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38670 results in Cambridge Textbooks

Page 1247 of 1934

  • Chapter 9 - How do theories position children, families and communities?

  • from Part III - Critiquing theory: Thinking critically about child development
  • Marilyn Fleer, Monash University, Victoria
  • Book:
    Child Development in Educational Settings
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    16 January 2018, pp 221-241

  • Summary

    Introduction

    In this chapter, we examine those theories not yet discussed in this book, but that have been identified by the curriculum writers in the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) as important for the Australian context. However, rather than accept these theories uncritically, you will enter into an analysis of child development theories in relation to what these theories allow and how they inform your work as an early childhood educator or primary teacher.

    In Chapter 1, the main theories of child development that underpin EYLF were discussed. The theories were:

  • • developmental theories

  • • sociocultural theories

  • • socio-behaviourist theories

  • • critical theories

  • • post-structuralist theories.

    • In various chapters throughout this book, we also acknowledged that the Australian curriculum appeared to follow a developmental trajectory.

    In this chapter, we will explicitly look at each of these theories through the eyes of Amanda, Thin, Lauren, Tahlie and Shuang. This means that you will be introduced to three new theories in this chapter: socio-behaviourist theories, critical theories and post-structuralist theories. However, because the latter two theories are not child development theories, they will be examined only briefly. Further, socio-behaviourist theories do not constitute a single traditional child development theory, so will also only be introduced briefly. However, because each of these theories is included in the EYLF, it is important that they are discussed. Through reading this chapter and by undertaking the tasks identified in each Child Development Reflection, you will:

  • • become familiar with all the theories that are detailed in the EYLF

  • • critique each of these theories

  • • learn how theories determine what you see and how you act

  • • note how theories position children, families and communities.

    • Critiquing child development theories

    In this section, you will be invited to think about how theories position children, families and communities in relation to Australian children.

  • Chapter 2 - Understanding and using theory in educational settings

  • from Part I - The need for theory: Understanding the different contexts of child development
  • Marilyn Fleer, Monash University, Victoria
  • Book:
    Child Development in Educational Settings
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    16 January 2018, pp 9-27

  • Summary

    In this chapter and those that follow, you will meet the children, families and teachers who are part of four different communities that form the case studies for this book. The case studies are:

  • • The Resourceful Community case study. The first case study is of two families with a similar profile who live in a resourceful, but poor community. They are the Peninsula family and the Westernport family. The community has been labelled the Resourceful Community because the families are able to reuse, recycle and invent in resourceful ways.

  • • The Collective Inquiry School case study. The second case study is of a primary school in a community that has creative families, professional families, poor families and newly arrived immigrant families.

  • • The Building Bridges case study. The third case study is of a group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families from different parts of Australia who came together to talk about what mattered for their children's learning and development and what non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers needed to know about growing up in Australia as an Aboriginal child (Fleer & Williams-Kennedy, 2002). Some core ideas, rather than definitive views, are presented in Chapter 3.

  • • The Culturally Diverse Preschool case study. The final case study is of a group of preschool children who come from culturally diverse families. You will be introduced to this case study in Chapter 3.

    • To protect the anonymity of the families, pseudonyms and non-identifying material have been used. Only images and work samples of children from families who have given permission have been included in this book.

    You are now introduced to the first two of the four case studies. Each case study finishes with a problem situation that you will work towards solving as you read the child development and learning theories presented throughout this book. Enter your reflections on each case scenario and problem situation into your journal. Your responses over time will contribute to building a collective and holistic picture of the development of the children discussed throughout this book.

    Through engaging with the content of this chapter, it is anticipated that you will:

  • Chapter 4 - Using constructivist theory to analyse learning and development

  • from Part II - Using child development theory: What does theory allow us to see?
  • Marilyn Fleer, Monash University, Victoria
  • Book:
    Child Development in Educational Settings
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    16 January 2018, pp 65-96

  • Summary

    Introduction

    One of the key child development theorists who laid the foundations of constructivism was Jean Piaget. In this chapter, you will be introduced to his theory. Through engaging with this content, it is anticipated that you will:

  • • develop insights into Piaget's theory of child development

  • • understand what underpins a constructivist view of learning

  • • become aware of the strengths and limitations of Piaget's theory of child development.

    • The chapter begins with an overview of Piaget's theory set alongside examples of how this theory can be used to analyse the Culturally Diverse Preschool case study and what it might mean for children and their families from the Building Bridges Community case study. Links will also be made to the Collective Inquiry School case study. However, before you look at Piaget's theory, it is important to meet the person behind the ideas that have shaped curriculum and pedagogy in early childhood and primary education in many countries.

    Biography of Piaget

    Born in Switzerland in 1896, Jean Piaget showed a deep interest in nature, studying birds, fish and other animals in the environment in which he lived. His focus at school was on the biological sciences. At the age of 11 years, he published his first paper in a magazine on natural history, and thereafter he assisted the director of the Natural History Museum to classify and catalogue zoological specimens. Between the ages of 15 and 18, he studied molluscs and published a series of articles on these shellfish.

    During his adolescence, Piaget spent time with his godfather, who introduced him to philosophy, broadening his interests from the natural sciences to religion and logic, leading to an interest in epistemology: What is knowledge? How is it acquired? Is it possible to gain an objective understanding of external reality? His interests led him to consider the need to bring epistemology and biological sciences together.

    Piaget studied biology, completing his undergraduate studies in 1916, and two years later submitting his PhD thesis on the study of molluscs of the Valais region of Switzerland. Interestingly, Piaget decided to explore psychology after completing his formal studies. He worked in two psychological laboratories where he learned about psychoanalysis.

  • Chapter 1 - Introduction: Starting your journey

  • from Part I - The need for theory: Understanding the different contexts of child development
  • Marilyn Fleer, Monash University, Victoria
  • Book:
    Child Development in Educational Settings
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    16 January 2018, pp 3-8

  • Summary

    In this book, you will meet the children, families and teachers from four educational communities. Through entering into these communities through the pages of this textbook, you will:

  • • learn how theory guides what you see

  • • be introduced to a range of ways in which teachers understand children's development

  • • draw on theories to frame educational practice

  • • reflect on the power of theories to support inclusion and enable diversity, but also to detect marginalisation.

    • In Part I, you will be introduced to the four case studies and be shown how to gather and analyse your own observational data and undertake analyses of children's development. As you continue to read, you will learn more about each case study and find out how theory helps with understanding children's development. Additional content about the lives of the children, families and teachers will be presented in each chapter, alongside different theories of child development. You will meet interesting problems that you will need to solve using the different theories of child development.

    Part II presents explanations of the main theories of child development that guide early childhood and primary teachers today. This book is focused on the core theories that guide contemporary practice in playgroups, childcare centres, preschools and schools – maturational and developmental theories, constructivist and socio-constructivist theories, bioecological theory, socio-behavourist theories and sociocultural – or, as it is increasingly becoming known, cultural-historical – theory. Because of this focus, some long-standing theories of development and learning have not been included – for example, Freud's psycho-sexual theory and others have not been detailed – for example, behaviourism. The focus is on theories that guide practice, so the case examples and the core theories introduced have been chosen with this goal in mind. Australian contexts and examples of development are theorised in Chapters 7 and 8, with Chapter 8 examining the perspectives of Karen Martin and Peter Anderson, two of Australia's leading scholars in educational and child development theory.

    Part III turns to the critiquing of child development theories in the context of what guides our practices and the curriculum – the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and the National Curriculum. We look closely at the different theories that are reported in the EYLF and discuss which could be considered theories of child development. We do this alongside a critique of existing theories because the theories were researched and theorised outside Australia.

  • Preface: My journey

  • Marilyn Fleer, Monash University, Victoria
  • Book:
    Child Development in Educational Settings
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    16 January 2018, pp ix-xi

  • Summary

    This textbook is an important book to me because it represents a reclaiming of the field of child development by and for early childhood educationalists. For far too long we have been told from outside our profession what we should think and do. Many of those who have advised the field of early childhood education have not even stepped into a early childhood centre, let alone worked together with such young children and their families. But of course many have, and their research has been informative. However, I feel we need to support our profession with research conducted from within our own field. We should be building capacity within our own profession, but also valuing what it is we know about our practice that can meaningfully inform new ways of thinking about children's development.

    Observing children through the eyes of a researcher is very different from being an educator working with a group of 25 to 30 children, so this book is written through the eyes of someone who has been a preschool teacher, in both child-care settings and in government- and community-funded kindergartens in Australia. As a teacher, I ask different questions about the conditions we create to support children's development. I don't just focus on the child, but also look closely at the contexts we create for children's development. My own experience has shaped the way this book has emerged.

    I began my career as an early childhood educator, having worked in child care and preschool education, as well as acting as an educational adviser in Aboriginal education, as an adviser on information and communication technology (ICT) and as a researcher undertaking many studies in child development with my colleague Professor Mariane Hedegaard, from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. Together, these experiences laid the foundations for me in terms of thinking through the key theories of child development that contemporary early childhood education students would find most helpful to support the important work they do with young children and their families.

    Consequently, this book does not follow the traditional norms of psychology; rather, it takes the essence of what matters for education and discusses only those child development theories used in education. Many of the child development theories that can be found in traditional educational psychology textbooks cover traditional theories.

  • Chapter 10 - Future directions: How theories support ongoing change

  • from Part III - Critiquing theory: Thinking critically about child development
  • Marilyn Fleer, Monash University, Victoria
  • Book:
    Child Development in Educational Settings
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    16 January 2018, pp 242-251

  • Summary

    Introduction

    In this chapter, you will take a position on the theories of child development you believe are best for you. You may have more than one favourite. Having read through the content of this book, you now have the background required to make an informed decision about each of the child development theories discussed.

    To support you with this penultimate goal, you will begin this chapter by critiquing the theories of child development, deciding on what they offer and what they silence. You are then invited to return to your reflections made in Chapter 1 and compare your original thinking with where you are now. The chapter, and hence the book, finishes with you preparing a philosophy statement about child development.

    Through engaging with the content of this chapter, it is anticipated that you will:

  • • take a position on the value of the major theories of child development that have traditionally informed education in Australia

  • • make a commitment to listening to the voice of the Indigenous communities in which you will be teaching

  • • think about child development in the context of Australian families and communities and the conditions that we as educators create in child-care centres, preschools and primary schools.

    • Critiquing theories

    You have now read through the content of this book and engaged in detail with the theories of child development that are widely used in early childhood and primary education. The theories were:

  • • maturational theory of child development (e.g. milestones; biology is the focus; age is the criterion for progression)

  • • sociocultural theory, as presented by Barbara Rogoff (learning by observing and pitching in; three lenses for analysing children's development – personal, interpersonal and contextual/institutional/cultural)

  • • Piaget's theory of child development (great developmental periods: the sensorimotor level; the concrete operations of thought and interpersonal relations; and the preadolescent and propositional operations)

  • • Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model of human development (propositions to capture the interrelatedness of individual and context; proximal processes; earlier versions including the chronosystem and time; and the first version of his model, a nested system of microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem)

  • • Vygotsky's (periodisation; drama as the force for development; a revolutionary view of child development), Hedegaard's (personal, institutional, societal – values, demands and motives) and Kravtsova's (stable and dramatic periods) cultural-historical theory of child development

  • Chapter 8 - Ways of Knowing, Ways of Being and Ways of Doing

  • from Part II - Using child development theory: What does theory allow us to see?
  • Marilyn Fleer, Monash University, Victoria
  • Book:
    Child Development in Educational Settings
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    16 January 2018, pp 180-218

  • Summary

    Introduction

    In this chapter, we build upon the content of Chapter 7, where we introduced the idea of looking at the development of Australian children. This chapter examines how each of the main theories of child development positions children, families and communities – that is, how each theory describes children, how it discusses (or not) the place of family and communities in conceptualising child development, and how it considers the original contexts in which these well-known theories were developed. In this chapter, you are also introduced to the key thinking of leading Australian scholars, such as Associate Professor Peter Anderson (education specialist) and Professor Karen Martin (early childhood education specialist). Both are pioneers in child development theories for Australian children.

    Through engaging with the content of this chapter, it is anticipated that you will:

  • • think about child development in the context of all families and communities, and the conditions that we as educators create in child-care centres, preschools and primary schools

  • • become aware of the importance of engaging with, making visible and listening to the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the context within which you will be teaching

  • • critique the theories of child development that continue to inform education in Australia and consider a rights-based approach to, and ways of knowing, ways of being and ways of doing, for driving the theorisation of child development.

    • To achieve the goals of this chapter, you will critique the theories of development discussed thus far, and the theories put forward in the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). In this chapter and Chapter 9, it is argued that some theories discussed in the EYLF are not child development theories, but rather are valuable tools for critiquing child development.

    Learning theories are imposed from the North

    In this section of the chapter, you will meet Associate Professor Peter Anderson, as he discusses his views on theories of development in the context of all Australian children. Before you learn about his thinking, let's meet him through his official biography.

    Associate Professor Peter Anderson

    Associate Professor Peter Anderson grew up in Sydney. His family is from the Northern Territory. His father is a Warlpiri man, originally from Central Australia. His mother is from Daly River (Nauiyu) in the Port Keats area (Wadeye).

  • Chapter 5 - Using a bioecological model to analyse learning and development

  • from Part II - Using child development theory: What does theory allow us to see?
  • Marilyn Fleer, Monash University, Victoria
  • Book:
    Child Development in Educational Settings
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    16 January 2018, pp 97-127

  • Summary

    Introduction

    The work of Uri Bronfenbrenner has been used by many in the field of early childhood and primary education over the years. Even now, researchers draw upon both his original and contemporary model of human development (e.g. Ballam, Perry & Garpeln, 2016; Hayes, O‘Toole & Halpenny, 2017). It is still an important part of the New Zealand Curriculum (Te Wha¯ riki), which explicitly mentions the bioecological model (Ministry of Education New Zealand, 2017). Consequently, it is important to examine what Bronfenbrenner's theory affords for the field, and how his model informs what we understand about young children's development. This chapter seeks to give a detailed account of his original ecological model (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) and to discuss and critique his latest work – a bioecological model (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006).

    Through engaging with the content of this chapter, it is anticipated that you will:

  • • consider child development in relation to Bronfenbrenner's original and most recent theory

  • • think about the importance of conceptualising child development in relation to the future

  • • learn that theories determine what you see and how you act

  • • understand the importance of using theory to inform your analysis of children's development.

    • In this chapter you will also return to the Culturally Diverse Preschool and Resourceful Community case studies, where you will use Bronfenbrenner's original and most recent model of child development to understand the conditions that are created to support children's development. However, before you learn about Bronfenbrenner's theory of child development, it is important to meet the person behind the ideas.

    Researchers say that before Bronfenbrenner, child psychologists studied the child, sociologists examined the family, anthropologists the society, economists the economic framework of the times and political scientists the structure. As the result of Bronfenbrenner's groundbreaking concept of the ecology of human development, these environments – from the family to economic and political structures – were viewed as part of the life course, embracing both childhood and adulthood (Lang, 2005).

    Biography of Urie Bronfenbrenner

    Urie Bronfenbrenner was born in 1917 and died in 2005. He was born in Russia and immigrated to the United States when he was 6 years old. When he was a young child, Bronfenbrenner's father frequently drew attention to the interdependence between the environment and living things. These early beginnings laid the foundations for a very different approach to the study of human development in psychology.

  • Chapter 3 - Observing children and using theory to analyse learning and development

  • from Part I - The need for theory: Understanding the different contexts of child development
  • Marilyn Fleer, Monash University, Victoria
  • Book:
    Child Development in Educational Settings
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    16 January 2018, pp 28-62

  • Summary

    Introduction

    In this chapter, the focus will be on observing children and using theory to analyse learning and development. Two related sets of theories of child development are introduced as the framework for making observations of children: sociocultural/ cultural-historical theory; and maturational developmental theories. The intention of this chapter is to support you to actively engage in creating knowledge about child development through learning how to observe and analyse children in school/ centre and home communities. To achieve this, a range of examples of observing and analysing will be provided, and examples of how to make quality observations of children will be presented through the eyes of university students. The nuts and bolts of observing and analysing will be illustrated through the challenges and successes identified by these student teachers (see also Fleer & Robbins, 2004a, 2004b). Protocols for respectful and ethical practices when observing children will be highlighted in relation to culture, community and country. Country foregrounds Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives.

    Through engaging with the content of this chapter, it is anticipated that you will:

  • • be able to make holistic observations of child development in the family, community, preschool and school

  • • become aware of the importance of listening to the voice of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in the context in which you will be teaching

  • • develop insights into the range of ways in which analysis can be framed, such as a sociocultural approach, as shown through Barbara Rogoff's three planes/ lenses of analysis; and maturational developmental views, through milestones and checklists

  • • learn that theories determine what you see and how you act

  • • be sensitive to cultural validity and ethical practices, where cultural ways of engaging with communities are central.

    • In this chapter, we link back to Chapter 2 and examine and build on the content of the Resourceful Community case study. The final two case studies, the Culturally Diverse Preschool and the Building Bridges Community, will be introduced briefly in this chapter. Together, this chapter and those that follow will provide you with the source material you need to successfully observe children and use theory to analyse learning and development.

  • Chapter 6 - Using cultural-historical theory to analyse learning and development

  • from Part II - Using child development theory: What does theory allow us to see?
  • Marilyn Fleer, Monash University, Victoria
  • Book:
    Child Development in Educational Settings
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    16 January 2018, pp 128-154

  • Summary

    Introduction

    In this chapter, you will study the central concepts of a cultural-historical theory of child development. The chapter will detail Vygotsky's theory of child development, as well as introduce key contemporary concepts by theorists such as Mariane Hedegaard and Elena Kravtsova. The specific cultural-historical concepts to be discussed are:

  • • periodisation

  • • crisis

  • • the social situation of development

  • • the relations between the ideal and real form

  • • the zone of actual and proximal development

  • • motives

  • • leading activity

  • • leading motives – the play motive and the learning motive.

    • Through engaging with the content of this chapter, it is anticipated that you will:

  • • meet the ideas of contemporary child development theorists working in education, such as Mariane Hedegaard and Elena Kravtsova (Vygotsky's granddaughter), and long-standing theorists Lev Vygotsky, Daniil Borisovich Elkonin and Lidya Ilyinichna Bozhovich

  • • be oriented to a cultural-historical theory of child development for informing educational practice

  • • become aware of those concepts that make up a cultural-historical view of child development.

    • Cultural-historical theory is complex because it captures and theorises children's development while it is taking place. This means that many concepts are needed to explain the complexity of children's development. The system of concepts that will be discussed, and that make up Vygotsky's theory, goes beyond what is traditionally associated with his work.

    In this chapter, you will build upon the sociocultural concepts introduced in Chapter 2 and the case study material presented thus far in the Resourceful Community case study.

    This chapter begins with an expansion of the two families already introduced in the Resourceful Community case study – the Peninsula and Westernport families. Through analysing the stories of the teachers, children and families, key concepts from a cultural-historical conception of child development can be better understood. However, before the details of a cultural-historical conception of child development are given, you will meet the giants who began and developed the theoretical concepts, and those who took the concepts further for use in contemporary contexts.

    The biographies of Vygotsky, Kravtsova and Hedegaard

    Lev (LS) Vygotsky is known as the founder of cultural-historical theory. He was born in 1896 and died in 1934. During his short life, he changed the course of research in many fields – particularly education and psychology. He became known as an original thinker who contributed a new theory of child development.

  • Chapter 7 - Children and families in Australia as agents of their own development

  • from Part II - Using child development theory: What does theory allow us to see?
  • Marilyn Fleer, Monash University, Victoria
  • Book:
    Child Development in Educational Settings
    Published online:
    06 August 2018
    Print publication:
    16 January 2018, pp 155-179

  • Summary

    Introduction

    In this chapter, you will think about child development in relation to Australian children, families, communities and educational settings. The conditions created in child-care centres, preschools and primary schools to support children's development will be foregrounded. This chapter draws upon the content of Chapter 6, but takes a step forward by examining the contexts of Australian children and families rather than the countries in which the dominant theories were developed (Russia, Denmark, Switzerland, the United States). Through introducing the concept of motives to explore the contexts of development, this chapter draws attention to a new way of thinking about child development and learning for Australian children. This chapter and Chapter 8 are designed for you to read, analyse and consider what might be unique about child development for Australian children from birth to 12 years.

    Through engaging with the content of this chapter, it is anticipated that you will:

  • • be oriented to the child's perspective when theorising about children's development

  • • learn how a theory of motives affords a new view of child development that positions Australian children and families with agency

  • • be aware of the motives of a selected group of Australian children from birth to 12 years

  • • analyse children's development in relation to dominant motives, meaningmaking motives and stimulating motives.

Page 1247 of 1934