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ED436298 PS028154
Title: Curriculum Disputes in Early Childhood Education. ERIC Digest.
Author(s): Katz, Lilian G.
Author Affiliation: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education, Champaign, IL.(BBB34257)
Pages: 3
Publication Date: December 1999
Sponsoring Agency: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. (EDD00036)
Contract No: ED-99-CO-0020
Report No: EDO-PS-99-13
Available from: EDRS Price MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.
Availability: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education, 51 Gerty Dr., Campaign, IL 61820-7469. Tel: 800-583-4135 (Toll Free). For full text: <http://ericeece.org>.
Language: English
Document Type: ERIC product (071); ERIC digests in full text (073)
Geographic Source: U.S.; Illinois
Journal Announcement: RIEMAY2000
From the academic--or
instructivist--perspective, the young child is seen as dependent
on adults' instruction in the academic knowledge and skills necessary
for a good start for later academic achievement. This perspective
is in direct contrast to the active and interactive curriculum assumed
by proponents of the constructivist approach. This Digest considers
instructivist and constructivist approaches to early childhood education
and suggests that attention to children's intellectual development
may inadvertently be overlooked by both sides. The Digest considers
why the academic approach has grown in popularity, how to distinguish
academic from intellectual goals, what research says about constructivism
versus instructivism, the importance of children's intellectual
development, and teaching methods that support children's intellectual
development. Project work is suggested as a way that young children
can express their intellectual dispositions in the pursuit of serious
topics, apply their emerging and academic skills, and generate high-quality
products. The Digest proposes that the early childhood curriculum
be structured so that it is focused on at least a trio of goals:
(1) social/emotional development; (2) intellectual development;
and (3) the acquisition of meaningful and useful academic skills.
(Contains 14 references.) (LPP)
Descriptors: *Academic Achievement; Constructivism (Learning);
Curriculum Design; Curriculum Development; Developmentally Appropriate
Practices; *Early Childhood Education; Educational Objectives; Educational
Strategies; *Intellectual Development; *Preschool Curriculum; Student
Centered Curriculum; Student Projects; *Teaching Methods
Identifiers: Academically Oriented Preschool Program; ERIC
Digests; Project Approach (Katz and Chard)
