Early Childhood Development & Education

This paper is a discussion of the process and theory of early childhood development and education, using the fifth edition of Helping Young Children Learn by Evelyn G. Pitcher, Sylvia G. Feinburg, and David A. Alexander as the framework for exploration. This volume focuses on developmental issues in the education of very young children, considering the ways in which the physical, biological, and psychological growth process affects the process of learning. Understanding these interrelated stages is essential to effective educational planning for the classroom teacher, the social worker, and the parent. Without acknowledgment of the progress of the whole child, learning is incomplete. This paper looks at the context in which early education takes place and considers some of the primary concerns that must be included in effective early childhood teaching.

Human beings are not born fully formed in any respect. While the concept of childhood as a state separate from adulthood may be a relatively recent sociological idea, the fact remains that babies and young children are not as fully developed in any way as they can become. They go through a series of definable stages on the way to becoming adults. Many early stages provide necessary preparation for later developments, and while the precise progression may be a matter of interpretation and opinion, the fact of developmental stages has achieved nearly universal acceptance.

Erik H. Erikson, expanding on Sigmund Freud

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l in the process, instead of a specific curricular goal. Books that are appropriate for very young children include both illustrations which enhance the listening process and provide artistic inspiration for artwork creation and the opportunity for repetition and familiarity that are an integral part of the learning process. Reading aloud is also a social activity, whether strengthening only the relationship between the child and adult reader or also including other children as participants. Pitcher and her colleagues devote some attention to the question of cultural considerations in the use of literature. They write, "Literacy is acknowledged as a social and cultural phenomenon whenever children with different ethnic backgrounds are given reading materials that reflect their own experiences." As Jillian Rodd observes, "Development can only be fully understood when it is viewed in the larger cultural context." This context includes not just ethnic and cultural diversity but also different sex roles, family situations, and a wide variety of other social factors which affect even the youngest students living in contemporary America. Books and reading activities are only the most obvious of the communication and language

Category: Psychology - E