Study Guide

Objective

Students have assimilated the principles of child-centred action. They are able to support the involvement and active agency of children. Students know how to monitor and assess individual children's and child groups' needs and how to support and guide children at various stages of their growth, development and learning. Students know the most important principles in early childhood education and use them in planning, implementing and evaluating pedagogically useful and goal-oriented activities for children and group. Students know how to support and promote children's spontaneous play and, if necessary, how to facilitate it. Students are prepared to strengthen and promote children's rights and welfare.

Content

- action principles in early childhood education
- grounds of early childhood education plan
- Act on Early Childhood and Care
- the child-centred approach, children’s involvement and children's rights
- observing individual children and child groups
- pedagogical documentation
- assessing needs of individual children and child groups
- providing support and extra support in early childhood education
- planning pedagogical activities
- play and digitalisation in early childhod education

Materials

Literature presented at the beginning of the course.

Teaching methods

Lectures, independent studies, learning assignment as a group work, learning diary.

Employer connections

Does not include practical training.

Evaluation scale

1-5

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

Students
- know some principles in early childhood education
- are able to name some principles of goal-oriented activities
- are able to name children's rights and describe some factors that influence promotion of children's welfare
- are able to name individual children's and child groups' needs and the need for special support
- tend to take the needs for support into account while supporting and counselling them at various stages of their growth, development and learning

Assessment criteria, good (3)

Students
- have capacities to child-centred action
- know the most important principles in early childhood education
- have competences to recognize individual children's and child groups' needs and the need for special support
- take the needs into account while supporting and counselling children and chil groups' at various stages of their growth, development and learning
- know the principles of planning, implementing and evaluating pedagogically useful and goal-oriented activities for children
- recognize the importance of promotion of children's spontaneous play
- have knowledge about principles how to strengthen and promote children's rights and welfare

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

Students
- have capacities to child-centred action and they are able to justify their actions
- have competences to analyze and assess children's and child groups' needs
- are able to take the needs into account while supporting and counselling children at various stages of their growth, development and learning
- are able to apply the most important principles in early childhood education and use them in planning, implementing and evaluating pedagogically useful and goal-oriented activities for children
- know how to support and promote children's spontaneous play and how to supervise it
- have abilities to strengthen and promote children's rights and welfare

Assessment methods and criteria

Active participation in contact teaching, approved completion of intermediate tasks, graded learning task.

Qualifications

Study Course: The Child's Growth and Learning

Further information

For the students who take Early Childhood Studies.