Teaching English New functional skills & Practicalities

Teaching English New functional skills & Practicalities



Teaching New functional skills & Practicalities

Introduction

The provision of affordable and accessible New functional english Teaching skills remains an important social policy issue in UK (Doiron & Kalb, 2005). Quality of New functional english Teaching skills is also a significant focus of social policy in order that children receive care that enhances their learning and development. Many studies, stemming primarily from the United States, have identified key structural and process features of New functional english Teaching skills that are associated with better developmental outcomes for children (e.g., Burchinal, Howes, & Kontos, 2002; Clarke-Stewart, Vandell, Burchinal, Brien, & McCartney, 2002; Phillips, Mekos, Scarr, McCartney, & Abbott-Shim, 2000). However, there are other aspects, aside from structural and process features, that can also be examined to explore what constitutes New functional english Teaching skills quality. In this paper, the nature and structure of beliefs about practice held by New functional english Teaching skills workers who work in toddler programs are investigated to identify how the functions of care and education are represented in their beliefs. Responsiveness (i.e., a function of care) is a core of practice with very young children (McMullen, 1999; Manning-Morton, 2006). Yet, increasingly, it is recognized that the quality of early learning opportunities (i.e., a function of education) that are available is also very important in order that cognitive development is enhanced (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2002). If beliefs are held by New functional english Teaching skills workers in toddler programs hold beliefs that their work is about early education, as well as care, then such beliefs are likely to ensure higher quality of practice.

New functional english Teaching

Policy and practice in early childhood services are framed by distinctions made between care and education (Braumer, Gordic, & Zigler, 2004). Care and education continue to be viewed as separate functions in early childhood services in western countries because historically New functional english Teaching skills services are provided within welfare, family, and employment jurisdictions while other early childhood services, such as preschools, are often funded under education policies (Moss, 2006; Penn, 1999). Such a distinction is accepted in the community as a legitimate division which maintains perceptions that New functional english Teaching skills services do not provide early education (Lakoff & Grady, 1998). For example, New functional english Teaching skills employees are called workers rather than teachers and instead of providing education they provide care (Nall Bales, 1998). Thus, a dominant social frame about New functional english Teaching skills is that it is a service to meet parents' work-related needs rather than having potential benefits for children. UKn government policy with respect to New functional english Teaching skills is constructed on the basis that work-related reasons are parents' primary reason for using New functional english Teaching skills (Department of Family and Community Services, 1999). However, such policy directions should also recognize that New functional english Teaching skills services provide early education.

Children's early learning experiences are not at the forefront of the ...