Being an Early Childhood Educator is a very responsible job that necessitates the integration of multiple skills and a well-grounded worldview philosophy that helps children pave their path in life. In my opinion, children’s education is a cornerstone of their outlook on life that predetermines their opportunities for the future. Therefore, performing as an educator means eliminating the limits of opportunities for children’s development within their predispositions. In this regard, a teacher serves as a facilitator who encourages, creates favorable settings, and guides children toward their continuous exploration of the world around them and themselves as human beings.
My overall beliefs about who children are, families, and my role in the community as an Early Childhood Educator are based on my understanding of every individual being an integrative part of a social community. Children are the youngest individuals who require sensible guidance in developing their learning skills throughout all spheres of life. When educating children at their early stages of childhood, an educator is expected to generate a sense of belonging to a community concerning each individual’s unique contribution to it. Every child should be brought up with an inner understanding of their worth and uniqueness. Thus, the role of an Early Childhood Educator in the community and for families is in encouraging children’s development, balancing individualist and collectivist values.
Moreover, the role of an Early Childhood Educator is inherent in their leadership impact, which might be implemented through community work. Indeed, “community partnerships, and focusing on improving outcomes for children, will ultimately lead to positive outcomes for early childhood education services” (“Value for early childhood educators,” 2022, para. 2). Thus, I believe that it is essential to facilitate the development of children and create the necessary environment that would enable such development
My role in supporting child development is inherently related to the recognition of the uniqueness of each child, their needs, and particularities. Through meticulous observation and analysis, I am capable of determining the patterns in which a particular child perceives the world best, as well as what means of information most effectively facilitates their learning. According to Tran et al. (2017), apart from biological factors, child development depends on “psychosocial factors including early childhood education, parenting practices and exposure to violence” (p. 416). Thus, when supporting child development, I perform the complex role of a creator of a favorable environment through the elimination of constraints or challenges that hinder a child’s opportunity to learn and grow in a healthy setting. Furthermore, I believe that the process of early childhood development is a complex, multifaceted set of changes that mark the foundation for the individual’s advancement throughout their lifetime. In this regard, I contribute theories and practical skills of early childhood development to ensure that children acquire the necessary skills in communication, world perception, and learning about their environment and other children promptly.
I believe a curriculum is a set of well-planned activities that are designed to develop particular skills and pivotal knowledge in infants. According to Mueller and File (2019), teachers in contemporary Early Childhood Education “are making a difference in developing and implementing new curriculum outside the traditional discourse of the field” (p. 11). Indeed, on the one hand, there is a specific set of outcomes that a child is expected to accomplish by a certain age. However, it is important not to impose standardized schemas on all children but rather to facilitate the uniqueness of each child by introducing multiple non-traditional opportunities for their learning. Thus, in my opinion, the curriculum is regarded as a flexible, theory-based, and child-centered program or plan of outcomes and activities that would enable achieving the goals of child development concerning individuality.
I believe my roles connected to families, culture, and diversity within the inclusive playroom are based on the facilitation of equal opportunities for each child to express themselves. In particular, within family settings, my role is to communicate effectively with the parents of the children to address issues that might arise in a child’s education process. Indeed, “parents and families are children’s first and most important educators and have a significant ongoing influence on children’s development (“Value for early childhood educators,” 2022, para. 8). Thus, an early childhood educator should ensure proper connection between the multiple stakeholders to integrate families into the educational process to maximize benefits for the children. Moreover, diversity is an essential aspect of my pedagogical philosophy of respecting child uniqueness. Therefore, my approach to working with children is in the flexible use of pedagogical methods to meet the needs of every child based on their particularities and cultural setting.
I believe my interactions related to children will be based on the maximization of child benefits through play-based learning concerning the possibility of each child’s self-expression. I believe in the reinforcement of positive behavior as a strong driver of talent development. In this regard, I will ensure that the children I work with are treated with respect and care. I think the way to achieve such a goal is by adaptation of my teaching style to the particularities of the child (Mueller & File, 2019). Thus, through respectful and transparent communication, flexibility in teaching style, and recognition of each child’s needs, I will build effective interactions with children.
I believe in an environment that prioritizes child safety and maximizes their learning outcomes. Indeed, the environment is a significant factor in early childhood development (“Value for early childhood educators,” 2022). It includes community, family, school, class, and peers, all of which have their direct and indirect impact on child development. Due to the complexity of the environments, I believe that my role is in overseeing the characteristics of these environments and improving them continuously to eliminate any threat to child safety. From a long-term perspective, a facilitated learning environment created using interaction with all the involved stakeholders is the one in which a child freely engages in learning activities and advances their talents.
I believe my roles and responsibilities as an educator include the roles of facilitator and leader. I should be a reliable adult that guides children in their exploration of the world around them, as well as themselves as inherent parts of this world. My task as an Early Childhood Educator is the create and implement an effective, flexible, and diversity-sensitive curriculum through which each child’s learning and development needs will be satisfied.
My conclusions imply that my teaching philosophy is based on the assumption that each child is a unique individual that contributes to society based on the development outcomes facilitated in early childhood. It is through deliberate identification of each child’s needs, effective communication with families, community partnership, and curriculum improvement that I will be able to perform my role as a facilitator and leader. I believe that respect for and facilitation of diversity in the early childhood education setting is a driver of proper social development and community functioning in adulthood.
References
Mueller, J. J., & File, N. (Eds.). (2019). Curriculum in early childhood education: Re-examined, reclaimed, renewed. Routledge.
Tran, T. D., Luchters, S., & Fisher, J. (2017). Early childhood development: Impact of national human development, family poverty, parenting practices and access to early childhood education. Child: Care, Health and Development, 43(3), 415-426.
Value for early childhood educators. (2022). Web.