For many children, especially in conflict areas and in places affected by natural disasters, education is their one chance to invest in themselves. It’s what gives them hope for a better future and breaks the cycle of poverty.
Preschool is a first step in their journey to learn and develop the skills needed for later life.
Self-Discovery
If a student wants to be an active participant in their learning, they need to know who they are. Our school system often fails to teach students this, as it only focuses on their grades and class positions.
To develop a strong sense of self-discovery, children need to be provided with daily opportunities in a safe environment to engage in meaningful experiences that are tailored to their unique interests and talents. Educators should ensure that all learning areas are well-stocked with materials and encourage creativity and imagination.
For example, if a child is interested in cooking, they can learn about food by exploring recipes and creating their own food. Children also need to be allowed to solve their own problems and find creative solutions. For example, if they don’t have aprons in the dramatic play area, they can fashion their own from blankets or other objects. This helps them understand that they can have flexible identities and adapt to new situations.
Socialization
Socialization is the process by which children learn the norms, values and beliefs of their group. It begins in the family and continues in schools. In schools, socialization includes the formal curriculum and the hidden curriculum, such as classroom discipline, dealing with bureaucracy, time awareness, competition, teamwork and other skills.
Children are first socialized by their parents, who show them how to interact with people and objects. They also teach them about the concepts of sharing and cooperation. This teaches them to become less egocentric, which can help them develop friends.
Societies handle child socialization differently, so researchers should study specific contexts to better understand the pathways and interactions involved in this important developmental process. For example, longitudinal designs capable of modeling bidirectional relationships between STRs and student outcomes could greatly improve understanding of this topic. This is especially true in low-income countries with more diverse student populations. Ultimately, this will allow scholars to make more informed decisions about what interventions are appropriate for different student populations.
Communication Skills
Children need to be able to communicate their needs, wants, and thoughts with their parents, peers, teachers, and other adults. Kids with poor communication skills may find it hard to express themselves, and they might not be able to learn in school.
Research has shown that children who are talked to a lot have larger vocabulary sizes, which is correlated with higher intelligence. So it’s important for kids to talk a lot, especially when they’re in child care.
Some research suggests that caregivers’ language models may have a significant impact on the linguistic properties of children’s gesture systems, and also how they use those systems. For example, some children who were previously institutionalized seem to use their language less frequently for expressing emotion and for requesting aid from others than do other children. This is consistent with the hypothesis that they were modeled limited use of their languages by hearing caregivers. (Goldin-Meadow, 1997).
Cultural Awareness
Children can become more culturally aware by learning from their parents, teachers and other adults. They can also gain a sense of cultural awareness by participating in foreign language classes. These experiences give children a foundation of respect and acceptance of other cultures. This allows them to have more harmonious relationships with people from different backgrounds, and can prevent them from believing generalizations or negative stereotypes about other groups of people later in life.
Educators can help children become more aware of their own culture in the classroom by listening to them and being sensitive to their cultural needs. This includes taking into account how students learn, such as through games, storytelling, repetition, visuals and other teaching methods that may be culturally relevant.
School districts can also be culturally aware by providing space for macro conversations about diversity in their schools. Stevenson’s post-baccalaureate certificate and Master of Arts in Community-Based Education & Leadership focus on cultivating and rejuvenating aspects of leadership that are founded on cultural awareness.