PUBLISHED
May 5, 2020
Early Experiences Matter: A Relationships-Based Curriculum for the Birth-to-Three Age Group
Authors:
Mandy Goh, Marjory Ebbeck, Sheela Warrier
Source:
Early Childhood Education Journal; Jan2018, Vol. 46 Issue 1, p83-92.
Subjects:
Child Care, Curriculum Planning, Early Childhood Education, Educational Quality, Singapore
Keywords:
Active Involvement, Child Care, Early Childhood Curriculum, Early Experience
Abstract:
The paper discusses some research findings in Singapore that investigated if a relationships-based curriculum extended the active involvement of the infants, toddlers, and young children (up to the age of three) in their learning. Using a relationships-based curriculum, a study conducted over a year involved the use of a well-tested, traditional before-and-after methodology to find out if any change had occurred in the phenomenon under study between two points in time. A sample of 58 infants, toddlers and young children (up to the age of
three) in an experimental cohort and 59 of comparable ages in a control cohort, were measured using the Laevers’ Active Involvement scale before and after a curriculum intervention. The results showed that there was a statistically significant improvement in the active involvement of the children in the experimental cohort as compared to no improvement in the control cohort. It is proposed that the relationships-based approach has the potential to raise the quality of curriculum and could be considered for application in child care centres in other countries.
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