The development of a character perspective in early years education

We know how important early intervention is for all education; this project would investigate how attention can be given to character formation in the early years. Anxiety about the safety of children has led to the reduction of a child’s responsibility for his or her own self in school, at home and in wider society. Government initiatives such as ‘sure-start’ attend to one dimension of deprivation, but maybe there are other deprivations to which we should attend. For example, it would be interesting to discover when and how children form their understanding of the difference between work and leisure – leisure being understood as what one chooses to do and work what one has to do. This distinction is important since it associates learning with work and diminishes the chance of entry into an enterprise-culture which involves taking responsibility for oneself, including one’s learning.

Background

This study of (a) young children and their parents/carers and (b) their professional carers’ and teachers’ understandings of character formation in the early years (3-6 years) and their beliefs about factors that influence its development will take place over a period of two years, during which early years settings will be obliged, from September 2009, to implement the new, statutory Early Years Foundation Stage (DfES – now DCSF, 2006). This framework identifies the learning and development requirements that all registered early years providers must deliver (Childcare Act 2006), regardless of their type [1]. It applies to professionals caring for children from birth to five years and therefore spans preschool education and care as well as the first (reception) year of compulsory schooling in England.

The Early Years Foundation Stage framework (EYFS) is divided into six areas for early learning:

  • Personal, Social and Emotional Development (most overtly relevant to this study of character and values in the early years);
  • Communication, Language and Literacy;
  • Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy;
  • Knowledge and Understanding of the World;
  • Physical Development;
  • Creative Development.

The DCSF states that the EYFS is underpinned by four core principles, which are:

That children are competent (learners) from birth;

That loving, secure relationships with key people are the foundation for young children’s learning and development;

That environments are pivotal in supporting and extending children’s learning and development;

Children learn and develop in different ways and at different rates, and all areas of learning and development are connected and of equal importance.

The EYFS has attracted considerable negative attention from some early years educators whose main concern is that the framework is an ‘overly formal, academic and/or cognitively biased curriculum’ [2]. The settings that will be recruited to this study will all be implementing the EYFS and the study will explore professionals’ opinions about the formation of young children’s character within this new policy context for early years education. As noted by the OECD in its review of early education and care programmes in 20 of its member countries, Britain’s current early education agenda focuses strongly on academic development, early literacy and numeracy driven by economic and labour market factors. This contrasts with countries that adopt a social pedagogy tradition, such as Denmark, where the early childhood programmes have emphasised the ‘free and creative development of the child in a social context’ (OECD, 2006, pp.136-8).

Kagan and Lamb (Eds, 1990) assert that a moral awareness emerges when children are very young (in their second year) and understandings of morality underpin young children’s personal and social development, although Cacciopo et al (2007, p.421) suggest that this is dependent upon an individual’s ‘temperamental effortful control’. Findings from a study of 62 mother-toddler dyads (Laible and Thompson, 2002) led the authors to conclude that the study’s young children’s emotional understanding, social competence and early conscience development before age 3 years could be positively correlated with their mothers’ use of justification, resolution and mitigation. Whether children are or are not predisposed to develop a moral awareness as early as two years still leaves unanswered questions about the extent to which children’s moral reasoning is based on unquestioning social conditioning (e.g. I do this because I am told to and conditioned to respond accordingly), or because of their own decision-making processes (e.g. I do this because I have weighed up the options and have decided that it would the better thing to do, for whatever reasons). Both responses lead to further questions not only concerning young children’s cognitive development in relation to decision-making, but also to the factors that underpin their decisions (e.g. internal or external motivators).

In their review of literature concerning character formation, Arthur et al (2006) report that modelling and exemplification emerges extensively as a key vehicle for values development (Lickona, 1991; Powney et al, 1995; Halstead and Taylor, 1996; Rose, 2004; Arweck et al, 2005; Kristjánsson, 2006). Further to this, evidence suggests that the role of the head teacher and his/her relationships with other adults within a school is widely acknowledged as being vital in establishing the moral climate or ethos of a school (Powney et al, 1995). Similarly, Robinson (2003) suggests that professionals who work with young children may or may not individually subscribe to the general ethos of a setting (p.168). Their own values may differ from those of their colleagues. This has important implications for the design of this study: while a whole-setting approach to involvement will be undertaken, the research will explore individually professionals’ beliefs (their theorising) about character formation and the factors that they believe contribute to the development of a moral awareness in young children. Simultaneously, the research will gather documentary and observational evidence of the ‘ethos’ of a setting, including behaviour and other policies.

Arthur et al (2006) also report that the teachers in their study believed in the importance of role modelling their values through behaviour and in the embodiment of their values in their teaching styles and relationships (p.45). This and the school ethos as a whole, it was found, was believed by teachers to be of greater significance than a, ‘pedagogy for teaching character’ (p.46). However, contrary to students, teachers also believed that specific activities such as assemblies with an overt message about values could impact on students’ character formation. This research will specifically investigate whether or not professionals subscribe to a specific ‘pedagogy for character education’, what this constitutes, and their views about the ethics of character education.

Research Design

The study will employ grounded theory. That is, theory/theories will be generated from the study’s data gathered using a multi-method approach with a variety of participants (see later). Preliminary, overarching research questions are:

  • What are the early years practitioners’, teachers’ and parents’ understandings about the development of morality and values in the early years (birth to five)?
  • What do these professionals and parents believe to be the significant influences on young children’s character development?
  • What are the young children’s personal constructs in relation to character, values and morality?
  • What examples of morality and values are exhibited through the play, narratives and interactions of the young children?
  • What are the implications for practitioners and teachers of the findings from all of the above research questions and for the introduction of character education programmes?

It is proposed that the study should include as informants early years practitioners and senior EY Professionals, nursery managers, reception class teachers and primary school heads as well as children in their care and their families, with a sub-sample of focus children.

A ‘whole setting’ (pre-school) approach to the study is intended in two geographically and socio-demographically varied locations. This will enable:

  • A more in-depth understanding of the dynamics and ethos of settings within the budgetary allowances of the project;
  • The development of ‘communities of practice’ (Lave and Wenger, 1991) for reflection between professionals concerning their understandings of children’s character formation and the role of teachers in character development within the context of the EYFS;
  • A whole-setting approach to the introduction of professional development materials that may be introduced through the project and discussions about their impact.
  • The study will ascertain the views of practitioners of diverse qualifications and experience. The intention is that the study should be both exploratory and supportive.

The study will ‘track’ examples of character development over the course of 2 years as the children progress through pre-school settings and into their first year at primary school. Consequently, the study will involve a sample of young children and the primary schools into which they progress.

Informants in school settings will be reception year teachers, teaching assistants, teachers with responsibility for the coordination of pastoral care and head-teachers.

The precise nature of the sample is yet to be confirmed but it is anticipated that it will include no fewer than six early years settings, six primary schools, 12 members of staff, 24 focus children across these settings and their respective parents/carers (plus all children and parents included in broad enquiries).

[1] E.g. childminders, day nurseries, schools.

[2] http://openeyecampaign.wordpress.com/open-letter/