Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
1 of Child
Curriculum
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Describe the different components in a curriculum document;
2. Explain the relevancy of a curriculum document;
3. Discuss what can influence the design of a curriculum; and
4. Analyse the different learning theories used in a curriculum
document.
INTRODUCTION
This topic raises questions such as „What is child curriculum?‰ and „What
distinguishes a child curriculum from a curriculum per se?‰ This topic also
discusses the purpose of the curriculum and the process of its development.
ACTIVITY 1.1
(b) A framework for making decisions about the choices of materials and
activities; or
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the
National Association of Early Childhood Specialists (NAECS) in the State
Department of Education (SDE) define curriculum as „an organised framework
that delineates the content that children are to learn, the processes through which
children achieve the identified curricular goals, what teachers do to help children
achieve those goals and the context in which teaching and learning occurs‰
(Bredekamp & Rosegrant, 1992). In addition, for infants and toddlers, curriculum
is defined as ‰every experience, and every minute in the day is part of the infant
and toddler curriculum. Diapering, feeding, washing and comforting are
elements of the curriculum, including singing, playing, watching and moving‰
(Watson, Watson & Wilson, 2003).
A curriculum has many process levels or terms including what takes place in a
classroom, which in turn reflects the centre philosophy, goals and objectives
(refer to Table 1.1).
Term Meaning
Goals Broad general overview of what the children are expected to gain
from the programme
(c) Playtime serves many functions for young children; among the most
important is that it is the primary mode for learning in early childhood
education;
(d) Teachers must agree with the philosophy and practices of the curriculum
and understand its content;
(h) A curriculum should be aware of the role of the social and cultural context
in a childÊs development and learning process.
(b) With relevant research, society has come to realise the importance of a
childÊs early experiences.
Early childhood curriculum plays an important role in achieving the goals for
social competence and school readiness in young children. An early childhood
programme would need a curriculum that could support every childÊs
development from patterns to learning styles. Goals and objectives are what
children would need to learn, and the roadmap to achieve this is the curriculum.
This is achieved through routines and experiences.
Even definitions and how play is used can vary considerably. A single curriculum
might not address all different areas of learning. It may appear to be
comprehensive yet the focus of individual domain is superficial. Some might fit a
schoolÊs philosophy but are not relevant to the children or impossible for teachers
to implement, thus making it ineffective. Therefore to ensure the appropriateness
of a curriculum, the role of teachers and the learning process of children have to be
addressed. The curriculum should take into account the following areas:
modelÊs effectiveness and attempt to see the model in action in different settings.
With the availability of multiple curriculum models, there seems to be some
confusion regarding which ones are appropriate for young children or more
effective for specific demographics such as for four- and five-year olds. Although
the early childhood education professionals recommend the adoption of
developmentally appropriate practices in programmes, there is not yet any
research base to promote any single curriculum model as the „best‰.
The above steps are important in any curriculum development process as the
curriculum must be appropriate and relevant to a childÊs needs and level of
interest.
(a) Design
The design stage involves all early preparation work to ensure the
curriculum has relevance, appropriateness and practicality. At this point,
the curriculum is conceptualised and focus is given to the philosophical
underpinnings, learning experiences and evaluation. The curriculum is
(b) Develop
At the curriculum development stage, a step-by-step procedure is used to
produce the document which would include vision statements, goals,
standards, performance benchmark, learning activities, learning and
teaching materials, instructional strategies, interdisciplinary connections
and other integration activities which serve as a guide in the
implementation of the curriculum.
(c) Implement
This is the stage when all stakeholders participate in the process to
operationalise the curriculum and put it into practice. Teachers would need
to go to seminars and workshops to equip them with the relevant
knowledge, skills and attitude.
(d) Monitor
Monitoring is required in order to collect data and verify that classroom
practice is consistent and the desired goals and objectives have been met.
(e) Evaluate
Data collected are analysed to determine the effectiveness of the curriculum
design and its implementation as they relate to the child. The process also
involves finding deficiencies and root causes.
(f) Review
During the review stage, any information analysed will be used to improve
the curriculum. The various adjustments will incorporate any strengths and
address the weaknesses. Additional resources and useful teaching materials
can be added into the document.
ACTIVITY 1.2
Freud believed that thoughts, ideas and wishes that are in a personÊs brain
actually show how we behave. However, this is not easily accessible by the
conscious part of our mind. In other words, our brain knows things that our
mind doesnÊt. This aspect that we are not aware of is called the unconscious part
of our mind. Psychodynamic theory proposes that personality characteristics are
mostly a reflection of what is in our unconscious mind.
Let us now discuss the three main parts of the mind in greater detail.
(a) Id
During infancy, before personality begins to form, children are ruled
entirely by their unconscious or what is called the id. Id is largely based on
the pleasure principle, which demands immediate gratification of needs.
For example, when we are hungry, our pleasure directs us to eat. This
aspect of a personÊs personality is entirely unconscious.
(b) Ego
Ego refers to the Greek and Latin word for „I‰, a personality structure
which begins developing in early childhood and can be interpreted as the
„self‰. This is partly conscious and partly unconscious. The ego operates
based on reality; that is, it attempts to help the id get what it wants by
judging the difference between real and imaginary. If a person is hungry,
the id might begin to imagine food and even dream about food. The id may
be regarded as irrational in nature. The ego, however, will try to determine
how to get some real food. The ego helps a person satisfy its need through
reality.
(c) Superego
Superego means „above the ego‰, and includes the moral belief that a
person learns from his or her family and the society. The superego makes
people feel proud when they do something right (the ego belief) and feels
guilty when they do something they consider to be morally wrong (the
conscience). The superego, like the ego, is partly conscious and partly
unconscious. The superego is like an instrument that checks on our moral
conscience, and creates feelings of pride and guilt according to the beliefs
that have been learned within the family and the culture. This explains the
aspect of personality that holds all of our internalised moral standards and
beliefs of what we perceive to be right and wrong that we acquire from our
parents and society (see Figure 1.3). It provides guidelines for us to make
judgments. According to Freud, the superego begins to emerge at the age of
five.
Piaget further explains these reflexes that control behaviour last a lifetime for
animals but in humans such as in infants, they use the reflexes to adapt to the
environment and then these will be replaced with constructed schemata.
According to Piaget, there are two processes used by individuals throughout
their lifetime to adapt to the environment in a more complex manner –
assimilation and accommodation.
Stages Description
Formal operational In this stage, individuals are able to relate to abstract concepts
stage (adolescence and through the logical use of symbols. Only 35 per cent of high
adulthood) school graduates in industrialised countries obtain formal
operations; many people do not think formally during
adulthood.
(a) Microsystem
This is the closest system to an individual such as his or her home, school or
day-care. The microsystem would normally include people such as the
family, peers and teachers. The relationship in this system is a two-way
relationship and it is the most influential level in the ecological system.
(b) Mesosystem
The next level is the mesosystem. At this level, there are interactions
between the different parts of an individual microsystem. They are
interconnected and have influence over one another. These interactions
have an indirect impact on the individual. An example is the relationship
built between a parent and a teacher.
(c) Exosystem
The exosystem refers to a level that does not involve the child as an active
participant but any changes that occur will still have an effect on him or
her. For example, if a father is transferred to another state for a promotion,
there is a higher likelihood of a child being affected by his or her fatherÊs
absence.
(d) Macrosystem
The fourth level of the ecological systems theory is the macrosystem. This
system consists of the cultural environment in which a person lives. An
example is economy and cultural values.
(e) Chronosystem
This system involves the dimension of time as it relates to a childÊs
environment. The elements in this system could either be external or
internal factors. An example for external factors would be the death of a
mother whereas for internal factor, a childÊs growth could be a cause of
concern. These factors will cause a child to react differently to the
environment.
Another aspect of VygotskyÊs theory is the idea that the potential cognitive
development is limited to the zone of proximal development (refer to Figure 1.6).
A teacher or experienced peer could scaffold and give children the necessary
support to enhance their knowledge domain or complex skills. Collaborative
learning, modelling and scaffolding are strategies to support intellectual
knowledge and skills of learners and facilitate learning. The distance between the
actual development level and the potential achievable level could be determined
through problem solving under guidance.
ACTIVITY 1.3
Piaget, J. (1990). The childÊs conception of the world. New York: Littlefield
Adams.
Watson, L. D., Watson, M. A., & Wilson, L. C. (2003). Infants and toddlers:
Curriculum and teaching (5th ed.). Clifton Park, New York: Thomson
Delmar Learning.