Abstract
This paper sets out to examine the place of theory in preschool education, considering the theories to which practitioners and providers have access and which provide a rationale for everyday practices and shape the experiences of young children. The paper reflects the circumstances of preschool provision, practices and thinking in the UK in general and in Scotland in particular. The central argument is that while there may be little obvious recourse to theorising and limited exposure to explicit theory about children’s development, learning and education, practitioners and those responsible for provision have tacit understandings or implicit theories which can be seen to shape their practices. The paper begins by considering the explicit theory which practitioners are exposed to through the development of practice guidance and professional education. This is followed by an examination of the explicit theories adopted from psychology and more recent theoretical developments which have their roots in other disciplines and perspectives. Some influences on practitioners’ implicit theories are discussed before considering two key aspects of the dominate consensus about good practice: that play is the medium through which children learn and that practice should be child-centred. The paper concludes with a discussion of the ‘identity’ of preschool education theory and the benefits of articulating the implicit theory and folk beliefs on which local practices are based.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Disentangling the influences and responsibilities of the UK and Scottish governments for preschool education is complex. While this paper focuses on circumstances in Scotland practices and policies before devolution (1998) are ascribed to the UK context more generally.
References
Ailwood, J. (2010). Playing with some tensions: Poststructuralism, Foucault and early childhood education. In L. Brooker & S. Edwards (Eds.), Engaging play (pp. 210–222). Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Alexander, R. (2010). The Cambridge primary review. Paper presented at UCET seminar: The implications of the Cambridge review for teacher education, Manchester, Mar 2010.
Biesta, G. (2009) Disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity in the Academic Study of Education: Comparing traditions of educational theorising. Paper presented at British Educational Research Association Conference, Manchester, Sept 2009.
Blaise, M. (2005). A feminist poststructuralist study of children doing gender. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 20, 85–108.
Blaise, M., & Andrew, A. (2005). How ‘bad’ can it be? Troubling gender, sexuality, and early childhood teaching. In N. Yelland (Ed.), Critical issues in early childhood education (pp. 49–57). Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Bodrova, E. (2008). Make-believe play versus academic skill: A Vygotskian approach to today’s dilemma of early childhood education. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 16(3), 357–370.
Bowman, B. T., Donovan, M. S., & Burns, M. S. (2000). Eager to learn educating our preschoolers. Washington DC: The National Academies Press. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309068363. Accessed 25 Feb 2011.
British Educational Research Association (BERA) Early Years Special Interest Group. (2003). Early years research: Pedagogy, curriculum and adult roles, training and professionalism. http://www.bera.ac.uk/files/2008/09/beraearlyyearsreview31may03.pdf. Accessed 25 Feb 2011.
Brooker, L. (2011). Taking children seriously: reflections on research and practice. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 9(2), 137–149.
Bruner, J. (1996). What we have learned about early learning. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 4(1), 5–15.
Cannella, G. S. (2005). Reconceptualising the field (of early care and education); if ‘western’ child development is a problem, then what do we do? In N. Yelland (Ed.), Critical issues in early childhood education (pp. 17–39). Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Cole, M. (1996). Cultural psychology: A once and future discipline. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.
Dahlberg, G., & Moss, P. (2005). Ethics and politics in early childhood education. Abingdon: Routledge.
Dahlberg, G., & Moss, P. (2010). Introduction by the series editors. In H. Lenz-Taguchi (Ed.), Going beyond the theory/practice divide in early childhood education (pp. ix–xx). Abingdon: Routledge.
Dahlberg, G., Moss, P., & Pence, A. (1999). Beyond quality in early childhood education and care. London: Falmer Press.
Donaldson, M. (1978). Children’s minds. London: Fontana.
Dunlop, A.-W., Lee, P., Fee, J., Hughes, A., Grieve, A., & Marwick, H. (2008). Positive behaviour in the early years. Edinburgh: The Scottish Government. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/09/12112952/0. Accessed 25 Feb 2011.
Fleer, M., Tonyan, H. A., Mantilla, A. C., & Rivalland, C. M. P. (2009). A cultural-historical analysis of play as an activity setting in early childhood education. In M. Fleer, M. Hedegaard, & J. Tudge (Eds.), Childhood studies and the impact of globalization: Policies and practices at global and local levels (pp. 292–312). New York: Routledge.
Gee, J. P. (1996). Social linguistics and literacies: Ideology in discourses (2nd ed.). London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Hutt, S. J., Tyler, S., Hutt, C., & Christopherson, H. (1989). Play, exploration and learning. London: Routledge.
Isaacs, S. (1932). The nursery years. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
James, A., Jenks, C., & Prout, A. (1998). Theorizing childhood. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Learning and Teaching Scotland. (2003). Early learning forward thinking. Glasgow: Learning and Teaching Scotland.
Lenz-Taguchi, H. (2010). Going beyond the theory/practice divide in early childhood education. Abingdon: Routledge.
MacNaughton, G. (2005). Doing Foucault in early childhood studies: Applying poststructural ideas. London: Routledge.
McMillan, M. (1919). The nursery school. New York: E.P. Dutton.
Montessori, M. (1966). The secret of childhood. New York: Ballantine Books.
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (2009). Position statement on developmentally appropriate practice. http://www.naeyc.org/DAP. Accessed 25 Feb 2011.
Olsson, L. M. (2009). Movement and experimentation in young children’s learning. Abingdon: Routledge.
Penn, H. (1997). Comparing nurseries. London: Paul Chapman.
Plowman, L., & Stephen, C. (2005). Children, play and computers in pre-school education. British Journal of Educational Technology, 36(2), 145–157.
Pramling-Samuelsson, I., & Fleer, M. (2009). Commonalities and distinctions across countries. In I. Pramling-Samuelsson & M. Fleer (Eds.), Play and learning in early childhood settings international perspectives (Vol. 1). New York: Springer.
Rhedding-Jones, (2003). Feminist methodologies and research for early childhood literacies. In N. Hall, J. Larson, & J. Marsh (Eds.), Handbook of early childhood literacy (pp. 400–410). London: Sage.
Schaffer, H. R. (1990). Making decisions about children—psychological questions and answers. Oxford: Basil Blackwood.
Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum (SCCC). (1999). A curriculum framework for children 3 to 5. Dundee: SCCC.
Scottish Executive. (2007). Building the curriculum 2: Active learning in the early years. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive.
Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). (undated). Children’s care learning and development, SVQ level 3. Available at http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/7510.htm. Accessed 1 Feb 2012.
Singer, E. (1993). Shared care for children. Theory and Psychology, 3(4), 429–449.
Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Sylva, K. (2004). Researching pedagogy in English pre-schools. British Educational Research Journal, 30(5), 713–730.
Stephen, C. (2006). Early Years Education: Perspectives from a review of the international literature. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive Education Department. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/01/26094635/1. Accessed 25 Feb 2011.
Stephen, C. (2010). Pedagogy: the silent partner in early years learning. Early Years, 30(1), 15–28.
Stephen, C., & Brown, S. (2004). The culture of practice in pre-school provision: Outsider and insider perspectives. Research Papers in Education, 19(3), 323–344.
Stephen, C., Brown, S., & Cope, P. (2001). Alternative perspective on playroom practice. International Journal of Early Years Education, 9(3), 193–205.
Stephen, C., Ellis, J., & Martlew, J. (2010). Taking active learning into the primary school: A matter of new practices? International Journal of Early Years Education, 18(4), 315–329.
Stephen, C., & Plowman, L. (2007). Enhancing learning with information and communication technologies in pre-school. Early Child Development and Care, 178(6), 637–654.
Sumsion, J. (2005). Preschool children’s portrayals of their male teacher: A poststructuralist analysis. In N. Yelland (Ed.), Critical issues in early childhood education (pp. 58–80). Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Tassoni, P. (2008). S/NVQ level 3 children’s care, learning and development: Candidate handbook. Oxford: Heinemann.
The Scottish Government. (2008). The early years framework. Edinburgh: The Scottish Government. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/01/13095148/2. Accessed 25 Feb 2011.
The Scottish Government. (2009). Preschool and childcare statistics 2009 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/09/22154942/34. Accessed 25 Feb 2011.
Tobin, J., Hsueh, Y., & Karasawa, M. (2009). Preschool in three cultures revisited. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Wagner, J. T. (2006). An outsider’s perspective: Childhoods and early education in the Nordic countries. In J. Einarsdottir & J. T. Wagner (Eds.), Nordic childhoods and early education (pp. 289–306). Greenwich: Information Age Publishing.
Yelland, N., & Kilderry, A. (2005). Against the tide: new ways in early childhood education. In N. Yelland (Ed.), Critical issues in early childhood education (pp. 1–13). Maidenhead: Open University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stephen, C. Looking for Theory in Preschool Education. Stud Philos Educ 31, 227–238 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-012-9288-5
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-012-9288-5