1

Established Curriculum for Children within the Age Range of 3 - 11

Critical Report

Student's Name

Institutional Affiliation
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Table of Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................................3

Identification of curriculum.........................................................................................3

Organisation and age group.........................................................................................3

Usage of the curriculum...............................................................................................3

Learning process of children...........................................................................................4

Key aspects of learning....................................................................................................6

How children should be taught........................................................................................7

Early Childhood Education Curriculum Frameworks.................................................8

How learning should be assessed....................................................................................9

Conclusion.....................................................................................................................10
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Introduction

The first six years of formal learning period are critical in mental development in human

life because the rate of development of the mind at this age is maximum compared to other

stages of life (Simpson et al., 2012). Early childhood education and care positively contributes to

long term development of children by developing a conducive and stimulating learning

environment. The role of parents and teacher can not be underestimated in this regard, since

these two personalities provide the necessary bridge to the child to interact with the environment

(Moyles, 2014). The current report is based on analysis of curriculum design and its influence on

children’s learning development. The report examines specific curriculum design of the selected

case in terms of targeted age group, people involved, assessment of the curriculum, examination

of the process of learning in children, and exposition on the correct methods to be applied in

children education.

Identification of curriculum

For the current report, the curriculum of for the pedagogical development of early age

children is taken as the case study. These include inculcating the language skills, basic

mathematical skills, knowledge of science, and some extra circular activities concomitant with

development.

To better educate students for life and work in the twenty-first century, an initiative was

launched. Additionally, the Curriculum will assist students in obtaining and developing the skills

essential to be successful in today's society and workplace (Hedges, et al., 2021).

However, although the majority of the curriculum remains same from the previous year,

the material for each topic has been reorganised in an entirely new way. To guarantee that the
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needs of all children are fulfilled, schools will be given more freedom in how they conduct

teaching, according to the legislation.

Your child will be enrolled in Key Stage 3 studies from the ninth through tenth grades.

Students in Years 11 and 12 study subjects from Key Stage 4 in order to get GCSEs in the areas

they are interested in pursuing.

Organisation and age group

Private and state funded schools in the United Kingdom are the targeted organisation for

this report. Since the report examines nuances of curriculum development, both kinds of schools

could benefit from this assessment. State funded schools are required to develop their specific

curriculum and learning methodology as well, which should be in line with the requirements of

the local demographics (Hammond et al., 2017). For this purpose, close assessment of the needs

of children is imperatively important. The targeted age group for this report is 3- to 11-year-old

children. In this regard, the national curriculum must be followed by obligatory school students

in community and foundation schools, including community special schools and foundation

special schools, as well as voluntary aided and voluntary controlled schools.

Usage of the curriculum

In the UK, a nationally guided curriculum is used which encompasses the requirements of

skills expected from each age group, so that the schools could design their specific cirrculum

accordingly.

The English program of study is based on a continued focus on systematic synthetic

phonics, along with subsequent gradual progression in the teaching (Glazzard et al., 2017). This

entails that teacher of all levels within the age group of 3 to 11 years emphasise on learning of
 5

punctuation, spelling, grammar, and vocabulary development. This is critical for increasing

students' vocabularies. The initial section on language and literacy emphasises the importance of

reading for pleasure, stating that schools "should provide library facilities and set ambitious

expectations for reading at home." For Years 1–6, there is a single, defined programme of study

for spoken language that emphasises the significance of vocabulary growth. Year 1 parents, like

all other year groups, must adhere to government-mandated learning programmes (Oxford Owl,

2022). At the conclusion of the year, the students will be examined to see if they have met the

required standard. All children are encouraged to attain this goal, and extra help and advice is

provided as needed. Meanwhile, the programs for mathematics and science are developed

according to the requirements and existent skills of majority of the children. This is gauged by

the schools federation, which then design curriculum with respect to age and mental training

requirements.

The federal and local governments coordinate with schooling systems to develop and

monitor curriculum development according to the local needs and aspirations. For this, the

government provides a framework of curriculum which is then synthesised by schooling bodies

accordingly. Once established, the government assess the outcomes of the curriculum with

respect to students’ learning outcomes, in order to gauge the efficacy of the developed

curriculum.

Learning process of children

Curriculum development is an activity that needs to be continuous, open to feedback, and

flexible in terms of ability of adaptation. For this, the underlying policy framework for early age

education is required to be based on accurate real-life information about the population,

objectives of the state, and other sociocultural nuances (Park and Lee, 2013). Since English
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learning is a continues process, early age children are contacted with its most primitive

components. However, language learning is deemed to be a holistic process, in which reading,

writing, and speaking are closely interconnected skills. Due to this characteristic, each of these

elements have to be inculcated in children learning practices on a regular basis, so that language

skills could be developed as a holistic phenomenon (Mercer 2012). However, the Experiential

Education Approach (culminating in the form of EXE theory) propounds that the most cost-

effective way to assess the character of any educational environment (from pre-school to adult

education) is to focus on two factors: the degree of 'enthusiastic prosperity' and the degree of

'inclusion' (Laevers, 2015). The principal refers to the degree to which children are at ease,

respond quickly, and demonstrate assertiveness and self-assurance. All of this demonstrates that

their basic needs have been met: the physical necessities, the need for delicacy and affection, the

need for wellbeing and clarity, the need for social recognition, the need to feel skilful, and the

need for importance in everyday life and virtue. The next rule, contribution, is linked to the

formative cycle and requires the adult to provide a challenging environment that favours

concentrated, distinctively stimulated movement (OECD, 2014).

English learning process in early age children is similar in nature of the process to

learning of other skills. The EXE theory underscores the importance of involvement of the child

in learning practice to obtain superior outcomes. Continuous involvement leads to enhancement

of concentration and mental flow, which increases motivation (OECD, 2014). Fascination with

the learning experience opens up the child’s mind to more perceptual stimuli which shapes

overall cognitive functioning. This is further cemented by the research findings that children start

to acquire cognitive information from infancy because their minds are more active towards

stimuli than that of adults. Consequently, throughout the early age, they construct their personal
 7

working models of learning which is subconsciously used to acquire more and more knowledge

(Meadows, 2016). These mental working models shape children’s interaction with the

environment, people, and material. Hence, children prefer to physically engage in the activity of

learning. Up till the age of 6-year-old, the predominant mode of learning in children is based on

physical activities such as handshake, touch, taste, and other physical learning activities.

Children are inquisitive and ready to learn new things (Teszenyi, 2016). They have an innate

desire to make sense of their experiences and learn more about the world.

Curriculum theory has long been seen as inferior to child development and pedagogical

techniques since learning processes, rather than content or goals, are more essential in

educational environments if we express ourselves differently (Wood, 2018). Even though this is

no longer the case in today's legislative context, ECE curriculum papers have developed into a

vehicle for providing standardised and regulated instructional material. Preschool and

compulsory education programmes must be integrated to accomplish long-term educational and

school readiness goals for children and long-term economic and social policy objectives.

Due to this inherent characteristic, play is essential to a child's growth and well-being.

Exploration, experimentation, manipulation, and problem solving are all crucial components of

knowledge construction, and children's spontaneous play gives these chances. Play aids in the

formation of representational cognition (Goldstein, 2012). No two children, however, are alike.

Each child's growth and development pattern and timing, as well as learning styles, are unique to

them. Children's personal, family, and cultural origins differ as well.

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Key aspects of learning

Since early age children have a distinct proclivity towards activity-based learning, it is

imperative that curriculum of English learning is designed such that it highlights the learning of

life skills (Jardani, 2012). Gross motor abilities; fine muscle coordination with dexterity; eye-

hand coordination; balance, physical coordination, and spatial awareness; diet, health state, and

practises Listening and comprehension; oral skills/speaking and conversing; vocabulary

development; pre-literacy/emergent literacy abilities such as phonological awareness; print

awareness and ideas; letter-sound correspondence; letter recognition; word and sentence

construction; and early writing are the basic components of learning regimen that children need

to be made familiar with in order to shape their early perception of the language (Mohanty et al.,

2014). It is at this stage that their cognitive capabilities towards knowledge acquisition get

shaped. If literary abilities and phonological awareness are left unattended, the lack of evolution

of language cognition persists throughout life. This is evident by the fact that classroom

challenges in early education in a subject make children more vulnerable to certain kinds of

errors in those subjects even in later years of learning (Barac et al., 2014). Meanwhile, ability of

classification of alphabets, articles, knowledge of comparing elements, one to one

correspondence, number arrangement, and pattern identification in science, are some qualitative

abilities that must be inculcated in early ages. Although these abilities have ample time to get

refined at later stages as well, however, they determine the pace of acquisition of English

language among children, hence a critical factor behind child’s overall development.

While language skill development is a critical component in enabling students to acquire

English language, certain personality and behavioural development also goes hand in hand in the

classroom (Reichel et al., 2015). Self-concept development, self-control, life skills/self-help

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skills, habit formation, initiative and curiosity, engagement and perseverance, collaboration;

compassion, social interactions, group interaction, pro-social behaviour, expressing and

accepting others' feelings, are some aspects of behaviour which act as the conducive platform of

pedagogical learning for children. However, Harter (2015) expounded that self-development

skills are generally learned beyond the age of 8—9 years. Nonetheless, according to the analysis

of the same author, children need to be taught about the concept of self-development and

empathy from very early stages in the classroom, so that their minds could remain absorptive of

more complex understanding of human interactions through language in later stages of learning.
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It is possible that the preschool curriculum for one kid is very different from the

preschool curriculum for another child in the same school district. Preschools are not subject to

the same educational standards as K-12 schools, despite the fact that they should be (Hedges, et

al., 2021).

As a result, schools and school clusters are free to teach anything they want and in

whatever manner they desire. For example, religiously linked preschools may offer religious

instruction throughout the whole of their program's curriculum. Montessori preschools believe

that children learn best when they are actively engaged in their own education, which is exactly

what they are designed to encourage them to do.

In addition, instructors may alter their methods of education in order to fit the individual

needs of the pupils in their respective classes if necessary. Preschools all make an effort to

prepare children for the transition to elementary school, even if they do not adhere to the same

educational requirements as other institutions of learning (Hedges, et al., 2021). As a result, the

most effective preschools place a strong focus on the development of core talents such as

mathematics, science, and reading.

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Gross motor skills (which need a lot of physical movement) and fine motor skills (which

require much more movement) are being developed in preschool (such as manual dexterity and

hand-eye coordination). There is a substantial effort made by many preschools to actively

cultivate these abilities in their students. Fine-motor activities such as drawing, cutting,

colouring, and glueing are all examples of activities that may help children develop their writing,

grasping, and coordination skills, among other things. When it comes to lunchtime activities,

running, skipping, and jumping are all popular choices for students to engage in. The act of

kicking or tossing a ball to another student is another popular pastime. These exercises may

involve actions such as kicking or throwing a ball to a partner.

The purpose of preschool is to assist children in the development of social skills and

intellectual preparedness, as well as to prepare them for the transition to elementary school. This

is accomplished via lessons on sharing, taking turns, cooperating, and transitioning between

activities and activities that adhere to school standards, among other things. Preschool is an

essential time for children to acquire critical self-care skills, such as how to put on their own

shoes and coats, eat on their own, and use the restroom on their own.
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To be able to work in a preschool, all preschool instructors must agree to a set of goals as

well as a philosophical framework. Depending on the situation, teachers may be more casual

about sticking to these essential principles than they are in other situations. Many instructors

utilise thorough lesson plans and assessment rubrics to evaluate whether or not their pupils are

doing well in class. It is taken into consideration while establishing preschool curriculum how

long the school day is expected to last. The vast majority of publicly funded preschools, on the

other hand, operate throughout the school day, rather than simply for a few hours each day.

Because of the demands of parents' work schedules, some school days are far longer than the

conventional duration (Al-Jardani, 2012).

When children are assigned homework as part of their preschool education, they have the

opportunity to put into practise what they have learned in class. Even while some instructors feel

that homework is superfluous at this young age, others believe that it is vital. It may seem that a

preschooler spends the majority of his or her day in his or her classroom playing, but this is not

the case (Al-Jardani, 2012). Even if a youngster is having a wonderful time, play entails much

more than just having fun.

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For example, if your preschool follows a philosophy such as Reggio Emilia or

HighScope, the preschool curriculum should encourage learning while also supporting children's

diverse linguistic and social as well as physical and cognitive aims. In an ideal world, a high-

quality early childhood education curriculum would be provided by trained instructors and would

be based on the most recent discoveries in the area of child development (Hedges, et al., 2021).

Administrators, teachers, and even parents may all contribute to the formation of a preschool

curriculum as a consequence of the philosophy of the school and preschool. If you have any

questions or concerns about your child's preschool's curriculum or any other part of the school,

you should contact the instructor or management of the school.

How children should be taught

Developmental and Educational Psychology and later interpretations of child

development theory have had a substantial theoretical impact on the topic of early childhood

education, even if curriculum theory is a comparatively recent development in this field.

According to others, the disciplined forms of knowledge (i.e. themes) around which school

curricula are often built and educational goals announced have gotten less emphasis in recent

years. Historically, this term was connected with a careless demeanour. Since time immemorial,

early childhood educators have expressed concerns about how and where curricular materials

should be taught and how much young children may and should interact with varied concepts,

ideas, and abilities.

Throughout history, historical perceptions and beliefs have influenced and shaped the

formation of early childhood education courses (Brooker et al., 2018). Cognitive, behavioural,

and competency maturation occurs due to a child's growth, learning, experiences, and activities.

For instance, the ontology and epistemology of developmental psychology are inherently
 14

positivist. Their approaches may be used to explain a broad range of occurrences. This broad

term incorporates not just physiological processes and learning mechanisms but also social and

emotional adaptability and factors that contribute to individual diversity and variability.

Positivism is used in a wide number of fields, including cognitive, developmental,

evolutionary, behavioural, psychodynamic psychology, and educational and cultural psychology.

Numerous conditions and objectives necessitate the application of these methods, including but

not limited to the following: (observation, experimental, naturalistic, interventions, and

randomised control trials). We may credit developmental science for introducing rating scales,

assessments, developmental stages, and classifications to understand early learning and

development. Our familiar framework of 'years and phases' results from this scientific approach

created the basis for modernist discourse. This paradigm is based on normative strategies for

categorising and situating children according to their developmental stages and situations.
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According to Stephanie Lampert, a pre-K teacher in Atlanta, it is no surprise that leaf prints (and,

subsequently, snowflakes) are strewn over the walls of preschool rooms. 'Everything is done on

purpose,' she says in response. A crucial strategy for conveying the sense of time as a cyclical

process is the use of seasonal variations. The opposite is true for preschoolers, who, as she adds,

are "extremely concrete thinkers." "It's a really abstract concept," she says further. To a young

child, seasonal changes in trees are evident, such as the shift from green leaves to red and brown

leaves that eventually fall off the tree each year and are replaced by new leaves the next year.

"Watching time pass in real time helps children understand the concept of time."

Time management, according to Dietrick, "at its most basic level, is the ability to postpone

pleasure," which, among other things, is related with better study habits and grades. It is

necessary for Dietrick's students to be patient in order to get what they want, and this drives them

to develop their time management abilities. One such activity, according to her, is pyjama day,

which they "plan for a week in advance rather than the following day" when the youngsters want

it. On our calendars, we write down the number of days till the big day (Hedges, et al., 2021). .

Associating a nice experience with the need of deferring something helps them have a better

understanding of the situation.

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It is unlikely that a youngster would do any morning work if he or she cannot find his or her

pencil. According to Staci Carper, a Marietta, Georgia, first-grade teacher who feels that

"organisation must take priority over time management," she believes that Deskalina was created

by Carper as a fictional figure that she might use as an incentive for her own children to do better

in school (Al-Jardani, 2012). In the event that Deskalina discovers a desk that has been cleaned

and organised, she will leave a note, a present, or a piece of candy for you. She is the cousin of

the tooth fairy. In Carper's classroom, when Deskalina starts to fly about the room, the desks

begin to get more organised. For example, the "Keep Here" and "Take Home" folders, which

contain unfinished courses and tasks, respectively, demonstrate Carper's habits and expectations.

Early Childhood Education Curriculum Frameworks

Numerous early childhood education curriculum frameworks may be linked to these

worldwide themes. The term "early childhood education" refers to a body of knowledge that

incorporates several perspectives on children's learning and development, as well as foundational

ideas for establishing how children should be taught in an early childhood education context

(Barbarin and Wasik, 2019). Several of the most important challenges that surfaced during this

period remain pertinent today:

The curriculum encompasses all activities and experiences in early childhood education

and the ethos, agreed-upon norms, and behaviours. Before developing an emergent, responsive

curriculum, it is necessary to consider children's interests and needs. When it comes to "laissez-

faire" practises, they have historically been connected with letting children be children and

observing their natural growth with little adult intervention.

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On the other hand, curriculum design has been linked to the application of developmental

theories in educational settings. Developmental research at a pivotal juncture in their careers

allowed politicians and curriculum designers to craft an epistemic counter-narrative against

laissez-faire techniques. These programmes relied increasingly on scientific evidence over the

twentieth century to establish the economic justification for government investment in the social

sector. Economic theory development opened the path for this. Educational and developmental

psychologists cooperated to determine the optimal organisation of curricular knowledge into a

set of principles and instructional frameworks that might be used in the classroom. Teachers may

use these frameworks to understand better and assess students' progress and accomplishments in

the classroom.

The fact that so many policy frameworks now explicitly define typical/standard

developmental signals as developmental realities demonstrate how ubiquitous the practice has

grown in education (EYFS in England, Department for Education, 2021). Over the past decade,

the scientific community has shifted dramatically away from the view of play as an unstructured

and spontaneous activity that children engage in on their own. Margin advantages are also being

investigated, and data is gathered to substantiate this (Smith, 2010). Play is often regarded as a

very effective method of teaching youngsters new abilities. There has been little consideration

paid to the relationship between these assumptions and curricular concepts such as content,

coherence, and control, to mention a few.

How learning should be assessed

In recent decades, psychological perspectives on play have emphasised the significance

and importance of play in children's lives while also identifying certain pedagogical
 18

circumstances in which participation in play may provide developmental and educational

benefits (Reifel, 2020). As a growing corpus of research demonstrates, the play seems to be

beneficial for children's learning and development. Both organised and unstructured play benefits

children. Certain adults may see play begun by a youngster and subsequently monitored or

organised by an adult as acceptable behaviour (Roopnarine, 2019).

At the very least, a parallel focus on curriculum management has evolved due to the

inclusion of play in academic discourses. For instance, practitioners may make accommodations

to meet the developmental needs, preferences, and interests of the children they serve while still

meeting curriculum objectives. Please encourage students to participate in the curriculum

development process by choosing games and activities connected with the curriculum's

objectives. These activities are conceivable since they are founded on curriculum objectives and

begin with them. Early childhood education's (ECE) play-based learning, curriculum, and

pedagogy continue to encounter considerable obstacles, especially in the early years of childhood

education (Wood, 2018).

The perspectives of parents (O'Gorman and Ailwood, 2021), practitioners' responsibilities

(Fleer, 2019), and the critical function of play in education (O'Gorman and Ailwood, 2021) have

all been debated (Bodrova, 2020). Natural or "really free" play is difficult to reconcile with the

concept of "educational play" since it is difficult to harmonise children's choices, initiative, and

guidance. This is critical, even more so when the children are little. When it comes to

"educational games," it is unclear how curricular material may be acquired or coherence

maintained while playing. Adults' goals and wishes may take precedence over children's goals

and aspirations due to the present emphasis on outcome-driven policy design and the

requirement for evidence-based and evidence-informed practice.

 19

Curriculum goals that are prescriptive, suggestive, or aspirational must be consistent with

pedagogical interpretations of play and learning. It is critical to do the pedagogical analysis of

the play and learning to ensure that interpretations of play and learning align with curricular

goals. According to some experts, many present policy frameworks' early childhood education

curriculum and control levels may be wrong owing to a lack of clarity in comprehending and

expressing the connections between play and learning and pedagogical theory. To address

educational inequity, it is no longer viable to focus only on theoretical considerations regarding

full public support for early childhood education. This context examines how curricular

resources may be rationally organised as curriculum material, how coherence can be achieved by

arrangements such as pedagogy, and what types of control are necessary to meet duties while

also integrating preschool and primary curricula.

Conclusion

Early childhood educators come in various forms and sizes and have a variety of

educational and professional backgrounds. Practitioners, educators, and policymakers all have

critical perspectives to contribute to developing a curriculum. Policy goals should include child

development theories to ensure quantifiable outcomes and adequate school preparation for

pupils. According to the policy, academic performance is expected but not demanded of children

in early childhood education settings (Oates, 2020). They may be short, medium, or long-term in

nature to assist students in achieving their educational objectives and developing into socially

and economically responsible citizens.

In the first place, play-based curricula may be justified if they contribute to achieving

certain policy objectives. Regrettably, government-funded research and studies often favour
 20

opinions that coincide with the government's interests and philosophies over those that do not.

Due to the susceptibility of curriculum understanding and execution to the high levels of

regulatory control highlighted by Oates (2020), contemporary research on children's learning has

been overlooked or neglected due to this negligence. According to our study, post-structural

theories do not correspond with either government policy objectives or practitioner requirements.

These theoretical ideas are intended to foster critical thinking, not construct a realistic early

childhood education curriculum philosophy (ECE).

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