Kids College Theorists that inform our Philosophy
At Kids College we base our philosophy on research, theories, content knowledge, practice evidence and our understanding of the children and families that make up our Kids College family.
Kids College draws on a number of theorists to create the very best educational environment for our Kids College families and inform our philosophy. We believe that all families are unique, so we embed influences from the following theorists to ensure we are inclusive. This gives us a vast array of ideas to use to fit everyone’s needs and practice the art of teaching. We have a culture of professional inquiry and are constantly critically reflecting to ensure we are moving with our children and are providing the very best quality care and education for our families every day.
There are articles written up each week for our website and we write posts for facebook each day. All these give our community opportunities to engage with us in meaningful partnership to critically reflect on our shared beliefs so we embed our Kids college family values into our every day practices.
We have coloured coded our philosophy according to the theorist that informed our Kids College values:-
- Purple is Rudolph Steiner,
- Black is Abraham Maslow,
- Orange is Lev Vygotsky,
- Blue is Urie Bronfenbrenner,
- Pink is Jean Piaget,
- Green is Daniel Goleman and John Bowlby
But first, a brief introduction to our theorists
Purple is Rudolph Steiner
Rudolph Steiner believed in the unity of spirit, soul, and body, and that good education restores the balance between thinking, willing and feeling (Steiner, 1995). Steiner believes in a whole child teaching approach igniting imagination and creativity. Before the age of seven children learn through imitation and doing.
Imaginary play is considered the most important ‘work’ of the young child and the activity through which the child grows physically, intellectually and emotionally. Characteristic of Steiner schools, teachers use the art of education to develop the whole child, from the heart to the hands and the head (Lillian, 1996) We value the journey travelled through the process of learning. We understand the research about children’s development occurring in natural stages and keep this in mind when developing our curriculum. This creates a curriculum rich in opportunities to open the minds and spirits of our children sparking those fires for learning.
Black is Abraham Maslow
Abraham Maslow first introduced his concept of a hierarchy of needs in his 1943 paper “A Theory of Human Motivation” and his subsequent book Motivation and Personality. This hierarchy suggests that people are motivated to fulfil basic needs before moving on to other, more advanced needs. There are five different levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow’s hierarchy is most often displayed as a pyramid.
The lowest levels of the pyramid are made up of base is the most basic needs, while the most complex needs are at the top of the pyramid. Needs at the bottom of the pyramid are basic physical requirements including the need for food, water, sleep, and warmth. Once these lower-level needs have been met, people can move on to the next level of needs, which are for safety and security. As people progress up the pyramid, needs become increasingly psychological and social. Soon, the need for love, friendship, and intimacy become important. Further up the pyramid, the need for personal esteem and feelings of accomplishment take priority.
Orange is Lev Vygotsky,
Lev Vygotsky considers learning within a social constructivist point of view, with emphasis on nurturance and relationships. Vygotsky emphasised the importance of relationships and interactions between children, more knowledgeable peers and adults. He believed that children’s cognitive understandings were enriched and deepened when they were ‘scaffolded’ by parent, teachers or peers. Vygotsky believes in a theory called the zone of proximal development, which he described as the gap between what a child can do alone and what he can do with the help of someone more skilled or experiences. Educators will know what children will need assistance with and will know when to step in and guide the child to support them in the learning process.
Blue is Urie Bronfenbrenner
Bronfenbrenner was a Russian born developmental scientist whose research and his theories were key in changing the perspective of developmental psychology.
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of ecological change, it looks at a child’s development within the context of the system of relationships that form his or her environment. Bronfenbrenner’s theory defines complex “layers” of environment, each having an effect on a child’s development. This theory has recently been renamed “bioecological systems theory” to emphasize that a child’s own biology is a primary environment fueling her development. The interaction between factors in the child’s maturing biology, his immediate family/community environment, and the societal landscape fuels and steers his development. Changes or conflict in any one layer will ripple throughout other layers. To study a child’s development then, we must look not only at the child and her immediate environment, but also at the interaction of the larger environment as well.
Pink is Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget views learning through a psychosocial lens. He discovered that all children’s intellectual development progressed through four stages, beginning in infancy and are completed by adolescence. Thinking becomes more and more complex as the child ages. Each stage of thinking causes the child to see the world in a different way. He indicated that a child must ‘master’ one stage before they can move onto the next stage. If they cannot master a stage, they will never reach their full potential.
Piaget believed that intellectual development controls every other aspect of development. He believed that there is a pattern to the way children learn to think and this pattern goes in stages. Children learn in different ways at different ages. The age ranges he proposed are used as a guide only. The rate at which children reached different stages varied but the sequence of the stages did not.
Children are little researchers. They learn by using their senses to explore how things work. Piaget says that telling children lots of facts about a thing, without letting them find out about the thing for themselves, is not very helpful. They need to be able to see, touch, taste, smell, move, and hear the things they are learning about. This is called ‘concrete learning’.
Green is Daniel Goleman and John Bowlby
Daniel Goleman is a leader in the field of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the capacity to acquire and apply information of an emotional nature, to feel and respond emotionally, to understand what others are feeling, managing emotions in relation to others and being able to persuade and lead others. This requires development of emotional competencies, skills and attributes such as self worth, empathy, impulse control, listening, decision-making, and anger management.
John Bowlby studies how children bond with adults, and their reactions to separation from adults. His study lasted 20 years and was commissioned by the world health organization (WHO) to study the mental health needs of homeless and orphaned children after the Second World War. Bowlby found that children showed a marked preference for closeness to a small number of adults. These attachments are a normal and universal part of human development. Babies are born adapted to seek out such attachments for the feelings of safety and security that attachment brings. This particular attachment between infant and adult is formed as an interaction in which both play apart. Our experiences of attachment in infancy, that is, how well and how reliably adults respond to infants feelings of anxiety and expressions of love, influence our closest relationships through life. The aim of attachment is to connect to form a secure relationship with children whereby they feel confident seeking reassurance from a trusted and responsive adult attuned to their needs.
What does this look like in our Kids College philosophy?
Introduction to our philosophy
Kids College has a profound passion and dedication to our part in raising our children. We believe that each child has the right to a happy, safe, secure and educationally focused childhood. We provide loving care to our children as well as a commitment to providing the best quality educational experiences. Our philosophy is reflective of our shared values and is embedded into every aspect of our service. Our practices are informed by critical reflection and are shaped by our meaningful engagement and partnership with our families and our community.
Quality Area 1 Educational Program and practice, influenced by Steiner, Vygotsky and Piaget
‘We run a play based program to provide the best environment for learning and providing the most stimulus for brain development. We aim to enhance the children’s understanding of the world around them through a developmentally appropriate program of activities rich with opportunities and information to spark a child’s imagination and curiosity. We combine the traditional values of play, love, respect, trust and freedom with the modern theories in early childhood education. Our unique Kids College curriculum and the Early Years Learning Framework builds on each child’s current knowledge, strengths, ideas, culture, abilities and interests to ensure all aspects of our program maximize learning opportunities for each child. Our educators respond to children’s ideas and play and extend on children’s learning so that each child’s agency is promoted enabling them to make choices and decisions that influence events and their world as strong capable competent learners. Families are included in the critical reflection on children’s learning and development and are part of our ongoing cycle of observation, analysing, documenting, planning, implementation and reflection on learning. We celebrate not just the end goals to learning but we celebrate the enjoyment and ‘distance’ travelled in getting there, making the most of those precious teachable moments.’
Quality area 2 Children’s health and safety, influenced by Maslow
‘We have stringent hygiene, health, nutrition, maintenance, safety and protection standards. We take our duty of care very seriously and will safeguard the safety and wellbeing of our children at all times as a matter of utmost priority.’
Quality area 3 Physical environment, influenced by Steiner and Bronfenbrenner
‘We strive to provide an environment of excitement and challenge, to facilitate children’s learning in all the areas of a child’s development. We provide an educationally rich environment, which promotes competence, independent exploration and learning through play. We have vibrant and flexible spaces indoors and outdoors that are responsive and inclusive of the interests and abilities of each child. We also embed sustainability and recycling at Kids College to support our place in our modern global climate of environmental responsibility.’
Quality area 4 Staffing arrangements by Vygotsky, Goleman and Bowlby
‘We pride ourselves on our team of enthusiastic and dedicated early childhood educators who participate in a lively culture of professional inquiry and value being life long learners with ongoing professional development in order to build shared professional knowledge, understanding and skills. We have a positive workplace culture that values and supports our profession as early childhood educators. We believe in our team of enthusiastic educators who genuinely enjoy being part of children’s lives and enjoy creating warm responsive relationships with a foundation based in secure bonding and attachments.’
Quality area 5 Relationships with children, influenced by Goleman and Bowlby
‘We have exceptional respectful and equitable relationships with each and every child entrusted in our care. We aim to support children’s overall sense of wellbeing and increase their emotional intelligence through love and dedication through each of their own unique learning journeys.’
Quality area 6 Collaborative partnerships with families and communities, influenced by Vygotsky and Bronfenbrenner
‘It takes a whole village to raise a child’ and Kids College values our partnership with parents and takes pride in our position as our children’s home away from home, ensuring our families and children build a strong sense of belonging to the kids College family. We enjoy moments together, making memories and setting down the groundwork for a lifelong love and passion for learning. We view the context of family, culture and diversity as central to children’s sense of being and belonging.’
Quality area 7 Governance and leadership, influenced by Vygotsky and Bronfenbrenner
‘Kids College values our strong leadership that promotes our ongoing cycle of professional development with educational leadership to ensure continual improvement and a sustained commitment to excellent professional practices. We value our collaborative partnerships with professional, community and research organisations and enjoy playing an active role in shaping the future of early childhood education. We believe in advocating for the importance of early childhood education, researching and experimenting with new ideas to inspire and create better outcomes for all children. We are aiming for continuous improvement with comprehensive plans for sustaining our commitment to excellence moving with the changing needs of our families and the greater climate of early childhood education. ‘
Kids College is proud to send our children home happy each day, having experienced love, laughter and learning.
Kids College Philosophy Quote
‘Our philosophy is reflective of our shared values and is embedded into every aspect of our service.’
National Quality Area
7.1.1 A statement of philosophy guides all aspects of the service’s operations.
4.2.2 Professional standards guide practice, interactions and relationships.
Kids College family
At Kids College we work each day embedding our values and philosophy into each facet of what we do. We continually improve our practices by critically reflecting and engaging in meaningful relationships with our community and for this we need your support and input.
Make sure to follow Kids College Childcare on facebook, watch for our regular emails and keep an eye on our Kids College website. Share in our vision of creating the very best childcare where children experience love, laughter and learning every day. You can reach us on Jennifer@kidscollege.com.au
With love, laughter and learning from your friends in the
‘village it takes to raise a child’
Teacher Jen and the Kids College Childcare family
