Hey I would like you to write a 600 words writting with APA referencing on '
Reflection about educational theory and highlighting Marxist educational theory concept'. I am an early childhood education and care student. So I would like you to write the
Reflection about educational theory and highlighting Marxist educational theory conceptand link it to early childhood education and care. Please avoid words such as 'kids and youngsters' instead write child/ children. I have attached some of the example from my senior's work. PLease have a look.
Gutek (2014) defines theory as a set of ideas or principles that responds to concerns/issues, based on a larger body of thought such as that of an ideology or philosophy, and derived from experience. Nolan and Raban (2015) define theory similarly and more simply, as that of a group of ideas that explains a topic. Particularly in early childhood (EC), theory pertains to ideas that describe a concept in the context of the child’s learning and development. Educational theories in EC help educators when they are stuck or puzzled about the child’s ways of meaning making. When educators need to interpret what they observe and document about the child’s learning and development, they refer to educational theories for clarity. When educators have that understanding of educational theories, they are able to ‘theorise’ or ‘hypothesise’. They are able to develop their own set of assumptions about the ways the child learns and develops, thus are able to identify the kinds of learning and teaching pedagogies that will work. According to Fleet et al. (2011), the inclusion of educational theories in an educator’s documentation gives its audience a picture of the educator’s way of thinking. Educators document with the use of theories, either those outlined in Gutek (2014) or other theories that one learns while studying early childhood education. All educational theories are, in one way or another, similar or relate to, correspond with and influence each other. For example, developmental theorist Froebel has based his philosophical position on idealism (Gutek, 2014). Another developmental theorist, Piaget, had been influenced by Theistic Realism or Thomism (Gutek, 2014) when he hypothesised the ‘stages of development’. Socio-cultural theorists Bronfenbrenner, Bruner, Malaguzzi, Rogoff, and Vygotsky have been influenced by idealism’s viewpoint of fostering the development of the child’s full potential through their exposure to the wisdom of their cultural heritage (Gutek, 2014). Further, socio-cultural theories’ emphasis on communities and scaffolding (Nolan & Raban, 2015) was based on Existentialism’s focus on the teacher as a facilitator of learning and self-reflection, and relationships (Gutek, 2014). Post-structural theorists were influenced by the philosophy of postmodernism in their pursuit of different forms of knowledge in order to prove that there is no absolute truth (Nolan & Raban, 2015). Theories outlined in Gutek (2014) emanate from ideologies, namely Conservatism, Liberalism, Marxism, and Nationalism. Conservatism’s emphasis on transmitting cultural heritage and tradition and protecting customary and traditional values (Gutek, 2014) corresponds with post-structuralist theories’ view of the world where every society has its own discourse, language and regime that directs, shapes and represents it (Nolan & Raban, 2015). Liberalism’s application of reason (Gutek, 2014) corresponds with socio-behaviourist theories in explaining the role of experience in shaping the child’s behaviour (Nolan & Raban, 2015). Marxism’s focus on developing critical consciousness by exposing false consciousness (Gutek, 2014) is similar to critical theories’ emphasis on constructing conditions for more transformative experiences by repealing current practices that are not working (Nolan & Raban, 2015). The Nationalism’s utilisation of children’s political socialisation in constructing a sense of citizenship and identification in children (Gutek, 2014) has influenced socio-cultural theories in their use of children’s active involvement and participation in shared experiences to assess learning and development (Nolan & Raban, 2015). In documenting and assessing children’s learning and development, educators can be guided by the ideology of Conservatism and post-structuralist theories in exploring varying forms of knowledge. They can refer to the ideology of Liberalism and socio-behaviourist theories in ensuring that children are active learners (Nolan & Raban, 2015). Educators can apply the ideology of Marxism and critical theories when challenging assumptions about and observing hidden aspects of the curriculum that focus on particular viewpoints while ignoring others, and enquiring about taken-for-granted practices (Nolan & Raban, 2015). To explain children’s socially-constructed play and plan a pedagogy that can support children’s social development, educators can refer to the ideology of Nationalism and socio-cultural theories (Nolan & Raban, 2015). References Fleet, A., Honig, T., Robertson, J., Semann, A., & Shepherd, W. (2011). What’s pedagogy anyway? Using pedagogical documentation to engage with the Early Years Learning Framework. https://childaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Whats-Pedagogy-Anyway.pdf Gutek, G. (2014). Philosophical, ideological and theoretical perspectives on education (2nd ed.). Pearson. Nolan, A., & Raban, B. (2015). Theories into practice: Understanding and rethinking our work with young children. Teaching Solutions. According to Gutek (2014), a theory is defined as “a set of ideas or principles that are derived from a larger body of thought such as a philosophy or an ideology, are responses to issues, or are generalized from experience” (p. 307). It guides practice and helps people hypothesise (Gutek, 2014). For instance, if the children run inside, they may fall and get injured. An educational theory is a theory that early childhood educators have about how to deal with particular situations and issues from their past experiences. This means that all early childhood educators have different theories as they have different experiences. One of the examples could be when a child cries at a drop-off because they do not want to be apart from their parents, an educator uses their own theories that they have learnt from their experiences and knowledge to solve this problem. One educator may distract the child by using one of the child’s interests, such as singing a song or reading a book while the other educator may show pictures of the child’s family to comfort the child. Each educator utilises different theories as they all know that what they do works for them to solve the issues. When studying early childhood education and care, the students encounter and learn many theories, such as developmental theories, socio-cultural theories and socio-behaviourist theories etc. While a ‘theory’ that is explained by Gutek (2014) is ideas that they gain from philosophy or ideology, a ‘theory’ that is used in educational settings is defined as “a group of ideas that explain a certain topic within the domain of children’s learning and development” (Nolan & Raban, 2015, p. 5). For instance, Piaget, one of the developmental theorists, believes that there are several stages in children’s development, and children develop and gain particular knowledge in a certain age group (Nolan & Raban, 2015). This theory helps educators plan rich and meaningful learning experiences that are age-appropriate. A socio-cultural theorist Vygotsky, on the other hand, believes that children learn something new from interactions with adults (Nolan & Raban, 2015). This theory encourages educators to implement interactions and communications in various settings to help children promote their skills and knowledge. These theories are different from the educational theories that were mentioned by Gutek (2014) because they are not the knowledge that educators gain from their own experiences. Rather, they utilise these theories as references when planning curriculum and rich experiences and creating meaningful environments for children. In contrast, the educational theory is something that educators can get based on their experiences, as previously mentioned. Gaining an educational theory for their own is vital for early childhood educators as they can use it when issues have arisen. In order to get their own educational theories, they need a lot of experiences with children actively. Instead of simply standing and not having interactions and conversations with various children at the workplace, effective early childhood educators should engage in various situations and experiences with children, which may allow educators to gain more and new knowledge about how to deal with the issues and problems. Early childhood teachers who have experienced and gain many educational theories are likely to adapt to any situation, which is likely to make them become effective teachers. www.tafensw.edu.au/degrees Moodle: courses.highered.tafensw.edu.au Week 10: Theory and education ECTPP402A Philosophies, ideologies and theories of education www.tafensw.edu.au/degrees Moodle: courses.highered.tafensw.edu.au Topics • Theory – concepts and interpretations • Philosophy, ideology and educational theories • Constructing a personal educational philosophy www.tafensw.edu.au/degrees Moodle: courses.highered.tafensw.edu.au ‘Theory’ has many meanings • An idea that explains something • A cluster of ideas that we can generalise and apply to other situations • The beliefs and ideas we have about the world • Some theories we can test e.g. if I eat less I will lose weight • Some theories cannot be verified e.g. Unicorns exist they are just invisible to unbelievers • Some theories lie somewhere in between those that can be tested – empirical, and those that can’t - e.g. our beliefs about God, the supernatural, and the spiritual. www.tafensw.edu.au/degrees Moodle: courses.highered.tafensw.edu.au A useful idea Theories are the bridge between philosophy, ideology and practice www.tafensw.edu.au/degrees Moodle: courses.highered.tafensw.edu.au A different perspective • The theories we will be focussing on for this subject are not the ‘same old, same old’. • These are educational theories that have been derived from a general philosophical position or from an ideological perspective or even a combination of these • These theories of education are tools for capturing and describing educational policy and practice www.tafensw.edu.au/degrees Moodle: courses.highered.tafensw.edu.au A sound educational theory should: 1. Propose a set of reasonable explanations about what education is for, how schools should be organized and how teaching and learning should take place. 2. Propose principles to guide how curriculum and pedagogy should be structured and implemented. 3. Set out what will be achieved of the theory is put into practice. www.tafensw.edu.au/degrees Moodle: courses.highered.tafensw.edu.au Five Main theories • Essentialism – from idealism and realism • Perennialism – from realism and Thomism • Progressivism – from pragmatism and liberalism • Social reconstruction – from pragmatism, liberalism and socialism • Critical theory from neo-Marxism and postmodernism www.tafensw.edu.au/degrees Moodle: courses.highered.tafensw.edu.au www.tafensw.edu.au/degrees Moodle: courses.highered.tafensw.edu.au Theory as reaction • A theory can also develop from a reaction to social, political, economic and educational crisis and events. • Social issue example – battling childhood obesity • Educational crisis example – combating school- based bullying www.tafensw.edu.au/degrees Moodle: courses.highered.tafensw.edu.au Theory from practice • Generally as a student you are presented theories in isolation to practice and then need to try and make connections • In may cases, however, theories are actually derived from practice (or observation of practice) www.tafensw.edu.au/degrees Moodle: courses.highered.tafensw.edu.au Theory from practice example • Our current National Quality Standards and Regulations are based on a range of observational research and testing of the determinants of quality over time • It should also be noted they have been politicised