The Open University of Hong Kong Li Ka Shing Institute of Professional and Continuing Education PTD38 Higher Diploma in Early Childhood Education (2014-2015) ASSIGNMENT 1 MY PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION Student Number: 11396646 Student: CHENG KA YIU, YOYO Class: U09A Course Code: EDU4017EP Course Title: Introduction to Early Childhood Education Instructor: Ms. Hailey Chan Programme Leader: Dr. Eunice Yim Submission Date: 14 November 2014 My Educational Philosophy of Early Childhood Education Being a pre-service training educator, specific goals and objectives should be set to achieve educator’s own educational philosophy. The Educational philosophy is an individual statement of educators’ guiding principles about the education-related …show more content…
Children’s programs should be based on children’s needs as they are going to grow, develop and mature in educators’ care and planned programs. Therefore, this is essential for educators to define their philosophy in education. Equality and Diversity It is important that an educator must consider the individual differences and design curricula that suitable for every child. I believe that all children are individuals, unique in their abilities, from a wide diversity of backgrounds and cultures, and they also have the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Educators are observers and designers who have to observe children’s abilities, interests and learning styles for designing a curriculum that fulfill everyone’s needs. Observers also play an important role on noticing individual differences and offering help to children who have lower ability to improve …show more content…
I agree that play-based learning offers diverse opportunities for children to explore, discover and create, they can also discover new things and communicate with peer during free-play time. Frobel said that “Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child 's soul” (Froebel, 1887). He believed in the importance of play in a child’s learning as creative activity. Play provided the means for a child’s intellectual, social, emotional and physical development which are necessary elements in educating the “whole” children allowing them to use all imaginative powers and physical movements to explore their interests. Children are able to develop and practise motor skills and bodily movements through physical plays. During some cognitive games, such as board games and educational toys, children can improve their mental fitness and brain function. Play also provides opportunities for children to make friends, to negotiate with others, and to develop their communication skills. It helps extend language and improve children’s social ability. I believed that play is essential to children’s education that cannot be minimized and separated from learning. It is not only helping children develop pre-literacy skills, problem solving skills and concentration, but also generating social learning experiences, and helping children to express