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| Image courtesy of neslihandurmusoglu.edublogs.org The main challenges I feel are emerging in relation to the integration of a play-based curriculum for the early childhood sector are the misconception of the ability to learn through play, the planning for and assessment of play, funding for education, the socio-cultural education of Learning Manager’s, transition to school, the social construction of childhood and how it relates to play-based learning, the equity and social justice issues of play, resourcing for play and the issue of mandatory and non-mandated education. The high number of emerging challenged for play-based learning limits my discussion to only include the misconceptions of play-based learning, mandatory and non-mandated education and funding for education in Australia. As with any new idea, the concept of a play-based curriculum for early childhood education was bound to be met with some resistance, providing bumps that need ironing out. I am aware of the negative perception of some parents and community members to the amalgamation of play into education from comments held with them during the nine years I have been employed in the childcare industry. Opinions such as; it is easy for childcare workers as children play naturally and only need to be supervised for safety, that play is pointless self entertainment for children and that play doesn’t teach children anything are some of the comments I have heard. These opinions have made me conscious of the misconceptions of play held by parents and other stakeholders’, exposing how the lack of understanding of play-based education could obstruct its implementation into our school system. These misconceptions can easily be resolved by addressing specific issues in parent/teacher discussions, holding workshops to clarify play-based learning and by inviting parents into the classroom to involve them with the curriculum. During my prac placements I took the opportunity to discuss play-based learning with registered Learning Managers and was quite shocked at some of their comments. I was stunned to find how high the level of unhappiness of LM’s was in relation to both the curriculum itself and its incorporation into the school system. The main area of concern for LM’s currently working in schools seemed to be that they felt the curriculum had not been fully perfected and was being incorporated before all the bugs had been removed. Their remarks made me wonder why the LM’s felt this way and what could be done to rectify their opinions. The answer I found was that all stakeholders’ whether they were educators or parents need to be fully instructed with the play-based learning system. We can instruct parents and Learning Managers how a play-based curriculum in our social-cultural society allows children to engage in play experiences while drawing on their prior knowledge, giving their learning a real-life context. Through instructing stakeholders on how play-based learning links the socio-cultural society of children, their prior knowledge and what is instructed at school to real-life situations, we will guarantee the success of both student learning and a play-based curriculum (Wheeler. 2007). Another obstruction for play-based learning is that our educations system consists of both mandatory and non-mandated education. The progressive decision to regulate a nationwide primary and early childhood play-based curriculum is disadvantaged by the government’s failure to make early childhood education mandatory, defeating the purpose behind syllabus changes. The concept of early childhood education, for me, is aimed at building children’s readiness for ‘big school’. It ensures orientation practices such as pencil grip, how to open their glue, handling scissors, letter and number awareness, writing their names, knowledge of school structure and the alleviation of separation issues, provide the all students the skills and knowledge to guarantee school readiness and continuity of learning for all students. Kindergarten and prep not being mandated by the government will only cause confusion for some children attending early education setting, their lack of transition to learning hindering their educational development. The concept of an early childcare curriculum is a huge leap forward for the education of our nation but for it to be of benefit for children’s education it must be mandated along with the formal education years. The making of early year’s childhood education mandatory benefits all stakeholders’ be they children, parents, educators and school community and projects the importance of early years learning for transition to formal education through its promotion of school readiness and focus on learning as a life altering experience. This perception is established in the following statement from Grieshaber and Petriwshyj, “in the context of inclusion, there has been some questioning of the narrow approaches to transition, resulting in a shift to considering longer term transition processes, readiness of schools, and shared responsibilities of stakeholders,” (2011). Funding for education is also providing to be a challenge for schools. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) conducted a report on educational expenditure in 2008 reporting the Australian government was only spending 13.8 percent of its total public expenditure on education. This amount had remained exactly the same since 1995 (20011. p.254). Our national population had risen by 3.5 million between 1995 (Financial Demographics Pty Ltd. 2004), to reach 21.5 million in 2008 (Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2011), however our government did no increase their spending on education over the thirteen year period! I located an article in the electronic newspaper, News.com.au, which further highlights the lack of educational spending in Australia by showing that, “Australia sits equal sixth lowest out of 31 countries,” on the OECD's 2011 report on educational expenditure (News.com.au. 2011). This lack of financial support from our government causes me to wonder how we are to fund the implementation of a national play-based early childhood curriculum. The implementation of a new curriculum will need a huge induction of funding to ensure the training of LM’s, principals and teacher aides, to provide new equipment, provide policy development and construct buildings needed to accommodate a play-based learning curriculum. Newspaper Article Links Pertaining To This Topic Childcare reforms force three in four centres to lift fees. Kids lead the way to new schools of thought. Preschool crucial to bridge indigenous education gap. Australia spends less on education: OECD. Website Links Pertaining To This Topic OECD Education at a Glance 2011 HIGHLIGHTS. References Wheeler, H. (2007). Parents as partners in children's early learning and development. Retrieved from http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/parents-as-partners-in-childrens-early-learning-and-development-2864 News.com.au. (2011, September 13). Australia spends less on education: OECD. Retrieved from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2011). What is the total public spending on education? Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/61/14/48630949.pdf Financial Demographics Pty Ltd. (2004). Australian Population. Retrieved from http://www.findem.com.au/factsheets/AUSPOP.pdf Grieshaber, S. & Petriwshyj, A. (2011). Critical Perspectives on Transition to School. Retrieved from CQUniversity e-courses, EDEC12027 Challenges of Early Childhood Education, http://library-resources.cqu.edu.au/cro/protected/edec11027/edec11027_cro7273.pdf Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2011). 3218.0 - Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2008-09. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/3218.0~2008-09~Main+Features~Main+Features?OpenDocument#PARALINK11 |
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Emerging Challenges for Play Based Learning.
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There will always be kinks in a new system, and people who do not like change. Though one must remember it is for the students not for the teachers. These are our future leaders!
ReplyDeleteAs you say kindergarten and preparatory years are not mandatory for Queensland students however, there are many schools which will advise guardians to enrol students in prep before allowing them to continue on to year one so they are not left behind peers. This is an issue which is being addressed by the new ACRA curriculum to ensure students are not being left behind. There is also a perception amongst guardians that prep curriculums are pushing student too hard at an early age forcing them to focus on content and distracting from play elements which support social skilling. What are your thoughts on this issue?
ReplyDeleteAs someone that has been working in the childcare field for over eight year I am aware of the importance of an early childhood education to encourage children to develop. I think the challenge for educators of a play based curriculum IS to provide the educational content through a play-based curriculum which will not be easy until we become comfortable with the curriculum and how we see it work for our students. I often wonder how this is too be achieved which is why I have volunteered again this year at a local school to not only allow me to view how a diverse selection of registered teachers are approaching this play-based learning style but also to fine ways that I see working to promote the development of learning within our socio-cultural society.
ReplyDeleteThe high attendance of prep enrolments is attributable to educational institutions portraying it in such a way that parents perceive it as mandatory. We should not have to mislead parents to get our children educated, choosing instead to mandate our entire education system and also educate parents on the new play-based curriculum and the concepts behind our change of educational direction. My experience with younger children also highlights the necessity for the government to make early childhood education areas of kindergarten and prep mandatory. By making these two areas of education mandatory we are ensuring ALL children have developed the social skills needed to ensure their readiness for their formal education. I can fully understand this due to the non-mandating of the steps for adult students attending university. I had been out of school for twenty years when I began my university study and feel that if I had been made complete the steps course I would have been more prepared of tertiary education. Without mandating all the early childhood education areas how are we to ensure the curriculum is a success.
I do feel that we may be pushing the content a little too prematurely for the early education students but is this educational push essential for our future world, putting us on the same track as countries such as China and Japan that excel in the area of education?