Early childhood education refers to the time between a child's birth and the start of kindergarten (nu.

edu,
n.d). It is a critical period in a child's life because at an early age they will first learn how to interact with others,
such as peers, teachers, and parents, and it is a process that brings together personal, environmental
experiences and influences to develop, enrich, or modify knowledge, skills, values, attitudes, behavior, and world
views that will last a lifetime. Therefore (1) Cognitivism (2) Behaviorism and (3) progressivism are the following
theories that have important roles in the early years of a child.

Cognitivism is a learning theory that focuses on the processes involved in learning rather than on the
observed behavior, it is contended that “the black box” of the mind that should be opened and understood
( Rhalmi, 2011). Cognitive is the beginning of the womb together with the emotional and biological, forms and core
of the child being. And some major cognitive theories that can consider are Piaget's developmental theory and
Lev Vygotsky's social-cultural cognitive theory. Jean Piaget is most famously known for his theory of cognitive
development looked at how children develop intellectually throughout childhood (Cherry, 2022). He is the
prominent theory that emphasized the interplay between through process and the environment. He also
pinpointed the stages of cognitive development which are the first, sensorimotor birth to 3 years old they can only
learn through trial and error, second is preparational 2-7 years old they can now process memory and
imagination, third is concrete operational 7-11 years old they can learn about conservation and can classify things
based on their characteristics and the last is formal operational they can process more complex because this is
the start of adolescent. Vygotsky is a psychologist that was the first to examine how our social interactions
influence our cognitive growth (Serhat, 2020). Vygotsky explained how people learn in a social setting, He
determined that teachers can control many factors in an educational environment, including tasks, behaviors, and
responses. His socio-culture theory said that the children's environment has an influence on the child's
development, where the child mimics or emulates other people. Vygotsky gives three several elements of the
socio-culture theories. Which are the children can verbalize themselves in private speech, ZPD or zone of
proximal development that refers children are unable to do by themselves and the last one is scaffolding this is the
role of teacher or caregivers to support the learner's development by providing a support structure to get to the
next stage of development. Behaviorism, also known as behavioral psychology, is a theory of learning that states
all behaviors are learned through interaction with the environment and a process called conditioning (McLeod,
2020). It more focuses on the sensory components of the environment, observably and quantifiable experiences,
also behaviorism affects the environmental factors in influencing the behavior of the children. John Locke support
the behavioral in his tabula rasa, which states that a child born with a blank slate or "Clean state" means that until
the child has experienced something for themselves, they have no built-in beliefs or understanding of concepts;
children are like an empty unfurnished room for which one can choose the furniture, especially in their early years.
Subsequently, Progressivism is a theory of education that is concerned with “learning by doing “that children learn
best when pursuing their interests and satisfying their own needs (Dopico,2021). Meaning teachers should
encourage whole-child development through hands-on learning, exploration, and play. And it was promoted by
John Dewey he is known as the father of active learning, he developed progressivism in education based on
pragmatism which focuses on experience (J. A. Iantosca, 2018, Philosophy). Dewey thought that children learn
via experiences and can gain a better understanding from them, and he also believes that the curriculum should
be child-centered, and education should be based upon the child’s interest, strength, and needs with experience
centered on a child.
 We all know that the implementation of the K-12 system started in the 2012-2013 academic year. And
some theories supported it such as cognitivism, behaviorism, and progressivism and this theory has a huge
impact on what education system the Philippines has. This theory gives information on the teaching and learning
process, it also seeks answers as to how a curriculum will be designed to promote optimal student learning and
how much knowledge they can absorb in learning the various curriculum contents. henceforth, Students are
affected by cognitive learning theory because understanding one's thought process might aid learning. Teachers
can encourage students to ask questions, make mistakes, and speak their minds out. These tactics can help
students gain a better understanding of how their minds work and how to apply that information to improve their
learning possibilities also cognitivism theories look beyond behavior to explain brain-based learning. While
behaviorism is the belief that a student's behavior is influenced by their interactions with their surroundings.
Teachers in the classroom can use positive reinforcement to help students better understand a concept. As a
result of the behaviorism idea, students who receive positive reinforcement are more likely to remember material
in the future. And lastly Progressivism, the curriculum of progressivism is built around the personal experiences,
interests, and needs of the students. (Kauchak, Eggen). It is the belief that rather than focusing on material,
education should focus on the whole child. Teachers can use these learning theories in their classrooms by
arranging specific tactics and techniques. Teachers must first pursue a well-rounded education to understand
various teaching and classroom management strategies. To implement learning theories in their classrooms,
teachers must first comprehend them. Teachers that have a good understanding of learning theories can connect
with a variety of students. Teachers can cater to various learning styles to reach out to a variety of pupils, resulting
in instruction that is tailored to the specific needs and abilities of each student.