Explain the general views of childhood development and learning from (1) the field of ECE, (2) special education, and (3) compensatory programs. How have these views shaped the development of early childhood special education curriculum?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The field of general early childhood education (ECE) emphasizes the importance of children constructing their own knowledge through active engagement and exploration of their environment. Special education tends to emphasize the use of remedial instruction and the provision of services that help faciliatte specific skill acquisition. Finally, compensentatory programs emphasize services that help minimize or alleviate the impact of environmental influences such as poverty and other risk factors that can negatively affect learning and childhood development. While these approaches are different in focus, there has been great effort toward reconciling the differences in approaches, especially between ECE and ECSE. Specifically, recommended practices and how they’ve shaped curriculum within ECE and ESCE can be seen through the DAP (Developmentally Appropriate Practice) guidelines. These guidelines help establish curriculum in ECE that was individiually tailored to meet the needs of children, rather than expecting children to adjust to the demands of a specific program. DAP guidelines also helped specific important curriculum components: individual, age, and cultural appropriateness of curriculum. ECSE originally did not have a set of guidelines comparable to the DAP, but eventually develop guidelines (DEC Recommended Practices) that helped shape curriculum. These guidelines specified, for example, that educational experiences (curriculum) should be family-centered, evidence-based, culturally senstive, and normalized (e.g., part of everyday living experiences), where generalized use of skills is emphasized as part of the curriculum.