New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum Essay -- Education, elementary

Fleer claims there argon many theoretical voices within Te Whriki, the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum document (Nuttall, 2003, p.254). However two ar predominant and stand symbiotically on the pages and in the intent of the curriculum. Bronfenbrenners ecological, systems theory, which emphasises how the quality and setting of the infants environment influences the pip-squeak (Ministry of Education, 1996 Paquette, & Ryan, 2001) and Vygotskys sociocultural theory, which describes learning as a social process originating in society or culture and passed through generations (UNESCO, 2004). Discussed within this essay exit be a review of these theoretical perspectives illustrating their explanations for how each influences the pip-squeak, how the child learns, how development is explained, and how these theories are reflected within Te Whriki. Bronfenbrenners ecological, systems theory describes how the child and their immediate surroundings are in an innermost layer surrou nded, embedded and influenced by layers from the larger environment all impacting upon the child (Ministry of Education, 1996 Paquette, & Ryan, 2001). Of particular interest are the effects to the child of two way relationships towards and away from the child, as defined by Bronfenbrenner as bi-directional influences, these are particularly influential in the childs inner layer. For instance the impact to the child of attentive or non-attentive parents affects how the child reacts to a given situation, which in turn affects how the parent behaves. Notwithstanding, the impact of bi-directional influences on the childs world continues into the outer layers, as in the example of a parents workplace demanding more input into the workplace, which means... ... social aspects have a huge influence on these surroundings. This is demonstrated when whnau are involved and supportive in a childs life, sharing the familys and their cultures funds of knowledge, resulting in the positive effect t o the childs environment which will have vast social and educational impacts by ensuring connections are make to childrens lives and experiences. Adding to this is the socio-cultural philosophy of peer tutoring and where knowledge is actively constructed through modelling and scaffolding, with teachers facilitating the learning process. While through the building of relationships between the family and the centre, Te Whriki advocates the importance of the inter-group communication of whnau and family, which encourages a learning community which has interchangeable reciprocal advantages in a safe, positive, fun, caring, learning environment.