children. Most are established to (Corter, 2019): Improve children’s well-being and development Provide support to families Decrease gaps in school readiness Reduce negative outcomes often found in low-income, disadvantaged neighbourhoods Toronto First Duty (described above) primarily focused on the integration of child care and public education but also included other elements of integrated centres. In Prince Edward Island CHANCES (Caring, Helping, and Nurturing Children Every Step) expands access to a range of integrated early intervention and health services focused on at-risk families in addition to ECE - programs (CHANCES, 2019). CHANCES also offers child and family resources and services, including parenting programs. “In-house” introductions and referrals support parent awareness of the full range of services CHANCES provides. The child care centres are the anchor for CHANCES. The integrated community early child development centres go beyond coordinating services that are located in the same building or neighbourhood and who have leaders who can work together. They work toward changing policies and practices to allow better integration of services. For instance, families may be asked to sign forms that allow services to share information rather than multiple services asking for the same information. Bringing services to one placein a community reduces the challenge families face if they must go to different locations for early intervention services, parenting resources and a oe 1a # CENGAGE MINDTAP health care. Integrated centres can contribute to the family’s social and support networks and reduce isolation and exclusion families often feel in disadvantaged communities. Visit MindTap to learn more about integrated early child CHAPTER 11 Early Childhood Education Programs and Policies 239 development centres. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PUBLIC POLICIES IN CANADA and In Canada, kindergarten and other ECE programs offered in public schools and licensed child care centres are governed, funded and regulated by provincial uniare n territorial governments. ECE programs offered within public educatio ' versal. Children and families are able to attend based on the age of the children and if the family lives within a school’s catchment area. Each province and territory has its own child care legislation. Qualifications for educators, age groupings, parent fee subsidy amounts and programming requirements vary. Chapter 2 outlines the history of the federal government's role in ECE programs. In 2017, the federal government negotiated agreements with provinces/ territories to transfer $7.5 billion over 10 years to expand access to child care, particularly for underserved families (Employment and Social Development Canada, 2017). Federal funding, which is renewed every three years, may be used for new spaces, to lower parent fees or for staff training. It could not be directed toward workforce compensation. The Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework commits the federal government to work with the provinces and territories to achieve five overarching principles: quality, accessibility, affordability, flexibility and inclusivity. The Early Learning and Child Care Bilateral Agreements between the federal government and provinces and territories, as well as well as the Canada-Québec Asymmetrical Agreement outline plans for expanding early learning and child care in each jurisdiction. The Assembly of First Nations (AFN), Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), the Métis National Council (MNC) and the Government of Canada jointly released a co-developed Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) Framework (Employment and Social Development Canada, 2018) The framework responds to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of a oe 3° ‘2 CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about the Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework. 240 Canada’s Call to Action #12 to develop culturally appropriate ECE programs for Indigenous children. The Indigenous Framework supports distinct First Nations, Inuit and Métis frameworks that recognize their respective vision, goals and priorities. Child and family centres may receive federal, provincial or local funding. Some centres are part of larger networks; others are stand-alone programs. Participation in the centres may be limited to specific families living in at-risk communities. Some centres have maximum numbers of children and families who may attend drop-in programs or require advance registration to specific programs. Overall, ECE and related programs are shaped by numerous public policies that set out what kinds of programs are available, who can attend, who can work in the programs and how they are funded. ECE program public policies are spread across federal, provincial and territorial governments and local municipal departments and school authorities (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018). ECE programs are fragmented with different regulations and funding sources across Canada (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018; McCain, Mustard & Shanker, 2007; The Muttart Foundation, 2010). Families must negotiate a tangled array of early childhood SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape education and related programs. Some are available to everyone and others are available to only.young children and families who meet specific criteria. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reviewed early childhood education and care policies in 20 countries, including Canada (OECD, 2006). It reported that Canada’s policies were provincial and territorial responsibilities and that there was no common reporting on those _ policies. In response, the Early Childhood Education Report was launched as part | of the Early Years Study 3 (McCain, Mustard & McCuaig, 2011) and is repeated every three years. The Early Childhood Education Report is organized around the policy indicators identified in the OECD report. Early Childhood Education Report pes The Early Childhood Education Report, released every three years, monitors public policies and funding of provincial and territorial licensed early childhood education programs and public education kindergarten and prekindergarten. The report zazWcl _ PRACTICE 1011.2 is organized around five categories of indicators: governance structures, funding levels, access, quality in early learning environments and monitoring mechanisms. Within each category are benchmarks of quality policies. Provincial and territorial profiles are compiled by researchers at the Atkinson Centre, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Provincial and territorial government officials review the results and the benchmarks are co-determined. — The Early Childhood Education Report was launched in 2011. The Early Childhood Education Report 2017 is the third report and shows progress in access, funding and quality in most provinces and territories. Quebec had the highest score in 2011; however, by 2017, Prince Edward Island had the highest score. The percentage of two- to four-year-olds across Canada attending an ECE program increased from 45 per cent in 2011 to 54 per cent in 2017. CONSIDER: Why do you think it is helpful to compare how ECE programs in Canadian provinces and territories are organized’? Sources: Akbari & McCuaig, 2018; Akbari et al., 2021 Early Childhood Education Program Policy Trends ECE programs across Canada are growing and changing. As noted in Chapter 6, across the country, early learning frameworks that highlight play-based learning principles and practices are guiding educators and the post-secondary institutions CHAPTER 11 Early Childhood Education Programs and Policies 241 billion in 2011 that prepare them. Public investment is growing from a total of $7 to over $12 billion in 2017 (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018). on the The provincial and territorial early learning frameworks put a focus r togethe be to n childre young for value of ECE programs as spaces and places opportu with other children. Programs for school age children offer extended nities for peer games and play that are often disappearing in neighbourhoods and communities across Canada. The loss of the “third space of childhood” apart from school and home can be recreated. Pee es CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn Prof gbour tence in Gary childhood education. Public education is playing a larger role in delivering ECE programs. “Public education’s framework has adequate capacity to support such an enabling environment; with a ready-made delivery and accountability infrastructure that could include younger children and support coherent expansion” (Bertrand & McCuaig, 2019, p 1). In the past decade British Columbia, Ontario and Newfoundland have expanded half-day kindergarten programs to full day. The number of spaces for school age children in before- and after-school programs in Ontario grew by 357 per cent in Ontario between 2010/11 and 2018/19. P — ous ‘ Public schools are a universal platform where everyone is included. Also, they are a community resource that belongs to the public. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION OUTSIDE CANADA Many countries outside Canada have moved toward more comprehensive and integrated approaches to the funding and delivery of early childhood education and care programs. A more systematic approach is the norm in many countries with a focus on public funding to support universal access (OECD, 2006). Most European nations, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand have invested higher levels of public resources than Canada in the development, funding, and delivery of early childhood programs (McCain, 2020; UNICEF, 2008). In these countries, the majority of three- and four-year-olds have access to universal, publicly funded early childhood programs (McCain, 2020). Several OECD countries now integrate entire early childhood systems for children from birth to age six under one government department. Many others have integrated or aligned curriculum between ECE and primary school as shown in Table 11.5. Early childhood programs are seen as an essential part of — TABLE 11.5 @ EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND PRIMARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM IN OECD COUNTRIES 22% Integrated ECE and Primary Education Curricula 59 OECD Countries and Jurisdictions orien eee 24% Not Aligned or Integrated Toward a continuity of learning for young children. Source: © Cengage Learning. Table created from data at http://www.oecd.org/officialdo cuments/ publicdisplaydocumentpat/?cote=EDU/WKP(2019)1 &docLanguage=En. 242 SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape _the preparationof children for publicschool. These programs are also understood to be an important component aoa ‘the supports for families, particularly for those with employed parents, and they are a venue foridentifying children and families who will need special services. Internationally, the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) have the most ambitious and comprehensive approaches to the funding and delivery of early childhood education and care (UNICEF 2008; OECD, 2006, 2017). In the past decade other count have ries increased ECE programs, particularly for two-;-three--and four-year--oldwchildren. The oops support available to families with young children begins with extended pare leave, with high levels of income replacement, which is followed Be ees average access to licensed child care for children at birth to three years ofage and significant public expenditures on preschool education for children four and fiveyearsof age.Inthe Nordic countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland childhood education and Denmark), the public funding and deli of early very and care represent sound econom social expendituresof public resources. and ic Specific attention is paid to the planning of services, the training of staff and the design of curricula specifically intended to promote child development. Early Childhood Education and Care UsStntoletghelasein)|tIn SIMA. MAKING IT HAPPEN LO 11.4 nigrney has established a universal system of early Bfidhood een ealled “kindergarten,” for children from one to five years. Since 2009 every child from age one Nil is entitled to participate in a kindergarten (Slinde, 2019). In 2019, 82 per centof children one and two years and 97 per cent of children three to five years attended. Ninety-five per cent attend full time. Municipalities operate 46 per cent of public kindergartens; the remaining 54 per cent of kindergartens are publicly funded, private (non-profit and commercial) kindergartens. Staffing includes qualified early childhood teachers and assistants. The adult-child ratio for one- and two-year-olds is 1:3 and for three- to six-year-olds is 1:6. Eighty--five per cent of mothers in Norway work full- or part-time. Parents pay ‘fees that are affordable, including no fees for low-income families. Norway’s kindergartens follow what is called the “Nordic Way”: the pedagogical tradition in the Nordic countries. While each country has its own history, there are similarities in their approach to early learning and pedagogy: e e e that views childhood as a phase of life with <A child-centred perspective intrinsic value. Structural organization of ECE programs as universal with public funding making programs available and affordable to Curriculum frameworks emphasize children’s participation, perspectives, experiences and interests. These frameworks view play as important in its own right and an opportunity for children to explore, develop and learn. (continued) CHAPTER 11 Early Childhood Education Programs and Policies 243 al purpose of Making friends and social interaction are viewed as an essenti ECE programs. embedded in daily ¢ Being outdoors and engaging in nature year-round is : schedules. practice ECE e Rather than evaluating children’s skills and knowledge, the is evaluated. in The Framework Plan for the Content and Tasks of Kindergarten, revised n Promotio ge Knowled 2017, shares purposes, values and learning areas with the Curriculum for primary schools up to 18 years (Shuey et al., 2019). The kindergarten in the curriculum framework emphasizes collaboration with parents and coherence m is curriculu primary the Also school. transition between kindergarten and primary k. framewor um under revision to facilitate alignment with the kindergarten curricul e CONSIDER: What are the similarities and differences between Norway’s kindergartens and Canada’s early learning and child care? Sources: https://ececthenordicway.no; https://ececthenordicway.no/films . Ref CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap for more information on Norway's approach to early learning and care. 244 Other European jurisdictions also invest significant public resources particularly in early childhood programs, with preschool education and care for 7" children three, four, and five years of age a key area for public investment. The majority of European nations now guarantee three- and four-year-olds some form of ECE program, although the number of hours of service varies (OECD, 2017). In France, all children may attend preschool programs, which are part of the public school system, and most children attend at least three years of fulltime preschool education before entering the French equivalent of g1 grade leat age 6 years. Researchers and educators have found that children from all socioeconomic and family backgrounds are likely to be more successful inelementary school if they have at least two years’ preschool experience (Bergmann, 1996; Sylva et al, 2010). In the United Kingdom, all three- and four-year-old children are entitled to 15 hours of ECE for 38 weeks per year before entering compulsory full-day schooling at age five. If their parents are working, they are entitled to 30 hours over 38 weeks of free ECE. Fifteen hours of free ECE is extended to two-yearolds in low-income families (OECD, 2017). New Zealand families have access to free, part-time, early learning programs for three- to five-year-olds, with working families able to purchase additional services to provide full-day support. All ECE programs are part of the education department and have a common curriculum. In the United States, families’ access to ECE programs for three- and fouryear-olds varies greatly from state to state (Friedman-Krauss, 2020). Overall, 33 percent of 4-year-olds and 5.7 percent of 3-year-olds were enrolled in statefunded preschool programs in 2017-2018. SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape SUMMARY ¢ ECE programs include early learning and child care centres, regulated home child care, nursery schools, preschools, playgroups, kindergarten, prekindergarten, before- and after-school programs, and Aboriginal Head Start. Related programs include early intervention services and child and family programs. ECE programs take place in schools, workplaces, community centres, purpose-built buildings, apartment buildings, private homes, and other rural and urban settings. Some are publicly operated; others are operated by non-profit organizations or are commercial operations. Early intervention services that support children who are at-risk or who have disabilities may be offered in ECE programs or may be accessed by families. e The organization of ECE programs across Canada continues to be chaotic. Oversight remains within the provinces and territories. The federal government is stepping up its investment in regulated child care and before- and after-programs. Public education is expanding its reach to younger children and to school children during outof-school hours. Responsibility for licensing and funding of child care is now in departments or ministries of education in all provinces except British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and Manitoba. International examples of ECE programs point to the value of increased investment, public or publicly managed delivery, and championing a professional early childhood workforce. REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Compare and contrast the early childhood education programs offered in the provinces and territories. LO 11.1 2. Who uses child and family centres, and what are the benefits for children? What are the benefits for families? LO 11.2 . How do public policies determine the operations of regulated child care centres, nursery schools, preschools and family child care? LO 11.3 . Describe early childhood education programs in two countries outside Canada. LO 11.4 STUDY ACTIVITIES 1. Find out what early childhood education programs are taking place in local schools. Prepare a report that describes the programs that your local school board or school district offers for children before they start kindergarten. LO 11.1 . Describe the leisure and recreation programs available for children in your community, and how they complement other early childhood education programs. LO 11.1 _ Review the Toronto First Duty website. Discuss the working relationships of teachers and ECEs. LO 11.2 CHAPTER . Search online and watch Dr. Emis Akbari explain the design of the Early Childhood Education Report. Prepare a short PowerPoint presentation that summarizes how this report is created. LO 11.3 . Choose a country not discussed in this chapter and find out how ECE programs are organized. Prepare a country profile that includes information about who pays, who has access, what are the quality requirements, what government departments are involved and how they are monitored. LO 11.4 11 Early Childhood Education Programs and Policies 245 KEY TERMS Child and family centre (p. 232) Early intervention services (p. 236) Ecological approach (p. 232) Family literacy (p. 233) Family support program (p. 232) For-profit (p. 226) Full-day kindergarten (p. 229) Full-day program (p. 224) Not-for-profit (p. 226) SUGGESTED READINGS Akbari, E. & McCuaig, K. (2018). Early childhood education report 2017. Toronto, ON: Atkinson Centre, OISE/University of Toronto. Retrieved September 21, 2020, at http://ecereport.ca/en ~ Atkinson Centre. (2019). Governance, administration, service providers, educator training early childhood programs in selected OECD countries. Retrieved September 21, 2020, at https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/atkinson/ UserFiles/File/Publications/OECD_governance_models.pdf Bertrand, J. & McCuaig, K. (2019). The rationale for expanding public education to include preschool-aged children. Issues that Matter: Policy Commentaries. Toronto, ON: Atkinson Centre, OISE, University of Toronto. Retrieved September 21, 2020, at https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/atkinson/ UserFiles/File/Policy%20Commentaries/The_Rationale_for_Expanding_ Public_Education_to_Include_Preschool-Aged_Children.pdf Corter, C. (2019 updated). Integrated early childhood development services. In R. E. Tremblay, M. Boivin, R. DeV Peters (Eds), C. Corter (Topic Ed.). Encyclopedia on early childhood development. Retrieved September 21, 2020, at http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/sites/default/files/dossierscomplets/en/integrated-early-childhood-development-services. pdf McCain, M. (2020). Early years study 4: Thriving kids; thriving society. Toronto ON: Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Foundation. Retrieved September 21, 2020, at www.earlyyearsstudy.ca McCuaig, K, Akbari, E. & Bertrand, J. (2016). The role of public policies in CENGAGE MINDTAP For additional resources, visit MindTap. 246 promoting equity in early childhood. Global report on equity early childhood. Leiden, Netherlands: Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development. Underwood, K. (2013). Everyone is welcome: Inclusive early childhood education and care. Toronto, ON: Ontario Ministry of Education. Retrieved September 21, 2020, at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/childcare/underwood. pdf SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape J = 0S cm Gp 9 gQ cw 0 U8 fF gm Ue fp 2 UU Early Childhood CHAPTER Educators: Looking Ahead iZ LEARNING OBJECTIVES 12.1 Identify the elements and purpose of early 12.3 Explore career pathways for early childhood educators. childhood education professionalism. 12.2 Describe the characteristics of the work environment in various ECE programs. 12.4 Develop strategies to maintain well-being. 12.5 Advocate for public investment in ECE. Chapter 12 considers the opportunities and challenges for early childhood educators in Canada. Respect and recognition for educators and ECE professional organizations are growing. The core professional practices of early childhood educators supported by the elements of professionalism are discussed in this chapter. Working conditions, including compensation for qualified educators, are expanding and improving. Nevertheless, challenges remain and educators are advocating for increased public investment in ECE programs. The many decades of ambiguity about what to call ourselves—teachers, early childhood teachers, caregivers, early childhood workers, child care workers, early child development workers—are over. We are early childhood educators, and ours is a profession that is increasingly understood and valued by families, other professionals, economists, media and the general public. THE ECE PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENT The profession of early childhood education is coming of age in Canada. The origin of the word professional is from “medieval times when an individual took vows in PROFESSIONAL sess order to be received in a religious community. It was the act of openly declaring or _ Practitioner who has met & Proudfoot, 1994, p. 333). Over time, _tN® Standards of knowledge fessing a belief or faith” (Giles blicl and performance required by ~~’ tigi ; a aaa I “professional” came to mean belonging to a particular occupation that required —_q profession. specific knowledge and high standards of practice. The profession of early childhood education is coming of age in Canada. With the expanded opportunities and recognition come new expectations and responsibilities for early childhood educators. Professional education and ongoing 247 ood worklearning are essential for a knowledgeable and responsive early childh ons including force. Early childhood educators need appropriate working conditi ongoing profor s unitie appropriate compensation levels, leadership and opport ing quality fessional learning. Educators can be powerful advocates for increas ECE programs and improving working conditions. Professional Practice Professionalism begins with belief in a vision and ideals that guide daily practice. Professional practices for early childhood educators in Canada share a vision of the image of the child as a capable and active participant in their own learning. Professional practices are grounded in four principles: holistic development, environments matter, play is central and belonging. The professional practices for ECE are responsive relationships, inclusion, cultural competence, reconciliation and intentional teaching. These principles and practices are included in provincial and territorial frameworks for ECE curriculum and pedagogy and are reinforced throughout the chapters of this text. Outline expectations for key areas of practice in a profession. CODEOFETHICS Principles intended to guide professionals to make decisions and take actions that are honest and aligned to the vision, values and principles of a profession. --STANDARDS OF PRACTICE Standards of practice are the skills and abilities needed to perform tasks effectively. Included are standards of performance; input standards, or the skills and knowledge an individual brings to an occupation; and process standards, or the tasks required by an occupation (Child Care Human Resource Sector Council, 2012; College of Early Childhood Educators, 2017). Standards of practice are useful to a profession in establishing its benchmarks of quality beyond the basics of regulatory requirements. They also contribute to the overall quality of ECE programs. The professional organizations for teachers and nurses establish and monitor standards of practice for their practitioners (Beach, Bertrand & Cleveland, 1998). Standards of practice can be used along with the body of core knowledge to guide professional preparation and development, to establish criteria for certifying early childhood educators, and to provide a basis for job descriptions and performance evaluation procedures. A coherent standard of practice statement that has broad support and endorsement can be a useful tool in informational advocacy activities aimed at raising public understanding of the value of early childhood educators’ work. ETHICAL PRACTICE In Canada, several professional organizations have developed code of ethics statements for educators, to be used as a guide in making day-to-day decisions. Often, educators have to take action in situations in which all the facts are not known, or when there is no single course of action that is clearly right or wrong. It is sometimes difficult to decide what an ethical response might be. Making ethical decisions and taking ethical actions in early childhood education may require being able to see beyond short-term consequences to consider longrange consequences. The Early Childhood Educators of British Columbia (ECEBC) developed a code of ethics statement in 1992 that guides educators in their daily professional practice. Educators in that organization adopted the ECEBC Code of Ethics after a considerable period of discussion and consultation with members government representatives, and college and university faculty. It has been ‘ model for the development of codes of ethics in other provincial organizations. 248 SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape When facing an ethical decision, discuss your decision with another educator. fizkes/shutterstock.com © In 2004, the Canadian Child Care Federation (CCCF), a pan-Canadian organization (discussed later in this chapter) adopted a Code of Ethics that was adapted from the ECEBC Code of Ethics. The ECEBC Code of Ethics is currently under review, and language will be revised to reflect changes in the ECE profession and likely result in revisions to the CCCF’s code (Giesbreht, 2020). CCCEF Code of Ethics Child care practitioners enable children to participate to their fullest potential in 5 ; ah b practition health and well-bein fh environments carefully planned to serve individual needs and to facilitate the child's progress in the social, emotional, physical and cognitive areas of development. Sans Child care practitioners work in partnership with colleagues and other Child care-practitioners demonstrate caring for alt children in all aspects « service providers in the community to y y of their practice. support the well-being of children and their families. FOR CHILD CARE PRACTITIONERS Child care practitioners work in ways that enhance human dignity in trusting, caring CHAPTER 12 Early Childhood Educators: Looking Ahead 249 vulnerable groups— Child care practitioners! work with one of society’s most children and the young n young children. The quality of the interactions betwee ’s lives. The adults who care for them has a significant, enduring impact on children ment on , intimacy of the relationship and the potential to do harm call for a commit e. practic ethical of ds standar the part of child care practitioners to the highest work and nd Child care practitioners accept the ethical obligation to understa Child effectively with children in the context of family, culture and community. practice ethical However, children. young educate and care practitioners care for extends beyond the child/practitioner relationship. Child care practitioners also support parents* as primary caregivers of their children and liaise with other professionals and community resources on behalf of children and families. The Canadian Child Care Federation and its affiliate organizations recognize their responsibility to promote ethical practices and attitudes on the part of child care practitioners.? The following principles, explanations and standards of practice are designed to help child care practitioners monitor their professional practice and guide their decision making. These ethical principles are based on the Code of _ Ethics of the Early Childhood Educators of BC. The principles have been adapted for use by adults who work with children and families in a variety of child care and related settings. They are intended both to guide practitioners and to protect the children and families with whom they work. Professionalism creates additional ethical obligations to colleagues and to the profession. Eight ethical principles of practice are presented. These principles are intended to guide child care practitioners in deciding what conduct is most appropriate when they encounter ethical problems in the course of their work. Each principle is followed by an explanation and a list of standards of practice that represent an application of the principle in a child care or related setting. CONSIDER: How does a code of ethics influence professional practice in ECE? 'This code uses the term “child care practitioner” to refer to adults who work in the field of child care including: early childhood educators; family child care providers; family resource program personnel: resource and referral program personnel; and instructors in early childhood care and education programs in post-secondary institutions. This code uses the term “parent” to refer the parent or legal guardian or the adult who assumes the parental role in the care of the child. SThe ethical practice of child care practitioners reflects the eight principles. However, the resolution of ethical dilemmas can be difficult and there will be circumstances in which the ethical principles will conflict. In these difficult situations, it is recommended that child care practitioners carefully think through the likely consequences of giving priority to particular principles. By evaluating the consequences, it may become clear which principle ought to be given more weight. The preferred action should be the one that produces the least amount of avoidable harm. Child care practitioners are also encouraged to consult with colleagues to obtain different perspectives on the problem, always being mindful of confidentiality issues. However, the final decision will be made by the practitioner facing the ethical dilemma. 250 SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape Professional Requirements The professional requirements for early childhood educators in Canada include requirements for education qualifications and may include requirements for professional learning and recognition. ECE QUALIFICATIONS Provinces and territories have legislation and regulations that govern the operation of regulated early childhood educator programs, including post-secondary ECE credentials. An understanding of childhood, curriculum, and pedagogy is expected to encompass knowledge and expertise from biological sciences, education, psychology, sociology and anthropology. Post-secondary qualifications including ECE certificates, diplomas and degrees prepare educators with the entry-level skills and knowledge. The ECE qualification requirements vary across provinces and territories. No province or territory requires all staff to have a post-secondary credential in ECE. However, several provinces and territories have minimum “entry-level” training requirements for all staff, which vary from 40 to 120 hours of ECE course work, and post-secondary ECE requirements for a percentage of staff. Nine provinces and territories (Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and Yukon) require caregivers in home child care to have some training beyond first aid. In Manitoba, home care givers in regulated programs are required to complete an approved 40-hour course from a community college in home child care or early childhood education by the end of their first year of operation (Beach et al., 2009). In Newfoundland and Labrador, caregivers in regulated home child care are required to have a 30-to-60-hour course in home child care. They must also complete a minimum of 30 hours of professional development every three years. Although Ontario does not require caregivers in regulated home child care to complete specific training, most agencies do provide training. Home visitors, who are agency staff, support caregivers. Ontario’s home visitors must have completed post-secondary education in child development or family studies and have at least two years’ work experience with young children (Beach et al., 2009). Ontario, Nova Scotia and Northwest Territories recognize ECE qualifications for educator positions in kindergarten programs offered in public schools. ECE qualification requirements extend to child and family centres in Ontario and StrongStart in British Columbia. Provincial and territorial requirements might include ongoing professional development, certification or registration with a government or designated body, first-aid training and criminal reference checks. EQUIVALENCY Equivalency is the recognition of out-of-province educational qualifications to meet requirements for credentials and is another aspect of regulation and certification. Each jurisdiction sets up its own process for determining if educational qualifications from outside that province/territory are comparable or equivalent to those recognized within its boundaries. CHAPTER 12 Early Childhood Educators: Looking Ahead EQUIVALENCY A level of achievement that is considered equal to completion of an educational or training program. 251 Equivalency validation credentials verify that an ECE who does not meet a ent particular jurisdiction’s qualification requirements has comparable or equival caqualifi education and experience. Provinces and territories have educational tion requirements for early childhood educators in ECE programs and related settings have some established procedures for assessing qualifications and credentials from other jurisdictions. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING _ In addition to ECE post-secondary qualifications, a commitment to ongoing professional learning is essential. Early childhood educators must stay current and engaged with ongoing new information and deepen their professional knowledge about children’s holistic development and learning. Most educators take part in workshops and conferences that promote professional learning and professional practice in working with young children and their families; these learning opportunities are often offered by professional organizations. The range of learning opportunities that promote skills and knowledge includes workshops, seminars, conferences, publications, and networking. These resources are offered by early childhood education organizations, government _ departments, community groups, family resource programs, home child care agencies, and child care organizations. The effectiveness of professional learning for educators varies. It is difficult to integrate new approaches into daily practice if professional learning opportunities are not part of an ongoing approach to professional learning. Effective professional learning programs are based on research, underpinned by current theoretical perspectives (both content and delivery methods) and are sustained over a period of time (Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, 2015; Beach & Flanagan, 2007; Cherrington & Wansbrough, 2007). CONTINUOUS PROFESContinuous professional learning (CPL) is effective for a knowledgeable SIONAL LEARNING (CPL) _ and responsive early childhood workforce. It is a systematic process that recogA framework and process to nizes that, through ongoing or continuous learning, educators continue to build assist professionals to increase their professional knowledge and skills. CPL is grounded in self-reflection, coltheir Knowledge and skills and ensure quality profeslaborative reflective practice with other educators and a commitment to lifesional practice. long learning (College of Early Childhood Educators, 2019). RESEARCH INTO — PRACTICE LO 12.1 252 ECE Continuous Professional Learning Makes a Difference Recent studies point to the impact of evidence-based continuous professional learning opportunities (e.g., Perlman, Howe, Gulyas, & Falenchuk, 2019; Siraj et al., 2019) and the need to sustain educators’ ongoing professional developme nt (Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, 2015: Lazzari, 2012). Recent SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape reports recognize the need for professional learning that is focused on specific learning needs of educators and combines workshops and ongoing support from centre supervisors or other pedagogical leaders (Egert, Dederer, & Fukkink, 2020: Siraj et al., 2019). An Australian study found that workshops for educators were more effective when the centre supervisors or other educational leaders were supported to reinforce the key messages (Siraj et al., 2019). The study revealed that in-service professional development had clear effects upon observed quality in early childhood education as well as potential effects for child outcomes. CONSIDER: Why do ongoing learning opportunities promote the professionalism of the early childhood workforce? Sources: Institute of Medicine and National Research, 2015; Egert et al., 2020; Lazzari, 2012: Perlman, 2019; Siraj, Kingston, & Neilsen-Hewett 2019. Recognition and Self-Governance Professionalization describes the kinds of activities and actions that an early childhood educator or the early childhood workforce as a whole can use to achieve the goal of being perceived as a profession. SELF-GOVERNANCE The self-governance of a profession refers to its authority to establish bodies to regulate its members and their practice through certification, standards of practice, discipline, and requirements for professional education. Selfgovernance recognizes bodies outside government or organizations that represent the economic or professional development interest of practitioners. That recognition is usually embedded in legislation. Provincial/territorial professional organizations have taken on tasks—such as voluntary certification, development of codes of ethics, consultation with governments on issues related to equivalency validation, and appropriate course content for professional education programs—which are often associated with self-governance. There are two self-governing bodies in Canada, the Association of Early Childhood Educators of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Ontario College of Early Childhood Educators. The latter is a legislated, self-regulating professional body. As discussed earlier in this chapter, members are required to meet entry standards and continuing competence in order to be licensed with the College. Certification and licensing with the College is required in regulated early childhood settings (Pascal, 2009a). CHAPTER 12 Early Childhood Educators: Looking Ahead 253 College of Early Childhood Educators Uncle | (CECE), Ontario ads ea LO) 12.1 The College of Early Childhood Educators (CECE) is a self-regulatory organization for early childhood educators. In 2007, Ontario introduced the Early Childhood Educators Act (2007), which defined the practice of early childhood education and established CECE in Ontario. The College: Regulates the practice of early childhood education Maintains membership Issues certificates of registration Enforces professional and ethical standards Investigates complaints against members Takes disciplinary action if necessary _@ ©@ Membership in the College is required for everyone wishing to use the title of “Early Childhood Educator” or “Registered Early Childhood Educator” or “Educateur/Educatrice de la petite enfance inscrit[e].” Also, membership is required for any educator who is a working supervisor, staff or resource teacher in a regulated child care centre. An ECE postsecondary diploma is required to be eligible for registration and the title of Registered Early Childhood Educator. CECE’s primary duty is to serve and protect the public interest. It regulates and governs over 55,000 Registered Early Childhood Educators and is responsible for establishing and enforcing professional practice and ethical standards, investigating complaints against members, and dealing with issues of discipline. CECE promotes continued competence through resource development, the continuous professional learning program and professional leadership initiatives. CONSIDER: How is the Ontario College of Early Childhood Educators supporting the professionalization of early childhood education? a} 12 CENGAGE MINDTAP Venn an oitnee Early Childhood Education Organizations There are early childhood education organizations and associations at the national, provincial/territorial, and local levels that support the early childhood workforce and advocate for its recognition. In addition to their involvement in advocacy and activities related to professionalism, these groups carry out a range of professional about Ontario's College of Early Childhood Educators. 254 SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape education and development activities. Centres and faculty at Canadian universiti es support ECE research, policy and practice. CANADIAN CHILD CARE FEDERATION The Canadian Child Care Federation (CCCF) is a national organization committed to improving the quality of early learning and child care across Canada. Its network of affiliates includes 13 ECE provincial/territorial organizations. As described above, this organization works to improve quality of child care and education services across Canada, build an infrastructure for the early childhood education and care community, and provide extensive information and resource services. The CCCF provides leadership to the early childhood workforce on a number of fronts, including research, publications, conferences and workshops, and information services, including a complete listing of all organizations, professional education and development programs, and related resource groups. The CCCF sponsors projects to develop a national framework for quality assurance and guidelines for home child care training. CHILD CARE NOW (CHILD CARE ADVOCACY ASSOCIATION OF CANADA) Child Care Now comprises a broad network of provincial and territorial child care organizations and a range of groups including unions, anti-poverty groups, and employers and municipalities who champion human and women’s rights. Child Care Now focuses on public education and news related to advocacy for child care and political action to increase government support for child care. The recent Child Care for All Campaign aims to mobilize Canadians to promote the vision of universal child care. CANADIAN ASSOCIATION FOR YOUNG CHILDREN (CAYC) CAYC promotes professional development and communication among early childhood educators, researchers, and faculty and students in university and college programs related to ECE.It publishes Journal of Childhood Studies three times a year. FAMILIES CANADA This organization provides education, resources, consultation and support for program development, resources and publications to a national network of family support programs, including child and family centres;to reach families from allbackgrounds. CHILDCARE RESOURCE AND RESEARCH UNIT The Childcare Resource and Research Unit provides public education, consultation, and publications; organizes and disseminates information and resources; conducts child carerelated research projects; and provides a circulating library and database of resources. Across Canada, provincial and territorial ECE organizations support the early childhood education workforce. Table 12.1 includes brief descriptions of these organizations. CHAPTER 12 Early Childhood Educators: Looking Ahead 255 TABLE 12.1 @ PROVINCIAL AND TERRITORIAL ECE ORGANIZATIONS Description Name Association of Early Childhood Educators, Newfoundland and Labrador (AECENL) httos://www.aecenl.ca Early Childhood Development Association of Prince Edward Island’ (ECDA of PE!) httos://www.ecdaofpei.ca Promotes and supports ECE programs in PEI. Provides information, guidance, resources and professional development opportunities and is a voice representing healthy child development for PEI children age O to 8 years and their families. Association of Early Childhood Education Nova Scotia’ httos://www.nscece.com Professional organization for qualified early childhood educators and for others who are working in ECE programs. Implements provincial certification program for the government and provides professional learning for educators. Focuses on the professional practice of early childhood educator in all ECE programs. ; Certification Council of Early Childhood Education of Nova Scotia’ Offers voluntary certification process for qualified early childhood educators. https://ccecens.ca Quebec Association for Preschool Professional Development (QAPPD) Promotes quality care for children in Quebec and encourages ongoing professional development within the field. httos://www.qappd.com Association québeécoise des centres de la petite enfance (AQCPE) A network of nonprofit child care centres and coordinating offices for home child care throughout Quebec. http://www.aqcpe.com Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario (AECEO) https://www.aeceo.ca Home Child Care Association of Ontario” Advocates for respect, recognition and appropriate wages and working conditions for early childhood educators in all ECE programs. Leads provincial Professional Pay and Decent Work Campaign. Represents and advocates for Licensed Home Child Care Agencies in Ontario http://Accao.com Early Childhood Resource Teacher Network Ontario http://ecrtno.ca 256 Network of professionals who promote the inclusion of children with varying needs and abilities in their communities. Provides professional learning opportunities and advocates for resource teachers and consultants across Ontario. SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape Name Manitoba Child Care Association’ (MCCA) http://mecahouse.org Saskatchewan Early Childhood Association” (SECA) Description Advocates for a quality system of child care, advances early learning and child care education as a profession, and provides services to its members. Promotes professional development opportunities and advocates for children and families, high quality learning, and those working within the profession. http://seca-sk.ca Association of Early Childhood Educators of Alberta’ https://aecea.ca British Columbia Aboriginal Child Care Society’ https://www.acc-society.bc.ca Amplifies the voice of early childhood educators by advocating for higher educational standards, better wages and working conditions, and comprehensive system supports as well as aims to transform Alberta’s early learning and child care (ELCC) workforce into a recognized profession. Supports Indigenous communities in developing high quality, Culturally respectful, and spiritually enriching community child care services that are based in the child’s culture, language and history. Early Childhood Educators of British Columbia’ Promotes respects for early childhood educators. Provides professional learning opportunities and resources to educators. BC Family Child Care Association’ Promotes professionalism in the delivery of family [home] child care through training opportunities, resources and advocacy. (ECEBC) httos://www.ecebc.ca Westcoast Child Care Resource Centre https://www.wstcoast.org Early Childhood Pedagogies Collaboratory httos://www.earlychildhoodcollaboratory.net Provides resources, referrals and training to families, professionals and organizations who are seeking the best care and early learning for children. Hybrid and experimental space where educators and pedagogues meet and investigate the complexities of 21st-century early childhood education Promotes centre-based and family child care. _Yukon.Child Care Association https://p.facebook.com/YukonCCA *Affliliate members of Canadian Child Care Federation @ 121 CHAPTER 12 Early Childhood Educators: Looking Ahead 257 ab e EDUCATION EARLY CHILDHOOD UNIVERSITY CENTRES SUPPORTING supported are Canada in ms ECE progra RESEARCH, POLICY ANDPRACTICE ¢ policy by several university research centres that work with educators and better makers. Their research studies often are opportunities to collaborate to are 12.2 Table in understand ECE program policies and practices. The centres committed to exchanges of information and experiences between researchers 412 CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about these organizations. _and educators to shape research questions. @© 121 THE ECE WORK ENVIRONMENT Early childhood education offers qualified educators expanding opportunities in a variety of career directions in Canada. As the field is expanding and becoming more visible, recognition of the value of the early childhood educator working with young children and supporting families is growing. The historically low compensation rates B o?¢ 4 = CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to find out more about university-based organizations for research, policy and practice. are slowly increasing. Future work in early childhood education is indeed promising. Across Canada ECE programs are expanding and are finding it difficult to recruit qualified educators. In 2020, there was an estimated early childhood work~ force shortage of about 58,000 qualified early childhood educators across Canada in regulated child care programs (Akbari et al., 2021). The recent expansion of public education into early childhood education has increased the demand for TABLE 12.2 @ UNIVERSITY CENTRES SUPPORTING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Research Centre Description Atkinson Centre for Society The Atkinson Centre is a research centre committed to using the best possible evidence on early child development to inform public discourse, public policy and the professional learning of those who work with young children. The Centre works in collaboration with the ECE Program at George Brown College. A weekly newsletter offers updates about ECE-related events, resources, publications and research studies from across Canada and internationally. and Child Development, OISE, University of Toronto Early Childhood Centre Collaborative Research Centre, Mount Saint Vincent University Offord Centre, McMaster University The ECCCRC’s research program aims to enhance early childhood well-being and support families by studying policies and practices for effective early learning environments. A multi-disciplinary research institute that studies how to improve the lives of children and youth. The centre’s Early Development Instrument (EDI) initiative measures children’s ability to meet age-appropriate developmental expectations across Canada and internationally. Human Early Learning Program, Universityof British Columbia Early Childhood Centre University of New Brunswick 258 The Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) is a collaborative, interdisciplinary research network. HELP’s unique partnership brings together many scientific viewpoints to address complex early child development (ECD) issues. The Early Childhood Centre studies early literacies, family literacies, early learning and child care, and early years curriculum. Also, the centre includes a full-time program for young children. SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape qualified early childhood educators, as they are finding employment in these programs (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018: Akbari et al., 2021; Bertrand & McCuaig, 2019). Also, the spotlight on early child development as a determinant of later learning, behaviour, and health (e.g., McCain, Mustard & McCuaig, 2011; McCain, 2020) has spawned a growth of niche programming, such as music and movement classes, preschool creative groups, or infant-parent yoga, for young children and their parents. Educators are well positioned to fill positions in these programs as well. ECE Career Pathways Early childhood educators are in high demand in ECE programs across Canada and have flexibility in where they work. There are multiple opportunities close to home for most early childhood educators as well as opportunities to move to new places. ECE programs offer positions working directly with children and their families. Educators can also think about career pathways to be ECE program leaders, and research and policy positions related to ECE programs are other possibilities. CHILD CARE CENTRES Provincial and territorial governments’ legislation and regulations require some staff in the child care centres to have ECE qualifications. The organization of educators in child care centres varies. Some centres have lead or head early childhood educators with responsibilities to monitor and guide pedagogical practices. In other centres, the centre supervisor or director takes on this role. Most child care centres are organized into age groupings that align with provincial or territorial regulations. Many educators launch their career in child care centres. When they can be guided by other educators and supervisors with more experience and perhaps additional qualifications, newly qualified educators build their knowledge and competence. Also, they can consider what future career opportunities may exist at the child care centre. Positions in child care centres for educators with ECE qualifications are plentiful, so it is possible to be selective and seek employment in centres that offer quality programming to young children as well as profes-. sional learning opportunities. Most positions in child care centres are full-time— five days per week, seven or eight hours per day. » Nursery schools or preschools are NURSERY SCHOOLS AND PRESCHOOLS included in most provincial and territorial legislation and regulations and also require some of the staff have qualifications. Some will have a group of children attend in the morning and another group attend in the afternoon. Nursery schools and preschools are usually not open during public school holidays. Educators may work hours that are similar to a typical school day or half-days for two to five days a week. PREKINDERGARTEN/JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN AND KINDERGARTEN IN Public schools across Canada offer kindergarten to fivePUBLIC SCHOOLS year-old children that employs qualified teachers with approved education degrees. Educators may also be employed as education assistants who support children with special educational needs and disabilities. In Ontario, Nova Scotia and Northwest Territories, educators are employed in public school ECE programs for four-year-old children. In Nova Scotia the CHAPTER 12 Early Childhood Educators: Looking Ahead 259 a class of up to 20 pre-primary program has two early childhood educators for nursery school, children. Manitoba’s half-day prekindergarten program is called be led by an is offered to four-year-old children in some public schools, and may early childhood educator or a teacher. In Ontario, full-day kindergarten (FDK) for four- and five-year-old children om. has a qualified early childhood educator and teacher team in most FDK classro oms classro school public Educators in Nova Scotia and Northwest Territories plan and implement the programs according to provincial/territorial curriculum guidelines. In Ontario, educators and teachers work together to implement FDK. Teachers have knowledge of the Ontario elementary curriculum from kindergarten to srade 8. They understand how kindergarten curriculum expectations link to later elementary grades. They are responsible for evaluation and reporting to parents. Educators contribute to assessment and evaluation of children’s learning. Educators in prekindergarten and kindergarten usually work the hours of the school day and school year. They are included in some professional learning opportunities and may have some preparation time. They may not be paid for ; school holidays,ys, including g over the summer months. BEFORE- AND AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS Before- and after-school programs may be licensed child care centres that require ECE qualifications for some staff or be offered through schools or recreation programs and centres that may employ qualified educators but do not require staff with ECE qualifications. Programs may seek out staff with recreation and creative arts experience and qualifications. The programs wrap around elementary school hours and offer programs on school holidays. In child care centres that offer before- and after-school programs, educators may work in the before- or after-school program and in a younger age group during school hours. Others may work a split shift, before and after school, on school days. Educators may choose to work in before- and after-school programs that have a specific focus on recreational sports or creative arts that allow them to further their own interests and skills. Other educators may choose a split shift position that may accommodate pursuing further education. CHILD AND FAMILY CENTRES Child and family centres often employ early childhood educators. BC’s StrongStart programs require staff with ECE qualifications. Ontario's EarlyON programs are phasing in ECE-qualified staff requirements. Educators typically work directly with young children and their family members and other caregivers. They plan and carry out curriculum that is both adult- and child-focused and strives to actively involve parents and other caregivers in their children’s early development and learning. EARLY INTERVENTION Early childhood educators may decide to work with children with special educational needs or disabilities and their families to ensure that the children are able to participate fully in ECE programs. Or educators may choose to work in early intervention services that support children in ECE programs and at home. Additional qualifications are often preferred or required. RESEARCH, POLICY AND RESOURCES The expanding knowledge base about the science and practice of early child development and ECE creates new opportunities for early childhood educators. Resource centres, research institutes, 260 SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape early childhood organizations, and governments are exploring ways to make new knowledge and information readily available to the early childhood workforce, parents and communities. Early childhood educators understand the daily lives of front-line staff and families in early childhood settings and can explain what new policies and research findings may be relevant. Working Conditions for Early Childhood Educators Working conditions include income, benefits and workload,aswell as characteristics of the social and physical environment. Although provincial regulations and legislation about employment standards set the basic requirements for a minimum wage, mandatory vacations and maximum numbeis of work hours per week for educators, these factors vary depending on the setting and role. Educators may be employed by parents, non-profit organizations, local or provincial governments, businesses, or school boards; or they may be self-employed. The type of early childhood education setting affects the employment status of Physical work environment, compensation (salary and benefits), hours of work, career and professional learning opportunities, and supervision approach. educators and the related working conditions. The working conditions in ECE programs create an organizational climate for ~ ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMAT Besse cnpeccsreneregeren, the adults and the children in that setting. A positive organizational climate helps Collective perception of staff create a quality setting for young children and their families. (See Chapter 10 for about the work environment. further discussion about quality.) The organizational climate is positive when salary and benefits are reasonable; job responsibilities and obligations are clear; health and _ * safety are protected; educators are valued; opportunities for professional growth andadvancement are present; and management is competent. Educators report less job satisfaction when ECE programs are dominated by unqualified staff and there is a lack of pedagogical leadership (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018). The Organizational Climate of Early Childhood Programs International and Canadian research findings point to the school principal or program manager, supervisor, or director as the gatekeeper of quality who sets the organizational climate (Fullan, 2001). School principals are expected to be leaders of learning, RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE LO 12.2 knowledgeable about curriculum and pedagogy, and able to assess and develop. teacher skills. They are also expected to provide working conditions for teachers. that allow them to practise their profession (McElgunn, 2006; Mort, 2007; National Association of Elementary School Principals, 2005; Phillips, 2003). Early childhood educators need the same kind of leadership in all early childhood programs. Skilled management and leadership in early childhood programs create a positive organizational climate. Educators have opportunities to be involved in decision making. A coherent administrative framework supports early childhood educators working together in teams. In family child care, support and contact with other climate. l— caregivers is part of a positive organizationa (continued) CHAPTER 12 Early Childhood Educators: Looking Ahead 261 includes pedagogEffective leadership practice in early childhood programs ities in addiical and curriculum leadership and outreach to families and commun (Bertrand & tion to necessary financial and human resources management skills Kingston, & . Michals, 2007; Fullan, 2020; McLean, 2019; Siraj et al., 2017; Siraj, Neilsen-Hewett, 2019). Pedagogical leadership contributes to good practice (Bertrand & Michals, 2007; Siraj-Blatchford et al., 2016, McLean 2018) and encourages staff stability (Schlieber et al., 2019). In early childhood programs, leaders and managers who are pedagogical leaders enhance program quality and the overall climate of the program. Managers who have higher educational levels seem to be better able to provide curriculum and pedagogical leadership to educators. Leadership, innovation, creativity and a strong knowledge base are essential (McLean, 2018; Schlieber et al., 2019; Siraj et al., 2019). As early childhood programs in Canada expand and expectations for their achievements grow, the complexities of providing high quality programs will require highly skilled people at all levels. Appropriate training for leadership roles is a critical element in providing — high quality ECE programs, particularly as more complex, multi-professional teams of staff come together to provide more integrated programs. CONSIDER: Why do you think pedagogical quality ECE programs? _. leadership is an essential component of COMPENSATION Table 12.3 compares the full-time average salaries of teachers employed in public schools and educators employed in early childhood education settings (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018; Akbari et al., 2021). Between 2000 and 2020, provincial/territorial government policy and funding initiatives that influence human resources included wage subsidies, educational support, bursaries and incentives, and revised policies regarding recognition of post-secondary early childhood credentials. Higher education, more experience, unionization and non-profit and public status were factors found to be related to higher income levels, even within the same province or territory (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018; Akbari et al., 2021). Across Canada, educators with ECE post-secondary qualifications working with young children in child care centres earn on average $38,000 annually (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018). The range of salaries varies across provinces and territories and between centres in the same jurisdiction. The salary differences between teachers and educators persist, and in many jurisdictions the pop Sean growing (Akbari and McCuaig, 2018). The still-too-low income levels of early childhood educators is a major issue for the sector. Recent studies report that low remuneration remains a significant problem for those working in early childhood education settings as well as for government officials, representatives from provincial/territorial and national-sector organizations, and faculty members from colleges and universities 262 SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape TABLE 12.3 @ TEACHER-ECE REMUNERATION BY PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES Teacher Salaries ECE Salaries ECE Salaries as % of Teachers’ Salaries NL 63,200 43,600 69 PE| 60,100 35,800 60 NS 62,/50 33,400 53 NB 61,900 36,400 59 QC 77,600 48,000 62 ON 67,400 38,900 58 MB 73,800 38,200 92 SK 62,147 34, 600 56 AB 79,700 37,900 47 BC 65,300 37,700 58 Salaries for early childhood educators lag behind public school teachers’ salaries. Source: McCuaig, Akbari (2018). Early Childhood Education Report 2017. Provincial territorial profiles, (http://ecereport.ca/en/report/provincial-territorial-profiles/). Published by the Atkinson Centre at OISE University of Toronto. @ 23 (Beach & Flanagan, 2007; Flanagan & Beach, 2010; Doherty et al., 2000; Akbari & McCuaig, 2018). It is difficult to compare income levels for educators in different ECE programs. Educators who work with children in centre-based settings are employees. Educators in regulated home child care settings are self-employed. Wages earned as an employee are subject to different deductions and taxation than income earned through self-employment. Educators working in public ECE programs in schools or operated by municipalities in Ontario receive higher compensation (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018). The large wage gap between early childhood educators and teachers is emerging as a major issue as early childhood education programs become integrated into the education sector and into schools (Atkinson Centre, 2018). Early childhood educators want a role as programs become part of the education system, and they want to see comparable compensation. Early childhood educators currently working in early childhood programs delivered through public education (or municipalities) typically earn higher hourly wages than other educators working in child care centres in the same region. UNIONS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Unionization is a strategy that could lead to improved compensation and working conditions, as well as to improved quality of the early childhood programs. The labour movement in Canada has been involved in organizing the early childhood workforce and CHAPTER 12 Early Childhood Educators: Looking Ahead UNIONIZATION, To organize employees of an organization into a labour union that is recognized to negotiate working conditions with the employer on behalf of the employees. 263 the 1970s bargaining for better compensation and working conditions since reported 2012 from (Beach et al., 2004). The most recent information available are that approximately 21 percent of staff employed in child care centres 2014-GUEES members of trade unions in Canada (Beach, Flanagan & Varmuza, percent 2018). Rates of unionization vary across Canada, ranging from 30 in Quebec to 2 percent in Alberta and 0 percent in New Brunswick (Beach, Flanagan & Varmuza, 2014; CUPE, 2018). Educators employed in the expanding ECE programs offered through public education typically become union members (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018; Akbari et al., 2021). In Ontario, approximately 12,000 early childhood educators in full-day kindergarten or employed as educational assistants in elementary classrooms are members of CUPE or a teacher’s union. In British Columbia, 350 educators in the school-based child and family program StrongStart are CUPE members. Educators in Nova Scotia’s pre-primary Program for four-year-old children in public schools are members of the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union or CUPE. In Quebec, educators who are working in before- and afterschool programs are unionized. . Employment structures and funding for non-profit and commercial ECE programs present barriers for the unionization of early childhood educators. In centre-based child care programs, it is difficult to organize relatively small staff groups into collective bargaining units. Educators who demand increased compensation can be threatened with the inability of parents to afford increased fees—and the parents are people they see and speak with every day, people with whom they have forged relationships. Early childhood educators employed in programs operated within larger institutions (such as municipalities in Ontario or community colleges) are included as a small proportion of a broad bargaining unit, but this solution is less than perfect: it may be difficult within the larger union to address issues that are specific to the child care workforce (Beach, Bertrand & Cleveland, 1998). Early childhood educators and other staff working in unionized child care centres earn higher pay and better benefits than staff in other settings. On average, child care staff earns 25 percent more in unionized centres. They are also more likely to receive benefits such as disability insurance, extended health _care, life insurance, employee top-up of maternity benefits, and parental leave benefits and pensions (Beach & Flanagan, 2007; Beach, Flanagan & Varmuza, 2014; CUPE, 2018). Well-Being Strategies for Educators The emotional, physicaand l social well-being of educators in ECE programs is an. essential element of the quality of the environments that children experience. ECE programs can be stressful work environments for educators who are trying | to respond to the needs and wants of young children and their families. Educators in ECE programs are subject to many sources of stress and often work in isolated settings. Working conditions described earlier in this chapter can moderate or exacerbate daily stresses. Educators can be proactive in adopting strategies that improve well-being. | 264 SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape PHYSICAL WELL-BEING STRATEGIES Health and safety conditions for educators and other staff working in ECE programs contribute to well-being. Physical demands and infectious disease are two risks facing educators that may not be eliminated but can be reduced. Working with young children is physically demanding. Babies and toddlers are often lifted and carried. Furnishings and equipment must be moved around to accommodate children’s play and daily routines. Information about correct bending and lifting from the knees reduces back injury. Adult-size furnishings in some of the play areas can be provided. Stowith wheels allow educators to easily move about play areas easily. ols Infectious diseases are common in ECE programs, and staff risk becoming ill. Young children get colds with runny noses, crusty eyes and coughs. Young children also get gastrointestinal viruses and may vomit or have diarrhea. Clear policies that indicate children must stay home when they are ill can be enforced to reduce the risk, but often these illnesses first appear while children are in programs. Excellent hygiene practices are important. Educators who take care of their personal physical health through healthy living are less likely to pick upinfections: SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING STRATEGIES Educators often work in isolated settings. The dynamics of a group of children or the behaviours of an individual child can be difficult. Multiple demands for educators’ time and — : , : : : hi : Actions that an individual takes attention are stressful. Professional practices for responsive relationships require, improve themncanaene that educators are constantly engaged and focused with many adults and children. _ well-being. Self-Care RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE Educators are encouraged to understand and support children’s social and emotional well-being and self-regulation. Researchers find that educators who pay attention to their own self-regulation and related social-emotional well-being are better able to support children (Jennings & Greenberg, 2009; Schonert-Reichl, 2017). “aye TN LO 12.4 respond sensitively to children’s emotions is shaped.by their own capacityto regulate their own emotions. Educators who have greater stress create early learning environments that are more stressful for children and make it harder for children to regulate their emotions or their behaviour. foreducators who are working with young children -Self-careis a keystrategy self-regulate their emotions. Eating well and getting enough sleep and regular to exercise are key elements of self-care (Wei, 2018). Mind-body practice such as yoga, meditation and deep-relaxation techniques are effective strategies to reduce stress. One simple deep-relaxation technique is to practise simple deep breathing for 10 minutes daily, by sitting quietly and slowly breathing in and out. Self-care increases an educator's social-emotional well-being and their abilities toreduce stress in the early learning environments they share with children. ra CHAPTER (continued) 12 Early Childhood Educators: Looking Ahead 265 environments in ECE programs Stressed-out educators create more stressed-out emotions and behaviours. that make it difficult for young children to regulate their ) . , CONSIDER: socials children’ Improve self-care In ECE programs, how does educators’ emotional well-being? 2018. Sources: Schonert-Reichl, 2017; Jennings & Greenberg, 2009; Wei, Taking time for self-care is PB essential for educators. Gordic/shutterstock.com Dragana © ADVOCATING FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Canada is expanding early childhood education for its youngest citizens. But there are not enough programs—only onein every two children five years and younger has access to an ECE program (McCain, 2020). Apart from the ECE programs offered through public education, costs are often prohibitive. Quality concerns abound. Poor coordination and a lack of integration at the local level may lead families to be confused about what services they are entitled to and how they can access those services. As noted in Chapter 11, the typical array of early childhood education and related programs and services available to a young child is chaotic. Many families do not understand what services are available to everyone, let alone how to access more complex services such as special-needs interventions. The workforce challenges facing governments and communities that want to expand ECE programs include 266 SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape low compensation, isolated workplaces, insufficient opportunities for effective professional learning.and a weak program leadership (Akbari & McCuaig, 2018). The campaign for better ECE programs spans seven decades. Governments of every political stripe have tried to address the issue with some notable successes including the expansion of universal ECE programs for younger children in Ontario, Nova Scotia and Northwest Territories. Overall, public investment in ECE programs has doubled in the past decade but the demand is growing faster (McCain, 2020; Akbari & McCuaig, 2018). Early childhood educators can be powerful advocates who understand the arguments for more investment in ECE programs and expanded opportunities for young children. Educators can communicate the value of ECE to colleagues, families, communities and governments. Children’s Rights Young children have a right to the best possible childhoods and that includes participation in ECE programs. The first Early Years Study states “it is the right thing to do for our young children” (McCain & Mustard, 1999, p. 2). Early Years Study 4 notes, “Most important, early education gives children a space where play and friendships flourish, making for happier, healthier childhoods” (McCain, 2020, p.2). School-age children (6-12 years old) have often lost the third space of childhood—the play space apart from home life and school (Collins, 2018). Before- and after-school programs can bring back the opportunity for play spaces that allow children to create their own social worlds. Chapter | introduced the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which includes the idea that children are citizens with rights and are entitled to resources. Childhood is viewed as an important phase of life, not just a prelude to adulthood. As recognized in the image of the child vision in Chapter 1 (see Figure 1.1), the child is an active, competent learner. ECE programs become an integral part of children’s culture. They amplify children’s interests and aptitudes outside the family. | _ECE and Lifelong Learning, Earning and Health All young children have an astounding capacity to learn—astounding both in how much they can learn and in the variety and range of what they can learn, Given the capacity of children to learn, particularly during their early years, it makes sense to keep all avenues, options, and aspirations open. The primary focus is identifying and introducing the experiences, activities and challenges that enhance everyone’s learning. Participation in high quality ECE programs prepares children for academic success, higher education and lifelong learning. Regular participation in quality ECE programs offers young children the kinds of opportunities that benefit language, social competence, emotional maturity and cognitive development. The positive impact of early education carries forward into elementary school to establish a foundation for later success. Children who are living in disadvantage derive more benefit from high quality early childhood programs, but the advantages apply to all children and they apply whether the mother is in the paid workforce or not. All children show improved educational and social CHAPTER 12 Early Childhood Educators: Looking Ahead 267 ms (McCain, 2020; outcomes from regular, sustained participation in ECE progra Yoshikawa et al., 2013). ic benThe learning benefits of ECE programs translate into many econom dge knowle n’s efits (Alexander et al., 2017). Play-based learning builds childre and the skills that they will need to survive, develop, and grow in the present early and into the future. Studies consistently find that the long-term benefitsof childhood education programs, particularly from age two until school entry, are more than the program costs (Yoshikawa et al., 2013; Alexander, et al., 2017; McCain 2020). Studies also find that ECE programs reduce the need for special education resources in elementary school and beyond (Philpott et al., 2019). Parental Employment ECE programs support the dual responsibilities of parents to earn a living and raise their children. Parents who work outside the home, or carry out paid work inside the home, need non-parental care arrangements for their children, particularly for young children who have not entered the formal school system. As Canada’s population ages. the Canadian economy requires increasing numbers of mothers with young children to work (Alexander et al, 2017; McCain, 2020). Early childhood education programs that support parental employment also support economic benefits that come from increased income taxes and reduced use of income benefit programs (Alexander et al., 2017; Fortin, 2019; McCain, 2020). : Social Benefits Early childhood education programs live in neighbourhoods and communities and can offer a comfortable space and meeting place that welcomes all young children and families. ECE programs connect families with each other. Children need spaces and places to play with each other. When children play, families from diverse religious, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds can find common ground _ where everyone belongs. Child care centres are well positioned to be an effective platform to deliver a host of other services and serve as a central hub within a community, connecting parents with a network ofother services and resources including health, nutrition, family supports, early interventions and community development (Corter, Janmohamed & Pelletier, 2012; McKenzie, 2019). Early childhood settings have daily opportunities to connect families with each other. Families have strengths, experiences and skills that they can share with one another. Programs can contribute to a family’s social and support networks and reduce the isolation and exclusion families often feel in disadvantaged communities, ECE programs can connect families, particularly low-income, lone-parent (typically mother-led) families, to an array of local resources and supports (Small, Jacobs & Massengill, _ 2008). Families form social networks, make cultural connections and participate in their communities as a result of their ECE program participation. Early childhood education programs help to transmit social and cultural values. They are places where children are exposed to and influenced by others’ _ values, and where children consolidate their value system, acquire their own vision of the world, and learn to socialize and function as part of a group. Because 268 SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape early childhood programs typically take in all children, regardless of gender, ethnic origin, religion, ability, family composition or financial situation, they serve an important democratic and civic function—one in which equal opportunity and fairness for all are daily realities, being part of the group is reflected in the activities carried out together and with shared objectives, and the search for the common good takes individual well-being into account. Families who are newcomers to Canada and who share similar cultural traditions or who speak languages other than English or French, benefit from meeting each other. Families also benefit when they learn about child rearing practices from families with different backgrounds. ECE programs can unite families from diverse origins through participation in common activities related to their children—for example, potluck dinners or weekend picnics. Adults and children find out that co-operation among social classes and ethnic groups is possible and positive. Early childhood education programs can be places that can foster community co-operation. They strengthen appreciation for diversity and promote equity among racial and ethnic groups, enhancing social integration and solidarity. Early childhood education programs typically offer parents information about child development. Pamphlets, workshops and YouTube videos may be welcomed by families but are not as effective in changing parenting practices as “learning by doing” opportunities. ECE programs that offer parents opportunities to observe educators interacting with their children or provide specific opportunities for parents to practise positive interactions with their children are more effective (Grindal et al., 2016). A Canadian study of the social and economic benefits of early childhood education reports that ECE programs in Canada can reduce the equity gap between children in low-income families and those in more affluent ones (Alexander et al., 2017). EQUITY, GAP cscs cmecnmemcsaee Avoidable differences that exist due to income differences. Campaigns for Early Childhood Education The ECE professional organizations discussed earlier in this chapter often take on specific campaigns to promote children’s access to ECE programs. They also champion early childhood educators and advocate forimproved working conditions. _ Ontario Early Childhood Sector Decent Work Charter MAKING IT HAPPEN LO 12.5 The Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario (AECEO) developed the Ontario Early Childhood Sector Decent Work Charter to gain greater recognition, — increased salaries and benefits, and improved working conditions for educators. The Charter is a vision for decent work. ECE programs and related organizations can sign on to the Charter indicating their commitment to advancing policy reforms to improve working conditions for educators in all ECE programs. (continued) CHAPTER 12 Early Childhood Educators: Looking Ahead 269 The Charter is based on the four foundations of Ontario’s early learning curriculum framework, How Does Learning Happen? (Government of Ontario, 201 4): BELONGING © Recognition of staff as valued professionals ® Commitment to establish and maintain structures and resources internally and externally that recognize the critical role early childhood staff perform in the delivery of quality programs WELL-BEING @ Professional pay/compensation © Commitment to establish and maintain strategies to provide professional pay for professional work ENGAGEMENT @ Professional learning © Commitment to establish and maintain structures and resources to support —-early childhood professionals in all aspects of ongoing professional learning EXPRESSION ® Quality work environments * Commitment to establish and maintain structures and resources that promote belonging, inclusion, diversity, well-being, engagement and expression in the work environment Courtesy of Association of Early Childhood Education, Ontario. Used with permission. a, ¢ © 4 ®& CENGAGE MINDTAP Visit MindTap to learn more about the Ontario Early Childhood Sector Decent Work Charter. ®© SUMMARY Mm © ECE professionalism includes specific knowledge, standards of practice, ethics, qualifications, recognition and self-governance, and ongoing professional learning. ¢ The work environment for educators in ECE programs is characterized by low 270 compensation. Program leadership makes a difference in creating work environments that value and recognize educators and support their ability to design and offer quality early learning environments. SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape Educators can pursue careers in ECE programs, including child care centres, child and family centres, early intervention, before- and afterschool programs, preschool and nursery schools, prekindergarten and kindergarten. Opportunities are growing in ECE-related research and resource initiatives. ¢ The well-being of educators is interrelated with children’s social-emotional well-being and self-regulation. Supportive work environments and self-care contribute to educators’ well-being. ¢ Educators are powerful advocates in promoting increased public investment in ECE programs. REVIEW QUESTIONS 1. Describe three key elements of the early childhood profession. LO 12.1 2. What are the similarities and differences in the roles and responsibilities of early childhood educators employed in child care centres, public school prekindergarten and kindergarten, and child and family centres? ty 12.2 3. What would you want to know about the work environment in an ECE program before accepting an offer of employment? LO 12.2 4. How do child care centres, prekindergarten in schools and child and family centres offer career opportunities for educators? LO 12.3 5. What are three strategies to support the wellbeing of educators? LO 12.4 STUDY ACTIVITIES 1. Prepare a 15-minute presentation for your local business community that outlines the long-term social and economic benefits in early childhood education. LO 12.5 2. Ontario’s College of Early Childhood Education (CECE) has prepared a document on professionalism. Find it online and review the three scenarios: Posting on Social Media, ae SE ee ee Supporting a Child, or Following Workplace Policies and Offering a Diagnosis. Answer the questions and then discuss with other students. LO 12.1 3. Review the Code of Ethics from the Canadian Child Care Federation. What changes would you recommend to revise and update the Code? LO 12.1 ee ae ee ee KEY TERMS Equity gap (p. 269) Professional (p. 247) Self-care (p. 265) Standards of practice (p. 248) Equivalency (p. 251) Organizational climate (p. 261) Working conditions (p. 261) Code of ethics (p. 248) Continuous professional learning (CPL) (p. 252) Unionization (p. 263) CHAPTER 12 Early Childhood Educators: Looking Ahead 271 SUGGESTED READINGS Akbari, E., McCuaig, K., & Foster, D. (2021). Early childhood education report 2020. Toronto, ON: Atkinson Centre, OISE, University of Toronto. Anderson, L., Sing, M., and Haber, R. (2020). Executive summary: A com- petitive, publicly funded provincial wage grid is the solution to BC’s ECE shortage. Vancouver, BC: Early Childhood Educators BC and Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC. Retrieved September 22, 2020, at http:// ecebc.ca/wage-grid-exec-summary.pdf Child Care Now. (2019). Early learning and child care: Essential for women’s economic security. Ottawa, ON: Author. Retrieved September 22, 2020, at https://allforchildcare.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Early-learning-and -child-care-and-womens-economic-security.pdf College of Early Childhood Educators. (2019). Continuous Professional Learning Portfolio Cycle, Handbook 2019. Toronto, ON: Author. https:// www.college-ece.ca/en/Documents/CPL_Portfolio_Handbook.pdf 3 o ic ¢ CENGAGE ~ MacDonnell, M. and McCorquodale, L. (2019). Hidden messages: Barriers toward professional recognition. The Peer Reviewed Collection 3(2). Toronto, ON: AECEO. Retrieved September 22, 2020, at https://drive.google.com/ ——— MINDTAP Ber cec Orenroecurces file/d/1rfgb-Rnusx5JTacgX L9DrwRtqThksoWx/view Roach, A., Hooper, S. & Jakubiec, B. (2019). Exploring early childhood educators’ notions about professionalism in Prince Edward Island. Journal of visit MindTap. 272 Childhood Studies 44(1): 20-36. SECTION 4 The Early Childhood Education Landscape me 0S ep Gp gg ome FE Gm fg 0 OU Et mm | References ABS. (2012). 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REFERENCES 295 pieces = wns veg nataee Aled Shagmubaes avalide . nls ine ‘pete — + a ee “. r y acs | terwed ee So yo uv : ; ‘ : “ » 1 =e « ; &c hoaiy? oo a ie “ ‘4 Gp ag aFit aibewiie Vile ~i -o a? " inT?¢ ad ,.® Bohl, F baeiaaewts renin thie earpe: = ASM Ba ~ ee 7. ef lege Bly Pedi ; TL) ile ral atti. : y a : OA —_— j weer |. “er el onde * Glossary accommodation: Using an existing schema to explore and understand a new object or experience. adult—child ratio: Maximum number of children allowed for every staff member. aesthetics: Overall attractiveness of an object or environment. alphabetic principle: A group of skills that connect letters wth sounds to read and write. anecdotes: A written description that is recorded after an event or interaction is observed and includes what was seen and heard. assimilation: Changing a schema because it does not work for a new object or situation. at risk: Term used when there are concerns about developmental delay related to biological, environmental or physical conditions. autonomy: Knowledge that one has control over one’s own decisions and actions. baby-boom: Significant increase in births following World War II and continuing to mid 1960s. before- and after-school programs: A range of programs for children who are attending school kindergarten, prekindergarten programs, or grades | to 6 that are offered before and after school hours and on school holidays. behaviourism: Theory of learning that proposes that behaviours are acquired through conditioning or interactions with the environment. caregiving: Looking after physical and emotional needs for safety and well-being. child agency: A child’s ability to make choices and decisions that impact on activities and on their life. child and family centre: A family support program that offers ECE programs to young children and other supports and resources to their families and caregivers. child-centred: Based on the child’s cues, interests and abilities. classical conditioning: A form of learning that links a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that results in a reflexive behaviour. The neutral stimulus alone then produces the same reflexive behaviour. co-construct: A process in which a child and an educator or a group of children (with or without an educator) work together to figure something out and build or create knowledge. co-constructed pedagogical documentation: Pedagogical documentation that is led by a child or children who participated in an activity with the support of educators who listen to and record children’s ideas. code of ethics: Principles intended to guide professionals to make decisions and take actions that are honest and aligned to the vision, values and principles of a profession. cognitive: Mental processes involved in learning, thinking and knowing. colonization: The act of settling among and gaining control over the Indigenous people of the same area. communities of practice: A group of professionals who share a strong interest about a topic related to their practice and come together to collaborate to improve their practice. compensatory preschool programs: Designed for children up to six years old who have developmental delays, or who are at risk of developmental delays, because of environmental conditions, including disadvantaged communities. continuous professional learning (CPL): A framework and process to assist professionals to increase their knowledge and skills and ensure quality professional practice. continuous quality improvement: Ongoing analysis of quality evaluation results to understand changes needed to improve the quality of early learning environments for young children and their families. creative-constructive play: Play in which children use materials and tools to make something. cultural competence: Effective understanding, interacting and communicating with people across cultures. culture: Ways of knowing, attitudes, values, goals and customs shared by a society. 297 early intervention services: Programs and services that work with children whose development is delayed or curriculum: Sum total of the interactions, planned and unplanned learning opportunities, routines, events, materials and physical space that children experience in an early childhood educa- early learning framework: Learning areas in tion program. curriculum approach: Organized system of inten- early learning standards: Expectations for young at risk, often offering comprehensive services. ECE settings. children’s learning and development. early literacy: A collection of skills needed before tions, interactions and plans designed to promote learning and well-being. custodial care: Care for a child that provides basic safety and nutrition but does not intentionally offer learning experiences. learning to read. ecological approach: Awareness of family’s immediate context, community context, and broader policy and system context. elements of life: Life-giving elements—air, fire, earth and water. emergent curriculum: Early learning environments that are responsive to children’s interests, questions and explorations to create meaningful learning experiences. emergent literacy: Awareness of the meaning of print that develops before early reading and writing. emergent numeracy: Awareness of the meaning of numbers that precedes ability to use numbers in simple computations. emotional: Feelings such as happiness, anger or sadness. emotional climate: How the environment is organized to support emotional stability and nurture children’s emotional and social well-being. data management: Collecting, keeping and using information that helps children sort, organize, count, compare and understand information. developmentally appropriate practice: Early childhood education practices that are grounded in child development concepts and knowledge, and observations of and interactions with young children, their families and their cultural context. didactic: Educator-directed approach to teaching specific skills or information. digital technology: Electronic tools, systems, devices and resources that generate, store or process data. Includes computers, online games, social media, mobile phones and tablets. direct instruction: Specific pedagogical (teaching) strategy to teach a specific skill. documentation: Practice of gathering and sharing observations, examples and information about children’s learning experiences that can be interpreted and analyzed. documentation panel: A mounted display of pedagogical documentation that may include text, photos, and children’s representations and focus on a specific process or project for an individual child or a group of children. early childhood education (ECE): Ongoing programs for young children that are guided by qualified educators and defined curriculum and pedagogy and may or may not provide nonparental care. early childhood educator: People who work directly with children in early childhood education programs have early childhood post-secondary education credentials and are recognized by provincial/territorial legislation as qualified staff in ECE programs. 298 GLOSSARY equilibrium: The accommodation of existing schemas to most situations that a child encounters. equity gap: Avoidable differences that exist due to income differences. equivalency: A level of achievement that is considered equal to completion of an educational or training program. event sample: Observation that is recorded while an event (specific routine or learning experience) is happening. The record includes the preceding conditions, the child’s behaviour in the event and the conditions following the event. J executive function: Inhibitory control, working memory and cognitive flexibility skills. exploratory play: Touching, listening, smelling and watching objects to find out about their properties and what happens when they are manipulated. family literacy: How parents, children and other family members use literacy at home and in the community. family support program: A range of services aimed at improving family and child well-being and building their strengths. Services can include parenting, healthy living, employment and housing resources, and early childhood education. fixed mindset: Underlying belief that one’s qualities are fixed and cannot be changed. formative assessment: Using observations to assess or take stock of what a child knows and can do for the purpose of planning future learning opportunities. for-profit: Organizations that are owned by an individual or corporation and can make a profit. four directions teaching: Holistic notion of heart, mind, spirit and body or north, south, east and west. full-day kindergarten: Full-day ECE program available to all four- and five-year-old children in Ontario public schools that offers a play-based learning approach. full-day program: ECE programs that operate at least 6 hours per day, five days a week. growth mindset: Underlying belief that one’s qualities can be changed and improved through one’s effort. guided participation: Ways in which adults help children negotiate everyday life. habits of mind: Strategies to successfully solve complex problems and overcome challenges. holistic: Understanding that the parts of learning— mind, body and spirit—are interconnected. home language: Language learning in a child’s home environment. image of the child: View of children as the agents and experts of their own life and active participants in their own learning. inclusion: An approach to practice and policies in invitation: An encouragement from an educator to a child or group of children to do something. key developmental indicators: Descriptions of observable child behaviours that indicate a child’s knowledge and skills in HighScope content areas. kindergarten: ECE program for five-year-old children. knowledge-keepers: Trusted, respected and valued individuals who carry forward Indigenous knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation. land acknowledgement: Formal statement that recognizes and respects Indigenous peoples as traditional stewards of the land as well as the relationship between Indigenous peoples and their traditional territories. language: Written or spoken communication using words. language nest: An immersion approach to revitalize Indigenous languages in early childhood education programs. learning dispositions: Children’s characteristics or attitudes to learning that are valuable for supporting lifelong learning. learning pathways: Description of children’s thinking and learning that emerges and evolves in a variety of curriculum areas. learning stories: Narrative descriptions about a child or a group of children’s learning that is prepared by educators from the perspective of the child and may include contributions from children and/or families. letter knowledge: Ability to recognize and name uppercase and lowercase letters. linguistically appropriate practice: Guidance for educators in ECE programs that includes children who are learning English or French. literacy: Ability to use written language (reading and writing). loose parts: Items that can be manipulated (e.g., early childhood education that accepts all children, and every child, including those with disabilities, is supported to the fullest extent of their abilities. moved, carried, combined, lined up, taken apart or Indigenizing: Process of making Indigenous ways of knowing, being, doing and relating part of organiza- mindfulness: Intentional awareness of being present tions, culture and daily practices. intentional teaching: Thoughtful and purposeful design, organization and implementation of early learning environment. multi-sector ecosystem lens: An approach that stacked) in multiple ways and can be used alone or combined with other materials. in the moment. includes professional learning, policy and standards from multiple sectors (e.g., licensed child care, public schools, recreation) and play opportunities GLOSSARY 299 for children that interconnect with each other within physical environments. not-for-profit: Organizations that are incorporated as non-profit and governed by a board of directors. nursery schools and preschools: Part-time ECE programs that may be regulated centres or an extension of elementary schools for younger children. observational learning: Learning by observing the behaviour of others. onlooker play: Watching others play but not engaging in the play. open-ended materials: Items that have more than one designated purpose. operant conditioning: A form of learning in which a behaviour is followed by a stimulus that influences whether the behaviour will be repeated. organizational climate: Collective perception of staff about the work environment. parent co-operative: Early childhood education programs that include parent participants in the program and in the management and administration of the program. pedagogical documentation: Interpretation and analysis of documented records of children’s learning that influences planning for the learning environment and learning experiences. pedagogy: Principles and practices related to an understanding of how learning happens in an early childhood education program. perceptual-motor: Coordination of sensory and motor skills such as eye—hand coordination. phonemes: Smallest distinct sounds in a language. phonemic awareness: Ability to hear and identify phonemes, the smallest unit of distinct sound in speech. phonological awareness: Ability to hear and manipulate the sounds of words, including rhymes and syllables and phoneme awareness. physical: Abilities to use and control large and small body movements. physical literacy: Developing, using and understanding fundamental movement skills. physically active play: Physical activity with regular bursts of moderate to vigorous movement. portfolio: A collection of pedagogical documentation of an individual over time. positive guidance: Variety of strategies including understanding, nudging, encouraging, supporting, 300 GLOSSARY problem solving and goal setting used to guide children’s behaviours rather than punishing or rewarding strategies. post-foundation theory: Challenges traditional systems of knowledge and encourages a critical consideration of taken-for-granted assumptions about power, equality, equity and fairness. prekindergarten/junior kindergarten: ECE programs for four-year-old and sometimes three-year-old children before entry to five-year-old kindergarten. pretend play: Make-believe play where children act as if something or someone is real. print awareness: Children’s understanding that print carries meaning and that books contain letters and words. print motivation: Children’s interest and enjoyment of books and reading and recognition of symbols that carry meaning. process quality: Interactions between educators and children, among children, and between educators and children’s families during everyday experiences and routines. professional: Practitioner who has met the standards of knowledge and performance required by a profession. professional identity: How one perceives oneself within an occupation and how that is communicated. provocation: Deliberate decisions to provide unique materials. Objects or environments with learning potential that challenge or intrigue children to engage and explore. psychoanalytic theory: A personality theory that proposes an individual is motivated by three levels of awareness: conscious, preconscious and unconscious. psychosexual: Relationship of psychological and sexual events and feelings. psychosocial: Interrelationship of social and psychological factors. rating scale: A measure of quality based on observation of specific items that are scored a number value indicating poor to excellent. reconciliation: Recognizing the impact of colonization for Indigenous peoples and Indigenous ways of knowing and establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. reflective practice: Consideration of actions in context of beliefs, values and knowledge. Reggio Emilia: A curriculum approach in an Italian town by the same name that is child centred and focused on children’s exploration and inquiry. regulated home child care: Arrangements for child care in small groups (often fewer than six children), usually in the caregiver’s home and either directly licensed or regulated or approved through an agency. responsive relationship: Ongoing connections built on interactions between and among children, educators and families. risky play: Situations in which children recognize and assess an exciting physical challenge and decide on a course of action to manage the challenge to avoid injury. rote learning: The memorization of information through repetition. rough-and-tumble play: Physically vigorous behaviours such as play fighting, wrestling and chasing games that are accompanied by positive behaviours. running record: Detailed observation record written over a specific period of time while a behaviour is happening. scaffolding: A process that enables a child or adult to solve a problem, complete a task or achieve a goal that is just beyond their skills and abilities. schema: Activity pattern that children repeat in their play. schoolification: Process of focusing on academic subjects, particularly literacy and numeracy, to prepare children for entry to public education. self-care: Actions that an individual takes to improve their health and well-being. self-regulation: Capacity to monitor, modify and adapt behaviour, emotions and attention. social: Relating to other people. social competence: Social, emotional and thinking skills children need to relate to, and to get along social-emotional competence: Ability to regulate one’s own emotions, behaviour and attention; to interact and get along with others, solve problems and communicate effectively. social-emotional learning (SEL): Social and emotional abilities that support learning and well-being. socio-dramatic play: Pretend play that is shared with others. spatial awareness: Includes knowing about shapes, positions, directions and movements. spiritual: A sense of awe, wonder, being and knowing. standards of practice: Outline expectations for key areas of practice in a profession. structural quality: Factors such as adult-child ratios, group size and staff education that can be regulated. summative assessment: Evaluation of specific learning skills or knowledge. teachable moments: Opportunities for teaching that often arise spontaneously during children’s play or daily routines. theory of mind: Understanding that others have beliefs, desires and intentions that are different than one’s own. time sample: Observation record that notes an individual child or group of children’s behaviour at predetermined times. trauma-informed practice: Understanding, recognizing and responding to the impact of trauma. unionization: To organize employees of an organization into a labour union that is recognized to negotiate working conditions with the employer on behalf of the employees. universal design: Organization of physical environment including space and things to be usable by everyone without further adaptation. Western understanding: Beliefs, values, customs and traditions that have their origins in European civilizations, dating back to ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. working conditions: Physical work environment, compensation (salary and benefits), hours of work, with, others. career and professional learning opportunities, and social construct: An idea that is originated and accepted by people. social learning: Learning behaviours and skills by watching and imitating others. zone of proximal development: Difference between what an individual can do on their own and what they can do with guidance. supervision approach. GLOSSARY 301 ie : «ieee ail vio A Salt try Oe niaitviedeal } gay iw) terse ‘het ySnot’ arn vg ZA ove nes Ari. Bylo ‘ Shp ei ty xabaHe? - - yy Jiié Telos weric ry 4 eu jppeugt < “ aot aerial \. ateis > uetine r) o Algne “en § > ih vest + , fi hal, ws TL « —— * i - ” ~~! tradt ect Ci 9 ie dente =Phpinng ; Gk oye = Sip fi rh earn, Ae = ni th » Soli qneno yi 1 4 ‘ od es yi. fi mareNs Fi screngqud& ‘ f , . . AC Ia df ioimeeen baal ‘i. i GrE 10 preity tl g - 2 — ; a ee ive 2 ‘ oa aT hat ims pa och > he 69 ie ; © iy) SP yait)¢ anwar Gilet ealine ge Avie = 5 c- resize fy Mbps: mh : iu Rilivis 7] Teed? Btw Cod) HT Owi ire Sew an) h OF bins weji05 Se eis iaerls laid vig ls arnok vA ae eee AAC rot | Teena x ay] TT) (ite SII 1% rnd RH Powe nd 4 ahved) Ged Ne we whe os i; Tt od ntey avai Mallet’) Nine Magia teva bg Povo wor ime YoeeoeUl | TAMyinths WouidPaID > ‘ fey mayan A ’ j’ Zinn ve @ v4 hin 7 q 6 Fite - (ae overtey VMISAeE 0s ~ ’ Ve a9 | a ag ame UE F cam Ge fo 000 gam Index A C Abecedarian approach, 92, 94, 105 Abecedarian research study, 36 Aboriginal Head Start (AHS), 231 Aboriginal Head Start On-Reserve (ANSON), 231 Aboriginal Head Start Urban and Northern Communities (AHSUNC), 231 Accommodation, definition of 32 Active Healthy Kids Canada, 56 Adult-child ratio, definition of, 206 Aesthetics, definition of 141 Campaigns, for ECE, 269 Canada child study movement in, 28-30 early learning frameworks in, 109-121 ECE programs in, 222-231 ECE public policies in, 240-242 families, 255 outdoor play, 77 Canada Assistance Plan, 44 Canada-Québec Asymmetrical Agreement, 240 Canadian Association for Young Children (CAYC), 255 Canadian Child Care Federation (CCCF), 249, 255 Canadian ECE programs, 74 Canadian Paediatric Society, 171, 172 Capable, Competent and Curious: Nova Scotia’s Early Learning Curriculum Framework, 110, 112-114 Career pathways, ECE, 259-261 Caregivers, ECE, 142-143 Caregiving, 94 Chicago Child—Parent Centers, 14 Chicago Longitudinal Study, 150-151 Child agency, 82 Child and family centres, 232-236 Child care integrating early education and, 237-239 regulated, in Canada, 225-226 working mothers and, 45 Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada, 255 Child care centres, 224-226, 259, 268 history of, in Canada, 41-46 Child Care Now, 255 Childcare Resource and Research Unit, 255 Child care space regulations, 141 Child-centred programs, 10, 96 Aistear, 123 Alberta, early learning frameworks in, 110, 118 Alberta Education Kindergarten Program Statement, 118 Alden, Christine, 50-51 Alphabetic principle, 167 Anecdotes, 185 Arousal/recovery continuum, 39 Assessment, intentional teaching, 195-197 Assessment for Quality Improvement (AQJ), 213-214 Assimilation, 32 Association of Early Childhood Educators Ontario (AECEO), 269 At risk, 36 Australia, early learning frameworks in, 122-123 Autonomy, 7 Baby boom, 44 Bandura, Albert, 32 B.C. Early Learning Framework. See British Columbia Early Learning Framework Before- and after-school programs, 4, 139, 230-231, 260 Behaviourism, 28 Behaviours, targeted, 185 Belong, Being and Becoming Early Learning Framework, 122-123 “Best” curriculum approach, 99-100 Blatz, William, 29-30 British Columbia, early learning framework in, 110, 118-119, 121, 189 British Columbia Early Learning Framework, 110, 118-119 Bronfenbrenner, Urie, 37, 38, 96 Built play environments, 82-83 Childhood trauma, 102 Children belonging to, 10-11 communication, 7 educators and, 142-143 environment and experiences of, 9-10 and family centres, 260 future citizens, 7 interaction with others, 6, 13-14 learning challenges, 7 number of, 207 303 Curriculum areas, 155-179 Children (continued) perspectives of, 185-186 quality views on, 203-204, 214 sense of self in, 6 creative arts, 160-162 dramatic and constructive play, 158-160 language and literacy, 162-168 physically active play, 157-158 social-emotional learning (SEL), 155-157 STEM learning, 168-179 voices of, 124 Children’s Rights, 267 Child study movement, in Canada, 28-30 Classical conditioning, 28 CMEC Early Learning and Development Framework, 119-120 Co-construct, definition of, 12, 13 Co-constructed pedagogical documentation, 189 Code of ethics, 248 Cognitive domain, 8 Cognitive flexibility, 40 Cognitive sensitivity, 145 Cognitive stages, of play, 54 Coherent administrative framework, 261 Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), 102 i Collaborative play, 64 College of Early Childhood Educators (CECE), 253-254 Colonization, 19 Communities of practice, 215 Community Action Program for Children (CAP-C), 236 Community early child development centres, 239 Compensation, 262-263 Compensatory preschool programs, 33-36 in Canada, 36-37 Constructive play learning pathways, 158, 159-160 Contemporary early childhood pedagogy, 62 Continuity of learning, 67-68 Continuous professional learning (CPL), 252 Continuous quality improvement, 215 Corter, Carl, 69 Creative arts learning pathways, 160-162 Creative-constructive play, 60-61 Créches, 41-43 Critical friends, 199 Cultural competence, 18-19 Culture, 4,5 Curriculum approaches, 21, 90-92 Abecedarian approach, 94 best curriculum approach, 99-100 developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) 95-96 emergent curriculum, 97-99 HighScope, 94-95 Indigenous curriculum approaches, 103-105 Montessori education, 93 Reggio Emilia approach, 96-97 self-regulation, 101-103 304 INDEX Custodial care, 42 D Daily schedules, ECE programs, 134-138 Dance and movement, 161-162 Data management, 177 Day care centres, on university campuses, 45 Day Care Parents Association, 44 Day nurseries, 43-44 Day Nurseries Act, 44 Design thinking learning pathways, 174-176 Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP), 92, 95-96 Dewey, John, 27, 96 Digital technology, 168, 171-173, 187 Dingle, Della, 29 Direct instruction, 65, 67 Disability, 17-18 Dockendorf, Maureen, 2 Documentation intentional teaching, 183, 186 pedagogical, 188-190 photographs and videos for, 186-187 sharing, 190-191 Documentation panel, 190 Doherty, Gillian, 204 Dominion-Provincial Wartime Day Nurseries Agreement, 43 Dotsch, Daisy, 30 Dramatic play learning pathways, 158-159 = Early childhood education (ECE), 3-7 advocating for, 266-270 in Canada, 24-46 outside Canada, 242-244 , curriculum approach, 90-106 kindergarten in Norway, 243-244 mid-20th century theories and, 30-37 organizations, 254-258 outdoor play, 73-87 play-based learning, 52-70 practices of, 11-21 principles of, 8-11 professional learning, 252-253 programs and policies, 222~—244 public policies in Canada, 240-242 qualifications, 25] quality perspectives of 201, 203-204 special education needs, 17 Early Returns: Manitoba's Early Learning and Child Care Curriculum Framework for Preschools and Nursery Schools, TV) unions in, 263-264 work environment, 258-266 Early childhood education programs, 4, 18, 268 mm Ganadal2 27-2311 in an Indigenous community, 120 organizational climate of, 261-262 people in, 142-151 policy trends, 241-242 process quality in, 208-209 quality in, 201-215 space, 139-142 Early Years Study, 52, 69, 125, 241, 267 ECEBC Code of Ethics, 248 ECE Program Quality Rating Scales, 211-212 Ecological approach, 232 Ecological theory of human development, 38 Educational qualifications, importance of, in program quality, 206 Effective leadership practice, 262 Elements of life, definition of 80 Emergent curriculum, 97-99 time, 133-139 Early Childhood Education Report, 241 Early childhood educator(s), 3, 13-15, 33, 40, 52, 56 62, 66 VNG=117 Early Returns: Manitoba’s Early Learning and Child Care Curriculum Framework for Infant Programs, 111, 116-117 Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), 122 Emergent literacy learning pathways, 162, 164-167 , childhood trauma, 103 and children, 142-143 dialogue of 215 ECE professional environment, 247-258 ECE work environment, 258-266 and family interactions, 148-150 intervention services, 260 meal times, 137 pedagogical approaches, 100 planning learning experiences, 165 quality views, 203 support, 84-85 well-being strategies for, 264-265 working conditions for, 261-264 Early Childhood Educators of British Columbia (ECEBC), 248 Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS), 210-211 Early education, integrating with child care, 237-239 Early intervention (EI) services, 236-237 Early Learning and Child Care Bilateral Agreements, 240 Early learning curriculum frameworks, 74 Early Learning for Every Child Today, 110, 116, 121 Early learning frameworks, 108-109 in Australia, 122-123 in Canada, 109-121 impact of, 126 in Ireland, 123 shared focus, 124-126 in New Zealand, 121-122 Early learning standards, 196 Early Learning Framework: Relationships, Environments, Experiences, 110, 113-114 Early literacy learning pathways, 162, 167-168 Emergent numeracy, 176 Emotional climate, 143 Emotional domain, 8 Engineering, 174-176 English language learners, 6 “Environment as teacher” approach, 96 Environment Rating Scales Institute (ERSI), 211 Equilibrium, 32 Equity gap, 269 Equivalency, 251-252 Erikson, Erik, 31 theory of psychosocial development, 37 Ethical practice, 248-249 Event sample, 185 Executive function, 40, 102 Explicit direct instruction, 65 Exploration and discovery learning pathways, 169 Exploratory play, 57 F Facilitators, 215 Family engagement, 14 Family literacy, 233 Family support programs, 232 Federal funding, 240 Federal/provincial/territorial child care agreements, 110 First Peoples Principles of Learning, 119 Fixed mindset, definition of, 101 Flight-Alberta’s Early Learning and Care Framework, 111, 118 Formative assessment, 123 For-profit organizations, 226 Four directions teaching, 80 Free play, 63 Freud, Sigmund, 27-28, 31 Friendly critics, 199 INDEX 305 K Froebel, Friedrich, 25-27 Full-day kindergarten (FDK), 229, 260 Full-day programs, 224 Kass, Jamie, 219-221 Key developmental indicators (KDIs), 95 G Kindergarten, 4 curriculum, 74 Gardening, 78-79 in Norway, 243-244 Geomety M7 programs, 227, 229-230 Growth mindset, 101 Guided-learning experiences, 135 Guided participation, 38 in public schools, 259-260 Knowledge-keepers, 20 H L Habits of mind, definition of, 39 issez-fai hes, 100 Laissez-faire approaches 2] Head Start programs, 35, 36 Land acknowledgement, 20- High-quality child care, 205 HighScope, 35, 92, 94-95, 99 Holistic development, 4, 8-9 Home child care, regulated, 4, 227-230 Home language, 163 How Does Learning Happen, 110, 116 Fanguage domain, 8 and literacy, | Learning 162-168 nests, 104-105 Large group times, ECE programs, 135 Lawson Foundation, 75—/6 Leadership, effective, 261-262 assessment, 195-196 Image of the child, 3-5 disposionsnad laclusion sl-l6 Inclusive spaces, 141-142 Indigenizing outdoor play, 79 Indigenizing practices, 104 Indigenous beliefs, 3 in natural settings, 77-79 eas : Learning experiences, 153 curriculum areas, 155-179 Indigenous communities, 105 ECE program in, 120 Indigenous curriculum approaches, 103-105 Indigenous languages, 104 Indigenous peoples, 20 Indigenous views, of early childhood, 25 Information processing theory, 37 Inquiry play, 64 Integrating early education, 237-239 Intentional teaching, 21, 182-183 learning pathways, 153-155 small-group play-based, 134-135 Learning games, 65-67 Learning pathways, 153-155 and emotional maturity, 156 social competence, 156 Learning stories, 122 Learning through Observation and Pitching In (LOPI), 55 Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual and queer (LGBTQ), 15-16 Letter knowledge, 167 documenetiontl Se218 assessment, 195-197 Linguistically appropriate practice (LAP), 163 Literacy, language and, 162-168 observation, 183-186 Locke, John, 25 planning, 193-195 Loose parts, 83-84 reflective practice, 197-199 International and Canadian research, 261 Inuit children, 104 Invitation, definition of, 144 Loud noises, 103 Ireland, early learning frameworks in, 123 J Manitoba, early learning frameworks in, 110, Mathematics learning pathways, 176-179 McLean, Christine, 130-132 McMillan, Margaret, 80 Mealtimes, ECE programs, 137 Jones, Elizabeth, 97 Junior kindergarten, 4, 259-260 306 INDEX M Malaguzzi, Loris, 96 116-117 Meeting Early Childhood Needs: Quebec’s Educational Program for Childcare Services Update, 110, 115 Mid-20th century theories, and early childhood education, 30-37 Mindfulness, 101 Mixed-age groupings, 148 Moncton Headstart Inc., 36 Montessori, Maria, 93 Montessori education, 93, 99 Multilateral Early Learning and Child Care Framework, 240 Multiple perspectives, on quality, 204 Multi-sector ecosystem lens, 76 Music, 161 My Time, Our Place: Framework for School Age Care in Australia, 123 N National Advisory Committee on Recess, 139 Natural environments, 84 Nature Kindergarten program, 78 Navigating the Early Years: An Early Learning Curriculum Framework, 110, 111-112 New Brunswick, early learning frameworks in, 110, 114-115 New Brunswick Curriculum Framework for Early Learning and Child Care, 110, 114-115 Newfoundland and Labrador, early learning frameworks in, 110, 111-112 Not-for-profit organizations, 226 Northwest Territories, early learning frameworks in, 111 Nova Scotia, early learning frameworks in, 110, 114-115 Nursery Education Association of Ontario, 30 Nursery schools, 4, 226-227 Nurturing Capable People from Birth to School Entry, 110 “Nurturing pedagogy” (Ireland), 125 O Observation, intentional teaching, 183-186 Observational learning, 55 Observation records, 184-185 Onlooker play, 55 Ontario Early Childhood Sector Decent Work Charter, 269 Ontario, early learning frameworks in, 110, 116 Open-ended materials, 208 Operant conditioning, 28 Oral language learning pathways, 162-164 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 237, 241, 242 Organizational climate, 261 Organized sports, 57 Outdoor play, 73 Canada, 77 focus on, 73-80 Lawson Foundation and, 75-76 pedagogy of, 80-85 risky play, 85-87 and thinking skills, 73-74 Owen, Robert, 41 P Parental employment, ECE programs as support for, 268 Parent co-operative, 30 Parents, quality views on, 203 Parten, Mildred, 53-54 Pathways, for children, 141 Pavlov, Ivan, 28 Pedagogical documentation, 188-189, 191 Pedagogical leadership, 262 Pedagogical strategies, 91-92 for educators, 143-146 Pedagogy, 21 of outdoor play, 80-85 Perceptual—motor integration, 56 Perry Preschool Project, 35, 36 Phonemes, 167 Phonemic awareness, 167 Phonological awareness, 167 Physical domain, 8 Physical environment, 207-208 Physical literacy, 56 Physically active play learning pathways, 56-57, 157-158 Physical well-being strategies, 265 Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, 32-33, 37, 96 Planning, intentional teaching, 193-195 Play and childhood, 67-70 creative-constructive play, 60-61 exploratory play, 57 games with rules, 61-62 matters, 52-53 onlooker play, 55 physically active play, 56-57 pretend play, 58-60 stages of, 53-54 types of, 53-62 Play and Exploration: Early Learning Program Guide, 111, 117 Play-based learning curriculum approaches on, 99 play—learn continuum, 62-67 Playful learning, 64-65 INDEX 307 R Play-learn continuum, 62-63 collaborative play, 64 Racism, 19 Rating scales, 210-212 Recess Project (Ryerson University), 139 OE nN ang play 2 Recognition, and self-governance, 253 TER HEtes So Reconciliation, 19-21, 25 ialcorm) => play Recordkeeping vs. pedagogical documentation, 190 yaromenytonine noes nn Play zones, for children, 141 REG Porttolianl20 Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play, 75, 76 Reflective practice, intentional teaching, 197-199 Reggio Emilia approach, 92, 96-97, 99 OGLE GEIS, (Fe) Re OURO NaS GAD sccondanygh@ Mprosmins 20 Post Practical knowledge, 206 Prekindergarten, 4, 227, 229-230, 259-260 Regulated child care, in Canada, 225-226 Regulated home child care, 4, 227-230 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, 56 ae children, 57, 59, 214, 227 Eteschoo! proztams/ 1 Preschools, 4, 226-227, 259 Pretend play, 58-60, 70, 177 Primary schools, 68 Prince Edward Island, early learning frameworks in, 110.113 ‘ se ae ciatiee ad, Print motivation, 167 Problem-based learning (PBL), 68-69 Problem solving learning pathways, 174-176 Process quality, in ECE programs, 205 Responsive educators, 143, 209 Responsiveness, 209 Responsive relationships, 12-16 Rest time, ECE programs, 138 Risky play, 85-87 Rote-learning, 93 Rough-and-tumble play, 86 Ser aha He iae Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 25 Routines, ECE programs, 136 Rule-based games, 61-62 ne unpingrecore, 18> Ss Proressionaln247 Saskatchewan, early learning frameworks in, 110, 117 Professional identity, 21 Professionalism, 248 Scaffolding, 38 Schema, 32 Professional practice, 248-249 Professional requirements, 251-252 Progressive education, 27 Provincial/territorial professional organizations, 253 Schoolification, 100 Science learning pathways, 170-171 Scientific reasoning, 57 Scotland, ECE outdoor play in, 81 Provocations, 144, 194 Self-care, 265-266 Psycho-analytic theory, 27-28 Psychosexual development, 27 Self-control, 40 Self-governance, recognition and, 253 Psychosocial theory, 31 Self-regulation, 38-40, 101-103 Professional learning, 252 School-age children, 57, 143, 204 Public child care centres, 226 play and, 69-70 Public Health Agency of Canada, 236 Sesame Street, 34-35 Sharing documentation, 190 Q Skilled management and leadership, 261 Quality early childhood education, 208 Quality matters, ECE programs components of, 205-209 evaluation of, 209-215 perspectives of, 201-204 Quebeg, early learning frameworks in, 110, 115 Quebec Education Program: Preschool Education, 115 Skinner, B.F., 28 Small-group play-based learning experiences, 134-135 Smilansky, Sara, 53-54 Social benefits, 268-269 Social competence, 6 Social construct, 4, 5 Social context, 92 Social domain, 8 308 INDEX Social-emotional competence, 102 Social-emotional learning (SEL), 102, 155-157 Social-emotional well-being strategies, 265 Social learning theory, 32 Socio-cultural theory, 37-38 Socio-dramatic play learning pathways, 70, 158 Spatial awareness, 177 Spiritual domain, 8 Toddlers, 6, 33,57, 143 Toileting, ECE programs, 138 Toronto First Duty (TFD), 237-239 Transitions, ECE programs, 136 Trauma-informed practice, 102-103 Typical learning pathways, 154 U Standardized direct assessments, 196 Unionization, 263 Standards of practice, 248 Starting Strong studies (OECD), 74, 109 Unions, in ECE, 263 STEM learning, 53, 168-179 Strategy games, 62 StrongStart BC, 235-236 Structural quality, in ECE programs, 205-208 Structured games, 61 Structured observations, 185 Suffrage movement, 43 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 7, 123 Universal design, definition of 141 University of Western Ontario Preschool Project, 36-37 V Visual arts, 160-161 Vygotsky, Lev, 37-38, 96 Summative assessment, 196 W - Watson, John B., 28 Well-being strategies, for educators, Tabula rasa view of childhood (Locke), 25 Targeted behaviours, 185 Teachable moments, 194 Teacher-ECE remuneration, by provinces and territories, 263 Technology learning pathways, 171-176 Te Whariki, 121-122 Theoretical knowledge, 206 Theories of development, Freud vs. Erikson, 31-32 Theory of mind, 60 “Third space of childhood,” 138-139, 232 Time sample, 185 264-265 Western understandings, 24 Willows Forest Nature Program, 80 Working conditions, 261 Working memory, 40 Working mothers, 45 Y Young children, 5, 7, 14, 93, 103, 104, 172, 177 Z Zone of proximal development (ZPD), 38, 154 INDEX 309 i lari Partial ty n . 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