Language, Culture and Identity in the Early Years

✍ Scribed by Tözün Issa; Alison Hatt

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2013
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 257
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

In this engaging guide, the authors identify and disseminate good practice relating to language, culture and identity. They explore how children from a variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds are supported through a number of pedagogical practices which are based on knowledge and understanding of the social and emotional development of young children. Topics covered include:
– Perspectives on personal, social and emotional development
– Maintaining home languages in early years settings
– Supporting communication and oracy
– Developing strategies for parental involvement
Essential reading for those working with young children from a diverse range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
HalfTitle
Series
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Contents
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction
1 The Early Years Foundation Stage: Historical Context and Recent Developments
Where should we start?
Summary
2 Minority Education: Developments in Britain
Setting the debate
The 1950s: The first arrivals
The local authority response
The second period: 1960–5
The first wave of ethnic minority children in English schools: Some changes in policy and practice
Third period: 1966–72
Fourth period: 1972–82
Fifth period: 1981–8
The final phase: 1988 to present
Summary
3 Setting the Context: Historical Perspectives on Personal, Social and Emotional Development and the Early Years Foundation Stage
What preceded the EYFS?
Ten principles for early years education
The contribution of previous writers/practitioners
Summary of the selected theorists
Government guidelines
The ‘handbook of suggestions for the consideration of teachers and others concerned in the work of public elementary schools’
The impact of the Second World War (1939–45)
The Declaration of the Rights of the Child
After the 1944 Act: Two major reports – Plowden and Rumbold
The beginnings of an early years curriculum
HMI curriculum matters (1985)
The arrival and impact of the National Curriculum
The development of an early years curriculum
After the CGFS: The Statutory Framework for the EYFS (2008)
Summary
4 Personal, Social and Emotional Development: Exploring Language, Culture and Identity
Where does PSED come from?
Our research in the EYC
The EYC and language
CGFS and PSED (pp. 28–43)
CGFS and CLL (pp. 44–67)
The Statutory Framework for the EYFS ( 2008 )
Summary
5 Multilingualism: Key Issues and Debates
Multicultural Britain
Supporting children’s linguistic and cultural experiences in early years settings: Some theoretical perspectives
The role of the home languages in learning in school: The debate
The European Commission (EC) Directive and the ‘mother tongue’ debate
Bilingual children and metalinguistic awareness
Socio-cultural perspectives in children’s emotional development
Emotional and cultural consequences of monolingual development in bilingual children
Summary
6 First and Subsequent Language Acquisition: Key Issues and Debates
Bilingualism: The debate
Bilingual cognition
Bilingualism and metalinguistic awareness
First and subsequent language acquisition
Types of early childhood bilingualism
Exploring the role of the home language in second language acquisition: Some psychological considerations
Summary
7 The Role of Home Languages in Supporting the Development of Purposeful Talk in Early Years Settings
The mother tongue debate: Research from Europe and North America
The developments in the United Kingdom
Hearing children’s voices: Exploring the potential of home language use in children’s talk
The attitude to languages in the receiving schools
OFSTED findings
Summary
8 Supporting Children’s Language Development: The Role of Parents, Carers and Other Adults
Rumbold and other policy initiatives
Multicultural (parental) perspectives in early years settings
Examples from the EYC
Meeting with parents
Home visits
Summary
9 The Development of Communication and Oracy
The internal processes of bilingual thinking
Supporting communicative competence in young children
CLL revisited
Children’s attitudes to languages
Parents’ attitudes to multilingualism
Children’s knowledge and understanding of the world
The ethos of the setting
Summary
10 Making the Transition to Reception Classes in Primary Schools
Historical background
Transition to Reception
Moving from the EYC to Reception
Leaving the EYC
What were the children going to?
The ethos of the Reception classes
Displays
Play and investigation
The role of the adults
What did the parents say about transfer to Reception?
Summary
11 Conclusions and Recommendations
References
Index