Young Children's Symbolic Behaviour

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Young Children’s Symbolic Behaviour This assignment sets out to analysis observational material, that I have gathered over the course of study for this module. The process involved maintaining an ongoing observational study of symbolic behaviour in a child in my early childhood education and care setting. For the purpose of confidentiality I will refer to the child being observed as Target Child A (TCA) and the other children as (OC) Symbolic behaviour is “the ability to represent objects, people and abstract concepts with arbitrary symbols, vocal or visual, and to reify such symbols in cultural practice”. (Lewis-Williams, 2002), It is important for all educators to have an interest in understanding children’s minds. Children are complex thinkers and they need to be prepared and encouraged to play and to think . Early childhood educators should help children to explore their world through play, imitation and exploration. Children should be supported to become thinkers too. Extending their thinking with variety, stimulation, materials and experiences. ( Nutbrown, 2006) Humans are unique in being able to communicate symbolically. They differ from other animals in the area of concept, creativity and problem solving and regardless of their individual differences humans follow a similar pattern of growth and maturation. (Eysenck, 1973, ) “What singles us out from all other animals has been the unique development of the neocortex, that great mass of white and grey matter inside our skull which enables us to function intelligently, to adjust rationally and to solve problems successfully”. (Eysenck 1973, p.22) Humans use only a small fraction of their intellectual potential. The years 0 - 5 are vital for brain development, as the brain reaches 95% of its adult weight in the first 10 years of a child’s life The more children learn, the more

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