The Effectiveness of Activities Held in Early Childhood Education Programs against Diversity
The International Conference on Equity and Respect for Diversity in Early Childhood Education in the Context of Children’s Rights, İstanbul, Turkey, 27 - 28 March 2009, pp.1, (Summary Text)
- Publication Type: Conference Paper / Summary Text
- City: İstanbul
- Country: Turkey
- Page Numbers: pp.1
- Istanbul University Affiliated: No
Abstract
According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), every child has the right to a legal identity. This right is activated and safeguarded by birth registration. Developing a positive identity is fundamental to realising every child’s rights. It is at the heart of early childhood policies and practices as well as being a core topic for social and educational studies.
Maintaining the quality in early childhood education and care has remained firmly on government agendas in recent years. Public awareness of gaps in provision and of insufficient quality in services has moved the issue of child care and after-school care onto electoral agendas in many countries. There is a growing recognition that early access to young children, particularly from low-income and second-language groups, with a good start in life.
According to the OECD report, a more unified approach to learning should be adopted in both the early childhood education and the primary school systems, and that attention should be given to transition challenges faced by young children as they enter school. The search for a more unified approach has generated different policy options. France and the Englishspeaking world have adopted a “readiness for school” approach, which although defined broadly focuses in practice on cognitive development in the early years, and the acquisition of a range of knowledge, skills and dispositions. A disadvantage inherent in this approach is the use of programmes and approaches that are poorly suited to the psychology and natural learning strategies of young children. In countries inheriting a social pedagogy tradition (Nordic and Central European countries), the kindergarten years are seen as a broad preparation for life and the foundation stage of lifelong learning. Facilitating transitions for children is a policy challenge in all systems1. Transitions for children are generally a stimulus to growth and development, but if too abrupt and handled without care, they carry – particularly for young children – the risk of regression and failure.
1 Petriwskyj, Thorpe and Tayler (2005), “Trends in the Construction of Transition to School in Three Western Regions, 1990-2004”, International Journal of Early Years Education, Vol. 13(1), pp. 55-69.