Birth to three matters - Communities and Local Government

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0 – 8 months: Heads Up, Lookers andCommunicatorsDuring the first eight months youngbabies react to people and situationswith their whole bodies, neverthelessthey are competent in observingand responding to their immediateenvironment and communicatingwith those around them.8 – 18 months: Sitters, Standersand ExplorersDuring the period from eight to 18months when babies’ exploration of theenvironment becomes more intentionaltheir increasing mobility and languagedevelopment enables them to find outand understand more about their world.18 – 24 months: Movers, Shakersand PlayersFrom 18 to 24 months youngc h i l d ren begin to show incre a s i n gi n d e pe n d e n ce and obvious pleasurein mov i n g, co m m u n i cating andl e a rning through play.24 – 36 months: Walkers, Talkersand PretendersFrom 24 to 36 months children’scompetence at moving, talking andpretending is more and more evidentand they show increasing confidencein themselves and skill in makingrelationships. However, most of theresearch literature reviewed for this textuses the ages of the children who wereinvolved, and, where that is the case,we have done likewise.Pe rhaps above all, it is re cognition fo rm e a n i n g and how young children and thosea round them share meanings in human lifewhich is gaining asce n d a n cy amongre s e a rc h e r s, so it is essential to ackn ow l e d g ethe plura l i ty and uniqueness of childre n’sex pe ri e n ces due larg e ly to co ntextual andc u l t u ral diffe re n ce s. From a ve ry early agebabies and young children search for themeaning of the be h aviours and speech ofthose around them.Th ey often seem tore cognise those be h aviours which givesomeone powe r. For ex a m p l e, when Co ra l i ewas eight months old she beamed andt ri u m p h a n t ly waved the te l evision co n t ro lwhich she had managed to get hold of for thefirst time in her life. This object had meaningin her household – and she appe a red to haverealised that whoever held it had some sortof power (though she did not kn ow how to usethe co n t rol at that stage).Additionally, most psychologists no longerseek an answer to the question of whetherthe abilities and characteristics a childis born with (‘nature’) have a greaterimpact on their later achievements andpersonality than what they experience asthey grow up (‘nurture’). This thinking hasbeen superseded by the recognition thatboth are interdependent, a point which isfrequently reiterated throughout this text.DEFINING CHILDREN’S NEEDSIn attempting to establish evidence abouteffective practice in both home and groupsettings offering early childhoodeducation and care (ECEC) for babies andchildren aged between birth and three17
years, it is important to take accountof the kind of society in which childrenin England are growing up – that it is amulticultural,pluralistic, democraticsociety.This means that children’sneeds will be defined in particular ways.Clearly, all children need adequate andappropriate nourishment and rest;shelterand protection from the elements andfrom harm; warm, responsive andaffectionate relationships. Kellmer-Pringle(1980) suggested they also needopportunities to take responsibility and,of course, love, which is implied as a needby the United Nations Convention on theRights of the Child (UN 1989). However,many of the ‘needs’ that are consideredvital are so defined because of the valuesto which a society subscribes (Woodhead1990). Again,the call is for those of usin the field of ECEC to be aware of ourjudgements and the extent to whichwe are basing them on over simplifiedgeneralisations about children and theirupbringing. Martin Woodhead is notarguing that we should not define anyneeds, but that we should be able to saywhy we subscribe to those in whichwe believe:‘Children inherit a distinctively humannature as well as being brought up ina particular culture. Their dependency onothers to protect their interests during thelong period of human immaturity knownas childhood means that judgements mustcontinually be made by those responsiblefor them; although the length of theirdependency and the cultural articulationof what is in their best interests will varyfrom society to society and from timeto time. The challenge is not to shy awayfrom developing a perspective onchildhood, but to recognize the pluralityof pathways to maturity within thatperspective. This is all the more importantat a time when the influence of childpsychology is extending well beyond thesocieties (notably North America andEurope) from which dominant theoriesand research data have been derived.’(Woodhead 1990:73)Research has shown how children’s needsare sometimes wrongly stereotypedbecause of ill-informed attempts atculturally defining them (see for example,Currer 1991). Dwivedi (1996) providesinsightful and useful comment onprofessional inhibitions and clumsinessabout racial and ethnic issues, culturalvalues and ‘pseudo insight’. Perhaps thebest way for a community to define whatmembers regard as young children’s needswould be to adopt the approaches of theworld famous nurseries of Reggio Emiliain Northern Italy, where parents,practitioners and politicians meet regularlyfor discussions about the place of childrenin society, what childhood is for, and howbest to provide for them.WHAT THIS REVIEW DOES AND DOES NOT COVERThe rev i ew provides re s e a rch ev i d e n cea bout babies’ and young childre n’sd eve l o p m e nt and learning be tween theages of birth and three ye a r s. Si n ce thefocus of the pack,‘Bi rth to Th ree Ma t te r s :A fra m ewo rk to suppo rt children in their18 EDUCATIONAND SKILLS B I RT H T O T H R E E M AT T E R S
Page 2: AcknowledgementsThe authors and pub
Page 6 and 7: Relationships with other people (bo
Page 8: policies for families. So this lite
Page 12: etween three and nine years old whi
Page 18 and 19: e a rliest ye a r s’ 1 , is the c
Page 20 and 21: distinguish between things, and tha
Page 22 and 23: Chapter 2Influential research and t
Page 24 and 25: THE ISSUE OF THEORIES AS CULTURALCO
Page 26 and 27: p a rt i c u l a rly in re l ation
Page 28 and 29: developed by Bereiter and Engelmann
Page 30 and 31: familiar settings. By about one yea
Page 32 and 33: child as learning and developing in
Page 34 and 35: are important to them,blanking out
Page 36 and 37: THEORIES ABOUT EARLY CHILDHOODEDUCA
Page 38 and 39: Chapter 3A Strong ChildIn the Frame
Page 40 and 41: A GROWING AWARENESS OF SELF AND THE
Page 42 and 43: ( a d a p ted from Davies 1999 : 12
Page 44 and 45: them with an inadequate modelof rew
Page 46 and 47: However, even sensitive parents and
Page 48 and 49: It is preferable to have stabilityi
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Page 54 and 55: main factors enabling such self-ass
Page 56 and 57: demonstrate achievements - ‘Go on
Page 58 and 59: implications for siblings, which ar
Page 60 and 61: with friends fared be t ter than th
Page 62 and 63: Attending to external demands (such
Page 64 and 65: Chapter 4A Skilful CommunicatorThis
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elationships with close and protect
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adults and siblings around them. Th
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interactions and interchanges depen
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in the first 18 months. Depressed m
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Karmiloff-Smith 2001: 183). Further
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then language grows in a safe and f
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‘language’. However, there is m
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of his granddaughter Alice’s very
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For example, Eliot (just two years
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Chapter 5A Competent LearnerA Compe
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understandings was crucial. They sh
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still gave them biscuits, because t
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The importance of social interactio
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a fast-moving sce n e. When the pro
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exploratory and affective nature of
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with image (the image of a letter)
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in the literacy life of his three y
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Being CreativeYoung babies explore
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Chapter 6A Healthy ChildA Healthy C
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FIGURE 1:SIX ASPECTS OF HEALTH (MEG
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It is only by being given oppo rtun
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developmental psychology and earlye
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f rom such an approach can be t ter
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It has also provided useful insight
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FIGURE 2:SHORE’S (1997:18) CHART
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dysfunction is one of the leadinghy
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memory; synapses associated withexp
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cognitive development of the childr
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ejection - when it is primary - is
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of control through safe exploration
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greater risk) and girls halved betw
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et al 2000). Further, lone mothers,
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ecoming securely attached (Seifer a
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(Whipple 1999);training projects fo
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As we have found over and over agai
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disseminate effective practicerespe
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Chapter 7Conclusions and implicatio
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1996; Pugh et al 1994; Smith and Pu
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Finally, in this review of the rese
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meaning making. Paper presented at
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Pre-school Program on Youths throug
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Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979) The Ecolo
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for intervention. In B.B. Lahey and
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children. In J. Bruner and H. Haste
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Fawcett, A. (2001) Special Educatio
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Grainger, T. and Goouch,K. (1999) Y
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Howes, C. (1987) Peer interaction o
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months Journal of Reproductive and
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Mandler, J. (1999) Preverbal repres
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Mo r s s, J . ( 1990) The Bi o l og
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Patel, P., Mendall, M.A., Khulusi,
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Roberts, H. (2001a) Fit or fat? Coo
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Singer, E. (1992) Child Care and th
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Teti, D.M.and Gelfand, D.M. (1991)B
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Issues in the Early Years London:Pa
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National Association for SpecialEdu
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PEOPLE FOCUSED continued/setting fo
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BIRTH TO THREE MATTERSPro Forma for
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184 EDUCATIONAND SKILLS B I RT H T
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