علوم تربیتی و آموزشی

What is meant by “early childhood?
In international publications the expression “early childhood” refers to the period preceding the age of compulsory schooling, which differs from country to country: 5 years old (United Kingdom), 6 years old (United States of America, France, Italy and Germany) or 7 years old (Sweden and Netherlands). According to the authors, what “early childhood” refers to may therefore cover a variety of notions, since early schooling (5, 6 or 7 years) may be included or excluded. For the purpose of determining the nature of the approaches to early childhood education (rather than the policies of early childhood), the difference is important. In the former case, cognitive learning (reading, writing and arithmetic) lies at the heart of the discussions, whereas in the latter, earlier learning subjects, linked to social, cognitive and emotional development, as conceived in a global or “holistic” manner, are at the centre of educational concerns (note UNESCO Early Childhood, n°1, March 2002). If school attendance marks the end of “early childhood”, what is the lower limit? Are new born babies, infants or sucklings “young children”? Does “early childhood” begin at birth, with weaning, or when the child moves on to mixed feeding (between 6 and 12 months old as is customary), somewhere nearing 12 to 14 months old, when children are taught cleanliness, or between 2 and 3 years (for a long time required for entry into nursery school in countries such as France and Belgium)? Should mastery of language be taken into account (3 years, for communicating with an adult outside the family, or rather earlier if it means understanding a spoken message)? The reply given by each country depends on knowledge built up through empirical practices, medical knowledge and psychological research into childhood, on one hand; and, on the other hand, on the regulations determining admission ages or the end of institutional care for early childhood before formal schooling begins. These two sets of data only partially overlap. The regulatory age limits are only indicators since children may enter elementary schooling earlier or later than the official age. In Muslim countries, the age of entry into Koranic school was set at no later than four years, the age that continues to mark entry into preschool structures in those countries. In some emerging countries, the official age, aligned to that in developed countries, does not match the real age of many children who begin schooling later for a host of reasons. However, since crèches, day care centres, kindergartens, hospitals, schools and administrations in OECD countries operate according to border ages (Hurtig, 1980) the relationships between parents and institutions are linked to children’s ages. The institutions set the age limits. Within “early childhood”, a distinction may be made, according to how the child is cared for outside the family, between two or three stages that partially overlap: 1. crèche or nanny age, 2. kindergarten or daycare centre or nursery school age, 3. early preschool learning age (nursery school or kindergarten) or early schooling. In some countries, the current policy aims at “integrated education”, with a view to avoiding breaks between the various care institutions for children under seven years, which traditionally used to come under a variety of “specialists”. Some focus on care for babies and their psychological awakening (model of the nursery nurse); others on emotional development and socialization as of 2 to 5 years old (model of the kindergarten teacher or educator of young children); and yet others on preschool or school-age cognitive acquisitions (model of the nursery school teacher or infant classes). The recommended or compulsory training curriculum makes it easier to determine the cultural referents and the different pedagogic practices of early childhood professionals in the different countries, according to whether it depends on vocational schools under the aegis of the employing ministry (Social Affairs, Health and Education) or comes under the authority of Universities.

Refrences:
Pedagogical approaches to early childhood education; Background paper prepared for the Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2007 Strong foundations: early childhood care and education; Anne-Marie Chartier, Nicole Geneix 2006.