Developmental theorists use their research to generate philosophies on children’s development. They organize and interpret data based on a scheme to develop their theory. A theory refers to a ...systematic statement of principles related to observed phenomena and their relationship to each other. A theory of child development looks at the children's growth and behavior and interprets it. It suggests elements in the child's genetic makeup and the environmental conditions that influence development and behavior and how these elements are related. Many developmental theories offer insights about how the performance of individuals is stimulated, sustained, directed, and encouraged. Psychologists have established several developmental theories. Many different competing theories exist, some dealing with only limited domains of development, and are continuously revised. This article describes the developmental theories and their founders who have had the greatest influence on the fields of child development, early childhood education, and care. The following sections discuss some influences on the individuals’ development, such as theories, theorists, theoretical conceptions, and specific principles. It focuses on five theories that have had the most impact: maturationist, constructivist, behavioral, psychoanalytic, and ecological. Each theory offers interpretations on the meaning of children's development and behavior. Although the theories are clustered collectively into schools of thought, they differ within each school.
Play provides young children with the opportunity to express their ideas, symbolize, and test their knowledge of the world. It provides the basis for inquiry in literacy, science, social studies, ...mathematics, art, music, and movement. Through play, young children become active learners engaged in explorations about themselves, their community, and their personal-social world. "An Integrated Play-Based Curriculum for Young Children" offers the theoretical framework for understanding the origins of an early childhood play-based curriculum and how young children learn and understand concepts in a social and physical environment. Distinguished author Olivia N. Saracho then explores how play fits into various curriculum areas in order to help teachers develop their early childhood curriculum using developmentally and culturally appropriate practice. Through this integrated approach, young children are able to actively engage in meaningful and functional experiences in their natural context. Special features include: (1) Vignettes of children's conversations and actions in the classroom; (2) Suggestions for activities and classroom materials; (3) Practical examples and guidelines; and (4) End-of-chapter summaries to enhance and extend the reader's understanding of young children. By presenting appropriate theoretical practices for designing and implementing a play-based curriculum, "An Integrated Play-Based Curriculum for Young Children" offers pre-service teachers the foundational knowledge about the field, about the work that practitioners do with young children, and how to best assume a teacher's role effectively. The book contains the following chapters: (1) Introduction: Play and Teaching in Early Childhood Education; (2) Learning Through Play; (3) Developmental Theories of Play; (4) Historical Perceptions of Play; (5) Early Childhood Curriculum and Educational Play; (6) Social Studies-Play Learning Experiences; (7) Language-Play Learning Experiences; (8) Literature-Play Learning Experiences; (9) Literacy-Play Learning Experiences; (10) Science-Play Learning Experiences; (11) Mathematics-Play Learning Experiences; (12) Music and Movement-Play Learning Experiences; (13) Art-Play Learning Experiences; and (14) Block-Play Learning Experiences.
While the research on bullying and peer victimization has increased considerably over the past 20 years, a number of studies are emerging that document mixed results of bullying and prevention ...programs. During the last decades, several special issues devoted to research on bullying and victimization have been published in national and international scholarly journals. Based on the increase of published articles on bullying and victimization in journals, textbooks, government reports, and documents in professional organizations, it is timely for a special volume on research on bullying and victimization to appear in the series on Contemporary Perspectives in Early Childhood Education. The purpose of this volume is to share a collection of research strands on bullying and victimization of young children. It describes the historical roots and suggests anti?bullying programs and strategies to decrease bullying and victimization. The bullying and victimization volume can be a valuable tool to researchers who are conducting studies in that area. It focuses on important historical and contemporary issues on bullying and victimization in early childhood education (ages 0 to 8) to provide the information necessary to make judgments about these issues. It also motivates and guides researchers to explore gaps on research on bullying and victimization.
Parents engage in joint story book sharing where adults read an appropriate text to children, usually in the home environment. Story book sharing promotes the young children's development of ...receptive and expressive language abilities as well as their emerging early literacy abilities, which have an effect on the childrens success in school-based literacy instruction. This review describes and analyses studies that have examined the parents and children's involvement in shared storybook reading. It specifically focuses on the parents teaching behaviours and storybook reading interactions during formal and informal literacy experiences including the quality of their interactions, interactions in dialogic reading, and extratextual interactions. The review also discusses studies on the value and effect of using different story book genres in particular narrative and informational texts (such as science texts as information books). These studies support that storybook reading promotes childrens language growth, emergent literacy, and reading achievement.
A Critical Discourse Analysis was used to examine the parents' social practice during shared storybook reading with young children (birth to eight-years-old). The methodology involved two phases: (1) ...educational databases were searched and (2) a template was developed and used to code the programmes' components and studies' research design. Analysis of the articles which met the selection criteria generated trends in the research questions, theories used, and types of interactions that gained their attention. This analysis describes how studies examined the parents' social practices in shared storybook reading. The results indicated that parents used several approaches in shared storybook reading such as using their personal teaching behaviours and engaging in high quality literacy interactions. High reliability estimates were found for these categories, which ranged from 65% to 100%. Results indicate that shared storybook reading promotes the children's language growth, emergent literacy, and reading achievement. The study also provides research recommendations.
Bullying is a serious problem that affects the young children’s well being. Early childhood educators find it difficult to manage bullying in the classroom. Preschool is the first environment outside ...of the home setting where children encounter difficulties when they socially interact with their peers. Based on the principles of protecting and establishing a safe environment for all children, the purpose of this review is to present current empirical evidence about the nature and distinctive facet of bullying among preschool children. It defines both the concept of traditional school bullying and bullying in early childhood education, describes the social context of young children’s bullying, differentiates between bullies and victims in early childhood education, discusses the young children’s interpretations of bullying, describes the young children’s functions in bullying, and provides a rationale for the use of bully prevention programs for young children.
Educational pioneers believed that the early childhood curriculum was inappropriate for most of the children. It needed to be modified to meet each child's maturing needs, abilities, and interests. ...The pioneers advocated that education should be more hands-on and assist children to function successfully in society. They recommended the initiation of project learning, which would be a preparation for the children's roles in life and creation of kindergartens. The practices in early childhood education have changed gradually. Numerous practices reemerge with novel materials that appear to indicate they are actually original. When present-day practices surface, early childhood professionals respond by generating other practices. Therefore, current practices in early childhood education appear to be associated to past early childhood educators, which are the pioneers. This article describes a few examples.
Major developmental theories been a resource to early childhood education researchers and educators. They help to explain how child development unfolds, sources of vulnerability and protection that ...influences child development, and how the course of development may be altered by prevention and intervention efforts. Understanding factors which may support or compromise development and integrating this knowledge into their work with children and their families are key to supporting healthy developmental outcomes and creating trusting partnerships with caregivers.
This article examines the life of Friedrich Froebel, the founder of the kindergarten in the 1840s. It describes how the kindergarten and its impact in Germany and the United States. It spread at the ...international level of education because German kindergarten teachers relocated it to other countries when it was banned in Germany. In the years from 1851 to 1914, kindergarten had much greater success in the United States than in Germany. In 1900, most German school authorities refused to incorporate the kindergarten into public school systems, but many American school systems included kindergarten classes after it was accepted. This paper provides a summary of Froebel's life and his gifts to children in Germany and the United States.
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