Principles of Intervention in Early Childhood Education (0-6 Years)
Principles of Intervention in the Stage of 0-6 Years
Comprehensive Approach and Meaningful Learning
The comprehensive approach allows children to perceive the whole rather than the parts. It brings the child closer to reality in the same way they perceive it.
Learning significantly involves determining what you already know and connecting it to new information.
According to Ausubel, some requirements for children to learn significantly are:
- A disposition towards learning
- Motivation to learn
- Content that meets their interests and needs
The Game: A Privileged Means of Educational Intervention
Playing is a joyful situation for children, undertaken freely, that promotes discovery, manipulation, observation, and imagination. Through play, children approach the knowledge of their environment, thoughts, and emotions.
Adults can leverage play to observe and understand children.
Childhood Activity, Observation, and Experimentation
Activity is essential for child development and learning. Children in this age group learn by doing, through a process that involves observation, manipulation, and experimentation.
Planned situations should be created that lead children to discover the effects of their actions.
To ensure children’s progress in understanding the world, they must be given opportunities to perform independent activities in a safe and supportive environment.
The Configuration of the Environment: A Framework for Educational Work
Children grow within the frameworks of life offered by adults. However, these contexts are not always the same; they vary culturally, historically, physically, and relationally, shaping behavior patterns.
Planning the nursery school environment is crucial for relationship processes, growth, and learning.
Space and Materials: Support for Action, Interaction, and Communication
Spaces must be organized according to the characteristics and needs of children. Educators should plan the spaces within the school.
Spaces should be considered arenas for action, interaction, and communication between children, families, and professionals. Their organization must address the interests and needs of children. Not all needs can be met in the classroom; spaces like corridors and restrooms should also be utilized. Spaces are defined not only by architectural dependencies but also by movable elements, materials, and objects.
Time in Early Childhood Education
Time is an important element of educational action and goes beyond schedules. We must develop an understanding of time as a tool for organizing school life and as an element that contributes to the children’s personal construction process.
Time should be organized naturally, offering moments for laughter, play, and learning with adults and peers.