Pedagogical Principles and Practices - Essay Example

Introduction

According to Edelenbos, Johnstone, and Kubanek (2006), the pedagogical principles and practices are the simple tips of direction for the educational contexts professionals. As such, the educational principles comprise the significant characteristic of being pristine, pure, and packed with the pedagogical power. Arguably, teaching is inherent in the pedagogy. For this reason, the position of the teachers is fundamental to the quality provision scrutiny in the early childhood education. As an illustration, the early childhood mentors have a vital responsibility to take part in and to fulfill this task efficiently; they are required to have a high level of skills and knowledge. As far as the pedagogical principles are concerned, an activity in the classroom for the age range 0-5 years includes empowering the children. It involves assisting the youngsters to put on a sense of inner strength, courage, and confidence to successfully overcome what life presents. Subsequently, this paper will make links between the activity of empowering the children with pedagogical theories that include Maria Montessori Janet Moyles, Fredric Frobel, and Lev Vygotsky theories. It will also make links to the importance of the activity with the outdoor environment and play as part of pedagogical.

The Vygotsky theory lays down that the advancement of young one's mental progressions depends on the existence of the mediating representatives in the interaction of the child with the environment. He stated that the cognitive growth is a consequence of social interaction from a guided learning within the proximal progress zone. It is so as the kids and their collaborators co-construct knowledge. Evidently, the Vygotsky theory is linked to the empowering activity in the dimensions of involvement, control, and responsiveness. The combination of the empowerment activity and Vygotsky theory puts in a considerable power to the learning experience analysis and its effects. The theory views cognitive development as a dialectical process result, whereby the youngsters are taught through shared problem-solving experiences with another person, in this case, the teacher. At first, the teacher is tasked with undertaking most of the accountability for guiding the problem solving. Nonetheless, the children are given this responsibility gradually, therefore, empowering them.

Correspondingly, to attain the highest level of development feasible, the Vygotsky's theory believers, would advise that the teachers strengthen the children by exposing them to numerous social situations. Primarily, it is because the educators regard each interaction as a learning experience. The activity of enabling the children involves guiding them to believe and feel that they are powerful. Vygotsky theory has a connection to the movement of empowering the children because he felt that the youngsters are curious and actively involved in their development, discovery, and learning of new understanding. Inspiring the children is vital since much meaningful learning by the kids takes place during social interaction with an experienced tutor. The teacher may provide verbal instruction and model behaviors for the child. According to Vygotsky, this is a collaborative or cooperative dialogue. Subsequently, the children seek to comprehend the teaching and action that the teacher provides and then internalizes the information, employing it to regulate or guide their performance. Vygotsky highlighted that instruction is a right motor for the cognitive development of a child (Kozulin, 2003).

The empowerment of the children involves giving them the power to build up strong personal dispositions such as resilience, self-image, and confidence. For instance, empowering a kid, who is shy to build relationships as well as allowing the children from a minority culture to feel included. As a result, this enables the children to make choices, decisions and take actions for themselves. This activity is connected to the Vygotsky's theory since the argument shows that it is principally imperative to introduce the children to ideas and people that function about their current knowledge level. Consequently, it gives the children the access to new concepts and ideas. Even more, it guides the children to work as part of a group, listen to instruction, and to look for answers by imitating what they observe in other people.

The empowerment activity has a positive influence to the children's learning dispositions in various ways. It explores the young one's individual learning style and develops their creativity of learning. It helps them develop particular interests and strengths. It also enhances the children's independence, identity, self-worth, and confidence. The understanding of the pedagogical decision‐making of the teachers can pour into both in-service and initial teacher education (Atjonen, Korkeakoski, and Mehtäläinen, 2011). Even more, it allows them to develop resilience. To empower the children in this way, Vygotsky refers to what the youngsters can do like the actual development level. Vygotsky approach helped support learning because, in his view, the teacher, plays the vital role of a facilitator. Therefore, the teacher creates the environment where the guided and directed interaction can occur. Central to this pedagogy was the principle that the development of a child towards the scientific rationality comes out spontaneously as the children play and explore the environment (Mortimore, 1999).

Furthermore, the empowering activity is also connected to the Friedrich Froebel pedagogical theory because it also helped support learning in various ways. Through empowering, the teachers can help the children to get to stand up for themselves, work out the problem as part of their day after day practice, and build a positive relationship with others. The educators would also assist in the construction of the children's capacity and to feel good about themselves. Through essential resources and curriculum activities, the teachers help the young ones to learn to respect and appreciate differences in gender, race, ability, and culture. At the same time, Friedrich Froebel is an idealist who believed that at birth, all children had power over their full educational potential. For this reason, he argued that empowering the children through a suitable environment was essential to encourage the youngsters to develop and grow in an optimal manner. As an educationalist, Froebel was of the view that the necessary form of the pre-school education was to stimulate the self-activity in the young children.

Govindasamy (2001) pointed out that the pedagogy principles are assumptions, which preside over the high-quality performance of teaching. Evidently, Froebel approach supports the empowerment activity in the classroom for the reason that he did not believe that the adults should place the youngsters into the mold of the society. In contrast, he found that the children should be permitted to grow and shape their image at their pace through the educational process development stages. To that end, the Froebel principle is that the young ones should never be hurried or rushed in their development. Nonetheless, they should be empowered for the reason that they need to be involved in every experience that is required in each stage and assisted to see the association of things. Even more, they need to have ideas to themselves and each other so that they can make sense out of both their objective and subjective world. Accordingly, in empowering the children, responsible teachers should do everything possible to be familiar with each child's individual development level. The teachers should do it so as to provide essential activities and materials to motivate proper learning development. Froebel observed that the kids benefited by shared life through close examination built up in a system founded on their needs and permitting for their spiritual and mental growth (Lawrence, 2011).

Froebel judged that suggestion and imitation would indeed transpire. However, the teacher should only utilize it as an instrument for helping the youngsters in putting together their instructional perceptions. His idea connects to the activity of empowering the children since he is of the view that the kids required a place where they could be helped to flourish and be stimulated and cherished. The Froebel theory encompasses principles such as recognizing the children as part of the community and family and the recognition of the childhood integrity in its right. There is also the appreciation of each child's uniqueness in their potential and capacity. The theory's pedagogy involves the empowerment activity to learning, which develops the kids’ self-confidence and autonomy, collaborative and individual play and activity, and encouragement instead of punishment. The Froebel pedagogy theory is also connected to the empowerment movement since it also involves the awareness that education ties in with each child's capabilities. These capabilities are their spiritual, cultural, moral, social, physical, scientific, aesthetic, musical, mathematical, linguistic, symbolic, creative, and imaginative ones.

Additionally, the Maria Montessori education theory is also another approach, which is in the bracket of the empowering activity of the young children. As an illustration, Montessori argues that the youngsters will find out what they require for their progression at a time that is suitable for them and absorb it in their body and mind. To that end, she stated that the children would achieve this if the teachers gently watch over their activity and put them in an environment that is well-prepared. The early schooling symbolizes two propensities, which pull in different directions, and it is the pedagogy mission to reunite them (Little, 1999). As far the theory is concerned, the children are empowered since it highlights the critical elements of their growth the adult who watch over them, the teaching materials and the environment. Therefore, instead of the teachers to teach them unilaterally and providing them some capability, the emphasis should be to offer the children the environment they use to learn for themselves. When and what to provide depends on the teachers. For this reason, they are expected to observe the young ones patiently. Every child will be empowered to develop their ability if the teachers prepare an environment, which corresponds to each of them individually. By then, the most significant teacher education building blocks of a new pedagogy would be ready (Korthagen et al., 2001).

Even more, the Montessori teaching theory is connected to the empowering activity since it argues that the kids like an environment that are orderly by their nature. As a result, for the acquisition of intelligence and knowledge by children of the diverse qualities in the course of becoming independent, various general orders are recognized with the methodical endorsement. Nevertheless, the manner and time of acquisition depend on each child. Consequently, it is out of point to compare the depth and promptness of learning of a child to another. Hence, it is not a matter of competition. Evidently, the Montessori pedagogy theory has helped support education. According to the approach, the initial step in a child's education is to allow them to be cognizant with the cheerfulness of taking action by themselves. Hence, it promotes the self-reliance of the children in their daily life. Even more, the theory argues that the young ones build up ability through learning. Unless the teachers consciously provide them with an efficient environment, the children cannot learn. The Montessori Method of education assists the young ones to have their roles, even if the responsibility is a small one, in the family and to build up the consciousness concerning their position and role in the household.

Loughran (2006) stated that pedagogy is not merely a teaching action; more so, it regards the learning and education relationship and how together they result in the growth of understanding and knowledge through meaningful practices. Moreover, according to the theory, instead of being children who help the adult family members, the children would be empowered to proceed to feel themselves as part of the household. The Montessori pedagogy theory has also helped supported learning since it promotes sensibility in the children. According to Montessori assumption, the base for all intellectual activities is the sense. Therefore, the brains of the children are activated during the stimulation of the senses. Importantly, the theory highlights that the motions of the body can be controlled at will by the brain when stimulated. Evidently, the theory has supported learning because Montessori came up with enlightening resources that assisted the young ones to differentiate and isolate each of the five senses from each other. Besides, Montessori added the elements of precision on the sensibility education and extended it into an arithmetic training method. Notably, she was aware of the fact that the young children accepted the arithmetic knowledge more quickly in comparison to the language education. Accordingly, enacting the aspect of the pedagogy of the teacher training involves an ability to create an expectation for the pedagogical challenges and developments (Russell and Loughran, 2007).

In the second place, outdoor environment and play are also important part of the pedagogy principle and state. Therefore, playing is a standard channel for the youngsters' development, learning, and thinking and it is the basis for their holistic well-being. Accordingly, every child has the right and the need to play. Play is connected to the empowerment activity for the reason that it is what the kids do when they tag on their interest and ideas, for their own reasons and in their own way. Importantly, play influences many developments dimensions, expands the children's mind, and strengthens their bodies and it is a powerful tool for learning. For the young ones, the outdoor environment and play are vital in pedagogical principle and state since play is a way for them to strengthen meaningful cooperation and relationship with others. Furthermore, it also supports the children's use and development of language. The game practice involves careful reading for the reason that it encompasses vital pedagogical principles set in within the sports education sound philosophy that needs to pervade both the coaching and teaching of the world (Launder, 2001).

Furthermore, an enriched outdoor and play environment will enable the children to experience success, extend their sense of wonder, stimulate their imagination, and allow them to develop a positive attitude towards learning. The youngsters require suitable periods of time for learning in the course of continued participation in play. Notably, play enables the children to make sense of relationships, language, reality, concepts, the people in their world, and the world in which they live. The importance of high-quality play is that the adults can build it on the child's personality, and their significant interest. Besides, it is self-directed, and the teachers can choose the play of the child freely. That is to say; the teachers are the partners in learning while the children own the play. Play facilitates the children to develop positive attitudes towards learning, experience success and extend their sense of wonder. Therefore, the childhood educators need to offer the children the best play opportunity possible. Pedagogy has a close relationship with the learning technologies and as anticipated, the style and scope of teaching change with the change in technology (Beetham and Sharpe, 2013).

The teachers are expected to provide the children with the playing opportunities that are full of possibilities and potential so as to allow them to discover, question, engage, and explore. The direct knowledge through play is the most important means for a young one to construct understanding, meaning, and knowledge and to actively engage with their environment. Additionally, the growth of the children's feelings of self-worth and self-image are also accessed through play. For this reason, the opportunities for talk between the children and the teacher, discussion, and shared thinking alongside the numerous opportunities for prolonged association in play are essential for development, growth, and learning.

The educators could include the empowerment activity through play by promoting a game curriculum. Enjoyment is vital in the pursuit of excellence at the uppermost stage of a game where the prime motivation is the personal satisfaction (Light, 2004). Educating the young ones is a creative process. Therefore, school programs for the game would offer the framework for what takes place in a planned environment where the young ones interact with adults, their peers, and materials. The principal objective should be to assist the kids to see themselves as capable learners and to use the environment effectively. It should also allow them to see themselves as individuals who are mounting the understanding and skills, which will facilitate them to make sense and to succeed in the world. Pedagogy discourse can turn out to be a carrier of a power relation that is peripheral to schooling (Bernstein, 2000).

Conclusion

In pedagogy, the teacher has the objective of articulating what the children do and the impact of their actions. They are also responsible for why and how the young ones do what they do to the society, colleagues, as well as the parents. Subsequently, pedagogy is referred to as the interrelationship progression, which occurs between a child and educator to allow learning to transpire. Notably, the Maria Montessori, Fredric Frobel, and Lev Vygotsky pedagogy theories are significant presumptions for the reason that they have supported learning in numerous ways. The three approaches have informed different educational values and philosophies in early childhood practices about how the kids develop and learn. Even more, the children should be empowered since they are born with the powerful motivation to learn, and to do so efficiently, they require teachers for interaction. Pedagogy is a prism that replicates the convolution between learning and teaching (Wink, 2005).