Introduction
Early childhood education, being the education and care to young children provided by people outside the family setting, is important in giving them a head start in education. Thus, conceptual framework has been developed to help educators facilitate proper learning in schools. Early childhood education covers any period to the time a child joins primary school, therefore it is at this stage that the young children are introduced to mathematics, language and the vocabulary of reading.
In the view of the foregoing, a teacher should provide materials and activities that motivate the young children to develop interest in learning from an early stage. In order to do so, conceptual elements of competent, respectful, reflective, and service should be applied. These conceptual elements will be discussed separately with concrete practical classroom examples in the following paragraphs.
Competent
As a teacher, striving to achieve the purpose of the lesson, whether it is mathematics or language, proper preparation of materials and activities are always necessary.
This reacquires deep knowledge so as to come up with solutions to educational nuisance. Therefore, classroom topics should be progressively and effectively introduced. This can be done by selecting a method that will arouse interest to the young children. For example, a teacher may opt to use more ‘interesting’ objects such as fruits to illustrate the concept of addition and subtraction.
In addition, appropriate examples, illustrations and repetition for newly introduced topics are equally important; since it acts as a memory aid and helps in understanding the subject clearly. Repetition helps when children are finding it hard to understand a key point. It is done by competent teachers who have observed its positive effects when it comes to remembering the key points in children. At the end of the lesson, it will be important to ask a few questions to actually verify that the aim of the lesson was achieved.
Respectful
Young children just like adults are more likely to pay attention when they are shown respect. Respect comes in many forms, for example; calling the children by their names, greeting them, showing personal interest in them and patiently listening as they talk. Respect is important as it creates an atmosphere in which the children are likely to obey and accept instructions.
Children tend to feel embarrassed if their flaws are quickly pointed out. Therefore, a respectful teacher would listen to what the child is saying patiently and perhaps ask why the child feels something should be done the way he (child) did. Finally, taking his feelings to account, reason with the child and explain kindly and with conviction why it should be done in another way.
Reflective
A reflective tutor is the one who uses basic teaching ideologies to determine his conduct when confronted with arising problems in a class scenario. The tutor has to find a way to develop learning conditions that are a reflection of the core philosophy of teaching. It is obvious that learning conditions and style differ from one region to another.
Despite of that, the objectives of the lessons still remain the same. For example, a teacher who is used to teach in American schools has to change his teaching methods if he is transferred to Kenya. The way the children in Kenya settle disputes among themselves might be different due to ethnic clashes. The teacher should be swift to curb the problem keeping in mind not to prejudice any community. Even though the problem might have deep roots, he must display the principle of equality and not favour any one over the other.
Service
Teaching is service profession dedicated to shape young lives. Parents leave their young children who still require a lot care and love under the teachers care. Therefore, it is the duty of the teacher to love and care for the children at this tender age. The profession requires deep dedication to the job and loyalty to teaching philosophy.
Sometimes, the teacher has to go out of his way in ensuring that the children are safe both at school and home. For example, it is the responsibility of the teacher to report any incident that might indicate that a child is abused at home. The teaching service is not merely a technique to be mastered, but it is a quality that stems from human emotions. This is manifested by the kindness and consideration extended to the young children.
Conclusion
In the view of the foregoing early childhood, education is important in determining the kind of person a child will eventually turn out to be. Therefore, it should be carried out with the professionalism it requires. This means that the teacher should adhere to the conceptual framework addressed. As discussed, a teacher should be competent, respectful, reflective and dedicated to his service.
This conceptual frame work is meant to prepare devoted, accomplished teacher to serve the general diverse population with expertise. It also provides a wide range of experiences to help tutors easily adapt to almost any situation. This will enable the teacher to effectively shaping the lives of the young ones.