Preschool in Three Cultures - Research Paper Example

ABSTRACT Approaches to education vary in different cultures and ideologies espoused by countries. As shown in the video presentation of preschool practices in three different cultures: Chinese, Japanese, and the mix culture class in the US. Behaviorism, the traditional approach, is more acceptable in China maybe because Chinese values centralism and collectivism; while constructivism is more acceptable in the US, maybe because Americans value democracy, equality and freedom. The Japanese practice on the other hand seems to be a combination of both approaches, as it seeks to give children more mature roles unexpected of the two cultures, yet the dominance of behaviorism is still apparent in the children’s formal activities. The removal of children’s shoes upon entering their classroom is uniquely Japanese. This video presentation brings viewers not only to judge which approach is best for preschoolers, but also to understand that educational approach is indeed culture bound, not vice-versa. Analysis of Preschool in Three Cultures I. Introduction The video presentation on ‘Preschool in Three Cultures’ shows how remarkably diverse are educational practices in preschools, specifically the preschools in three different countries: the Komatsudani preschool in Kyoto, Japan; the Dong-Feng preschool in Southwest, China; and the St. Timothy’s Child Center at Honolulu, Hawaii, in the US. Specifically, two entirely different approaches in education: constructivism and behaviorism are highlighted. This paper briefly discusses the basic principles differentiating constructivism and behaviorism, and presenting which one of the three schools exemplifies best each approach. II. Constructivism Constructivism asserts that learning is constructed and not acquired, as it recognizes the innate ability and intelligence of children to deal with their environment and their experiences. It believes children are active learners. As Piaget postulates, children at different stages are capable of learning and discovering new things on their own at a certain degree. It is through enhancing these given level of children’s capacity at each stage that they are further developed. Thus, children learn best through their socialization process because it is through interacting with their environment that they discover and learn new things without having these imposed on them. Learning then becomes a creative, dynamic, experiential learning process. In this way, children better understand things because they do not simply memorize instead they go through understanding the process of how the new knowledge came to be. Furthermore, constructivism encourages children’s curiosity which resultantly develops in them an insatiable hunger for new knowledge, making their environment their whole laboratory of learning, further developing them holistically. In the classroom setting, constructivist approach puts the teacher and the learner on equal respect. The teacher and the learner learn from each other. The teacher does not use prepackaged workbook as this is believed to limit children’s capacity to learn and disregards children’s unique interest which is pivotal to their insatiable quest for new knowledge. So, the teacher provides the most dynamic learning environment to feed the children’s hunger for knowledge and simply facilitates children’s learning process. To be able to provide this, teachers involve the children in their curriculum designing, to truly understand what really interests them. In this way, learning in a constructivist approach, as Dewey calls it, is dialogical and democratic. Among the learning theories that espouse constructivism are Bruner’s ‘Discovery Learning’, Vygotky’s ‘Social Development Theory’, Lave and Wenger’s ‘Communities of Practice’, Piaget’s ‘Stage Theory of Cognitive Development’, and Dewey’s ‘Experiential Learning’. The St. Timothy’s Child Center at Honolulu, Hawaii, in the US exemplifies best the constructivist approach as shown by the classroom’s physical arrangement, the teacher’s approach and teaching strategies, and the children’s activities. First, the classroom arrangement allows self-discovery in the children and free social interaction among them and between them and their teachers. There are no chairs allowing bigger space for children’s free movements. They simply sit on the floor in a circle formation including the teachers. Second, the teacher does not tell the children what to learn, instead the teacher encourages the children to express in words what they see, feel, and believe. They simply present key things which the children could describe in words, and from which they can construct new knowledge like the cooking of a soup which they ate afterwards. This is a very simple activity but it develops complex ability in the children. Even in disciplining a child, the teacher teaches the child not only decision making but even understanding his actions by explaining the consequence of his action emphasizing care for others – that others might get hurt if he does not clean up his mess. Third, children are given choices on what activity they prefer to involve themselves; thus teaching them decision-making; respecting their individuality; and teaching them to be respectful, too, of others’ diversity as they work in a diverse environment. III. Behaviorism Contrary to constructivism, behaviorism argues that children are passive learners; that they are born with tabula rasa (blank slate). Meaning, they have nothing to start with to learn, so they have to be nurtured by providing them learning experiences for them to acquire the necessary skills and abilities they need to deal with life. Learning is imposed on children through the use of positive and negative reinforcements, as this approach basically operates on the principle of stimulus-response. Given the correct stimulus, the desired behavior and reaction could be emitted from the child. Thus, learning here is regarded as a change in behavior. Unlike in constructivism, behaviorism makes use of pre-package workbooks where children are taught on what and how to learn things. In the classroom, the teacher is the authority of knowledge to which the children should listen to. The authority of the teacher and the rigidity of learning are physically imposed by the presence and the linear arrangement of chairs with the teacher in front. Furthermore classroom rules dictate how children should correctly behave. This approach promotes teaching strategies such as drill-and-practice as the main form of instruction, memorization, observation, imitation and modeling. The learning theories espousing behaviorism are Pavlov’s ‘Classical Conditioning Theory’, Skinner’s ‘Operant Conditioning’, Thorndike’s ‘Connectionism’, and Bandura’s ‘Social Learning Theory’. The Dong-Feng preschool at Southwest China, exemplifies best the behaviorist approach. First, the classroom arrangements in both preschools constrict children’s movements; they have to sit in rows, and they have to face the authority, which is the teacher. From the moment the children entered the school premises, expected behavior is already imposed. They have to sit on their designated seats as they wait for the formal start of classes. Second, the teachers’ approach is authoritarian. The teachers determine which activity children should do for each period. Children are conditioned by the repetitive activities they do each period; children are treated similarly like going to toilets at the same time every 10am and having similar activity. Teachers also determine the correct way of doing things. For example in the given activity of building the wooden blocks, the children cannot exercise their creativity, because the teacher also tells the child how to do it. In fact even eating lunch, the teacher tells the children how to eat their lunch. Third, the children’s activities are determined by the teacher. They are not given any choices. What the children simply do is to follow the teacher’s instruction correctly, and children are taught to do things uniformly. Here, the emphasis of learning is in following instructions correctly and in doing things in an orderly manner. So here, the best learner is the best follower. IV. Theory Application To educate and teach children of diverse cultural backgrounds, one must always keep the lessons interestingly relevant to the learners. To start with, a diagnostic activity should be conducted to understand the children’s interest, ability, and initial knowledge. With language as my area of expertise, I believe constructivism will work best for children of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, because language is best learned through interaction. Thus, I will develop activities that utilize exploration and discovery to make classroom learning dynamic, enthusiastic and exciting. To do this, my classroom’s physical and psychosocial environment should foster free interaction between and among us. It would be provided with different materials allowing diverse activities that would interest both group and individual activities. I will decorate my classroom with views that would represent the learners’ diverse cultures. These could be used to encourage them to communicate their thoughts about what they see, and what they think with what they see. My teaching technique will focus on self-expression and group communication which would be done through their chosen activities and in sharing what they have done alone or together. In this manner, children are given the freedom to discover through experience – how to communicate with different colors and tongues. It will also teach them equality and human respect as a basic human value. V. Conclusion The video shows that in constructivism learning is a liberating process. Learners discover themselves and their environment by allowing them to freely interact with their surroundings. It builds confidence in children further capacitating them to fearlessly seek more knowledge. Constructivism teaches children not only academic lessons but more importantly lessons of life. The Komatsudani preschool in Kyoto, Japan, seemingly exemplifies constructivism, with the children doing what they want. But the problem here is the lack of teacher’s intervention in cases where some of the children already violate their classmates’ rights. It fails to understand that in constructivism, the teacher is not a passive watcher to children’s misbehavior, but a responsible facilitator sensitive to the uniqueness of the child. Furthermore, the teacher’s leniency did not help the child realize his abusive behavior, instead it promotes the view that tough is great and the only way not to be victimized is to avoid that bully. It does not also impose maturity in children (leaving slightly older children taking care of toddlers) but respects the level of the children and guides them to development. With many of its practices, such as structured classroom setting, structured learning activities (thanking parents for meals, doing the origami) make Komatsudani essentially behaviorist. Moreover, these three preschool practices show that the choice of learning approach is greatly determined by the country’s culture and ideology. Read More