Reflection on one's practice Research about theories espoused by practitioners - the grand and the personal

Abstract

Undergraduate and postgraduate early childhood education courses, in Australia and elsewhere, are underpinned by a variety of theories relating to emotional and psychological development, cognitive and physical development, language and social development, play, autonomy and independence. These theories position children and their learning in particular and sometimes conflicting ways, which have ramifications for teaching, learning and understanding child development. Early childhood education training courses conducted in Western countries tend to focus on major theorists such as Erikson, Bowlby, Ainsworth, Piaget, Vygotsky, Skinner, Bandura, Chomsky, Bronfenbrenner, Smilansky, Parten, Rogo..