Five Key Questions
As we proceed in our exploration of early childhood curriculum, five key questions provide the organizing elements for the twelve chapters in this text. Together, they represent a coherent philosophy of education and a practical framework for reflection:
- What is the purpose of curriculum? (Chapters 1 and 2)
- What are children like and how do they learn? (Chapters 3 and 4)
- What is my role as a teacher? (Chapters 5 and 6)
- What do children need and want to know and learn about? (Chapters 7 through 11)
- How should curriculum be implemented? (Chapters 7 through 12)
If you begin to think about these questions now and revisit them regularly, you will establish habits of mind that will serve you well and help you make sense of triumphs and challenges you encounter.
Chapter Summary
- Curriculum is a structured framework for teaching that is articulated with varying levels of specificity.
- Early childhood educators have substantial responsibilities and varying degrees of flexibility about how to implement curriculum depending on the curriculum they use and the context in which they work.
- While curriculum for young children is based on principles consistent across the span from birth to age 8, the needs, abilities, and interests of children at different times affect what curriculum includes and how it is implemented.
- Many individuals have contributed to our understanding of how children learn and the methods and environments that best encourage the learning process. Among some of the most influential are Maria Montessori, John Dewey, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky.
- Factors such as social values, socioeconomic conditions, politics, research, and culture contribute to individual and social world views, which in turn are reflected in different perspectives about what curriculum should include and how it should be implemented.
- Through the work of professional organizations like NAEYC, early childhood educators advocate for developmentally appropriate practice as a framework for curriculum development. Teachers use knowledge about how children grow and learn to make decisions about curriculum and how to adapt to changing demands that affect their work.
- Good teachers engage in regular and thoughtful reflection and inquiry about their work to integrate theory and practice.
Discussion Questions
- Choose one of the influential thinkers profiled in this chapter and explain why you might want to know more about his or her work and ideas.
- Which of the 3 T’s (transmission, transactional, transformative) perspectives comes closest to describing your own view? Why?
- What do you think could be some of the most difficult obstacles in the way of implementing developmentally appropriate practices? Why?
Key Terms
Click on each key term to see the definition.
A curriculum that addresses all areas of learning
A person whose approach to teaching is based on Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
A specific subject area of curriculum, such as literacy, math, or science
A structured framework for teaching
A broad, flexible conceptual framework for teaching based on a particular theoretical perspective
A conceptual framework for teaching that describes everything about what and how a teacher will teach
A specific aspect of overall child development, such as cognitive, social/emotional, physical growth, or creativity
Developmentally appropriate practice
Teaching based on developmental and cultural knowledge of both individuals and groups of children and their families
Providing instructional and family support to identify and address special needs at the earliest possible time in order to give at-risk children the best possible transition to elementary school
The physical space within which early childhood curriculum is implemented
Higher-order thinking, characterized in young children by the ability to plan activity and control impulses
Federally funded preschool programs established in 1964 to provide early childhood education for children considered at risk for school failure
Things children and teachers are expected to know that may not be intentionally taught
Children from birth to 18 months of age
The transitional year between preschool and first grade
A curriculum that addresses a single or limited number of learning areas (like math or literacy)
Intentional thinking about one’s ideas and thinking process
Children from ages 3 to 5
A teaching strategy that focuses on providing help and support to enable children to advance from tasks or activities they can do independently to a higher level
The ability to exercise impulse control
Statements about what children should know and be able to do, developed by states, programs, or organizations that represent different dimensions of curriculum
The number of children an individual teacher is responsible for, such as 1:4 for infants
Children from 18 to 36 months of age
Internalized values that affect how people perceive and interpret the ideas and actions of others
Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
Described by Vygotsky as a time window between what a child can do independently to what he or she can do with teacher assistance
Recommended Reading
Educating Esm: Diary of a Teacher’s First Year, by Esm Raji Codel (first published in 1999, updated in 2009 by Algonquin Books (Chapel Hill, NC). This is a lively and insightful account of a young teacher who describes the challenges she faced as a first year teacher and how she navigated her way through them.
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