How Do Curricula Vary within Early Childhood Education?
All curricula, including those developed for young children, are designed to complement and support the students for whom they are intended. They include:
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- A theoretical or philosophical orientation
- Stated or implied assumptions about learners
- Goals or intended outcomes for learners
- Stated or implied assumptions about the role of teachers
- Specified or suggested content
- Specified or suggested methods of implementation and assessment of learners (Frede & Ackerman, 2007; Goffin, 2001; NAEYC, 2003)
The period of early childhood is commonly understood to include birth through age 8, as defined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). Yet within this period, children’s developmental characteristics and interests vary enormously, so curriculum across the early childhood span does as well. We would not expect a curriculum for infants or toddlers to be the same as one for first or second graders. In this section we will discuss some of the general similarities and differences in curriculum across early childhood.
General Distinctions
In general, curriculum for infants and toddlers emphasizes language development, socialization, exploration of the immediate environment, and acquisition of self-help skills, often through daily routines like diapering and feeding. Preschool curricula focus on the development of social and interpersonal skills, play, acquiring a love of learning, and thinking skills. Kindergarten serves as the transition from preschool to elementary school, and the curriculum begins to focus more on early reading and writing.
In the primary grades (1 through 3), curriculum is typically broken out into defined subject or content areas and the focus shifts from growth and development to academics. Strategies teachers use to implement curriculum for all young children should support individual and group needs of typically developing children, second-language learners, and those with special developmental needs (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009).