Principles for a developmental curriculum . Each child is an individual and should be respected and treated as such. . The early years are a period of development in their own right, and the education of young children should be seen as a specialism with its own valid criteria of appropriate practice. . The role of the educator of young children is to engage actively with what most concerns the child, and to support learning through these preoccupations. . The educator has a responsibility to foster positive attitudes in children to both self and others, and to counter negative messages which children may have received. . Each child’s cultural and linguistic endowment is seen as the fundamental medium of learning. . An anti-discriminatory approach is the basis of all respect-worthy education, and is essential as a criterion for a developmentally appropriate curriculum (DAC). . All children should be offered equal opportunities to progress and develop, and should have equal access to good-quality provision. The concepts of multi-culturalism and anti-racism are intrinsic to this whole educational approach. . Partnership with parents should be given priority as the most effective means of ensuring coherence and continuity in children’s experiences and in the curriculum offered to them. . A democratic perspective permeates education of good quality, and is the basis of transactions between people. Vicky Hurst and Jenefer Joseph
Posted on: Sun, 29 Sep 2013 02:28:28 +0000