John Dewey and early childhood education
Part A(50%)
Select an individual (philosopher) you have studied in this unit and elaborate on how this individual has/will influence you in your workings with children in a pre-school setting.
“Education is not preparation for life. Education is life itself.” – John Dewey (1859-1952) (Ministry of Education, Singapore, 2003) The set of Desired Outcomes of Pre-school Education that the Ministry of Education(MOE) had put together in 2003 highlighted the significant importance of pre-school education being the platform for lifelong learning. It’s intention were far beyond preparation of these children merely for Primary School curriculum (Wong,2000). Very much alike to John Dewey (Dewey)’s quote, MOE’s take on pre-school education exists similar context. I felt that it challenges the perceived notion that education is only about getting the necessary qualifications or securing a good job. However, with an open mind, education in fact occurs throughout life. This brings about a few educational principles of Dewey which had influenced me in my workings with children in a pre-school setting.
I felt that the central concept of Dewey’s view of education was that there should be greater emphasis on allowing children develop problem solving skills, critical thinking skills, and being able to make decisions on their own, rather than simply on the memorization of lessons. Through real life experiences, instead of merely being on the receiving end of secondhand information, children were able to develop the required skills effectively (Seefeldt and Barbour, 1998). Active learning has been widely advocated in my child care centre. I often incorporate and encourage it too. Let’s say I will be teaching on the theme of occupation and doctors are the topic of the week. For the younger age group like pre-nursery and nursery, I would provide real materials like a doctor play set. Children would be encouraged to explore these materials at their own pace and interests. They
Select an individual (philosopher) you have studied in this unit and elaborate on how this individual has/will influence you in your workings with children in a pre-school setting.
“Education is not preparation for life. Education is life itself.” – John Dewey (1859-1952) (Ministry of Education, Singapore, 2003) The set of Desired Outcomes of Pre-school Education that the Ministry of Education(MOE) had put together in 2003 highlighted the significant importance of pre-school education being the platform for lifelong learning. It’s intention were far beyond preparation of these children merely for Primary School curriculum (Wong,2000). Very much alike to John Dewey (Dewey)’s quote, MOE’s take on pre-school education exists similar context. I felt that it challenges the perceived notion that education is only about getting the necessary qualifications or securing a good job. However, with an open mind, education in fact occurs throughout life. This brings about a few educational principles of Dewey which had influenced me in my workings with children in a pre-school setting.
I felt that the central concept of Dewey’s view of education was that there should be greater emphasis on allowing children develop problem solving skills, critical thinking skills, and being able to make decisions on their own, rather than simply on the memorization of lessons. Through real life experiences, instead of merely being on the receiving end of secondhand information, children were able to develop the required skills effectively (Seefeldt and Barbour, 1998). Active learning has been widely advocated in my child care centre. I often incorporate and encourage it too. Let’s say I will be teaching on the theme of occupation and doctors are the topic of the week. For the younger age group like pre-nursery and nursery, I would provide real materials like a doctor play set. Children would be encouraged to explore these materials at their own pace and interests. They
References: Association for Early Childhood Educators, Singapore (2005). Code of ethics. Retrieved March 23, 2010 from http://www.aeces.org/code_of_ethics Early Childhood Teachers’ Association (2003). Educating young children. Journal of early childhood teachers’ association inc and school of early childhood university of technology, 9(1) Feeney, S. Christensen, D. Moravcik, E. (2006). Who am I in the lives of children? : an introduction to early childhood education (7th ed) Flanagan, F.M. (1994). John Dewey. Retrieved March 24, 2010 from http://www.admin.mfu.edu/ctlf/Ed%20Psych%20Readings/dewey.pdf Henniger, M.L. (2002) Teaching young children: An introduction (2nd ed). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Ministry of Community Development and Sports (2003). Assessment of licensing standards in child care centres (Revised edition) Ministry of Education, Singapore (2003). A framework for a kindergarten curriculum in Singapore Seefeldty, C. Barbour, N. (1998). Early childhood education: an introduction (4th ed). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Wong, A. (2000). Committee of supply debate FY 2000, senior minister of state for education, Dr Wong’s response to questions on preschool education