Category: Free Essays

All Educational system has an image, which lead to a unique learning process. Waldorf educational theory supports a magnificent learning process for children, which focus on reading, storytelling, rhythmic activities, practical activities related to nature. This research paper examines the depth of Waldorf philosophy and belief.

INTRODUCTION

Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian educator and philosopher, scientist and artist founded Waldorf at the beginning of 20th century. He believed there is a way to educate children into human beings who will be capable of bringing peace to the world. In April of 1919, Emil Molt, the owner of Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory invited him as a guest speaker, to educate the worker of his company in Germany. After listening to Steiner’s speech Molt asked him to establish a school for the children of the company’s employees. Sterner agreed four conditions, which was, it should be a unified twelve years, and co-educational school and teacher will take the leading role and open to all children. And that’s how the fist independent school ( Die Freie Waldorfschule) was opened on September 7, 1919. (www.waldorfanswers.com)

Today Waldorf education is one of the largest independent schools in the world. There are more than 900 hundred Waldorf school in 83 countries and approximately 128 Waldorf school in North America. There are 10 Steiner teacher training in the United States and 2 in Canada. (www.whywaldorfworks.org)

The philosophy and belief behind waldorf:

Waldorf education is based on Steiners spiritual philosophy ” Anthroposophy” which is wisdom or knowledge of the true nature of human being.

The goal of the Waldorf education is to educate the whole human being that includes head, heart and hand. It means to teach them cognitively, physically and also spiritually. And the waldorf teachers do so through hand on learning experiences, dramatic and imaginative play, songs, drama etc.

Waldorf believe that children learn by playing and imitating their adults and peers; exploring and experiencing everything by their own.

The theories underlying model’s belief:

According to Jean Piaget, “children’s are like little scientist, they try to make sense of the world by exploring, making mistakes and then learning from them”. Rudolf Stiener also believed in that. He said, “receive the children in reverence, educate them in love, let them go forth in freedom”. Waldorf teachers emphasize more on free play and independent creative play where children can exercise the power of their imagination and are free to explore their natural curiosities and less on teaching them reading or writing during the early years. They create an environment for children with rich in opportunities for creative work and imaginative play and give them freedom to explore and experience any materials that interest them. That’s why Waldorf students don’t begin reading until 2nd or 3rd grade.

When engaging through art viewing and art making experiences, these can in turn be very strong and rich indicators in the visual arts in the domain of learning for young children (Eckhoff, 2007). However, Eckhoff further states that art viewing and making isn’t seen as a strong component in early childhood education and in some cases can become non-existent in their curriculum. However, it is clearly stated in the national education standards and curriculum that art viewing experiences is an essential component of children from birth to eight years.

Art isn’t truly defined by Eckhoff. According to Eisner, (1994), art is a form of representing your own personal ideas and your own concepts to the public eye. This is a broad definition of art, and doesn’t clarify what children’s art entails. Many people convey to us what children’s art really is. Young children use their art to communicate to others, what their own understandings and views of the world are, before they ‘acquire means of conveying their thoughts and feelings with words’, (Danko-Mc Ghee and Slutsy, 2003 cited in Bae 2004). Not only does art help children to communicate with the outside world, it helps develop their Cognitive, Emotional, Social and Sensory Motor Skills. Creating an image of something expresses the way a child might feel. Children in my view need art to give them a voice, so that their feelings can be seen, as in most cases, would not be heard. Children need to have the freedom of art, and not simply shown what to do. The Highscope method highlights this theory and gives children a voice and lets them choose what they want to draw, colour, paint etc. However not all approaches are like this, and in my opinion, when we talk about art, the Highscope approach best fits the children’s needs. Art is a learning experience that provides the child with many challenges, which in turn when achieved gives them a sense of pleasure. Through art, the child will learn complex thinking skills and will be able to master developmental tasks put in front of them (Belden and Fessard, 2001 cited in Reyner, 2007). It is the activities that early years educators set out that engage and encourages the child’s developmental skills to evolve even more. Art activities provide a foundation for children with learning experiences through sensory skills that they can master at their own rate. Not only does these activities help children develop their skills, but the activities laid out should be designed in a way that they incorporate the children’s own work, and should not be told by a practitioner what to do or how to do it to a certain extent.

One of the most important people in children’s art is adults. The adult has a role in providing the child with materials and accessories needed, and in turn, these materials provide different skill developments. The child might also discover new skills and in turn develop these (Reyner, 2007). The adult and practitioner have a more important role than just providing the materials and the sanctuary in which the art is created. Grainger (2004), claims that as professionals more must be done than just recognize and provide multimedia objects for children. She believes the adult must do more than just the ordinary practitioner and create an environment where the children can use their creativity and imaginative skills as best as possible. However, it is thought that this isn’t being done. From being on placement in an early years setting, I have seen first-hand that this isn’t happening and that the practitioner is simply handing the bare minimum materials to the child, and telling them what they must create. This isn’t in any way helping the child develop his creative or imaginative skills. Practitioners should have full resources available to the children, and should support the needs of the child as best they can.

In today’s world, art is seen as a struggle in Early Years Education. It is not just seen as a struggle from an outsider’s point of view, yet the educators themselves find it hard to educate children through art. Early Childhood Educators continue to struggle with different ideas around the concept of art and where it stands in the early year’s curriculum. Not only this, they also find it very hard to teach it to children and struggle to find the most effective way to do so (Twigg and Garvis, 2010). In Early Years Settings, the practitioners find it hard to fit art into their daily routine. However this should not be the case, as art is seen as a strong component for children in developing a range of different skills, previously highlighted by Reyner (2007). This was the view of Educators of Queensland, Australia. In New Zealand, teachers know their role when it comes to art educating. In New Zealand, children are given the time and space to express their ideas. It is seen as a child-centered approach. This is set in an environment where creativity and experimentation is encouraged by teachers. The teachers themselves adopt a non-interventional role as a facilitator. They provide the child with adequate resources, an environment in which they feel most comfortable, and continuously offering praise to the child for their efforts. Children are encouraged in developing their skills; observe themselves and others around them, to create and plan in their daily cycle and also to reflect their own pieces of art work. The teacher’s role was to help and scaffold this process (Stott, 2011). However this isn’t the case here in Ireland in some settings. The teacher’s role in art is an unclear and ambiguous concept and some teachers try to neglect art as a subject that needs to be taught. In New Zealand the teacher is an essential part of the child’s life in that it provides the child with these opportunities to develop their skills.

Stott goes on to highlight the views of Ballengee-Morris and Stuhr (2001), that visual art should be taught ‘contextually’ and not just as an isolated subject. They believed this should be the way in teaching art to children as it would provide a better understanding of how children see their lives in which they live.

Jean Piaget, a developmental psychologist, argued in Margaret Brooks (2007) Journal Article, that a child performing an art activity such as drawing reflected the child’s cognitive competence. Piaget didn’t however believe that drawing acted as domain of development, yet it gave us an insight into the child’s overall cognitive development. Brooks (2007) , then gave her own personal opinion to Piaget’s view of art. She believed that when a child creates a drawing, the drawing itself involves all of the child’s past and present experiences, which would also incorporate the child’s imagination and emergent thinking. What Brooks is trying to highlight in her journal is that drawing involves many skills, including imagination, creativity, observation, memory and most importantly experience. This theory once again highlights what Reyner (2007) believes art involves also. When a child begins to draw, it begins to become fully engaged with the object being drawn. With all of Brooks’ theory in mind, a longitudinal research study was carried out in 2003 to investigate drawing activities done in the child’s home, preschool and schools. Ring (2003), carried out the study and investigated how the children were doing when drawing activities were being carried out by adults. The study found that the ‘child’s voice was not being heard’. The adults and practitioner were doing the drawings for the children and were not letting the children use their own creativity and imagination, and this in turn, goes against what Margaret Brooks believed drawing for children involved. It is the adults and practitioners who lack theoretical preparation when it comes to teaching art in early childhood. They have their own views on art yet none have theoretical back up and supporting evidence.

”Arts education policy is subject to the interplay of many values, de¬?nitions, and approaches regarding both the arts and education. Some believe the arts are basic to education; other see them as important, but less than basic; still others see them as a low priority or expendable, given the importance of other core academic subjects such as mathematics and English language arts”(Heilig, Cole and Aguilar, 2010).

However, personal opinions aren’t really accepted and are not seen as ‘best practice’. As previously mentioned, this is the case nowadays in Ireland. In two of the early years settings that I have attended, and also a Primary school, this appears to be the case in both of them. The adult ended up doing the art activities themselves, and when asked ‘why they are doing the activity for the children?’ their response was ‘to make the finished article look good’. It is in early years were children’s drawings change and their understanding and attitudes change. This change can be guided by adults and practitioners, however in the wrong way (Bae, 2004). The views of adults and practitioners of what art really means in early years varies from one person to the next. Bae claims that children use art to communicate their feelings, understandings and views of the world. This is the same view that Harris (1963) has that children use their art to express their ideas, feelings and emotions on a page. They both back up Reyner’s theory previously mentioned.

In conclusion, art in early years education in today’s world has different and contrasting views from many different people. This leads into primary school education. Here in Ireland, many programs have been set up to combat the problems that some practitioners might have when it comes to teach art. We as an educational framework are seriously falling behind to other countries in particular New Zealand. They have a framework built around art which helps the practitioners understand their role as an early year’s educator and how to use art as best they can to develop children’s developmental skills. The method of letting a child create their own art work and not by the adult is how I see best the child will develop their own skills. I don’t see this being the case here in Ireland were it can be seen that some setting’s still tell the child how to do things and what way to do it. I would be strongly of the opinion that this area is a possible avenue for further research and analysis.

Bacteria are a large group of single-celled microscopic prokaryote organisms that inhabit virtually all environments including the air, soil, water, organic matter, radioactive waste, the earthaˆ™s crust, and the bodies of multicellular organisms. Bacteria vary in their cell structure and mode of metabolism. They are categorized as autotrophs, heterotrophs, lithotrophs, organotrophs, chemotrophs or phototrophs, and exist in various cell shapes such as coccus, bacillus, spirochete, and vibrio forms. They can be divided into two main groups, gram-positive or gram-negative, based on the structure of their cell wall and their reaction to the gram stain. Ecologically, these microorganisms are capable of free-living, mutualistic, parasitic or pathogenic existence.

Bacteria are so numerous and diverse, that new species of bacteria are continually being discovered in the environment, and within the human body, as well as that of other organisms. All the species of bacteria known represent only a tiny fraction of the diverse bacterial species present in nature. Although some bacteria cause food poisoning and infectious diseases in multicellular plants and animals, the vast majority is harmless and many are beneficial to natural processes and also to the proper functioning of higher organisms.

Bacteria are used in various industrial processes, especially the food industry. Numerous manufactured food products are modified biochemically by bacterial growth in the process of fermentation. Fermented foods produced commercially by bacteria include dairy products such as cheese and yoghurt, vegetable products such as sauerkraut and pickles, various forms of cured meats and sausages, vinegar and soy products. Bacteria are also used in the manufacturing of alcoholic beverages like wine made from grapes and other fruits, beer and liquor made from grains, and tequila made from cacti. The benefits of bacterial fermentation of food products include enhanced preservation, increased digestibility, higher nutrient content and improved flavor.

The ability of bacteria to degrade a variety of organic compounds is remarkable and has been used in waste processing and bioremediation. Bacteria are capable of digesting the hydrocarbons present in petroleum and are thus used in cleaning up oil spills. They can also be altered to produce certain enzymes that metabolize industrial waste components that are toxic to other life forms. Bacteria can also be used in the place of pesticides in specific biological pest control. As a result of this specificity, bacterial pesticides are regarded as environmentally friendly, since they have little or no effect on humans, wildlife, pollinators, and most other beneficial insects. The ability of bacteria to breakdown organic compounds to methane gas is widely employed in treatment of sewage.

In the chemical industry, the manufacture of ethanol, acetone, organic acid, enzymes, and perfumes rely on the use of bacteria. More importantly, bacteria are used in the production of pure chemicals for use as pharmaceuticals or agrochemicals. The discovery of antibiotic drugs made from bacteria, such as cephalosporin, streptomyces, erythromycin and bacitracin have greatly improved the quality of human life in the twentieth century. Steroids and vaccines used in disease prevention are also produced with the use of bacteria.

Because of their ability to grow rapidly and the relative ease with which they can be manipulated, bacteria are the pillars for the fields of molecular biology, genetics and biochemistry. Creating mutations in bacterial DNA and examining the resulting phenotypes, can enable scientists to determine the function of genes, enzymes and metabolic pathways in bacteria, and then apply this knowledge to more complex organisms. This understanding of bacterial metabolism and genetics allows for the use of biotechnology to genetically engineer bacteria for the production of therapeutic proteins such as insulin, interferons, growth factors, or antibodies useful to humans.

Another main role of bacteria is the recycling of nutrients in the environment such as carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and other chemical elements used by living things. Saprophytic species cause decay and decomposition of the nitrogenous remains of dead bodies of plants and animals, converting it to ammonia, while chemosynthetic autotrophs like nitrosomonas and nitrobacter, covert the ammonium compounds in the soil into nitrate salts which can be taken up and used by plants. Bacterial populations especially that of genus Clostridium can be used to separate fibers of jute, hemp, and flax, in a process known as fiber retting. These separated fibers are used to make ropes and sacks. Leather, a widely used product is manufactured by the decomposing action of bacteria on the fats present on the skin of animals.

The human body is home to a wide range of bacterial species, where they constitute normal flora. The beneficial effects of these bacteria which colonize humans are abundant and include: out-competition of harmful microorganisms, synthesis of vitamin B12, B complex and K, immune system enhancement, regulation of digestive health, absorption of minerals like magnesium, formation of new calls and the regeneration of the gastrointestinal tract. Bacteria that reside in the gut of herbivores secrete cellulase, which is useful in the digestion of the cellulose contents of plant cell walls, the main source of nutrients for these animals. Aquatic organisms also benefit from bacteria that cut down growth of algae and reduce noxious odors, making aquatic environments more conducive to living.

It is an undisputed fact that bacteria can and will survive and thrive in the absence of multicellular organisms. Conversely, without the presence of beneficial bacteria, multicellular organisms will be unable to function properly, numerous industrial processes necessary for survival will shut down, and even natural processes like nutrient recycling will cease to occur. The importance of bacteria cannot be over emphasized, and the earth as we know it will definitely take a downward route to degeneration, if bacteria were to cease to exist.

In my essay my intention is for the reader to gain an insight to the effectiveness of legislation and currents Scottish Government policy through various factors. These factors being prejudice, discrimination, poverty, stereotyping, and promoting social justice and inclusion. I have also looked into diversity and how the above factors can influence in an early year setting. With having an insight to multiple identities, I have considered its application to policy and practice in the early years settings.

Siraj Blatchford, (2006) describes multiple identities, as Identity formation is a complex process that is never completed. She believed individuals experience of gender, class, and other formative categories will form ones identity. Identity can be described as a kaleidoscope, suggesting children are all individuals and differences in people.

Parents views, media images, and the childs own perceptions based on their experiences and the values they have been shown can shape their identity. Children may have had a strong role model in their life absent and have a negative perception of people. Siraj Blatchford, (1998) stresses the importance to avoid stereotyping and the role an early years staff need to be vigilant of this and to take an active role in planning for, that avoid stereotyping supporting and developing individual childrens identities as masterful learners of a broad and balance curriculum.

Children at my placement had the opportunity to express their own identity through their own planning. This is evident in Task 1 (Appendix-A:1). Standard 11 from the National Care Standards (2005), Each child or young person has access to a sufficient and suitable range of resources. Point 1 of Standard 11 indicates this should be apparent with providing multi-cultural materials.

Legislation such as the Equality Act (2010) provides todays society a law that protects individuals from unfair treatment and promotes a fair and more equal society. Early year practitioners need to be aware of this act. This will then strengthen their knowledge and help towards preventing discrimination and inequality. Early years practitioners are also protected by the legislation. Whilst on placement I researched what resources they had to meet all individual and multiple identities. This is evident in Task 2 (Appendix A:2). This is also inline with Getting it right for every child, (2007) were is states Children and young people should be involved in planning according to their age, stage and understanding. Practitioners then are putting the child needs at the centre and develop a shared understanding within the setting and across agencies. There are eight sub headings that Scotland feels Children in Scotland should have met. These are Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible, and Included. A plan may be put in place if a child is not being able to achieve one of the above. A plan is put in place for the childs goals to be accomplished and to monitor the childs progress. A child with this assessment tool is having their individual needs looked at. In Task 1(Appendix A:1) it is evident demonstrating how the setting dealt with a child who had specific individual needs and who the setting was in partnership with.

Staff should be aware how they treat children as individuals to avoid stereotyping what a girl can play with and what a boy can play with. For example a boy should not be discouraged from playing in the home corner as that would be stereotyping it should only be girls. This is outlined in Lindon, (1998). Children should be able to choose and play with what they want. Staff should be aware of their language towards children and shouldnt suggest strong boys or a clever girl to pass on a message. This was outlined in my observations where the children had the choice to choose what they want to play with and what area in the playroom. This is outlined in Task 1 (Appendix A:1) .

Early years establishments should consider The Race Relations Amendment Act, (2000). This act protects staff from being racial abused promotion of good equality to all people regardless of their racial groups. Milner, (1983) demonstrated children have shown positive and negative feelings about people from a different race from themselves. As a practitioner ensuring they portray a positive image to all will discourage negative and racial prejudice whilst making children aware not everyone is the same. Planning with Curriculum for Excellence (2009) will encourage for children to be Responsive Citizens which covers respect for others and understand different beliefs and cultures.

In early years settings it is predominately females but a mixed work force is an advantage for children and staff. Children should have positive relationships with females and males. There should be a staff employment process and policy to prevent stereotyping and discrimination when recruiting. Staff should also speak to male guardians when they come to collect the child rather than only speaking to the mothers. This would be deemed as prejudice towards the male role of parenting. In my placement they had a recruitment policy, which was visible at the entrance. This is outlined in Task 3 (Appendix A:3). HMIE The Child at the Centre, (2007) indicator 9.1 looks at promotion of positive attitudes to social and cultural diversity. By talking to both female and males parents the vision is shared and all are working together. This means all involved with the setting have a shared knowledge of the setting aims and values. In point 9.1 is also describes the importance of celebrating diversity and inclusion. This is a key point as it may then promote positive attitudes in which will have a knock on effect on the child perception of what is acceptable.

Whilst having protection for children and their rights, each child should be treated as an equal whilst getting their individual needs met. All children should be treated fairly regardless of their home circumstances. Children have a better prospect to a brighter future in life if legislation is in place. Pre-school is important for children to receive positive messages and learn values of others. If children are in a minority in a nursery class they are more likely to find it difficult if labelled or stereotyped. This is in-line with what Dowling, (2010) believes children will learn from the message received from the adults in their life and through modelling. Acts are put in place to protect children and others. The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 protects the welfare, safety and rights of the child.

Childrens participation in family, community and culture makes a particular contribution to their life (Waller, 2005). Early year settings should be making it their duty to work well together with parents, authorities and agencies to tackle issues against class, poverty and discrimination. Also staff should be aiming for all childrens outcomes to be achieved regardless of their class, so children dont fall into a low class society due to lack of opportunities. As a practitioner I have a responsibility to use legislation in my practice and portray positive images to children about all being equal and treated fairly which is in-line with National Care Standards, (2005), Standard 8, point 1.

The Equality Bill, (2009) is to reduce socio-economic inequalities. It gives each individual opportunity to succeed to build a modern prosperous society, tackling any barriers that hold people back. If people receive help they wont begin to have a sense of hopelessness. Services should be aiming for all childrens outcomes to be achieved regardless of their class, so children dont fall into a low class society due to lack of opportunities.

Equally Well, (2008) is The Scottish Government approach to tackling poverty and to improve the health in Scotland. It covers points, which will influence a child opportunity in life. Children’s circumstances in the earliest years of life are critical to future health inequalities. If work can be put in place at the earliest stage possible it achieve to an ending of the cycle of todays health inequalities which is what the parents passes onto the child and affecting their future. Equally well, (2008) is also in line with the Scottish Government policy, Early Years Framework, (2009). Through this they hope to change the focus from crisis intervention to prevention and early intervention. Achieving Our Potential (2008) also is a framework, which is trying to tackle poverty in todays society. The Government through this policy is aiming to support those who are in poverty or any individuals that in risk of falling into poverty. In Scotland they found 17% of Scotland population was affected by relative poverty.

The Early Year Framework, (2009) aims to provide children the best start to their life through the support of families, communities and services. Further more if all working together it should help to improve the state of people health through, less stress for parents as receiving support, safer housing and environments for children to develop and learn. It will also improve engagement with children and families. The framework works along side the UN Convention on Rights of the Child, (1989). One of the points which is important for early years setting to be aware of is Article 27 – Children grow up free from poverty in their early years and have their outcomes defined by their ability and potential rather than their family background. This applies to all children regardless of their age, gender, race, culture beliefs and social status.

According to Bennett and Moss report, ( 2009) Working with Diversity: summary of a discussion paper for Children in Scotland. They believed some children services help contribute to social justice. One of the key themes being working with ethnicity and poverty They believed that children with a lower socio-economic groups are statistically likely to have poor outcomes on a wide range of measures. These outcomes include the childs family stability, attendance in class, health and employability opportunities. Children from an excluded ethnic background will be even more likely to have poorer outcomes due to be socially excluded. Additionally they also felt the government should give children a fair start in life which is very similar to what the Early Years Framework, (2009) is trying to achieve. Services for children then have an important role in looking at children at individuals and promote their learning regardless of any ethic background. This is evident from my placement in Task 1 (Appendix A:1). The placement also offered praise to the children through various ways and is inline with the setting prompting Positive behaviour policy. This is evident in Task 2 and Task 3 (Appendix A:2 and A:3). This promotes the identities of the children and is a fair process for all promoting inclusion.

Point 1.1 of the Scottish Social Services Council Codes of Practice for Social Service Workers, (2002) is to treat each person as an individual. The codes is an agreed document which is active as services Workers are adhering to working in services to provide the best possible care to the needs of others and following a conduct of practice. Point 1.6 Respecting diversity and different cultures and values. This point is valuable to be respectful of individual identities and their backgrounds. Early years staff on my placement all held a enhanced disclosure from Disclosure Scotland, (2002), which is where adults working with children are vetted against any convictions and details any list they are on which inhibits them to work with children. It means the person working with a child is safe to do so and plays an important part of the recruitment process that all individuals will undertake due the nature of work. This is line with the placement policy on Selection Process For Staff and is in-line with HMIE Child at the Centre, (2007) indicator 1.2. The indicator implements what is the lawful requirement for the setting whilst following legislation and codes of practice.

Maslow hierarchy of needs is a triangle of needs he believed human beings have to work through. According to Maslow one stage had to be satisfied in order to process to the next stage. A child in poverty will struggle to move from the physiological needs stage as poverty will inflict on the amount of food and warmth they have. The next stage takes into account of safety, which may not be ideal for people living in rural areas due to poverty.

Carneiro, (2007) showed that parental interest has a strong impact on the development of cognitive and social skills. Parents with high interest for preschool education will send their child to a good learning environment. According to Sammons, ( 2005) children who have no pre-school have lower cognitive scores and social abilities. This will then have a knock on effect to the child abilities to succeed as they grow. Parents are encouraged to take an active role within the setting I was on placement at. This is evident in Task 3 (Appendix A:3). By involving themselves they are working alongside the team and provides the parents the opportunity to build positive relationships. With all parents being welcomed they will feel valued and are being treated as an equal. It also gives parents the opportunity to find out information about the childs home life.

With thinking about my placement and its stage of understanding social justice and inclusion I began to think of Siraj Blatchford, (1996) stages of equality practice. With the 6 stages I feel my placement lies within Stage 4. They do celebrate different cultures and follow policies around equal opportunities, Partnership with parents and promotion of positive behaviour. With the partnership policy all parents are welcomed and individual talents are also encouraged for the children learning. This is outlined in Task 2 and Task 3 (Appendix A:2 and A:3). There are no male members employed at the moment within the setting I was placed at, so dads and other significant male figures are encouraged to play their role within the setting. This too then set out equalities within the setting and offers a different kind of learning for the children. They have a wide range of cultural activities in which the children can choose they are not only set out when its the time of a particular festival. The setting has a wide range of learning materials for the children learning around different cultures. This is evident in Task 1(Appendix A:1) Children can also explored new resources with their own choice; this is evident in Task 2 (Appendix A:2). The general ethos of the setting is to respect all and is this evident throughout the setting. This is evident throughout Task 1-3(Appendix A:1-A:3).

As stated in Malik, H (2003) within my role I should be providing the best possible care and a high level of service in my practice as it reflects equal opportunities policies and practices. This is where it is logical to have a clear understanding of policies and the government initiatives to make Scotland a better society for the future of todays children. In practice today practitioners need to be able to treat children as individuals and demonstrate a positive attitude to abolish negative traits such as stereotyping, prejudice and judging others social class. By offering a good learning environment for children such as pre-school, school and open play areas, it will give them the opportunity for the best start in life. This is in-inline with an approach from Achieving Our Potential, (2008). Legislation and policies in this piece of writing play a crucial role in early year settings. Equality and fairness should be a robust significance throughout a setting to promote inclusion and multiple identities. All involved in a setting are treated in a non-discriminatory and respectful manner. This is in-line with HMIE The Child at the Centre, (2007) Point 5.6.

In this assignment I hope to highlight the ADHD Disorder also show what treatments and supports are available for this special need. I hope to find some local support groups for this condition and also detail what legislation is in place to deal with special needs.

I hope by the end of this assignment I will be after highlighting enough about how difficult families and teachers find it to cope and live with children who suffer from ADHD.

Rational for the Project
Plan of Work

For this assignment I will look over the notes Christina Meyler has given me so far.

I will also look up the ADHD disorder on the internet.

I will also go through the book Assisting Children with Special Needs by Ellis Flood.

I hope to get a lot of the assignment done during the mid-term in November and then get some feedback on what I will have done to then.

I aim to have it finished and handed up by the 30th November 2012.

Case Study

Brian is an 11 year old boy who has been diagnosed with ADHD. Brian is a bright boy, who is very creative, he has average marks in school. But he sufferes from severe distractibility and a lack of organisational skills, all of which affects his school work. Brian would often lie about his school work and this would cause problems at home with his family.

The school contacted a therapist and they saw Brian on a regular basis for four months and also held sessions with Brian’s parents. The therapist along with Brian’s parents and his teachers at school developed a checklist of acceptable behaviour programme for Brian. His parents and teachers had to learn proper responses to Brian’s frequent oppositional behaviour.

By doing this Brian’s behaviour became more manageable for his parents and his teachers, Brian’s behaviour has become a bit calmer because of this also. Brian now also gets on better at home with his family. He will still have his outbursts but they are not as frequent as they once was the ADHD has become more manageable.

Causes of ADHD

The causes of ADHD are not really known at the moment, but there is research been carried out to try and find out what causes it. Some children in America with ADHD have undergone an MRI Scan and ‘the prefrontal cortex and the basal ganglia were found to be smaller than in children who haven’t ADHD this would indicate that neurophysiological could be the cause of the disorder'(www.casestudies-ADHD-children)

Also it is believed that children with parents that have ADHD are more likely to develop it so there for ADHD could be hereditary.

Diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

ADHD is usually diagnosed by a qualified psychologist, generally the psychologist will obtain information regarding the child’s behaviour from the child’s parents and teachers at their school. The psychologist will observe the child and give them various tasks to complete, closely observing the child’s attention span, activity level and impulse control with regard to their age.

In order to diagnosis ADHD the child must have a sufficient number of difficulties with concentration, activity levels and impulse control. These behaviours must be present in at least two settings usually in the home and at school.

The evaluation process will also determine the type of ADHD a child has, the psychologist evaluating the child would have to have extensive knowledge and experience of children with the condition.

Treatment of ADHD

ADHD is usually treated using a combination of stimulant medication and behavioural therapy.

Medication

Several stimulant mediations are available which help to calm the child down allowing them to bring their behaviour under control. Many people are surprised to learn that stimulants are given to children with ADHD as these children seem to be over stimulated already but they do work. Ritalin is perhaps the best known ADHD medication, it has been widely used since its release in 1954. Other medications used are Adderall, Dexedrine and Metadata.

Stimulants work by increasing dopamine levels in the brain, the parts whose function is to control attention, motivation, pleasure and movement. By regulating the dopamine levels doctors can regulate the attention spans and energy levels of the children they are treating.

Some children are not able to take stimulation medication because of side effects, there are non-stimulant medications available such as Stiattera, there are not many children on this medication.

Behavioural Therapy

Behavioural Therapy can be used alone or with medication as described above. Behavioural Therapy is designed to train children to control their hyperactivity and lack of attention. Based on the work of B.F. Skinner ‘desirable behaviour is rewarded but undesirable behaviour is not’. An example of this is when a child is asked to do a task, when that task is carried out the child then gets a reward for doing the task, but if they don’t complete the task they are not rewarded.

Prognosis

There is no cure for ADHD and children with the disorder seldom grow out of it. However many find ways to cope with and adapt to their ADHD as they get older and become adults. Many adults have ADHD and don’t even know they have it, it is believed that mand of our prisoners suffer with ADHD. Many adults with ADHD have poor time keeping, they have difficulty completing a task, they would also find it hard to maintain a personal relationship. Others become unemployed and have a higher than average incidence of drug and alcohol abuse. In the past in Ireland very few children were diagnosed with ADHD, if they played up they were just expelled from school. Now in the schools if there is a problem the teacher and principle will try to find the underlying cause for the child’s behaviour. This will mean that in future many more children will be diagnosed early and measures will be put in place quicker to help them manage their condition in order to reach their true potential.

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Support Groups for ADHD

Springborad Family Support programme operated by Youth New Ross Ltd.

They hold meetings in my local area for parents with children who suffer from ADHD. The group meets every four to five weeks to share their own stories and discuss the problems they come up against on a day to day basis, they also give each other advice on how they deal with the problems they come up against.

Waterford ADHD Support, 74 Farren Park, Upper Grange, Waterford. (051) 852171

Kilkenny ADHD Support, Jerpoint Abbey, Thomastown, Co.Kilkenny 056) 7754954

These are local support groups in my local area that I sourced from the internet.

Current Legislation
THE EDUCATIONAL ACT 1998

This was the first piece of legislation passed since the foundation of the state that outlines the governments legal obligations regarding education.

The act provided the first legal definition of disability

The act provides the first legal definition of Special educational Needs

The act defines what it means by support services.

The function of the Minister for education was also defined under this act.

THE EDUCATION WELFARE ACT 2000

This act ensures all children have a right to attend a regonised school even children with special needs.This act also helped in the creation of the Educational Welfare Board

THE EDUCATION FOR PERSONS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS ACT 2004

This is the most significant piece of legislation relating to special needs in education.

The act is extensive and covers the following general areas

The issue of inclusion with regards to children with special needs in mainstream settings.

Preparation of individual educational plans for children with special needs.

Assessment of special needs.

Service provision for children with special educational needs.

Appeals.

(Ellis Flood 2010 :10-17)

The Practical and Emotional impact of having a child with ADHD

Most parents of children with ADHD face a daily challenge of managing their child’s behaviour. Within the home most children with ADHD who are hyperactive have difficulty complying with parental instructions. They get frustrated quickly, interrupt conversations and have a tendency to get into fights with their siblings. Their demanding tendencies can cause problems with their friends who will regard them as been bossy and quick tempered, they can also get violent with their families.

Children with ADHD who are not hyperactive and impulsive can drive their parents crazy not so much with what they do but more what they don’t do. In this case parents struggle with unfinished homework and major disorganization. They are often described as being passive and shy in relationships.

Conclusions and Recommendations

While carrying out this assignment, I did not realise how having a child with ADHD could affect the family home, I also didn’t realise how many children suffer with attention deficit hyperactivity Disorder it is getting fairly common among children. I think this is mainly due to more doctors and teachers been more aware of the condition, so therefore it is getting diagnosed quicker. This is a good thing because more people will be made aware of the condition and therefore will learn how to deal with it and more supports will be put in place quicker.

I feel I have done the best of my ability in carrying out this assignment, and I am pleased with what I have accomplished.

Introduction: Background

For observing and evaluating the child development, an online site is accessed where a nursery video is available and in the video the child that I chose to observe is a four year old girl that I will refer to as Amani. She is highly intelligent and confident child; not only has this she had extraordinary skills to socially move around independently. I observe Amani in the school classroom; play area and garden area where she has been involved in different activity. This observation has been conducted between 9.23am until 11.09am of all her activities. The objective of this observation is to make the progressive note of the child’s physical, intellectual, emotional, linguistic and social development. In the next section there is description of observation and followed by the evaluation and child’s profile.

Observation Description

Amani stands near to table on which there are name tags of students, she leans to pick her name’s tag with a little hesitance and picks the tag and pastes it on the name board. During the time she has smile on her face and looks pleased with this activity. Later on she is in her classroom sitting on floor along with her all classmates, she is smiling and has her eyes on her teacher, and paying attention to what teacher is saying intently. She is constantly smiling and moving her body in swinging way. Now, teacher is singing a poem ‘Mary’ and Amani is singing along with the teacher and continuously smiling with pleasure. Teacher is reading the students story about growing flower plants, teacher speaks of flower planting, that ‘there are some seeds and Maule! You will plant them and they will grow into a beautifulaˆ¦flower’ Amani says ‘flower’ with the teacher. Teacher says ‘Maule! What do you think that seeds are going to needaˆ¦ soilaˆ¦ andaˆ¦ Amani cheerfully speaks wateraˆ¦ wateraˆ¦ making herself to be heard.

Teacher says that you can go and play and Amani raises her hand cheerfully turns back and forth to her classmates and she walks around touching the different objects, she is in painting area and takes out a color out of jar and write her name with write hand, she put down green color and picks another marker. She gets up and walks to garden yard, wears her apron ties the laces and ribbons. She is standing by a large soil pot from where other children are getting the soil; she has a soil pot and tries to get the soil from one of a child standing closely. Second boy standing next to her has two scoops she tries to snatch the one because other boy is not letting her have the soil scoop. She snatches a scoop off the boy and cheerfully put some soil into the pot and says ‘put some soil and it will make soil’ she picks a scoop and presses the soil inside the pot and says ‘I am gonna show my soil’ and sits next to her teacher, she tries to take wax dough and laughs when her teacher refuses to give her the wax dough, teacher parts the dough and gives her half of the dough she smells it pleasingly and kneads it with her hand. Teacher says to her ‘how does it feel?’ she says ‘good’. Teacher says ‘how does it feel like?’ she says ‘soft’ and cheerfully shifts the dough from hand to another. She says ‘where is the stick to put it?’ and leaned forward to get the one and crushes an object on the table, the teacher exclaimed ‘Oops!’ due sudden movement of Amani, she says she needs sticks and she hold the stick plate and put that near to her and picks the sticks one by one and put them in dough. Teacher says ‘you could sing a song?’ she says ‘yes’ and walks to the garden accompanied her teacher after finishing the wax dough, she puts the dough near to flower pots and waters the plants with the help of water shower. Now she is sitting in the garden party table and holding a spoon with plate and pretending to be eating with them. She gets up and leans forward to get another spoon and uses the spoon for picking ‘sugar’ from the pot and pours into a tea cup and picks another pot, a milk pot and pour it into tea cup to make tea. She again pretends to be eating and her teacher says ‘can you please make me a cup of tea, Maule!?’ she says with a smile ‘yes’, and puts sugar in the cup pleasingly, teacher says again ‘what are you putting?’ she says with a smile ‘I am putting sugar’, and pretends to add more sugar into cup with spoon. She is on the garden party table and eating with spoon and drinking and says ‘I have made it’ and get off the chair. Now she is in the class and standing next to her teacher who is sitting and singing a poem to children sitting on the floor. She sings the poem ‘Mary’ with her teacher and classmates.

According to Sheila Riddall-Leech (2005), observation is the most effective way to understand about the child’s development stages, and its aim is to gather observation base information about a child’s progress. Riddall-Leech (2005) further expresses that a single observation is not enough to determine whether or not a child is progressing and improving the developmental skills.

Any observation should provide the data necessary to enable a professional to make balanced and informed decisions, such as the planning of specific activities to meet children’s needs, or whether to seek professional help. According to O’Hagan (2001), it is vital that parents are involved in the child’s day to day activities in the school setting. In addition, the parents’ permission for observing child development is also important in the same regard.

Evaluation
Physical Development

In physical development, Amani is observed for Development of Gross Motor Skills as well as Development of Fine Manipulative Skills (DeRobertis, 2008). Physically Amani is observed and found to be healthy and normal child since she continues to show physical activeness and physical involvement in every activity that a child of four year old is supposed to do such as walking, running, bending, carrying objects, and rolling. During observation, she is found to be physically comfortable of her environment like roaming around without any physical unbalance. She has shown almost all characteristics of Development of Gross Motor Skills. However, she has good physical balance yet at one point she shows lack of balance and co-ordination and control of body like leaning against the table and crushing other objects on the table. Another level of physical development observed is Development of Fine Manipulative Skills (DeRobertis, 2008). Just like every normal child of four year old Amani is observed to able to using equipment, holding and gripping and drawing, writing and building. She is observed to feel, pouring, filling, touching and exploring dough and building another new object with it. She is observed to using objects like scoop and plant shower very efficiently and using spoon, dressing and using laces and ribbons.

Intellectual Development

Amani is intellectually observed remarkable as she shows intellect of mind and especially of knowledge and understanding. Both in classroom and play area she is observed as attentive, concentrated, understanding and learning child. The attention and concentration level is highly related to her responsive attitude. She shows some imagining and creativity too, working with wax dough and making cake and pudding of it. She is observed to have knowledge such as answering the teacher’s questions with her knowledge and writing her own name. The most important intellectuality observed in the Amani is her problem solving tendency such as wearing apron and tying the apron laces herself that shows her intense ability to show problem solving attitude. The sensing and concept formation of Amani is observed in play area where she makes pudding with wax dough, where she is asked about the wax and she responds correctly of the question that wax is soft and it shows great understanding and conceptualization of the girl. She seems to show good memory like sugar is added in tea and how to use the eating objects. Her understanding and recognition of objects and colors is extraordinary; she seems to differentiate between a light shade of green and vice versa. Since children learn language and other things by asking questions such as ‘what, where, why’, there has been lack of asking questions by Amani, and she intends to respond to the questions rather.

Emotional Development

Emotionally Amani is observed to be independent as she is able to walk around freely without any hesitation. Moreover, there is no hesitation or difficulty in her expression. She is expressive and good at expressing herself. However, she shows little lack of control over her emotions like when she is in her play area to plant a seed in soil she snatched the scoop from her classmate who refuses to hand her that scoop, though there is not any intense situation yet she looks little out of control of her emotions. Besides, she shows a good emotional balance towards her classmates, she seems to show warm towards her classmate. Facial expression is observed as maturely because she intends to smile all the time whenever she is amused to show her pleasure. She continues to responds the teacher apparently pleasantly and in expressive way. She seems to show good interaction with others but little direct eye contact is observed. The overall body movement and body posture is simply frequently without any hesitancy and normally active and responsive. Tone of voice and play attitude is observed as interactive and sociable involvement. There is such as no sudden change in behavior or language tone.

Linguistic Development

Amani is observed to have language skills of the level of four year old child. She seems to express herself rather using language. In addition, she is observed to use short sentences and no difficulties and hesitation in speaking. Since language development of child depends on its cognitive skills and Amani’s cognitive skills is observed as functioning and efficient, her language fluency and efficiency is improved and better than other children in the classroom. The selection of words and fluency in the speaking is extraordinary good with correct use of tense.

Social Development

However, Amani is observed as an active, balanced and interactive child yet it has been observed that she has very little double-sided interaction with her classmates. She is observed to interact with her teacher but little is observed her interaction with her classmates. She seems to look warmly and positively but she does not show a productive and cooperative interaction; for example, at one point, she rather snatches the scoop from her classmate rather than making a polite request she seems to behave a little intense. Since, a child of 3 or 4 year is capable of waiting of his/her turn and in normal situation can share and cooperate with fellows (Kail, 2007) therefore it was a little surprising aspect of her because she seems to behave normally so far in other development. In addition, social roles and social behavior like learning appropriately and respond to other is observed normally. However, she seems to enjoy being in classroom with other classmates and enjoy the social appearance. In regard to other social skills like dressing and moving around without any help and doing different activities she is observed doing them independently. She seems to show a parallel social playing behavior like playing alongside but not with another child, not very much interacting and talking to other children in her different activities. She has been observed as cooperative and with high self-esteem- valuing herself as a person and confident. She rather seems to appear a self-reliance person in social development point of view.

Child Profile

I observed the child thoroughly and assessed her physically, intellectually, emotionally, linguistically, and socially. The overall development of Amani is observed to be normal and healthy. She has shown normal tendency in all level of development including physical, intellectual, emotional, linguistic and social. However, physical development means doing movement either gross or large movement of limbs or fine manipulative movement of fingers (Grych & Fincham, 2001). Amani is found to have large movement of her body and her finger by using pencils and writing. Because physical development mainly depends on the body growth and nervous system that sends message from the brain to body it demonstrates the muscles to motivate them to move. There is great relevance of physical development with intellectual development, because if a child physically not fit or shows problems like little movement, hesitation, and inactive, all these symptoms show inefficient intellectual development of child. Amani has been observed as physically active and responsive her intellectual and mental capacity can be assessed as normal and frequent. The intellectual development of Amani is found to be mentally active and interactive along with reasoning mind. She seems to understand the environment, the teachings taught in the classroom and questions asked; she seems to answer them intellectually. She is very attentive and concentrated girl along with ability to respond the external environment. She has good imagining, creative ability and problem solving attitude. Moreover, she possesses an ability to utilize conceptualization of her reality and creativity. Emotionally she is a well balanced child with independent attitude; she has got normal body posture, eye contact, language tone and unchanged behavior. Moreover, her body language and facial expressions are even and warm towards other mates. In linguistic development I observed that she has ability to use language to express her and there is fluency in the way of her language. Socially she is active, balanced and inter-active child, she is warmly and positive towards interacting towards her mates. She has good learning skills as a social roles and social behavior like learning in a group appropriately. She is socially independent and warm and communicative and responsive. She is expressive, social, cooperative and sharing the things. She has got remarkable cognitive skills and memory power. Different social activities like eating, moving in group and responding; these are those abilities which are extraordinary brought on in her. Common child features of asking questions about the things that they do not know or do not understand, in Amani’s case it are bit different in the way that she does not asking question but answering the question rather. Another thing that is important to conclude is her overpowering and strong and intense feeling about her movement. She is intelligent, cooperative, talkative, communicative, and furthermore, creative and imaginative with good self confidence. According to Gambrell (1994) the child who is motivated to learn has many reasons to read and it also includes knowledge gaining, on the other hand Amani is not observed for reading, which can prove her learning motivation. Nevertheless, she is motivated to learning and learning in group which is undermining part of her development.

Firstly, about Maria Montessori she was born on 31 August 1870 in Italy. At the end of summer of 1952 she died in the Netherlands. As a child she was educated at home where she was interested in mathematics and science. (O’Donnell) She preferred to the technical, rather than classical stream of education. (Isaaca, 2007) For her further studies she was enrolled in boy’s technical school. When her interest turned to medicine with many problems she was allowed to enrol at the University of Rome as the very first Italian female to study medicine. When she was a student she was working in the psychiatrics department of the paediatric clinic attached to the University. This is where she came in contact with children and she observed them closely and particularly how they played with food at mealtime. She interpreted the behaviour as developing from an inner urge to be active. (Schulz-Benesch, 1997) She graduated in 1896 with two honours as Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Surgery degree. (O’Donnell, 2007)

According to O’ Donnell (2007), Montessori was interested in childhood mental diseases, therefore she enrolled in course in pedagogy and educational theory during 1897 and 1898, she became familiarized with the theories and writing of Locke, Rousseau, Froebel, Pestalozzi and Owen. They all visualized education as a means of creating a new ideal society. However, Montessori came to the conclusion that all their approaches were incomplete in some way. Therefore, she developed her own approach called the Montessori Method in 1909. (Casa-Montessori 1997) Her approach to education was developed based on her observations and her belief in the education of children as to create a better society. She felt the goal of education should not be to fill the children with facts but rather to encourage their own innate wish to learn. She believed if environment was not properly prepared then the learning becomes difficult and tedious for the children. (Casa-Montessori 1997)

Isaacs (2007) Montessori believed that children developed in stages and that each stage had its own unique qualities and characteristics. As said by O’ Donnell (2007) Montessori recognised childhood as a special time of life, and she realised that the development could not be rushed, as well as the each stage will depend on what had been learned during the previous stages. Montessori followed Rousseau and believed that a child comes in to the world with the mind like a black slate (tabula rasa). The education begins at birth and continues throughout life. She also agreed with Froebel’s Kindergarten approach that children should be allowed to explore the environment and learn through direct experience and play is an essential part of the educational process. (Slideshare, 2010)

By the 1914 there were hundreds of Montessori schools established in Europe, North and South America and Asia. (Isaacs, 2007) The Montessori school environment is arranged according to subject area such as cooking, cleaning, gardening, art, caring for animals, library and more. At Montessori school children are always free to move around the room instead of staying at the table. The children have no limit to how long they can work on something they like. Children learn through firsthand experience by including practical life experience such as gardening, cutting and more. Montessori teachers would avoid using plastic toys such as dolls and they will use natural material (Montessori, 2009).

“Today, Montessori directresses worldwide prepare the environment for children with self-teaching Montessori materials providing a variety of activities which help them develop the foundations of healthy education by following their own interests.” (O’ Donnell 2007:138)

While children were using the materials their reactions were closely observed and those materials which interested the children and what they frequently selected are regularly included as part of their prepared environment. (O’ Donnell 2007) McClay, (1996) argued that the children’s classroom atmosphere should be relaxed where children feel protected, and where they can work together easily with other staff. Gee argued that the right environment show the way directly to well-behaved and creative children (Gee, 1996). Since 1907 Montessori environment have always met these criteria. She realized that children’s physical health was at risk because of the lack of movement. Therefore, she allowed the children to move about, choosing activities that they want to do. She also made sure that work at individual tables with movable chairs made especially to suit different heights of the children. (O’ Donnell 2007)

There are three stages of process of learning:

Stage 1: introduction to a concept by means of a lecture, lesson, something read in a book.

Stage 2: processing the information, developing an understanding of the concept through work, experimentation and creation.

Stage 3: “knowing” to possessing an understanding of, demonstrated by the ability to pass a test with confidence or to teach another. (S.M. Stephenson, 2010) In these three stages, stage two is the most important and the longest stage because with it is importance on developing, working, experimenting and creating this enables the children to actually learn and remember what they have learned.

Parents today expect their children to read and write at very early age and Montessori in 1907 demonstrated how children began to first write and then to read automatically at the age of four. She designed a sensory materials like sandpaper letters and moveable alphabet to help children develop. (O’ Donnell 2007) Montessori approach are also described as a phonic approach; it is clear direct teaching the three-period lesson to introduce the links between sound and letter to each children individually before they write or read. (O’ Donnell 2007) Many families use Montessori principles at homes because according to Montessori education takes place where the children are (Montessori, 2009). Montessori Method is a unique sequence of learning designed to meet the ordinary development of the children. The children who learn the essential skills of reading, writing and arithmetic in ordinary way have the advantage of starting their education without hard work, tediousness or discouragement. (Casa-Montessori 1997)

Secondly, High/Scope was developed in 1960s by Dr. David P Weikart in America. He studied at the University of Michigan in the last 1950s and he was also an ex-marine. (Holt, 2007) He started the organization to continue research and program activities in the beginning as an administrator with the Ypsilanti Public Schools (HIGHSCOPE, 2010). High Scope stands for ‘High’ the individual level of achievement for all children in their care. ‘Scope’ the range of experience they offer to children to support them to achieve (Holt, 2007).

“HighScope is not a part of the public schools or any governmental organization. HighScope preschool programs are compatible with the Guidelines for Appropriate Practice published by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).” (HIGHSCOPE,2010)

According to Holt (2007), Weikart discovered that children from lower class society especially African American children from elementary school shown the lower achievers and also the stranded test showed him that they had the lowest IQ scores. However, he also noticed that children from predominantly white area scored higher even though they were the same age group. He then discovered that children who lived in the deprived areas were achieving low scores as a rest of lack of opportunity rather than their intelligence. (Holt,2007)

Therefore, in 1962 the Perry Pre- School Project began. This was a vital project because children were randomly selected to either attend the HighScope project or to stay in their local community. From this project they were able to control group for comparison to see if being in a preschool setting made any difference to the children (Holt, 2007). Highscope.UK (2010) suggests that the High Scope’s curriculum was based on Piaget’s theories of development. HighScope is about cognitive development approach where children are encouraged to solve problems and think independently. (Walsh & Petty, 2007) Weikart strongly felt that, children progress at their own speed and their classroom life should accommodate children’s interests and the activities. (Highscope.UK, 2010)

According to Holt (2007) HighScope curriculum is active learning and they believe that children learn from key experience gained from their own discovery and the world around them. The key experiences are organized around these topics: creative representation, language and literacy, initiative and social relations, movement, music, classification, number, space and time (Hohman and Weikart, 1995). Similar to Montessori Approach, HighScope use a unique classroom environment in which the environments help out activities and the adult became supporter and observer of the children it is also providing children with opportunities to develop their strengths. The key experiences classify the kinds of knowledge young children are gaining as they interact with mixture of materials, people, ideas, and events and from this children gain learning skills (Highscope.UK, 2010)

Holt (2007) experienced that parents have a key role in children’s learning, therefore home visits were set up, so teachers can suggest ideas about children development and learning. As a result, this became a mutual process and this gave parents an opportunity to share information about their child’s interest to the teachers. (Holt, 2007)The results from the project showed that children made huge step in improving their IQ scores when they were entering into mainstream school. Weikart said ” poor children could move on from the pre-school to elementary school better able to engage in traditional education”(Weikart,2004:55)

As a consequence from between 1962 and 1967 they decided to follow the children who attended the project and their education beyond to determine the benefits of HighScope throughout their life. The information about one hundred and twenty three students were collected annually from the age of three to eleven and then at the age of fourteen, fifteen, nineteen, twenty-seven and finally forty. (Holt, 2007) After each data was collected, staff analyzed the information staff wrote a complete official report. The findings of the program effects through age 40 and the areas of education, economic performance, crime prevention, family relationship and health. (L. J. Schweinhart, 2005)

The HighScope approach follows five basic principles that support the practice. This helps the practitioner when they are using the approach with the children. The five principles are Active learning, Adult and child interaction, Daily Routine, Learning environment and, Assessment (Holt, 2007).

Active learning is when children learn by being active and by engaging with other people, materials, events and ideas that immediate and meaningful to them. Each aspect of the HighScope Approach supports active learning. (Highscope.UK, 2010)

Adult and child interaction is adults working with children and providing them a safe environment for the active learning to take place. They also work together to support with children’s learning. (Holt, 2007) Children achieve more when they feel happy and secure therefore HighScope practitioners bring trust to their relationships with children and they respect and value each child’s personal and cultural identity. (Highscope.UK, 2010)

Daily Routine provides a structure within which children to choice and to follow their interests. This gives the children the sense of security they need to make choices and to take risks. Firstly, the Plan-Do-Review sequence is unique to the HighScope curriculum. It includes a time which children plan what they want to do then it is a work time for children to carry out their plans or they can start new activities that interest them. Then it is a period for reviewing with adult and other children what they’ve done and learned. Small-group time is based on children’s interest and skills. Secondly, small group activities where children meet with adults and during this time children and adult experiment with materials, try out new skills, and solve problems. Thirdly, large-group time this is when up to 20 children and 2 adults come together for group and music activities, interactive storytelling, and other shared experiences are shared with the children. (HIGHSCOPE, 2010)

Learning Environment support activities and resources that give confidence to children to investigate and imagination and gives them plenty of space to move around and give the children opportunity to develop their co-ordination control and build their confident. (Holt, 2007)

Assessment gives out multiple purposes which are It looks at meaningful educational outcomes, it gather information and provide truthful information that can be used for individual child planning. Assessment can be used to assess children to see how they are developing and to determine how the programs children attend contribute to the children’s development. (HIGHSCOPE, 2010)

The conclusion from the HighScope research is that children across cultural and from different socio-economic backgrounds benefit from the HighScope Approach. This approach is seen as an investment in a child’s future life and as an investment in the future welfare of society. (Highscope.UK, 2010)

The Montessori and the HighScope approach both are focusing on teaching the children of the future. There are hundreds of Montessori schools established worldwide (Isaacs, 2007). “The mission of HighScope UK is to bring the HighScope Approach to adults working with children from birth to adolescence through the provision of high quality support and nationally and internationally accredited training.” (Highscope.Uk, 2010) The HighScope approach and Montessori approach are play based for this reason learning environment is important to both approaches. The environments are arranged according to subject area therefore children can play freely. (Montessori, 2009) HighScope believes the outdoor space as equal to the indoor learning environment. (Holt, 2007)

From both approaches children decide how they want to learn. HighScope Believe that “children gain confidence, initiative and love of lifelong learning when involved in well supported activities of their own choosing” (Bell, 2004:5) At Montessori school children are given the material and they can work independently or with their friends. (Isaacs 2007) However, in a Montessori school the teacher’s role is to observe in order to connect the child with the suitable materials (Goffin & Wilson ,2001). Whereas the HighScope is shared control is essential to how adults and children interact. (HIGHSCOPE, 2010) In HighScope, children’s creative exploration is encouraged which leads to pretend play, while in Montessori, practical life work was relates to the real world. Montessori assessments are by portfolio and the teacher’s observer and keep record of children. They verify if the system is working or not by achievement and behaviour of the children, their happiness, maturity, kindness, and of learning and level of work. (Montessori, 2009) On the other hand, HighScope use Plan-do-review were children are encouraged to plan the methods they are going to work with; then carry out their plan and review with their teacher.

In 2003 government published Every Child Matters influenced by the HighScope and followed by EYFS from September 2008, is to help young children achieve the five outcome which are to staying safe, being healthy, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and achieving economic well-being by setting the standards by ensuring that every child makes progress and that no child gets left behind. Providing for equality of opportunity is by ensuring that every child is included and not disadvantaged because of ethnicity, culture, religion, family background, learning difficulties or disabilities, gender and ability. Creating the framework for partnership working with parents and professionals and all the settings that the children attend. Improving quality and consistency in the early year sector through a worldwide set of standards which apply to all settings. Laying a secure foundation for future learning through learning and development that is planned around the individual needs and interests of the child. EYFS is compulsory to all early year settings. (The EYFS Statutory Framework,2008).

The EYFS principles Approach are A Unique Child : recognising that every child is a competent learner from birth. To focus around development; inclusion; safety; and health and well-being.

Positive Relationships: loving and secure relationships with parents and/or a key person.

Enabling environments: to supporting and extending children’s development and learning and focus on observation, assessment and planning. Learning and Development: recognises that children develop and learn in different ways and at different rates. (The EYFS Statutory Framework,2008).

There are six areas covered by the early learning goals and educational programmes which are

Personal, Social and Emotional Development; Communication, Language and Literacy; Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy; Knowledge and Understanding of the World; Physical Development ; Creative Development. All these goals are equally important and they all depend on each other to support to child development. (The EYFS Statutory Framework, 2008)

The EYFS use sensory materials to teach children in setting this method was influenced by the Montessori approach because this approach values children’s imaginative interpretation and teachers recognize that materials in the Montessori environment, such as sand trays, chalkboards, and language cards encourage children’s independence. (Montesori,1995) Montessori also believed that children environment should be comfortable therefore they should have child-sized chairs and table. This was inspired by the early years setting. Montessori Method was based on personal development rather than skills. From self discovery and social development children learn to respect the work of others in the environment as they consistently encounter situations (Montessori).

Whereas the EYFS and the HighScope approaches were high structured and planned for children to get ready for school and world of work. According to Nursery World (2010) children will be assessed with new ‘readiness for school’ at the age of five, linked to the EYFS profile. Whereas, the EYFS and the Montessori approach ensured that every child was include in their approach. However, the HighScope approach only looked at the lower class society especially African American children. (Holt, 2007) EYFS, HighScope and Montessori approach are all play based curium. Children are given the opportunity to take care of themselves, each other, and the environment. (S.M. Stephenson, 2010) However, on the EYFS teaches what can be assessed rather what is worth learning. For example children cannot be assessed if they are happy or not by doing a particular activity. Like the EYFS the HighScope classroom has a regular routine. This is ensuing certainty to help children understand what will happen next and encourage them to have control in their classroom. From these approaches we notice that HighScope and Montessori approach influenced in the EYFS.

Children are unique. They are individuals and no two children are alike: physically, emotionally, socially and intellectually, Because children are unique, even if there are common needs and characteristics that children of a particular age or stage of development share, they must be understood by their parents and teachers in their uniqueness, and their individuality must be respected.

The benefits of treating every child as unique individual:

Help to develop their personalities, talents and abilities irrespective of ethnicity, culture or religion, home language, family background, learning difficulties, disabilities or gender. This guidance helps adults to understand and support each individual child’s development pathway.

Make child responsible for this own actions, giving him the independence so many seek, typically acting out as teenager while trying to assert his independence. Listen to your advice and reasoning and take the more responsible choice.

Treat them as equals in every aspect of your daily life and you will be rewarded with honest, caring children that make good choices that celebrate them for the unique individuals they are.

Babies and children are vulnerable and become resilient and confident if they have support from others, also receive the chance to learn about other cultures and develop critical socialization skills that will serve them well.

By treat each child as unique individual we designing an environment that positively influencing all areas of children’s development: physical, social /emotional, and cognitive. Language and learning are nurtured in an environment that values and plans appropriate opportunities which can support the development of behaviours that are valued in our society, such as cooperation and persistence. An aesthetically pleasing space can develop a child’s appreciation for the beautiful world around them.

Help children and youth become full participating citizens of society and help to build a sense of community.

Question 2:

Describe how the principles of anti-discriminatory practice can be applied to practice.

Anti-Discriminatory Practice is an action taken to prevent discrimination against people on the grounds of race, class, gender, disability etc (see entry above). Anti-discriminatory practice promotes equality by introducing anti-discrimination policies in the workplace (i.e. the care settings.), Also known as anti-oppressive practice. All employees in a care setting should promote this practice in the workplace as it is way to combating prejudice, in doing so they are trying to eradicate discrimination and promote equality for service users and for staff.

Kind of discrimination:

1.Overt discrimination

this is when someone is openly discriminating against an individual, an example of this is a health and social care setting paying a male nurse more money than a female nurse for the same job, directly because of their gender. In the health care sector, overt discrimination is more likely to be seen in the way a patient is treated by staff.

2.Covert discrimination

Covert discrimination can be best described as being hidden away. An example of this is three individuals applying for the same job as a nurse; they should all be shortlisted using the same criteria. However, if the shortlist panel decided not to call someone for an interview based on their name or area they lived in, this would be covert discrimination.

Children have a right to non-discrimination. This means that all children, without exception, should enjoy their rights to effective protection.

The rights of all children and young people are stated in the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). The UK government ratified the treaty in 1991 and must ensure that the rights of children in the UK are protected through law. These rights are extensive and include the right to education and the right for children to have their views respected, No child will be discriminated against on the grounds of sex, race, religion, colour or creed. Wherever possible those designated disabled or disadvantaged will be considered for a place, taking into account their individual circumstances and the ability of the nursery to provide the necessary standard of care

The promotion of anti-discriminatory practice should underpin all work in settings. It is not sufficient to have policies in place which make statements about anti-discriminatory practice or just to pay lip service to it, they must demonstrate anti-discriminatory practice. They must also monitor the ways that positive practice impacts on the education and well-being of the children and young people. As a member of the care setting team we should share responsibility to ensure that anti-discriminatory practice is promoted, and must also recognise when discrimination is happening.

The Nursery will strive to ensure that all services and projects are accessible and Relevant to all groups and individuals in the community within targeted age groups.

We will strive to promote equal access to services and projects by taking practical steps such as ensuring access to disabled people and producing material in relevant languages and media.

It is important to practice anti -discrimination to ensure that everyone is included and has the opportunity to fully access any areas of learning within the framework. Providing an inclusive environment for children enables them to develop self esteem and confidence. It shows them that they are valued and respected as unique individuals regardless of any additional needs, family and ethnic background, eliminate unlawful discrimination; promote equal opportunities; and promote good relation.

The Nursery and staff are committed to:

Encourage positive role models, displayed through toys, imaginary play and activities that promote non-stereotyped images. Books will be selected to promote such images of men and women, boys and girls.

All children will be encouraged to join in activities, i.e. dressing up, shop, home corner, dolls, climbing on large apparatus, bikes, etc.

Regularly review child-care practice to ensure the policy is effective

Ensure that individuals are recruited, selected, trained and promoted on the basis of occupational skill requirements. In this respect, the Nursery will ensure that no job applicant or employee will receive less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, gender, marital status, race, religion, colour, cultural or national origin or sexuality, which cannot be justified as being necessary for the safe and effective performance of the work or training for the work

Question 3:

Describe why it is important to plan activities that meet the individual needs of children.

Children of different ages have different needs. These needs are based on each child’s stage of growth and development. Remember that two children of the same age can be similar in some ways but different in other ways. Try to understand the unique characteristics of each child. This helps children to feel good about them. This will also help you plan activities that are developmentally appropriate for each child. Appropriate activities help children learn and are lots of fun. The planning process helps to set goals for children and aims for staff. It is directed at what children need and defines how the practitioners supporting them are going to provide for this effectively. Planning also means the environment is kept fresh and children are given new choices in their play.

The importance of planning activates meeting children’s individual’s needs is:

Promote development. Some children develop and learn faster than others and it is partly our responsibility to ensure all children’s needs are cared for no matter what stage of development they are at.

Identify the exact learning needs of children by carrying out observations which can show us clearly what stage of development each individual child is at, to compare each child against milestones for that age and stage of development and then we begin to plan to meet the learning needs of certain children who are not meeting milestones and also plan to accommodate for those children who are over excelling the milestones. Children will develop better if there are adequate numbers of staff/adults present, taking into account the correct staff ratios for each particular age of children. With more hands on around the setting children will benefit greatly so

Plan how many adults/staff should be present for a particular day/activity, by doing so there is a higher chance of meeting all of the children’s needs.

Have successful planning that will support children’s independence, and a well organised environment that will make it easy for the children to find and to put away activities of their choosing. This doesn’t mean rigidity, lack of choice or the loss of spontaneity for children. The well-designed and carefully structured environment will be planned in a way that means those working with children are clear and confident about developmental, play or learning needs, and what and how they are providing for these needs .

Effective planning means that contingencies can be dealt with easily, so staff know where and how they can source materials quickly and according to the required need of the child, Good planning allows opportunities for change to occur and provides a backdrop of support for children’s all-round development.

Question 4:

Explain how the practitioner can promote children’s physical and emotional well-being within an early years setting.

When children have positive early experiences with physical activity they are more likely to enjoy being active later in life and this will contribute to their long term physical, social and psychological health. Children benefit from having a wide choice of gross motor experiences that are non-competitive and focussed on having fun.

The role of the practitioner in supporting children’s physical and emotional well-being

To provide a balanced programme of activities to support the physical development and well being of the children

To provide sufficient space (indoors and outdoors), time and resources to allow effective physical development

Providing material and equipment for the improvement of fine motor skills

Providing cooking, sewing, woodwork and other activities to enhance hand-eye coordination.

To provide time, opportunity and support for children with motor impairments or physical disabilities to develop their physical skills. If appropriate this will include working with outside agencies such as physiotherapists

The programme of work should include some or all of the following types of activity:

Movement:

1. Group games involving running, jumping and hopping.

2. Group games involving movement followed by stopping.

3. Moving to music.

4. Balancing activities and games.

5. Play on a range of landscapes.

Sense of Space:

Role plays activities giving children the opportunity to create pathways.

2. Giving the children the opportunity to create their own spaces (e.g. tent from blankets).

3. Group games that involve following or imitating.

4. Encourage games and activities that involve sharing resources with other children.

5. Discussions about body parts and bodily activity .

6. Singing action songs (e.g. Head, shoulders, knees and toes).

Health and Bodily Awareness

1. Discussions about keeping safe, fit and healthy.

2. Discussions about eating a healthy diet.

3. Encouraging children to make decisions by choosing between different types of food.

4. Making and eating food from a range of cultures that can form part of a healthy diet.

5. Providing opportunities for children to talk about health issues.

When we talk about emotional development, we are referring to children’s growing ability to:

Identify and understand their own feelings

Accurately read and understand the feelings of others

Manage the way they feel

Shape the way they behave

Develop empathy for others, and

Build and keep good relationships with friends, family and others.

From the time they are born, children quickly develop their abilities to experience and express different emotions, as well as their capacity to cope with and manage a variety of feelings.

To support the children’s emotional well-being practitioner roles are:

Work in partnership with parents in order to find out about the child’s experiences, culture and home background, to build up a profile of each child, using information supplied by parents as the starting point.

Being warm and affectionate towards them.

Giving them the opportunity to express how they feel , Help the children gain an understanding of their feelings through the use of books, board games, puppets, interactive storytelling or role-plays and Help children to understand the difference between their own and other people’s feelings.

Making them feel secure and valued

Giving children time and attention to adjust to new situations

Observe the child’s nonverbal behaviour for clues as to how he or she is feeling.

Problem solve with the child by encouraging him or her to think of options and decide what constructive action to take

Keep lines of communication open.

Traditional Family Life Cycle:

Traditionally the life cycle, illustrated a progression of stages through which families passed; it comprised stages, starting from bachelorhood (single), to married (couple), to family growth (parenthood: birth of children), to family contraction (grown up children leaving home for studies or employment) to post parenthood (all children leaving home) to dissolution (single survivor: death of one of the spouses). Based on these, the traditional FLC can be synthesized into five basic stages, which may be mentioned as follows:

Stage I: Bachelorhood: Young single adult (male/female) living apart from parents and into a livelihood.

Stage II: Honeymooners: Young married couple.

Stage III: Parenthood: Married couple with at least one child living with them at home.

Stage IV: Postparenthood: An older married couple with no children living at home. Children have left home for studies or for employment.

Stage V: Dissolution: One surviving spouse.

These stages, consumption patterns and the product preferences are explained below:

1. Stage I: Bachelorhood: The stage comprises a young single adult (male/female) living apart from parents and into a livelihood. While incomes are low as they have just started a career, financial burdens and responsibilities are also low. As such bachelors have a high level of disposable income.

Priorities and Preferences of Purchase: They tend to spend their money on house rent, basic furniture and kitchen equipment. They are recreation oriented and like to spend on purchase of automobiles (particularly motor bikes), travel (trekking and holidays), adventure sports (motor racing, bungee jumping etc.), health clubs, clothes and fashion accessories.

Implications for Marketers: Marketers realize that bachelors possess large disposable income; they find in them an attractive segment for sports, travel, entertainment and fun.

2. Stage II: Honeymooners: The stage comprises a newly married couple and continues till the first child is born. One of the spouses may be working or both may be working. They are financially better off than they would be in the next stages. If both are working, income is higher. If both are working, the couple has discretionary income at hand that permits a good lifestyle, and provides for purchases or savings.

Priorities and Preferences of Purchase: They tend to spend on creating a home for themselves. They spend on cars, furniture, curtains and upholstery, electronics, kitchen appliances and utensils, and vacations.

Implications for Marketers: They form an attractive segment for the marketer as they form the highest purchase rate amongst segments. The highest average purchase of durables takes place in this stage.

3. Stage III: Parenthood: The stage comprises married couples with children. This stage extends for about a long 20-25 year period; and could be further broken up into three stages, viz., Full Nest I, Full Nest II and Full Nest III. Throughout these stages, the size and structure of the family gradually changes, so does income and expenses with varying priorities. The financial expenses increase rapidly with children being born in Full Nest I and gradually decrease as children become independent and self-supporting as one reaches Full Nest III.

Full Nest I: The youngest child in the family is six or below.

Priorities and Preferences of Purchase: While liquidity of cash is low, expenses are high. The family spends on baby food, diapers, medicines for cough and cold, doctor visits, child toys and games, school admissions and fees and insurance policies. There are increased expenses on child care.

Implications for Marketers: At this stage, purchasing is at the peak, and so this is an attractive segment for the marketer. The children in the family begin to impact family purchases, and are a huge potential for future.

Full Nest II: The youngest child in the family is six or above. Generally the stage comprises children aged 6-12 years.

Priorities and Preferences of Purchase: Financial position gets better as one begins to rise up the ladder. If the wife is also working, children are aˆ?latchkey kids.aˆ? The family spends on food, clothes for children, education of children, insurance policies and investments. They also pay for medical expenses and particularly, dental treatment. They go in for deals; buy larger-size packages, and economy packs. For example, junk food, fashion clothing and accessories, video games etc. are prime demands.

Implications for Marketers: At this stage, purchasing is still at the peak, and so this is also an attractive segment for the marketer. The children, as also teenagers continue to impact family purchases. The latchkey kids are a potential for home delivered junk food like pizzas and burgers.

Full nest III: They are older married couples with dependent and/or independent children but staying together at home. Children reach the higher educational level; one of them may start earning too.

Priorities and Preferences of Purchase: The family income continues to increase and so do expenses. The family continues to spend on food, clothes for teenagers, higher education of children, and also repeat purchase of durables that were bought in honeymooning stage or Full Nest I. The family buys new furniture, electronic goods and appliances and cars. Thus there is high average purchase of durables. The family also invests in real estate and property and/or flats. They continue to spend on medical expenses, particularly dentists and visit general physicians for regular checkups.

Implications for Marketers: At this stage, income begins to increase as one of the children begins to earn. As expenses see a rise, the stage offers a potential for marketers.

4. Stage IV: Postparenthood: This is a stage that occurs once children have left home. They leave home first for education, and then for employment. As they complete their education, and find employment, they gradually leave home one by one, thus, leaving the nest. Thus, this stage has also been broken into two stages, viz., Empty Nest I and Empty Nest II. As one moves across Empty Nest I and II, the size and structure of the family changes (quite similar to the Parenthood stage and the Full Nest I, II and III).

Empty Nest I: This is a stage that occurs when at least one of the children has left home. He/she has completed education, taken up a job and has left home to start his/her home. He/she is independent and can manage on own. While children are managing to start up on their own, parents are still working.

Priorities and Preferences of Purchase: The family size gradually begins to shrink. Parents are still earning; expenses gradually reduce, and so there is highest level of savings and disposable income at hand. The family spends on food, instalments for real estate/house, higher education of the dependent children, and, medical expenses on dentist, physiotherapy and heart. They have leisure time in hand, and watch television, movies, and may even go on a vacation.

Implications for Marketers: At this stage, the couple beings to again have disposable income in hand. Financial responsibilities towards children begin to decrease. This stage offers potential for marketers who are involved in providing services like leisure, travel and holiday.

Empty Nest II: In this stage, all the children have left home, and the couple has retired from occupation. They live on pension and other social security investments. If health permits, they take up part-time jobs.

Priorities and Preferences of Purchase: The couple has higher disposable incomes because of savings and investments, and they have fewer expenses. They decide to spend on all that they had been thinking to spend on but had not been able to because of familial responsibilities. They spend money on food, travel and holidays, watch TV and form hobby clubs. They refurnish their home or may even move to newer homes after retirement. Medical expenses also see a rise. However, for those older retired couples who do not have much income from adequate savings and investments, the situation is much different. There is a sharp drop in their income.

Implications for Marketers: The stage is lucrative for those involved in the entertainment industry. Many industries provide special discounts in travel and stay as aˆ?Senior Citizen benefits, for example, hotels, airlines and railways. Banks and financial institutions also have special facilities for those above 60, especially higher rates of interest on deposits.

5. Stage V: Dissolution: This stage in the FLC occurs when one of the couple dies, and leaves behind the other surviving spouse.

Priorities and Preferences of Purchase: When one of the spouses is still earning, or earns money from savings and investments, things are little easier. However, if he/she is not earning, he/she follows a lifestyle that is economical. The primary expenditure is on medicines, checkups with doctors and restrictive diet.

Implications for Marketers: The stage is characteristic of a widow/widower with lower income and least shopping and expenses.

Modifications to the FLC:

With changes in our society, a change in the traditional Family Life Cycle and the various stages through which it progressed earlier. There are various forms like single; late marriages; divorced (with/without children); dual income, no kids, live-ins etc. Consumer researchers have thus brought about changes in the traditional FLC, so as to reflect changes in the family and lifestyle arrangements. Broadly speaking households may be classified as family households and non-family households (single individual or live-ins). Each of these family types has varying features and characteristics, which also get exhibited in their buying patterns and consumption expenditure.

Family life cycle of Dominos Pizza

Bachelorhood: Dominos pizza does not come under this stage because the income a person is very low and have to spend their money on house rent, basic furniture and kitchen equipment.

Honeymooners: Dominos pizza comes under this stage because they tend to spend their money more.

Parenthood: Dominos pizza also comes into this stage because in this the family income increases and then family continues to spend on food, clothes etc.

Post parenthood: Dominos pizza comes under this stage because family is small but wants doing expenses.

Dissolution: Dominos pizza does not come under this stage because their primary expenditure is on medicines, checkups and doctors.

Family life cycle of Mobile Phones

Bachelorhood: Mobile phones come under this stage because the income a person is very low but they have to spend their money on automobiles, clothes etc.

Honeymooners: Mobile phones come under this stage because they tend to spend their money more.

Parenthood: Mobile Phones also come into this stage because in this the family income increases and then family continues to spend on food, clothes, accessories etc.

Post parenthood: Mobile phones come under this stage because family is small but wants doing expenses.

Dissolution: Mobile Phone does not come under this stage because their primary expenditure is on medicines, checkups and doctors.

Family life cycle of Mutual Funds

Bachelorhood: Mutual Funds does not come under this stage because the income a person is very low but they have to spend their money on automobiles, clothes etc.

Honeymooners: Mutual Funds come under this stage because they tend to spend their money more.

Parenthood: Mutual Funds also come into this stage because in this the family income increases and then family continues to spend on food, clothes, accessories etc.

Post parenthood: Mutual Funds come under this stage because family is small but wants doing expenses.

Dissolution: Mutual Funds come under this stage because their primary expenditure is on medicines, checkups and doctors and spend for future stability.

Understanding child development means that we as carers and parents can understand skills and typical behaviours of children within our care, providing an environment which is nurturing and one that will foster growth. Laura Berk (2000) provides a simple definition of child development; “a field of study devoted to understanding all aspects of human growth and change from conception through adolescence.” (Berk: 2000, p4). This paper will look at three important theories of child development that you as a teacher or parent should know in order to understand the changes that take place from birth to adulthood.

When we talk about child development we refer to three stages called development areas;

– Physical development involves the growth and change in a person’s body and body functions. In this domain we look at the physiological and motor development as well as the influences of health, illness and nutrition.

– Cognitive development refers to the growth and change of a person’s ability to process information, solve problems and gain knowledge. In this area we consider the study of brain development, memory, learning, thinking, language and creativity.

– Social-emotional development involves the growth and change of our interactions with others and our feelings. Included in this area is the study of relationships, emotions, personality and moral development. Whilst we discuss each area of development separately it is important to realise that they do overlap. One domain can influence the other.

Interest in the field of child development began early in the 20th-century. (ref) Many theories have been put forward to explain why and how children develop. Theorist Jean Piaget played a major influence on the way we understand children. He explained children’s development in terms of their cognitive development in a theory known as Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. Piaget believed that children think differently from adults, arguing that it’s not that children know less than adults but their thinking skills are qualitatively different. (ref) Many of his ideas came from observing his own children.

Piaget was convinced that intellect grows through processes he termed assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation refers to using existing mental patterns in new situations. (ref) In accommodation, existing ideas are modified to fit new requirements. Thus, new situations are assimilated to existing ideas, and new ideas are created to accommodate new experiences. In his theory children mature through a series of distinct stages in intellectual development.

– Sensorimotor (0-2years): Piaget believed that an infant is born with no way of making sense of the world. Infants use reflexes which act on the world in specific ways so that the child gradually adapts to the world. Motor movements are seen as the basis for the eventual development of intelligence. These slowly become separated from motor activity as the child learns to represent objects, actions and thoughts through play and language. According to Piaget, object permanence emerges during infancy. This relates to the understanding that objects continue to exist even though they are out of sight.

– Preoperational (2-7 years): Piaget describes toddler’s thinking as illogical. This is due to two main characteristics of their thinking processes; egocentricism and centation. Piaget sees young children’s thinking as egocentric; meaning they can only see things from their point of view. They cannot take into account the ideas or needs of others. Due to their stage of cognitive development their thinking is not yet flexible enough to consider more than one aspect of a given situation. They are now in a stage of self-centred thinking. (ref). Centration is the term Piaget uses to describe young children’s tendency to focus their attention on a single aspect of a situation or object. This is where Piaget’s experiment for the conservation of volume. This stage of development also describes toddlers having improved memory skills, problem solving skills and begin to understand concepts; for example, words such as ‘big’ and ‘small’, colours and the ability to recite numbers. (ref) As children progress into pre-school, children practise mental representations by using mental imagery and language symbols. (Ref)

– Concreter Operational (7-12years): The typical school aged child is entering this stage of development. Children begin to think logically however, they tend to need concrete objects to help them solve problems rather than being able to use abstract ideas. (ref). Piaget would describe the school age child as less egocentric. According to his theory a child is now able to view the world and themselves from other perspectives. (ref) Children at this stage have a longer attention span, a better concept of time and distance and their ability to remember improves.

– Formal Operational (12-15years): Children at this stage break away from concrete objects and thinking is based more on abstract principles, such as ‘honour’ or ‘democracy’. (ref). Full adult intellectual ability is attained during this stage. For Piaget, the development of scientific reasoning is the pinnacle of development. (Vialle, Lysaght, and Verenikina: 2008, p55). At this stage older adolescents can comprehend math, physics and other abstract systems. (ref).

Some critics have faulted Piaget’s theory on several grounds but mostly for its vagueness. Some would say that Piaget’s theory has limited our perception of children’s capabilities- particularly in the pre-school years. (ref). Others may say there has been too much focus on what children can’t do rather than what they can. According to Siegler (2004) children continuously gain specific knowledge; they do not undergo stage like leaps in general mental ability. (more)

However, Piaget’s work has encouraged us to see children’s cognitive skills as being different from those of adults. His theory is valuable for understanding how children think. If we understand how children think and learn we can provide a stimulating environment that will support their learning. Using Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, a teacher or parent’s role is to provide the stimulation and observe carefully to see when to step in and interact or change experiences (ref). (125 more)

While Piaget stressed the role of maturation in cognitive development, Lev Vygotsky focused on the impact of socio-cultural factors. His Socio-cultural theory of cognitive development saw that social interaction and language has a major influence on the development of children’s thinking. Vygotsky places great importance on the tole of significant adults such as teachers, parents and also peers.

-The zone of proximal development: Like Piaget, Vygotsky believed that children actively seek to discover new principles. However there is emphasis that many of a child’s most important discoveries are guided by these significant adults. (ref). Vygotsky realises that some tasks can be beyond a child’s reach. The child is close to having the mental skills needed to do the task, but it may be slightly too complex to be mastered alone. The zone of proximal development means children learn with the guidance and assistance of those within their environment. Parents, teachers or other sensitive caregivers will know that children will need assistance, guiding the child to support them in the learning process.

Vygosky argued that children’s thinking is highly influenced by interactions and conversations with other peoples. If we want to understand how children think and learn, Vygotsky proposes that we need to observe them when they are relating with others. (ref).

Vygotsky proposed that language plays a critical role in learning. He noted that preschoolers often talk to themselves as they complete activities and tasks. He called this Private speech. According to Vygotsky, private speech enables children to talk through problems (ref).

Erik Erikson proposed a theory of development that focuses on the emotional and social aspects of development and how these impact on the overall development of the person from infancy to old age. (ref). He called it a Psychosocial theory of development focusing on the social experiences we have in life that shape our psychological make- up. Erikson was a student of Sigmund Freud and believed that the social interactions an individual experiences has a greater influence on development. (ref). Erikson identified eight stages of development over the entire human lifespan, each stage marked by a crisis. If each crisis is resolved in a positive way then the child would develop high self esteem and was more likely to respond to the next crisis in a positive way, developing a healthy personality. If the crisis was resolved in a negative way then it was likely the child would develop low self esteem and have difficulty resolving future crisis. (ref). His theory, particularly the first four stages hold vital considerations for you as a teacher or parent, ensuring that young children develop and maintain a positive sense of emotional wellbeing.

-Stage one (0-1 years) Trust vs Mistrust: According to Erikson, a critical emotional struggle in infancy is between trust and mistrust. Emotionally healthy babies come to understand they have nurturing, responsive caregivers who meet their basic needs. They view the world as safe and enter into trusting relationships with caregivers and later, other individuals. However, a degree of mistrust is also important to keep infants safe from harm. But for the most part, the emotionally healthy baby is trusting of the world. (ref) A critical part of achieving trust from Erikson’s view is the ability of infants to come to know and develop an emotional tie with caregivers; also known as attachment. Mary Ainsworth described attachment as “the affectional tie that one person forms to another specific person, binding them together in space and enduring over time” (Ainsworth: 1973).

– Stage two: (1-3 years) Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt: Once toddlers have developed a sense of trust with significant adults and understand their basic needs will be met, they are willing to venture away from the safety of parents and caregivers. We see this as striving for control over their environment. (ref). Children express their growing self control by climbing, touching, exploring and trying to do things for themselves (Coon & Mitterer: 2007). Offering support, achievable tasks and time, children are more likely to experience success and thus feel autonomous and develop feelings of positive self-esteem. (ref). However, if we are impatient, provide tasks that are too difficult or become unsupportive with their efforts, children will develop feelings of shame and doubt about their abilities, resulting in low self esteem.

– Stage three: (3-5 years) Initiative vs Guilt: In this psychosocial theory of development, Erikson saw the preschool years as a time when children develop a sense of initiative. Preschoolers develop an increasing sense of their own ability and have a desire to make things happen. Through play, children learn to make plans and carry out tasks. Parents can reinforce initiative by giving children freedom to play, ask questions, use imagination and choose their own activities. (ref). When encouraged, this sense of initiative will support the development of high self esteem. However, when preschoolers receive negative feedback, prevent play or punished for trying to plan and make things happen they will develop a sense of guilt, thus developing low self esteem. (ref.)

-Stage Four (6-12 years) Industry vs Inferiority: Middle childhood is the time to resolve the crisis of industry versus inferiority, according to Erikson. Primary school years are a child’s ‘entrance into life’, where children begin to learn skills valued by society. His theory states that as children gain positive feedback from developing skills required for their particular culture, they will develop a sense of industry if they win praise for productive activities such as building, painting, cooking, reading and studying. This high self esteem will motivate children to challenge new tasks. However, if children receive negative feedback and have trouble developing skills and a sense of inferiority will arise, resulting in low self esteem and less motivation to try new tasks. (160 more)