For the past six years the Croydon Early Education and Childcare Team has been using a scheme entitled the Effective Early Learning Project to improve the quality of provision within this London borough.
Stemming from the project is the training course 'Developing a Quality Learning Environment', which:
* focuses on 'involvement' and 'engagement'
* explains how to develop a child's emotional well-being
* shows practitioners how to monitor and evaluate the quality of their provision, using the observational and evaluatory techniques of the early years team when evaluating the learning and teaching in Croydon settings.
Involvement
So what is involvement? What keeps people interested, fascinated and wanting to come back for more?
To understand involvement, we need to turn to the work of psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi who, since the 1960s, has been studying human enjoyment and posed the question: 'What makes some experiences enjoyable and others less so?'
Csikszentmihalyi interviewed people from many different backgrounds but it was his work with artists that revealed that fascination lasted only as long as the product remained incomplete. Once the process of creation had stopped evolving, a person's attention was drawn to a new project.
Such behaviour may at first seem strange, as it is usually assumed that human beings are largely motivated by extrinsic need or the expectation of some future reward - what we call 'external motivators'.
However, it is common for people to devote large amounts of their time to doing things that are inexplicable unless it is assumed that the doing is enjoyed for its own sake - that the motivation is an intrinsic need.
We see this daily with young children's play. The doing is more important than the product; it is the process, rather than the end-product, that is creative and fulfilling.
Csikszentmihalyi concluded that what makes experiences satisfying is 'flow', a state of concentration that occurs when we are actively involved in an enterprise that stretches our mental and physical abilities and focuses our whole being.
The first symptom of flow is a narrowing of attention on a clearly defined goal. We feel absorbed, we know what must be done, and we get immediate feedback as to how well we are doing.
The depth of concentration required by the balance of challenge and skill provides a sense of control over our actions. In these moments, the awareness of time disappears and it is at moments like these, when a person is highly motivated, interested and fascinated, that they are truly involved.
Csikszentmihalyi suggests that an involved person gains a deep, motivated, intense and lasting learning experience.
Children also display these characteristics when learning, and only by recognising their involvement can practitioners support and plan effectively for a child's learning.
It is easy for children to become involved. They are naturally curious and are constantly trying to discover more about their world. Very rarely will a child undertake an activity that is rudimentary or boring. They will endlessly seek new ways for learning and will constantly challenge themselves through the mixing and matching of resources and materials.
Engagement
There is a direct relationship between child involvement and adult engagement. The more engaged an adult is with a child's interests and learning styles, the more involved and motivated the child will be and therefore higher-order learning will take place.
Carl Rogers, in his research into the impact of positive empathetic adult engagement on children's learning and attainment, concluded that when children are shown high levels of genuineness, caring and understanding, they achieve more.
Through positive engagement, the early years practitioner can help children realise their potential, motivate them to develop their learning and thinking abilities and help develop autonomy and independence.
Observation and evaluation
Regular observations are essential to the whole process of assessing a child's interests, evaluating the level of their involvement in their play and planning provision that will interest and challenge them.
Since attending the 'Developing A Quality Learning Environment' course in October last year, staff at Little Pandas Pre-school in Croydon have incorporated the course's recommended observation schedules into their practice, with eye-opening results.
Deputy manager Chris Hall says, 'The children are telling us what they are interested in. This process gives us the opportunity for in-depth observations, to be able to follow the child and not focus on an activity - the learning is all around.'
The setting is re-evaluating its practice to ensure that the children are observed regularly and that the activities on offer are in line with the children's competences. There is now a 'can do' culture as children tackle activities at their own level and thus feel an enormous sense of pride and achievement.
Chris and the team have been surprised by the findings. 'Knowledge and Understanding of the World has come out really high as a learning experience, but we didn't know what the children were really accessing until we looked at the learning they were experiencing in detail. This has made us plan better and bring in other aspects and areas of learning to add to what the children are interested in,' says Chris.
Their observations have highlighted the children's different learning styles and the need for appropriate provision.
Chris says, 'We are more aware of gender differences and the need for opportunities for more physical play and the resources required. Our findings show that the boys are accessing the physical activities. We need now to bring other areas of the curriculum into that sphere through large equipment.'
What has been most interesting to the team is the autonomy that the children are given. 'This allows us to gauge the freedom of movement and the choice children are allowed throughout the morning. The children are more highly involved in self-initiated activities, when they are moving and combining resources to extend their learning,' says Chris.
Observations have been used to inform the next steps in children's development and planning for future experiences.
Manager Joanne Newman says, 'It is a great evaluative and reflective tool and allows you to improve your practice based on the needs of the children.
You track your provision and what the children are accessing and at what level. You ask questions of yourself.'
The staff are now preparing to undertake adult engagement observations.
Chris says, 'This will be useful. It is not criticism but constructive. It will show how we are with the children, what our strengths are, and where we can get better - which is better for the children.'
Further information
* For further information, contact Neil Farmer, early years adviser, Croydon, tel: 020 8604 7571 or 020 8660 6392.
Bibliography
* Bertram, T and Pascal, C (2004) Handbook for Evaluating, Assuring and Improving Quality in Early Childhood Settings (Amber Publishing)
* Call, Nicola and Featherstone, Sandy (2003) The Thinking Child - Brain-based learning for the Foundation Stage (Network Educational Press)
* Dowling, Marion (2000) Young Children's Personal, Social and Emotional Development (Paul Chapman)
* Robinson, Maria (2003) From Birth to One - The year of opportunity (Open University Press)
* Roberts, Rosemary (2002) Self-esteem and Early Learning (Paul Chapman)
* Dr Woolfson, Richard (1997) From Birth to Starting School - Child development for nursery nurses (Caring Books)
* Cowen, David et al (1992) Teaching the Skills of Conflict Resolution - Activities and strategies for counsellors and teachers (Inner Choice Publishing)
* Fisher, Julie (editor) (2002) The Foundations of Learning (Open University Press)
* Rogers, Carl (1999) Time to Listen to Children, edited by Pat Milner & Birgit Carolin (Routledge)
* Hysen, Marion (1994) The Emotional Development of Young Children - Building an emotion-centred curriculum (Teachers College Press)
* Warden, David and Christie David, Donald (1997) Teaching Social Behaviour Classroom Activities to Foster Children's Interpersonal Awareness (Fulton Publishers)
* Edgington, Margaret (1998) The Nursery Teacher in Action (Routledge Publishers)