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Early Childhood Development / Early Childhood Teaching –
Questionnaire/Answers
Look at your own lifestyle and family structure. Can you identify any problems you have
or might have in the upbringing of a young child? Look again at NEPI document.
Quality of the child care services may not be good;
Having to endure racist taunts, bullying about their gender, stereotyping, disrespect from
other children and educators, no involvement in their learning or cooperation from the
educator and/or parents and the community and no democratic participation.
Children are not allowed to be express their own feelings freely;
Children are discriminated against;
Communities are not involved in the education of the child and this would therefore not lead
to the child being the central focus or rallying point for communities, thus unable to break
down political divisions, strengthening social structures and promoting community
development;
Community-based activities and services can therefore not take place;
Wastage in the school system and no reduction in social problems, such as delinquency;
Services such as health, education and women’s programmes are not combined with child
development programmes and the needs of the child are not met both within the family and
community.
Learning outcomes are therefore not better reinforced by both the families and community;
What are the benefits of good early childhood education within the family context?
Changing technological society
Decline in extended family
Increased mobility and travelling
ECD Phase – NB role in redressing imbalances
ECD Educator + parents: complement and support one another; sharing responsibility to help
children to develop to their full potential
Clearly poor Zinzi feels insecure about her decision to go back to work and put her
children in an early childhood centre. How would you reassure her that early childhood
education benefits the child?
Care
Caring for children in a safe environment
Social Upliftment
The child would acquire acceptable social skills and unbiased attitudes towards age,
gender, religion and race;
Form relationships with both their peers (friends) and adults;
Meet group demands and to become positively involved in the group (by providing
support to the child);
Identify with healthy biological gender roles without gender stereotyping
School Readiness
It ensures that the child is emotionally, socially, intellectually and physically ready for
school
It ensures that the child is ready for school
It helps the child adjust to formal teaching
It help the child to acquire and to improve the child’s basic learning skills
Early Childhood Development Page 1
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Optimal Development of the whole child & guidance/assistance of parents
Serving as role models
Involving parents in the schools programme
Providing information on the development of the child
Start development programmes
Involving the child as a whole
Taking good care
Involving the family and contributing to social change/upliftment
Development of the whole child results in the child being school-ready
Would this kind of care satisfy Zinzi’s need for quality education and care for her children?
Give reasons for your answer:
It would ensure that Zinzi’s child would –
acquire acceptable social skills and unbiased attitudes towards age, gender, religion
and race;
form relationships with both their peers (friends) and adults);
identify with healthy biological gender roles without gender stereotyping;
ensure that the child is emotionally, socially, intellectually and physically ready for
school;
help the child adjust to formal teaching
help the child acquire and improve his/her basic learning skills.
Do you agree with the above findings about the role of the early childhood centre in social
change and upliftment? Justify your answer
Yes, because by acquiring and improving his/her basic learning skills it would ensure that
the child is emotionally, socially, intellectually and physically ready for school.
Visit an early childhood centre in your area. Is the community also involved and not just
the children? If so, how is this done?
Try to think of at least two ways in which you can serve the community as an early
childhood educator.
By involving the family and community, the childhood educator will be certain that the child’s
needs are met both within the family and community, thereby ensuring that the learning
outcomes of the child are so much better. It would ultimately also lead to better cooperation
between the school, parents and the community.
By helping them to start programmes for parents and other adults in the community, such as
health programmes and basic literacy and numeracy programmes.
Zinzi follows up her visit to “this wonderful school” by asking you for your opinion.
Explain to her why that particular school is not necessarily the best choice for her
children.
The teaching approach is not open and informal, allowing for a planning and a greater
sense of purpose than a formal approach;
The formal teaching approach does not link very well with the accepted outcome-based
theory that is applied in the more formal classrooms of primary school.
The school does not involve both the educator and the children in both the teaching and
learning events.
This particular school does not afford the learners within limits, the freedom to select and
explore learning activities at their own pace;
Early Childhood Development Page 2
Early Childhood Development / Early Childhood Teaching –
Questionnaire/Answers
Look at your own lifestyle and family structure. Can you identify any problems you have
or might have in the upbringing of a young child? Look again at NEPI document.
Quality of the child care services may not be good;
Having to endure racist taunts, bullying about their gender, stereotyping, disrespect from
other children and educators, no involvement in their learning or cooperation from the
educator and/or parents and the community and no democratic participation.
Children are not allowed to be express their own feelings freely;
Children are discriminated against;
Communities are not involved in the education of the child and this would therefore not lead
to the child being the central focus or rallying point for communities, thus unable to break
down political divisions, strengthening social structures and promoting community
development;
Community-based activities and services can therefore not take place;
Wastage in the school system and no reduction in social problems, such as delinquency;
Services such as health, education and women’s programmes are not combined with child
development programmes and the needs of the child are not met both within the family and
community.
Learning outcomes are therefore not better reinforced by both the families and community;
What are the benefits of good early childhood education within the family context?
Changing technological society
Decline in extended family
Increased mobility and travelling
ECD Phase – NB role in redressing imbalances
ECD Educator + parents: complement and support one another; sharing responsibility to help
children to develop to their full potential
Clearly poor Zinzi feels insecure about her decision to go back to work and put her
children in an early childhood centre. How would you reassure her that early childhood
education benefits the child?
Care
Caring for children in a safe environment
Social Upliftment
The child would acquire acceptable social skills and unbiased attitudes towards age,
gender, religion and race;
Form relationships with both their peers (friends) and adults;
Meet group demands and to become positively involved in the group (by providing
support to the child);
Identify with healthy biological gender roles without gender stereotyping
School Readiness
It ensures that the child is emotionally, socially, intellectually and physically ready for
school
It ensures that the child is ready for school
It helps the child adjust to formal teaching
It help the child to acquire and to improve the child’s basic learning skills
Early Childhood Development Page 1
, Page | 2
Optimal Development of the whole child & guidance/assistance of parents
Serving as role models
Involving parents in the schools programme
Providing information on the development of the child
Start development programmes
Involving the child as a whole
Taking good care
Involving the family and contributing to social change/upliftment
Development of the whole child results in the child being school-ready
Would this kind of care satisfy Zinzi’s need for quality education and care for her children?
Give reasons for your answer:
It would ensure that Zinzi’s child would –
acquire acceptable social skills and unbiased attitudes towards age, gender, religion
and race;
form relationships with both their peers (friends) and adults);
identify with healthy biological gender roles without gender stereotyping;
ensure that the child is emotionally, socially, intellectually and physically ready for
school;
help the child adjust to formal teaching
help the child acquire and improve his/her basic learning skills.
Do you agree with the above findings about the role of the early childhood centre in social
change and upliftment? Justify your answer
Yes, because by acquiring and improving his/her basic learning skills it would ensure that
the child is emotionally, socially, intellectually and physically ready for school.
Visit an early childhood centre in your area. Is the community also involved and not just
the children? If so, how is this done?
Try to think of at least two ways in which you can serve the community as an early
childhood educator.
By involving the family and community, the childhood educator will be certain that the child’s
needs are met both within the family and community, thereby ensuring that the learning
outcomes of the child are so much better. It would ultimately also lead to better cooperation
between the school, parents and the community.
By helping them to start programmes for parents and other adults in the community, such as
health programmes and basic literacy and numeracy programmes.
Zinzi follows up her visit to “this wonderful school” by asking you for your opinion.
Explain to her why that particular school is not necessarily the best choice for her
children.
The teaching approach is not open and informal, allowing for a planning and a greater
sense of purpose than a formal approach;
The formal teaching approach does not link very well with the accepted outcome-based
theory that is applied in the more formal classrooms of primary school.
The school does not involve both the educator and the children in both the teaching and
learning events.
This particular school does not afford the learners within limits, the freedom to select and
explore learning activities at their own pace;
Early Childhood Development Page 2
