EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

The first two years of a child's life are spent in the creation of a child's first "sense of self"; most children are able to differentiate between themselves and others by their second year. This is a crucial part of the child's ability to determine how they should function in relation to other people. Early care must emphasize links to family, home culture, and home language by uniquely caring for each child, which is known as the key worker system. Parents can be seen as a child's first teacher and therefore an integral part of the early learning process.

Infant education is the education of children before they would normally enter primary school. The term "infant" is typically applied to children between the ages of 1 month and 12 months.

Early childhood education focuses on children's learning through play, based on the research and philosophy of Jean Piaget.  This belief is centered on the "power of play". Play meets the physical, intellectual, language, emotional and social needs (PILES) of children. Tassoni suggests that"some play  opportunities will develop specific individual areas of development, but many will develop several areas.”  Depending on the child's interests will influence the development of skills in different areas of play. It is important practitioners promote children’s development through play by using various types of play on a daily basis.

It has been thought that children learn more efficiently and gain more knowledge through play-based activities such as dramatic play, art, and social games. The theory of play stems from children's natural curiosity and imagination, allowing topic lessons to occur, Key issues of play are having a healthy and safe environment, having plenty of space, correct supervision, quality of care/environment, the attitudes of the practitioner and their cultural awareness as well as a good knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage.