Beliefs, Values and Attitudes

When working within any setting {prior to school or school setting} the beliefs, values and attitudes that are in place will shape the type of program you implement, the overal philosophy and how you interact with the children and families.

Beliefs, values and attitudes is the system of thinking that the setting {as a whole} encompasses within their policies, day-t0-day running of the setting, visions for the future and programming. Each setting will differ between their beliefs, values and attitudes, though some will be the same.

Within a prior to school setting, there are specific regulations in which you need to be adhering to. Within NSW we use the Children’s Services Regulations which are to be updated this year. These Regulations state the procedures and guidelines within the running of a setting, including: child-to-staff ratios; staff qualifications; licensing procedures; hygiene practices; age divisions; and the list goes on.

Through the use of the Regulations, in conjunction with the National Childcare Accreditation Council {NCAC} which childcare centres will go through if they want to be able to access Child Care Benefit {CCB} for their families that access their setting. The NCAC looks at quality assurance within children’s services. It assesses a prior to school setting in relation to seven principles in relation to high quality, good quality, satisfactory and unsatisfactory.

Currently, these two do not work in conjunction with one another, even though there are a number of overlaps. The Australian Government is working towards making these two documents a unified. This change will begin to take place in January 2012.

When a prior to school setting is therefore writing the documents specific to their setting, it is important that these two documents are taken into account.

Similarly, a school setting is governed by the Department of which they fall under, such as the Catholic school system compared to the public school system. Whilst overall, most of their documents in relation to policy will be the similar, the way that they are implemented will vary depending on the beliefs, values and attitudes in place.

Again when looking at the beliefs, values and attitudes whilst they can be set in relation to specific documents outside of the setting, and documents within the setting, it is important to note that not every professional that is working within that setting will have the same beliefs, values and attitudes in place. They can vary significantly between people, and there is no right and wrong belief, value or attitude.

The following are my beliefs, values and attitudes {dated 2/6/2009) taken from here.

Assignment Three: Philosophy of Early Learning – 35%

“What we value and believe to be important in early childhood education and in our work with children and families will largely determine our practices” (Arthur, Beecher, Death, Dockett & Farmer, 2008, p.176). Early childhood educators have different ideologies regarding, children and the context of which they develop and learn; the partnerships developed with the family and community; and research and training within the early childhood field that should be undertaken (Arthur et al., 2008).

I believe that children are active learners that are capable and resourceful and I value the uniqueness and potential of each child (NSW Department of Community Servcies, Office of Childcare (DoCSOC), 2002; Australian Early Childhood Association (AECA), 2006).

I believe that all children learn differently in different contexts and that early childhood educators need to apply a varying technique of teaching strategies to accommodate these needs (MacNaughton & Williams, 2004; Arthur et al., 2008).

I believe that programming needs to enhance each child’s strengths, competence and self-esteem, but also in the development of the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential in a stimulating learning environment (AECA, 2006; NSW Department of Community Services (DoCS), 2004; United Nations (UN), 1989).

I believe that children need to be programmed for based on their individual interests and current development (DoCSOC, 2002; DoCS, 2004; Arthur et al., 2008).

I believe that there needs to be routine within the child’s day, but this routine needs to be flexible so to allow for ideas to be developed further than just for the allocated time (Australian Government, 2005).

I believe that children benefit from a partnership to be developed between families and the early childhood professionals to help extend upon diversity and culture but also to help maintain the interests of the child when at the service (DoCSOC, 2002; Arthur et al., 2008).

I believe that as early childhood educators we need to be reflecting and responsive within our planning for children and that using our evaluations we can extend on both the children’s learning and our own learning (Arthur et al., 2008).

I believe that staff should regularly engage in professional development and training to enhance their knowledge and skills in programming, documentation and care for children (Australian Government, 2005; Arthur et al., 2008).

I believe that research and theories modify and expand over time, therefore philosophies and practices need to change and develop over time to suit the changing individual needs of children and the wider community within early childhood services (Arthur et al., 2008).

In conclusion, as early childhood professionals, our beliefs, values and attitudes can enhance and determine the provision that we provide (Arthur et al., 2008). A personal philosophy is unique and is something that will be like no others as it is your own personal views on children; families; and early childhood professionals (Arthur et al., 2008).

Copyright 2009 by Carly Lloyd. If you wish to use anything you need to ask me.

I cannot remember my exact mark for that assignment, but I did get a distinction!

As professionals, we need to be mindful of the context we are working in, the context of the families and children that attend the setting and our own context that we bring when teaching.

Do you have a personal philosophy?

Tagged as: childcare, NCAC, philosophy, regulations