Early Childhood Education Theorists

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Early Childhood Education Theorists Lev Vygotsky, Reggio Emilia, and John Dewey are three fundamental pioneers that espouse the notion of increasing children’s social development through the help and care of adults and members of the community. All of these theorist agree that developing self-awareness is critical to children’s overall comprehension of the world. However, these theorist offer different viewpoints on how children achieve optimal development. Vygotsky support the notion of assessing a children’s comprehension level by using what he coined the learning ‘Zone of Proximity Development’ (ZPD) which declares that although children are capable of working independently they may still struggle to complete task beyond their comprehension level, and thus will require the guidance and assistance of adults. Reggio Emilia focuses more on the role family centered care play in impacting children’s development. John Dewey supports the idea of making children lifelong learners by increasing their awareness of the world and providing them with the necessary skills to function and operate productively and responsibly in society. All three theorist espouse the fundamental certainty that children if given the proper care and social interactions, can develop into critical conscious beings aware of themselves and the world in which they live. Teacher-child and peer interaction are two integral aspects of children critical development. Vygotsky supports this notion and argues that family centered care increases children’s awareness through dialogue, child initiated play, and other engaging challenging explorations such as small groups interactions and the overall interactions with others. Reggio Emilia believes that family centered care is crucial in a child’s development. Emilia believes that every teacher should have learning and teaching experience. Not only should
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