Parenting the First Twelve Years by Victoria L. Cooper Heather Montgomery Kieron Sheehy

Author:Victoria L. Cooper, Heather Montgomery, Kieron Sheehy
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780241270516
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2018-06-04T16:00:00+00:00

The Chinese teachers were much stronger in their agreement with each of these statements than their German counterparts, who tended to disagree with most of them. The Chinese teachers did not see the need for, or refer to, ‘free’ play. They felt that as teachers they should direct children’s play to give it the required educational value.79 In Chapter 5 we discussed Chinese parents’ attitudes to play and the influence of cultural beliefs; it is possible to see the same influences operating within the education system, where play can even be regarded as the ‘opposite to learning’.80 In contrast, the German kindergarten teachers’ beliefs could be seen as reflecting a Piagetian perspective, and these beliefs influenced what they did within the classroom. Because they believed that children needed to explore and play in order to learn, they facilitated learning by providing ‘free’ time and play materials for the children to have fun with. They felt that these activities would benefit the children’s development of independent thinking.

Other international research has identified huge differences in teachers’ support for these different approaches. For example, teachers in Iceland and Australia were likely to strongly endorse constructivist beliefs, whereas in Malaysia and Italy teachers’ views were more mixed and endorsement of both constructivist and direct transmission was common.81 Teachers’ responses to epistemological questions can also predict their classroom practices,82 with the traditional approach generally being associated with less flexible and less effective teaching for inclusive or diverse classes.83 However, identifying which perspective ‘works best’ is problematic, because of the wide variations which exist between the different contexts and cultures in which education occurs and the ways learning outcomes are assessed. International research suggests that when countries seek to improve educational achievements, a focus on teacher-training that attracts and sustains talented teachers is vital. However, the nature of the teaching approaches being used remains very varied and interacts with cultural factors;84 for example, South Korean pupils outperform those from many other countries academically, but against a backdrop where they ‘are under enormous, unrelenting pressure to perform. Talent is not a consideration – because the culture believes in hard work and diligence above all, there is no excuse for failure. Children study year-round, both in-school and with tutors.’85

Childhood is a time of learning, and how children learn, what they learn and why they learn it are fundamental aspects of their lives. It is not surprising that education, especially when there seem to be so many choices and contested beliefs, can seem a minefield for parents and educational decision-makers. Parents are guided in their school choices, and in their beliefs about what matters in education, by several factors including their social-cultural circumstances and ambitions, and their beliefs about how learning occurs. Consequently, parents will arrive at different decisions about where their child should go to school and whether they are happy with how their child is being taught. However, a significant voice lacking in this picture is that of the children themselves. Children’s perspectives on the school that

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