Reflections on the Cultural Effect of Education for Young Children

By Alicia Giannelli, EC-SEAT Scholar

Education has always shifted. It has changed and evolved based on current socio-cultural values and goals. Over time, these goals have changed based on societal needs and desires. When early education began it was very different than what we have today. That is because society’s needs and learning opportunities have changed. In the past, children needed to be home to help the family and did not need simple educational skills, but now education is for all children to allow them to explore the world around them and to get the skills needed to support themselves and their families later. “The modern human mind has evolved with the history of the human species” (Bodrova, 2007, pg 11).

Today there are many cultural influences that affect the early childhood education practice. Some of these include the push-down method and behavior management. These two influences are changing the nature of teaching and what the early childhood classroom looks like. When I look at classrooms today in comparison to when I was a young student, there is a big shift. Children are being asked to learn higher-level skills that used to be what children would learn in higher grades. They are being asked to learn these new skills while having to be in more control over their bodies. To encourage more bodily control, teachers are using behavior charts and rewards systems, which can cause negative emotional stress on children. These are just a few things that were not as prominent when I was in elementary school.

When I think about the current cultural influences on early childhood education, I also think about what I can do to help these young children. The first thing is to get them moving and outside more. Allowing these big movements will help children get more energy out and allow them to learn more about their bodies and what they are capable of. I have seen fewer children playing outside with less gross motor skills in my current experiences. Play is so important for children and they are able to learn so much through it but it is being pushed aside in order to do more “academic learning”. “Vygotsky believed that both physical manipulation and social interaction are necessary for development” (Bodrova, 2007, pg 9). I hope to bring play into the classroom and help children learn through developmentally appropriate practices. Children need to learn social skills before they are able to be successful students. Helping children develop these social skills through interactive play will allow them to be more successful learners who feel less stress later on. It is important for children to start learning some academic skills in preschool but they don’t need paper and pencil or have to sit in order to learn these.

I also think it is important to talk with parents about what is academically appropriate for students to be doing at home. Sometimes parents do not know whether they should be practicing certain skills at home or don’t have the tools necessary too. So, it is important to make sure parents are aware of what they can do at home and how that can affect their child. Whether there are classroom book bags or activity bags that they can take home or short information guides for them to look over with helpful tips. This will make sure that children aren’t being pushed too much or too little at home. If a child is getting pushed too much at home then they may not be willing or as excited to participate in learning experiences or they could be having difficult behaviors.

Society will always be changing as we learn more about the world around us. “For Vygotsky, the social context influences more than attitudes and beliefs; it has a profound influence on how and what we think” (Bodrova, 2007, pg 10). Depending on the social context, a child could be learning and developing rapidly or becoming frustrated quickly especially in early education. With today’s societal goals and educational practices, it will be important that I and other teachers know each and every one of our students and families well.

Reference

Bodrova, Elena, and Deborah J. Leong. Tools of the Mind: the Vygotskian Approach to Early Childhood Education. Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall, 2007.