Realising the Ambition: Being Me

What values are present within Early Years Education?

Understanding the depth ‘play’ has to the importance of the child’s cognitive, social, emotional and physical capacities.

Valuing the child has a whole person who has complexed cognitive behaviours, such as feelings and ideas.

Parental engagement, this not through one-dimensional avenues such as meetings and/or parents evening.

What practices are promoted to enact or realise those values?

As Pramling-Samuelsson (2010) strives for options such as a ‘play based curriculum. Where the young learner may learn about new skills, subconsciously learn how to work collaboratively with other adult and/or children. Also, using ‘child-based’ pedagogy where play is used as a stimuli for enriched learning opportunities, in creativity, setting boundaries and choice.

Having a holistic early childhood curriculum, where the teacher hopes to focus on a flexible, creative and child-centred curriculum, will aid in promoting the uniqueness in each child and where they can use these quirks in a wider environment. Promoting their creative ideas leads to a growing confidence in further creative thoughts for the young learner.

Parental engagement can be realised through community school-projects, their say on local educational policies and improvement plans within the school. The setting that it takes place is not of huge importance but rather the importance is on the quality of the parents engagement with the child’s learning, so they have a better idea of their progress. “Family learning encourages family members to learn together as a family,
with a focus on intergenerational learning. Family learning activities can also
be specifically designed to enable parents to learn how to support their
children’s learning.” (Education Scotland, 2020)

Reflecting on my own values and beliefs about young children and about learning and teaching in the early years.

I agree with what I have said in my previous reflections but I would like to further research the boundaries to how much a child can have ‘choice’ in a school setting. Their may exist psychological boundaries such as anxieties of having their ideas turned down by peers, or also societal issues such as bullies who may disregard a child’s idea and/or change it so it becomes their vision instead.