Early Years Settings: Diversity and Appropriate Practices

Aims of the presentation To question and challenge the prevalent and often dominating developmental perspectives in early years settings To argue that contemporary socio- cultural theory has more to offer in understanding all young children in settings and schools

With the person sitting next to you consider at what age is it ‘developmentally appropriate’ (in terms of coordination and judgement) to allow young children to handle sharp knives safely?

An Efe baby (11mths) in Democratic Republic of Congo cuts a fruit skilfully with a machete (Rogoff, 2003, p. 6)

Rogoff, B. (2003) ‘Cultural Nature of Human Development’ “Likewise, Fore (New Guinea) infants handle knives and fire safely by the time they are able to walk (Sorenson, 1979). Aka parents of Central Africa teach 8- to 10-month old infants to throw small spears and use small pointed digging sticks and miniature axes with sharp metal blades.” (p. 5)

This raises questions about ‘developmentally appropriate practices’ because… Human development is a cultural process. Children develop as participants in cultural communities. Cultural communities have different cultural practices and these have different value systems, traditions and histories. Over time these change. What is ‘appropriate’ depends on children’s experiences.

What exactly do we mean by Developmentally Appropriate Practices? (See also Bredekamp and Copple, 1997)

Developmentally Appropriate Practices and Stage Theory Martin Luther (1532) ‘My [son] Hans is about to enter upon his seventh year, which is always climacteric, that is, a time of change. People always change every seventh year.’ (cited in Walsh, 2005, p.41)

Theoretical views Froebel’s ‘divine laws of development’: 0-8 early childhood  children’s intellectual capability limited compared to older children 8+ later childhood Piaget, Gesell, Freud and Erikson argued that children develop through sequential stages which are predictable and universal.

Piaget’s Stages 1. Sensorimotor, 2. Preoperational, 3. Concrete operational and 4. Formal Operational (formal = abstract thinking) Young children are seen as ‘developmentally different’ from older children and adults. Young children are thought to learn differently from older children and adults.

Critiques of Stage Theory Donaldson (1979) ‘Children’s Minds’ and Gelman and Baillergeon (1983) ‘A Review of Some Piagetian Concepts’ - both demonstrated serious weaknesses in Piagetian theory and in stage theory in general.

Critiques from the socio-cultural perspective Developmental stages are always culture- specific. Within stage theory some children may be viewed as ‘lacking something’ as they do not fit in with the dominant model. They may be viewed as being ‘behind their development’, or ‘slow learners’, or ‘coming from deprived homes’.

When considering children from diverse backgrounds, stage theory tends to lead to a deficit-model.

But in many early years settings… developmentally appropriate practices are still viewed as being worth striving for; developmentally appropriate practices are still characterised by different stages of development.

A child is viewed as... full of potential, naturally curious, and eager to learn; active, outgoing and communicative; independent, autonomous, and able to show initiative; capable of selecting and sustaining self-chosen games and activities; able to learn through play and exploration. (Brooker, 2005, p. 118, emphasis added)

Children from diverse backgrounds What counts as for example ‘showing initiative’ varies between different cultural practices. The Efe baby showed a high level of initiative in terms of preparing food. Initial assessment in early years settings tends to award much lower scores for some groups of children than others.

Initial Assessment Robertson (2007) In one Reception class all British- Pakistani children were placed in ‘low ability groups’ in which they remained throughout KS1 irrespective of their actual achievement. Brooker (2002; 2005) In one Reception class British- Bangladeshi children were awarded low scores for ‘initiative’ and they were identified as ‘timid’ and ‘dependent’.

Why are some groups of children considered to be more ‘timid’ or ‘dependent’ than other groups?

Because what counts as ‘timid’ and ‘dependent’ varies between different cultural practices. Different cultural groups and families have different expectations of children and different views of childhood. Practitioners tend to view children within the dominant ‘English’, middle-class perspective.

British-Bangladeshi families Valued their children’s adaptation to, and participation in, the family: “A good girl, always helping” and “Likes to put his hand in mummy’s hand”. Ensured that children shared time, space and activities of household members of all ages. Aimed to cultivate interdependence between different family members, rather than individualism or independence. (Brooker, 2005)

British-’English’ families Characterised their children as ‘obsessed with Teletubbies’ or ‘good at drawing’ or ‘a tom-boy, always prefers to be out on her bike and get muddy’. Aimed to cherish their children’s ‘childishness’, that they had time, space and a life-style on their own, and behaved in child-specific ways. (Brooker, 2005)

Socio-Cultural Theory Accepts that individual development must be understood in, and cannot be separated from, its social context. Accepts that individual child’s efforts and development cannot be separated from the different people and the kinds of activities s/he has been engaging with. Offers different types of insights that connect with children’s learning contexts and their families and cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

Appropriate Practices in Early Years Practitioners accept and acknowledge that different children have different ‘funds of knowledge’ (Moll, et al 1992). In developing appropriate practices for early years settings the idea that whole cultural groups of children have lower achievement than other groups is rejected. Culturally reflective and sensitive practices replace ‘developmentally appropriate practices’.

Leena Robertson Middlesex University