Exploring History, Philosophy, and Advocacy

Presented by,Asifa

History

History is the story of what preceded us.

A knowledge of where we have been as a professional enables us to simultaneously capitalize on wisdom of those who came before us and to avoid repeating some of the same mistakes

Personal Teaching Philosophy

A teaching philosophy is a self-reflective statement of your beliefs about teaching and learning. In addition to general comments, your teaching philosophy should discuss how you put your beliefs into practice by including concrete examples of what you do or anticipate doing in the classroom.

Teaching Philosophy

Elements of a Personal Teaching Philosophy

Assessment

Diversity & Inclusion

Child Guidance

Families & Communities

Developmental Approaches

Pedagogy

Developing a Personal Teaching

Philosophy

Child Advocacy

It refers to taking action on behalf of children, supporting families, and arguing for the high quality programs.

An individual or organization engaging in advocacy typically seeks to protect children's rights which may be abridged or abused in a number of areas.

Leaders and trend in the History of ECE Ancient times: The child as unlikely to survive They live in poverty & were mistreated by

adults. Few children survive due to inadequate

nutrition, diseases & injuries. In ancient Rome, “potting” children was

common. Children from wealthy families were far more

likely to be educate & valued

Continue…… Two philosopher from ancient Greece,

Plato (427-347 B.C) Aristotle (394-322 B.C)

Recognized the importance of educating young children

Emphasized the development of the mind & the body,

The establishment of good habits early in life,

Recognized the value of play

Middle Ages: The child is Miniature Adult During middle ages, an adults life expectancy

was about 30 years of age Majority of people spent their short life

working for the landowners There was no concept of childhood as we

know it There was no sense that children needed to

be shielded from harsh realities of life Children did whatever the adults did, e.g.

working in fields

Martin Luther (1483-1546)

A religious leader from Germany Referred as the “Father of the

Reformation” She is credited with a number of

educational reforms. Promoted the concept of begging moral &

religious training She believe that the family was the most

imp. Educational institute

The Renaissance and Victorian Era:Conflicting views of child

John Locke (1632-1704) English doctor and philosopher Experience would determine what a child would

become Education should be pleasant; get rid of harsh

discipline and restrictive practices (like swaddling)

Children are gradually filled with ideas, concepts, and knowledge from experiences in the world

He concluded that the quality of early experiences, particularly how children are raised and educated, shapes the direction of a child’s life.

Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712 – 1778)

Children were valued for their potential as laborers; industrialization lead to use of children as workers in factories, farms

Rousseau write a novel about a fictitious child named Emile that addressed the right of child

Claimed that children at birth are innately good, not evil (which some people were suggesting)

Their natural tendencies should be protected against the corrupting influences of society

Recognized that children’s way of thinking and learning is different than that of adults

Johann Pestalozzi (1746-1827) All people, even the poorest, had the right to

an education as a way of helping them develop their moral and intellectual potential.

Stressed education according to nature, tied to experience and observation

Stressed the importance of the mother in children’s earliest experiences

He actually worked with children (unlike Rousseau), developing educational methods that we still use today

Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) Froebel transformed the philosophy into a program He establish kindergarten for 4-5 year old children Stressed that nature and the child’s developing

mind were connected Children are at different stages at different times Stressed the importance of play in young children’s

development – play was a pure and natural mode of learning.

Robert Owen (1771-1852) Applied Rousseau’s & Froebel’s ideas to

school for working class children. In 1816, Owen campaigned against child

labor Owen’s programs emphasize outdoor

activities Owen also rejected harsh punishment & fear

as ways to control children’s behavior & endorsed more human treatment of children

Horace Mann (1796-1859) A teacher, lawyer & senator He promoted two imp. Ideas

Education Should be free, universal & available to all economic status

Religious training & school should be dintinct Mann advocated a bond of mutual trust,

respect, & rapport b/w teachers & children Throughout the mid to late 1800s, attitude

toward children gradually begin to shift

The 20th century: The Child as a Psychological Being

Maria Montessori (1870-1952) True feminist of her time; first female doctor in

Italy Worked with children with cognitive disabilities Thought their problems were more educational

than medical Government asked her to take charge of a

children’s day nursery Very impressed with the great capacity of

children to learn so much during the first years of life: absorbent mind (sponge)

Maria Montessori (1870-1952) If you expose their minds to appropriate learning

experiences at appropriate developmental times, their minds will grow

Used the term prepared environment to describe the match of the right materials to the child’s stages of development

Some of these are related to sensory discrimination (sorting by size, sound, shape, smell, etc) and some children learn through practical skills (polishing shoes, setting a table, etc)

More advanced materials for teaching reading, math, etc. Sandpaper letters, for example

Continue….

The idea that adults need to identify with children, nurture their dev. & try to understand them as psychological being is mainly a 20th century phenomena

In 1911, Arnold Gesell establish the Child Development Clinic at Yale Uni.

In 1913, Carolyn Pratt founded the City & Country School in New York In 1922, Abigail Adams Eliot founded the Ruggels Street Nursery School in Boston

Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

He Claimed that children construct new knowledge by applying their current knowledge structures to new experiences and modifying them accordingly.

His perspective was called constructivism. He thought children were like other organisms in

that they adapted to the environment around them (he was a biologist)

Ex: if the temp too warm or too cold, we shiver or sweat to adapt it. In the same way, we adapt mentally to challenges in the environment

Continue…

When something new presents itself, it doesn’t fit the old structure, so in order to return to equilibrium, adaptation takes place

He called cognitive structures schemata. Babies are only born with a few (think index

cards), but with experience, they create new cards and dividers to store their information.

He describe dynamic interaction b/w a child heredity & environment & proposed a theory of cognitive development

John Dewey (1859-1952) The father of progressive education American attack on traditional forms of public

schools In the late 1800’s, schools were very teacher-

centered and subject-centered, not child-centered

There were harsh punishments and rote learning was the norm (memorization through repetition (how you learned your alphabet)

Continue….

He developed a child-centered approach Lots of his principles are still having an

influence: nursery school, emphasis on play and parent education

Dewey’s primary concern was the preparation of citizen for Democratic society

As describe in his major work “Democracy and Education”

John B. Watson (1878-1958) He is a behaviorist He believed that all human behaviors could

be explained as learned responses to stimuli in the environment, an approach known as behaviorism.

He wrote the dangers of “too much mother love” & advised parents to avoid “Spoiling” their babies by being responsive to their cries.

The Late 1900s & Early 2000s:The Child as an Enduring Emotional Tie

The perception of children shifted from being valued for their work to being valued as the source of emotional bonds.

A women enter the workforce, to improve the standard of living for their families.

The women, infants & children programs established to provide health care & nutritional education