Introduction
Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) play a crucial role in the academic development of children. This role is not only confined to classroom but also important outside as they have to act as role models to them. The role of an ECE continuously change and this requires an individual to be as flexible as possible. In a bid to gain a deeper understanding of Early Childhood Education, I secured a one-hour interview with Claire (not her real name), an experienced Early Childhood Educator. My questions were centred on the role of an ECE, how they viewed their role in and outside of the classroom, as well as their role in curriculum development. Through the interview, I gained insight into the role of children in curriculum development and, and how Claire’s personal philosophy impacted her practice. This paper outlines Claire’s responses to the interview questions.
ECE View of her Role in Classroom and Beyond
Being a busy Early Childhood Educator (ECE) in a reputable childcare institution, setting up an interview with Claire was not easy, but I managed to secure a one-hour interview with her at her school. First in my quest was to find out her feelings and views of her roles as an ECE in the classroom and beyond. She started by telling me that being an influential ECE demands one wears many hats, as her job demands a great deal of flexibility. She mentioned that, unlike the traditional teacher, her job description changes by the day. Being a successful ECE, according to her requires her to adopt a guiding position, not to lead children in a predetermined direction, but to guide them by walking beside them in their journey through the all-important early life rather than walking in front. The key to being a successful leader is letting go of the age-old belief that the teacher knows it all and allowing the child to forge their own learning and playing path.
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Beyond the classroom setting, Claire admits to taking up on somewhat unconventional roles such as acting as a healthcare provider, program manager, child advocate, nutrition specialist, and curriculum specialist. While she admits that taking on these roles fits into the demands of her job description, being flexible more often than not takes a toll on her. According to Phajane (2014), today’s ECE faces overwhelming challenges in meeting their professional goals. Making reference to ECE in South Africa, Phajane laments that the ECEs are faced with the challenge of guiding students through the learning process and documenting the progress of the individualized learning strategies while actively overseeing children. While admitting that being an ECE is full of challenges, roles, and responsibilities, she was happy that her endeavour brings her both challenges and rewards. Claire observes that being flexible is the best way to handle all the responsibilities and challenges while reaping the rewards of being part of this stage of a child’s learning process.
Curriculum Development
As an ECE, Claire prides herself in being part of curriculum development team. In her view, involving the teacher in curriculum development ensures that only practical learning objectives are involved in the curriculum as opposed to abstract items. Rice (2014) observes that curriculum content of early childhood education is often presented and reinforced in the framework of play. Therefore, in developing a curriculum within the context of play, Claire sets specific goals that she expects the child to achieve during play. A curriculum should be individualized for children, considering varying levels of cognitive, physical, emotional, social, and language capabilities. According to Claire, an effective ECE develops a teaching curriculum based on what the young learners already know. Building play objectives around experiences that children can easily identify with ensures that children can expand on their roles during play.
While acknowledging that learning is the primary goal in the classroom setting, Claire observes that play should be built into the curriculum. This is because learning through experience not only enhances retention given the short attention span of children but also makes the learning process enjoyable. Her view resonates with that of Rice (2014) who observes that children need to be viewed as competent learners, capable of constructing knowledge in play context. This approach to curriculum development emphasizes on the holistic development of a child.
Including Children's Voices in the Curriculum
Claire emphasizes on purposeful curriculum development, as it builds interests, curiosity, and questions of children into the program. According to her, an effective learning curriculum recognizes the role of children as agents of their own education. Therefore, it is paramount to include their voices in the curriculum planning and development. She, however, admits that it is difficult to capture varying interests and voices of children within a single document. Nevertheless, it is worth considering all. According to Chan (2010), taking children’s views into consideration during curriculum development is paramount to instilling a sense of worth.
Claire observes that the key to developing a curriculum that is responsive to children’s interests lies in viewing children as providers of knowledge while viewing the teacher as the facilitator of learning as opposed to seeing herself as an authoritative director. According to Clark (2005), the teacher must constantly explore the perceptions and experiences of children’s lives, including their priorities, concerns, and interests. Claire, however, warns that it is not enough to observe and document what the children are doing or saying. She emphasizes that these thoughts must be reflected in the curriculum. This way, children see their thoughts, ideas, and feelings as valid. According to Oropilla (2014), Mosaic Approach is a proven methodological concept that makes it possible for children’s voices to be heard and captured in the curriculum development. The Mosaic Approach views children as skilful communicators, meaning-makers, and rights holders. Claire views this methodology as being highly reflective, as it involves all the relevant stakeholders of early childhood education. In her view, the approach gives stakeholders a chance to reflect on meanings and interpretations and adapt them to a curriculum in a way that can be replicated in different learning settings (Clark, & Moss, 2001).
The Role of the Indoor and Outdoor Environment
Her role in the classroom goes being a guide and overseer of the learning process. Claire argued that as a teacher, she recognizes that she plays a critical role in setting the conducive environment necessary for optimal learning and play. In her five years as an ECE, she has learned that children often mimic her actions. Consequently, if she portrays a positive attitude by creating a happy environment, the children are more likely to be happy. Given she is directly responsible for the social behaviour in the classroom, she is constantly aware of her overall attitude, as children can pick up on negative energy, consequently impairing learning. From her response, one would argue that the overall behaviour of children in the classroom is a reflection of the teacher’s attitude and the environment they set. Children are more likely to be invested in the learning process if they find activities and the environment exciting (Chan, 2010). For Claire, optimum learning can only be achieved if children feel safe and free to express themselves. Therefore, placing them in their natural environment fosters learning.
Claire’s Personal Philosophy
Claire believes that every child is unique in his or her abilities, challenges, and skills. It is then her role to guide each child based on their uniqueness toward their goals. Viewing children as unique individuals ensure that each child is accorded the necessary help and guidance needed to reach their full potential. She observes that taking into account the varying needs and challenges of each student allows her to vary their learning experiences while allowing each one of them to develop at their own pace. This way of viewing children as individuals allows her to make the necessary adjustments needed to guide all students through the learning process. Her philosophy of children as individuals stems from the idea that children owing to their individual needs cannot be expected to perform uniformly.
Her philosophy encourages uniqueness of ideas and thought, creativity and problem-solving. According to her, viewing children as individuals allows her to take their ages, family and cultural background into consideration during program planning and development. In addition to viewing each as an individual, she lays particular emphasis on involving children in curriculum development, as she believes that children are agents of their own learning. Her philosophy resonates with the observation made by Whitebook et al. (2012) that, taking their interests, concerns, and questions into account in curriculum development instils a sense of responsibility and demonstrates her believe in the children’s capabilities.
Claire’s View on the Purpose of the Early Childhood Education
According to Claire, early childhood education centers have moved from being merely learning centers to provide custodial care for children whose parents are unable to provide the necessary attention needed for their development. Consequently, education has been redefined to include Day Care services to fill in for dual-working parents who may feel overwhelmed by demands of their careers. Parents send their children to institutions if early childhood education as a way of giving their children the experience of playing and interacting with others. Claire observes that various forms of programs that target children with special developmental conditions have expanded the traditional purposes of childhood education.
According to Clark and Moss (2001), early childhood education plays different roles, and it is upon the parent to take into account the primary purpose of a program before enrolling their child. She observes that the primary purpose of a program should match the child’s needs. Early childhood education has a significant impact on a child’s language, cognitive, and motor skills. Therefore, the quality of early childhood education determines to a significant extent the overall development of a child across the lifespan. While admitting that early childhood education has a myriad of purposes in a child’s life, Claire observes that the single most important purpose of early childhood is to provide childhood screening. In her view, only through early screening can a child’s cognitive, emotional, speech, vision, and other developmental challenges can be detected and responded to accordingly.
Lessons learned from Interview
Interviewing Claire, I must admit, was my first time contacting an interview at an official level. Claire’s responses by being an accomplished ECE given her five years of experience were eye-opening. From contacting the interview, I found out that early childhood education is a multifaceted endeavor. Before the interview with Claire, I believed that teaching in early childhood education occurs in manner that is not so different from adult education. However, I learnt that early childhood education takes on a different approach given the unique needs of children. The interview challenged my view that children do not have a say in what is taught and how it is taught. Claire dispelled most of the views that I held before interviewing her. As an active teacher, her role in curriculum development was particularly interesting. Although she is not placed highly in her school’s administration hierarchy, her many years of active involvement in early childhood education placed her in a good position to respond to my questions, and her responses were enlightening to say the list.
From the interview, I learned that education of children goes beyond the classroom, and the roles of an educator in the learning process stretch beyond the classroom. Additionally, it was interesting to learn that roles of early childhood educators have been expanded beyond the traditional responsibilities. For instance, while one would expect the roles of a childhood educator to be limited to guiding students, improvements in curriculum coupled with the need to capture the unique needs of each child have necessitated educators step outside of their traditional roles. Talking to Claire opened my mind to the challenges, ever-changing roles, and responsibilities of early childhood educator, and her advice that being flexible as an educator helps one enjoy the added responsibilities was sound.
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