2. The Right to Choose and Learn
by Wendy Scott
Introduction
The focus of this paper is on how early years professionals can promote the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child through the curriculum they plan and provide in their work settings. Children are able to make choices, develop responsible attitudes and become independent learners from a very young age provided that adults ensure that an appropriate curriculum is negotiated within a well-planned environment. Teachers and other practitioners need knowledge about children's capabilities, and respect both for their powers and their rights to growing autonomy.
The curriculum involves the learning experiences on offer to the children, unintended as well as planned. For under fives, it is essential that adults retain the flexibility to respond to spontaneous events as well as to anticipated possibilities. Staff need to be aware of the underlying purposes children may be exploring as they refine their skills and concepts alongside the acquisition of knowledge. It is significant that the approach to curriculum endorsed by educational theory and research reinforces the principles embodied in the Convention.
Article 42 makes it clear that the state has an obligation to make the principles and provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child widely known by appropriate and active means. The British government's Select Committee on Education, in its initial report on the education of children under five, published in 1989 (DES, 1989), and its restatement published in 1994 (HC Select Committee, 1994), has taken a firm stance that is consistent with our responsibilities as signatories of the Convention.
ÔStarting with Quality', the Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Quality of the Educational Experience Offered to 3- and 4-year-olds (the Rumbold Report: DES, 1990) laid down a strong foundation that is entirely compatible with the articles of the Convention. This detailed guidance, confirmed by cumulative research findings and further authoritative reports (National Commission on Education, 1993; Ball, 1994), provides a clear agenda for progress which must be implemented by adults who have in-depth knowledge of children's capabilities and profound respect for their powers. There are indications that the current inquiry into early learning by the Parliamentary Select Committee for Education and Employment will re-state earlier findings, and reinforce them through reference to a specially commissioned review of evidence from developmental psychology and brain research (Blakemore 2000).
Theory, research, curriculum and the UN Convention on Children's Rights
The most relevant articles of the Convention for this perspective on children's entitlement concern each child's right to express an opinion and to have that opinion taken into account, and the linked right to freedom of expression (articles 12 and 13). Article 28 highlights the importance of ensuring that discipline is administered in a manner consistent with the child's human dignity, and emphasises the need to encourage international co-operation in facilitating access to modern teaching methods. Article 29 deals explicitly with the recognition that education should be directed at Ôthe development of the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential' and Ôthe preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society'. These phrases are echoed in the Education Reform Act 1988 in England and Wales, which states that Ôthe curriculum mustÉ promote the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental, physical development of pupils at the school and of society, and prepare pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life'.
The statutory National Curriculum does not apply to children below statutory school age. However, the Early Years Curriculum Group (1989) has pointed out many ways in which under fives are already meeting expectations of children up to the age of seven. They encourage practitioners to continue to work in a way that puts children rather than curriculum content at the centre of their planning and recording. The group has also published a guide to show how the requirements of the revised programmes of study in the National Curriculum can be underpinned through a developmentally appropriate approach for children from five to seven (Early Years Curriculum Group, 1997).
Children at the centre of their learning
A learner-centred way of working provides an effective starting point for students of all ages, especially when they are in an unfamiliar setting. This is particularly true for young children, whose rate of development is very individual, and whose home surroundings give them very varied prior experience. In order for them to be able to show what they can do and to flourish as learners, under-fives need to feel secure in any new context and should have the support of adults who are able to pay sympathetic attention to their personal circumstances. This is why staffing ratios and relevant qualifications are so important. David, Curtis and Siraj-Blatchford (1993) draw attention to the key characteristics of the relationship between teaching and learning in the early years.
Adults asking questions
Margaret Donaldson (1978) explains how young children can demonstrate sophisticated levels of comprehension when they have an understanding of the context of complex questions. She underlines the idea that adults should Ôdecentre' and ensure that they consider children's points of view in framing learning experiences. Often children themselves give clear indications of the lack of logic of some of our assumptions and strategies: Sonnyboy, a traveller child of five who had not yet learned that one of the first rules of being a pupil is to be quiet and listen, inquired of his teacher: ÔWhy do you keep asking the kids questions when you knows all the answers? LikeÉ likeÉ what colour is it then? You can see for yourself it's redÉ so why do you keep asking them?' (Cousins, 1990, p.30).
As Katz points out (Katz and Chard, 1989), one effect of the excessive use of interrogations is to create phoney patterns of interaction, which may make respondents feel threatened. There is now a wealth of convincing evidence about the educational value of authentic discussions, where children and adults share a genuine interest, rather than sterile questioning to check whether children can provide answers that adults already know (Tizard and Hughes, 1984; Wells, 1987; Wood, 1988).
Developing language
The acquisition of language is a good example of the intellectual power of young children. It also highlights the fact that most adults are instinctively able to provide appropriate support for children's linguistic development, and to extend their experience and skills in a way that is closely matched to progress. This is a useful model for later teaching:
in addition to research on early literacy, influenced by Vygotsky's (1962) work on language development, there has been recent discussion on the value of a similar Ôapprenticeship' approach to other forms of representation, with the adults providing a structure to match children's emerging skills.
(Gura, 1992; Matthews, 1995, Gopnik, Meltzoff and Kuhn 1999)
Culture and expectations
Cultural differences may be misunderstood by adults who are not aware of what they themselves do not know. For example, the common view that four-year-olds should be able to use a knife and fork competently ignores the previous experience of many children who may have learned the skilful use of chopsticks or of their fingers rather than cutlery for eating at home. Although staff may not be able to familiarise themselves with every detail of children's personal frames of reference, it is certainly possible for them to share their appreciation of the varied patterns of behaviour that exist even within an indigenous group. Given a sympathetic lead, children are very quick to pick up on the ethos modelled by adults, and are well able to accept and begin to understand different expectations. Several of Vivien Gussin Paley's books vividly describe this process unfolding in her kindergarten class, expressed and explored through the children's ability to express their growing awareness through narrative (Paley, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990).
Approaches to teaching and learning
What works for children?
Worries expressed by a government minister that an informal approach which takes into account children's individual interests will result in Ôlots of fun and painting' but little serious learning are set to rest by findings from a recent project that considered attainment at the end of Key Stage 1, when children are six or seven. In 1994 the National Foundation for Educational Research undertook a multivariate analysis which showed that early entry to primary school for summer-born children did not result in higher achievement two or three years later (Sharp, Hutchison and Whetton, 1994; Sharp, 1995). Four-year-olds who remained in a nursery setting generally achieved better than a comparable group whose choices of both content and context were arbitrarily constrained in more formal infant classes. This is even more significant when taken together with findings that show how children may be turned off school by an instructional approach that does not take into account their past experience, their particular learning styles or their individual interests (Barrett, 1986).
Further evidence of the importance of what Dweck calls mastery (as opposed to performance) goals is quoted by Sylva (1994) and is supported by findings in her research on differences between children entering reception class after playgroup or nursery school experience (Jowett and Sylva, 1986). It appears that children who are given choices and genuine opportunities to take responsibility for their actions are more likely to use adults as a resource for learning instead of relying on them for approval, and to persevere in tackling difficulties rather than give up in the face of challenge. In order to sustain the confidence to ask questions, and to learn from mistakes, children must know that their voices will be heard and their individual needs and abilities observed and respected. This is clearly expressed as a right in articles 12 and 13 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and is also consistent with the traditional approach to nursery education in the UK. It has been well expressed by HMI in their commentary on the education of under-fives (DES, 1989) and in the Rumbold Report (DES, 1990). Many locally developed documents that guide practice across services in different parts of England also recommend a child-centred pedagogy and counsel against too formal an approach too soon (see, for example, Westminster Education Authority, 1992; Hampshire Education Authority, 1995; Newham Education Authority, 1995).
Early childhood specialists have been promoting the value of a non-directive way of working for many years. Part of the skill of the educator is to enable a harmonious flow of activity to continue, which depends on children being able to take considerable responsibility for their own needs. Adults are thus free to work with individuals or small groups on planned or spontaneous topics. The more skilfully this is done, the easier it looks to an outside observer. It does, however, require significant forethought and organisation based on professional knowledge of child development and of the individual characteristics of any particular group of children. There is increasing evidence to show that this kind of interactive approach, recommended and put into practice by Susan Isaacs in the 1930s and the McMillan sisters before that, is effective because it allows for physical, emotional and social growth alongside intellectual development. Recent work on the importance of the social dimension of learning (Trevarthen, 1992b) and of the long-term effects of affective dispositions to learn (Katz and McLellan, 1991; Roberts, 1995) help to explain ways of working that have already proved themselves empirically.
Developing curriculum
'Quality in Diversity', an initiative undertaken by the multi-agency Early Childhood Education Forum across the UK, has drawn up a framework for the early years curriculum, with the following headings:
- Being and Becoming
- Belonging and Connecting
- Participating and Contributing
- Thinking
- Doing
- Being Active
These headings underline the integrated nature of learning in the early years, and have been devised to provide a useful framework which can be interpreted by people working with young children in different settings. Each staff group will have the responsibility of providing their own structure and activities to express in practice the principles set out in the framework. This multi-professional undertaking in the UK has been influenced by recent work in New Zealand (Ministry of Education, 1993) which envisages the early childhood curriculum as a Ôwhariki', or mat, woven from the principles, aims, and goals defined in the Ministry of Education guidelines. Different programmes, philosophies, structures and environments contribute to the distinctive patterns of the varied interpretations of the ÔTe Whariki' framework. This approach to the curriculum is designed to promote children's rights, and fits well with the principles and articles of the UN Convention. Every educator could examine his or her view of education and the curriculum he or she plans for children in the light of the headings developed by the UK Quality in Diversity project, to see how his or her work links to them.
When children in one of the pre-schools in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy were invited to describe what they saw as their own rights, one girl commented. ÔChildren have the right to think their thoughts, because it's them that have to think about what they want to do' (Reggio Children, 1995), and a boy stated that ÔFreedom is the right to know things' (ibid).
The fact that children around five years of age are able to express themselves so thoughtfully demonstrates the profound capabilities children can develop when their views and ideas are respected and when adults find appropriate ways to work with them. Loris Malaguzzi, who did so much to articulate the philosophy behind the work with young children and the community in Reggio Emilia, has expressed the underlying principles as follows:
Children have the right to be active participants in the organisation of their identities, abilities and autonomy, through relationships and interaction with their peers, with adults, ideas, things, and with the real and imaginary events of intercommunicating worlds. All thisÉ also credits children, and each individual child, with inborn abilities and potential that are extraordinarily rich, powerful and creative... this is so much truer when children are reassured by an effective alliance between the adults in their lives, adults who... place more importance on the search for constructive strategies of thought and action than on the direct transmission of knowledge and skills.
(Malaguzzi, 1992)
Environments for learning
Bruce (1987) confirms that children need time and scope to develop their own ideas, to explore and investigate new possibilities alongside sympathetic adults, and to engage in self-regulated practice. In order to enable this to happen, planning and organisation within early years settings need to be structured to cover the wide range of learning opportunities that will lead to the early learning goals to be introduced for children at the end of the reception year (QCA 2000).
In addition to providing scope for language and mathematical development, staff should enable children to find out about the world through activities that stimulate scientific and technological exploration. An awareness of their own environment and past and present events in their own lives is the starting point for children's learning about geography and history. If they are to meet these expectations when they reach five or six, under fives need plenty of scope to investigate their world actively, and to express themselves creatively in a wide variety of ways.
As part of planning for all these areas of experience, and ensuring that children's physical, social and emotional development flourishes alongside their intellectual growth, staff must allow for unexpected as well as planned opportunities for learning to be followed up appropriately, assessed and recorded, and shared with parents and carers. It is useful if resources, both indoors and out, can be stored so that children can select and reach them independently, and use them to meet their intended purposes. A wide range of tools and equipment is needed to support children's learning across the curriculum, and the way that they are kept can in itself stimulate learning: for example, re-cycled materials such as empty cereal packets and other containers can be organised according to size and shape, so that they may reinforce mathematical thinking as well as contribute to children's physical and technological development as they construct 3D representations of their ideas. It should be possible to promote the refinement and extension of these ideas by providing a place to keep ongoing work, and by encouraging children to discuss their strategies. Children can contribute constructive comments on one another's work, and in the process become more discriminating and articulate: it is very desirable that group work should include the opportunity for more experienced learners to pass on techniques and information, as well as being the recipients of instructions themselves. Younger or less experienced children are well able to follow a lead and participate in activities which they cannot yet initiate (Katz and Chard, 1989).
The role of the adult goes beyond collecting, selecting, arranging and maintaining the environment and facilitating work and play in varied groups. Evaluative, reciprocal discussion with children can encourage more accurate representations; scribing children's comments and incorporating these in a display of work reinforces both the worth of what they say and the value of literacy development. It also makes a significant contribution towards what Vygotsky (Bruner, Jolly and Sylva, 1976) called second order representation, an essential tool for later more abstract learning.
Adults should hold back from telling children directly how to solve their problems: it is in choosing, experimenting and finding ways of correcting any Ômistakes' that children make learning their own, both in terms of intellectual awareness and in developing the dispositions to be selective, weigh evidence and persevere in the face of difficulties. We in England are at last able to re-claim territory lost over years of top-down prescription for teaching to set outcomes, because play is now officially recognised as a crucial medium for learning in the early years. There is also a welcome new emphasis on communication and creativity. This could well extend beyond the bounds of school or nursery, and influence relationships between practitioners, parents and the wider community. In this way, we can foster the development of a mutually respectful learning society, in line with the aspirations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Contact:
Wendy Scott, Chief Executive,
The British Association of Early Childhood Education,
136 Cavell Street, London, E1 2JA
References
This article is an edited version of Choices in Learning, in Respectful Educations, Capable Learners - Children's Rights and Early Education, edited by Cathy Nutbrown, published by Paul Chapman, London, 1996.
See the latter book for detailed references.