History and Current Trends

in Early Childhood
Education Workshop for
Early
Childhood Educators
 Meet our group
4

History of Origins of ECE

5

How ECE in the Caribbean has evolved

Table of contents over the last ten years

7

Jerome Bruner’s and

Urie Bronfenbrenner’s theories
9
benefits of having an early childhood
centre in the community
11
 A Caribbean country that is presently
promoting and investing in the
development of ECE
12

How the COVID-19 pandemic impacted

the government initiatives in ECE.
14
Strategies to address the effects the

Table of contents pandemic had on the education of the

students
16

Trends emerging in ECE

17

References
21
meet our group (H)

KALLISON INCE MOESHA SIMMONS ​TINECIA HARRY IMEINA-ROSE THOMAS

CHEYENNE CHUNIESINGH JOSLYN ROBINSON-

EDWARDS
History of
Origins of
ECE
 • Before Slavery, children were considered as mini replicas of adults and weren't involved in any children’s
activities like in today's world.

• Across the region, the history of the evolution of services and support to young children reflects the same
theme, the Moravian and Methodist churches ran infant school for children ages three to eight years not too
long after they arrived in the late 1700s.

• They wanted the children, mainly black children, to be educated enough to read and understand the bible,
although that was not the main focus, they then taught them writing and arithmetic.

• In 1967 UNICEF highlighted the needs of young children in the Caribbean and focused on activities
advocating for children, training educators and expanding early childhood programs in the Caribbean region.

• 1980 was designated as the International Year of the child (IYC) which resulted in the rapid expansion of
early childhood care and other related services.

• In today's world we continue to practice Martin Luther’s philosophy on early childhood education “we must
emphasize that early childhood education strengthens the family as well as the community”.

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 HOW ECE IN THE CARIBBEAN HAS
EVOLVED OVER THE LAST TEN
YEARS

20XX presentation title 7

 • The framework for action did not separate an age group for ECC and development, therefore the early
childhood period has broken into two stages from birth to 3 which was accommodated in Daycare and
3-5yrs in preschool.

• *There was increased access to quality Early childhood development services for children from birth
to 5yrs across OECS.

• It was recognized that an early start and a good preschool education are quite beneficial *From 2012-
2021 the OECS education sector strategy provides a framework for a regional approach to achieve
better quality education in the region.

• By 2021 the outcomes from the invention to implement the strategic imperatives saw national
operational plans developed and formal early childhood development services meet the required
standards.

• Over the decade the number of preschools in Dominica increased from 65 to 82 and Bahama,
Bermuda, and The Netherland Antilles have achieved Universal Early childhood education.

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Jerome Bruner’s Theory of
Development and
Urie Bronfenbrenner’s
Ecological Systems Theory
 • Encouraging relationships between parents and teachers so that they can maintain good communication with
each other and work together to benefit the child.

• If a child has a strong nurturing relationship with their parents, this is said to positively affect the child.

• If a child’s parents communicate with the child’s teachers, this interaction may influence the child’s
development.

• (Guy-Evans, 2020) Encouraging scaffolding, where what the child can do is built upon. Bruner also encouraged
discovery learning where the role of the teacher should not be to teach information by rote learning, but instead
to facilitate the learning process.

• (McLeod 2019) strengthening the development of the ecological systems in educational practice according to the
theory where teachers and parents should keep good communication with each other and work together to
benefit the child.

• According to the theory, parents and teachers have a good relationship and should positively shape the child’s
development.

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Benefits of having an early
childhood centre in the
Cost friendly
community.

Building relationships

Creation of a community Improving a child’s self-esteem

 A CARIBBEAN COUNTRY THAT IS
PRESENTLY PROMOTING AND
INVESTING IN THE DEVELOPMENT
OF ECE.

20XX presentation title 12

 • As part of Jamaica’s efforts to promote early childhood development, the ECC is focusing on the
importance of early childhood education.

• According to David Salmon, the chairperson of the board's regulation and certification committee,
the designation of Early Childhood Development as a Priority sector provides an opportunity to
raise public awareness about the vital importance of this area.

• There are over 2,500 early childhood education institutions in the country that provide education
for children from zero to five years old.

• According to Mr Salmon, the ECC’s main objective this year is to ensure that all Early Childhood
Institutions (ECIs) are registered and are meeting the standards set by the Jamaican Government.

• “[This] will ultimately ensure that our nation’s children are receiving the best education that they
deserve, and the best education needed at this time,” he said.

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How the COVID-19 pandemic
impacted the government
initiatives that are taking place in
ECE.
 • Despite clear evidence that high-quality early childhood learning experiences are critical to children's well-being and
lifelong human capital formation, there is growing recognition in international policy circles that early childhood
education is at a particular disadvantage compared to other levels of education in this crisis.

• There is also concern that more disadvantaged children are not returning to early childhood education because of
financial barriers. Parents spend significant resources on education overall, and preschool education is often fee-based.

• While nearly all countries around the world responded to the education crisis by offering digital and distance learning
via radio for primary and secondary education, only two-thirds of countries included preschool-age students.

• In Jamaica when schools, including early childhood institutions, were closed nationwide The Early Childhood
Education Commission, an agency of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, established a special website,
COVID CORNER, with resources and daily lesson plans for parents of children ages 0 to 5.

• The government pursued a number of strategies to ensure continuity of learning, including radio and TV programs
targeted at early childhood and distribution of printed materials in areas with poor Internet access.

• A partial reopening was originally planned for September 2020 but was postponed until October due to fears of a wave
of infections following Jamaica's September 3 general election, in which early childhood centers and other schools were
used as polling places.

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Strategies to address the effects the pandemic had
on the education of the students in the ECE.
EVERY CHILD SHOULD HAVE
ACCESS TO A DEVICE AND
EVERYONE SHOULD BE BROADBAND INTERNET.
EDUCATED ON THE PROPER
SANITATION AND HYGIENE
PRACTICES THAT WILL
PREVENT THE SPREAD OF CLEANING THE
ILLNESS BATHROOMS FREQUENTLY,
DISTRIBUTING MASKS,
SANITIZERS AND
THERMOMETERS

UTILIZE RADIO AND

NO CHILD CAN ATTEND TELEVISION PROGRAMMES
SCHOOL WITH ANY FLU-
LIKE SYMPTOMS
 Trends emerging in ECE

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 Holistic Development
o Contemporary early childhood programs are now focused on the holistic development
of young children.

o Pioneers have advocated that education should be more hands-on and assist children to
function successfully in society.(Olivia N. Saracho & Roy Evans (2021)

o There is a shift from academic-centered learning to more engagement in the personal,

intellectual and social development of the young child.

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 Inclusive education

• Inclusive education refers to an education system that includes a large diversity of students and diversifies
education to such an extent that it can meet the individual learning needs of all students.

• An educational and training institution shall not deny a person a with disability from being enrolled at, or
attending, the institution, by reason of their disability”

• The Special Education Policy, which compliments the disability Act once approved and implemented, will
make it mandatory for teachers serving students with special needs to be adequately trained and certified.

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 Use of technology in ECE
The use of technology has become a major part of the teaching/learning
environment of the early childhood classroom.
Some Governments have :
• Provided initiatives that incorporate the use of technology in teaching and
learning.
• In Jamaica, the Technology Enhancement Programme is focused on
optimizing student learning in the early childhood centers by introducing
technology to the classroom. ( WHEELAN, 2022)
• Offers training for practitioners in the use of ICT and has equipped
classrooms with ICT equipment

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 References
• Love, T. S., & Roy, K. R. (2019). field trip safety in K-12 and higher education. Technology and Engineering
Teacher, 78(7), 19-23.
• WHEELAN, T. (2022). CHASE Advances Technology in Early Childhood Institutions. Jamaican Information Service.
[Link]
• UNICEF (2022). Inclusive education Every child has the right to quality education and learning. [Link].
[Link]
• Olivia N. Saracho & Roy Evans (2021) Early childhood education pioneers and their curriculum programs, Early Child
Development and Care, 191:7-8, 1144-1151, DOI: 10.1080/03004430.2021.1917268
• Guy-Evans, O. (2020, Nov 09). Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. Simply Psychology.
[Link]/[Link]
• Kelly, M., & Coughlan, B. (2019). A theory of youth mental health recovery from a parental perspective. Child and
Adolescent Mental Health, 24(2), 161-169.
• Hayes, N., O'Toole, L., & Halpenny, A. M. (2017). Introducing Bronfenbrenner: A guide for practitioners and students in
early years education. Taylor & Francis.
• McLeod, S. A. (2019, July 11). Bruner - learning theory in education. Simply Psychology.
[Link]/[Link]

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 References
• [Link]
• Davies,[Link] (1995)Early childhood care and education in the
caribbean,overview of issues and concerns caribbean journal of
education early childhood education vol 17 no 20 sept 1998
• Quamie. Aleyejined,L. (2000) Education for all in the caribbean.
• Miller, E. (1990) Education for all in the Caribbean

2022 22
thank you