-, - •"•».»,
What Do Early
Childhood
Principles
Imply for the
Middle
School ?
Steven Silvern and Jon Wiles
"In the past two decades two educational
movements early childhood and middle
school have stressed the growth and de
velopment philosophy of continuity in
learning." A better understanding of the
developmental philosophy by those in mid
dle school work may help to strengthen
and extend the effectiveness of such pro
grams in actual practice.
Psychologists and educators agree that learn
ing should be continuous. There are, however,
at least two views of continuity. One view is a
knowledge-based philosophy. That is, if children
learn addition of single digit numbers in the first
grade, they should learn two digit addition in the
second grade. The knowledge should be trans
mitted regardless of the child's ability to com-
prehend the information. A second view of con
tinuity is based on principles of human growth
and development. Knowledge should be presented
that is consistent with an individual's capabili
ties. Each learning occurs as the child demon
strates competency to understand.
Historically, public school—elementary, jun
ior high, and high school levels—have followed
the knowledge-based philosophy. However, in the
past two decades two educational movements—
early childhood and middle school—have stressed
the growth and development philosophy of con
tinuity in learning. Primarily because of structure
(early childhood at the beginning of a contin
uum), early childhood has been able to expound
on the developmental philosophy and place it in
practice. The middle school, however, has been
restricted in the use of developmental philosophy
because understanding by those in the field is
MAY 1978
661
2. Learning occurs through action.
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rudimentary, and because of pressure from the
elementary and high school levels. Recent studies
such as the Boyce Medical Study conducted in
Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania School District,
may suggest ways to overcome the lack of knowl
edge of human development presently demon
strated in the field. With greater understanding
of development, perhaps it is now time for early
childhood and middle school programs to place
pressure for change on the elementary and high
schools. Since early childhood has been free to
generate a developmental curriculum, the middle
school may look to early childhood for some
guidance in creating a suitable developmental
model.
Popular Aspects of Early Childhood Programs/
Using a Human Development Theory Base
There are a variety of early education pro
grams that utilize a human development theory
base. All of these programs rest on two foundational concepts:
1. Learning must be based on developmen
tal abilities.
662
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP
The first concept requires the educator to
take a close look at the activities in which a child
is expected to engage. If a child is to be taught
to count, abstract numerals and rote recitation
have little meaning for the concrete operational
child or the child in transition. If a child is to
learn about the characteristics of animals, a pic
ture is of little value. If a child is to learn the
transformation rules that govern grammar and
usage, a branch chart carries only the meaning of
lines and symbols. Abstract activities present
valueless information to the young child. As a
matter of fact, the overreliance on abstract ma
terials in public schools may account for the com
mon conceptual errors children make. For exam
ple, a child is shown several pictures of animals
and is asked to sort them into groups. The pic
tures include: dog, goldfish, parrot, cat, whale,
angelfish, sparrow, horse, duck, and catfish. Who
can blame the child who creates the group to in
clude: goldfish, angelfish, catfish, and whale?
They all live in water, don't they? But so does a
duck; which is sorted with the bird group. The
only mutually exclusive categories are mammal,
fish, and bird. Yet, the child does not have the
concrete experience to determine that a whale is
a mammal and not a fish. In order for concrete
operational children to learn successfully, they
must be allowed to experience concrete informa
tion and must be allowed to participate in activi
ties that have a concrete (as opposed to abstract)
basis.
Also included in basing learning on devel
opment abilities is Hunt's (1961) concept of the
"intellectual match." The concept is quite rudi
mentary, but is often ignored by the classroom
teacher. If the activity is too easy, the child will
not attempt it because of overpractice (boredom).
If the activity has no grounding in past experi
ence, the child will not have any notion of how to
approach the task and will not make an attempt.
The task must be based on past experience yet
novel enough to challenge the child to develop
new experiences. Thus, the child builds upon
what he/she already knows.
The second concept of early programs based
on developmental thought is that the child learns
by doing. This means that the classroom environ-
ment, and the extra-classroom environment, must
be designed to offer intellectually stimulating
alternatives. Learning is an active rather than a
passive endeavor. In order to be active, choices
must be offered that invite action. In early child
hood, this mandate is met by providing several
centers that include manipulative materials (for
example, sand and water tables, dress-up center,
block centers, science centers which include a
variety of materials).
Similar to the young child, the transescent
learns by doing. While the rationale for active
learning may differ between the young child and
the transescent, the principle remains the same.
The transescent is provided a motivating oppor
tunity for learning by becoming personally in
volved in the learning process. In the middle
school, the mandate for active learning is not met
as easily as in the preschool. Children's interests
vary greatly and may extend beyond the re
sources available in the school. While active
learning is not easy to provide—nevertheless, the
criteria of action must be met for effective learn
ing to take place. For further discussion of this
point, see Planning Guidelines for Middle School
Education (Wiles, 1976).
Middle School Adaptation of Early
Education Principles
While many of the learning concepts of early
childhood education are already incorporated into
the middle school curricular design, existing
childhood programs suggest an instructional focus
for programs at the intermediate level. The major
contribution of early childhood programs for the
middle school is the demonstration that learning
environments can be constructed to facilitate
continuous development in the learner.
Historically, the transition from the elemen
tary years to the intermediate grades of school
was achieved at the expense of the student.
Abrupt changes in both learning methodology
and style placed stressful conditions on learners
and often interrupted otherwise steady intellec
tual development. The middle school, a recon
stituted form of intermediate schooling, addressed
this condition by supporting a continuous prog
ress curriculum that allowed transition over a
three- to four-year period. Unfortunately, the
rhetoric of middle school literature in this respect
has outstripped progammatic development of this
concept.
At the heart of the problem is the lack of
understanding among middle school educators
that a greater emphasis on structured content
does not necessarily mean a need for a greatly
altered learning environment or a change in learn
ing style over what was previously practiced.
Until educators in the middle grades fully under
stand human development in the transescent
period and believe that performance expectations
at this level can be met by a format similar to
that found in the early years, the promise of the
"The major contribitfion of early childhood
programs for the middle school is the dem
onstration that learning environments can
be constructed to facilitate continuous de
velopment in the learner."
middle school cannot be achieved. A formal high
school-type learning environment will not ac
commodate a personal pattern of development.
Early childhood programs have demonstrated
that a facilitating environment can be established
and individual learning structures supported
through a curricular design that addresses devel
opmental abilities and the need for active learn
ing. Utilizing these themes, the middle school can
construct a curriculum that activates its avowed
purposes as well as provides a more uniform edu
cational continuum in school for learners.
Addressing the developmental abilities of
students in the middle school may be a more
complex operation than in the early years. Not
only is there a wider scale of interest and capac
ity, but the dependence on school-related skills
is greater. Nonetheless, it is clear that in order
to deliver the educational program to the learner,
regardless of his/her developmental abilities,
there must be a wide choice of educational me
diums, and the program must be personalized.
Information must be presented in ways that have
meaning to the learner, are stimulating, and have
obvious application to the immediate environ
ment. The needs and interests of the learner, such
MAY 1978
663
as the needs for acceptance and outlets for egocentrism, must be considered. It is important to
note that in a unit traditional learning skills such
as notetaking, graphing, hypothesizing, spelling,
and so forth may all be taught through the me
dium of participatory activity. So too, under
standing of the self and interpersonal interac
tions may be facilitated by active learning. The
interest of the student provides the motivational
force for more traditional intellectual exercise.
Learning ceases to be an artificial product, but
rather becomes a process strongly related to the
real world and the student's self-concept.
"It is crucial that the educational planner
note the rapidly changing interest patterns
of the preadolescent, for such change de
mands an element of choice in most learn
ing activities."
The second contribution of early childhood
programs to the middle school is the emphasis on
learning through action as a means of meeting
the learning structure of the student. In the mid
dle school, this condition can be promoted only
if an intensive analysis of learner interests is
conducted on a regular basis. It is crucial that the
educational planner note the rapidly changing
interest patterns of the preadolescent, for such
change demands an element of choice in most
learning activities. It is also important to note
that in the middle school, learning through action
is more an attempt to find relevant, involving
strategies for a wide range of students than to
continue the direct concrete experiences of the
early childhood years. The middle school curric
ulum can teach through action activities with
built-in choice by constructing thematic and
open-ended learning units.
In summary, the early childhood programs
suggest that the demand for structure in the inter
mediate grades does not necessarily call for a re
stricted learning design. The desired ends of
educating in the middle grades can be met by a
learning design that incorporates both planning
for developmental abilities and the use of learn
664
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP
ing through action. In the middle school, a per
sonal and interest-centered curriculum utilizing
a wide choice of learning mediums and a the
matic approach to content can accommodate indi
vidual learning structure. Early childhood pro
grams can serve the middle school as curriculum
development models.
Problems Associated with the
Early Education Model
In trying to implement the early education
model in the middle school, several problems may
arise. Among these may be problems concerning:
•
•
•
•
Record keeping
Standardizing learnings
Evaluating performance
Providing enough appropriate learning
environments.
The teacher is responsible for keeping track
of a child's actions in school. The early educa
tion model is not facilitative of the standard rec
ord keeping processes. It is often difficult to note
the various activities of 25 active youngsters.
This may be complicated by individual or small
group field trips where children may have to
leave the teacher's visual range in order to ob
tain information that is necessary to the activity
involved. Not only is record keeping difficult, but
so is knowing exactly what the child has learned.
Using the early education model, it is prac
tically impossible to state that John Doe and Jane
Doe both arrive and depart middle school with
similar knowledges. When activities are based
on students' interests, the school no longer has
total control over what will be taught, when it
will be taught, or how it will be taught. No one
individual can state that John Doe learned his
multiplication table (although he may be able to
calculate the odds of drawing into an inside
straight).
"Piggybacking" upon these difficulties is the
problem of evaluating performance. The early
education model rules out the use of letter grades
to evaluate performance in particular content
areas. What kind of evaluation can be applied to
a child who gathers the necessary materials to
produce a simulated production line in one area
of the classroom? Furthermore, it becomes im
possible to compare children on performance in
content areas. Is the child who is crosspollinating
bean plants more or less proficient in science
than the child who is recreating a model of the
Wankel engine? Ultimately, it is up to the teacher
to state simply what the child has done during
an evaluation period. For an active child, how
ever, this may be a bulky evaluation.
Finally, providing enough appropriate learn
ing environments may be a substantial problem.
What can be offered to the child who is interested
in how computers function? How far from school
may the child roam, and what form should re
sponsibility and attendance take? Can a child be
allowed to construct a hot air balloon under
minimum supervision? How much in capital re
sources may be diverted from textbooks and used
for other types of materials? Granted, the imagi
native teacher can go far on a few dollars, but
active children in the middle school can place
quite a strain on the classroom teachers' ingenu
ityMany problems exist in the early education
model, but they are not insurmountable, and they
may be countermanded by the benefits associated
with the early education model.
Benefits Associated with the Early
Education Model
Many benefits for the middle school may be
associated with the early education program.
These benefits are aligned with the benefits of
"personalized" learning, and have been stated
before (Kraft, 1975). Some benefits include:
• Meets the child's individual learning needs
—student centered
• Encourages independence
• Encourages creativity
• Stresses problem solving as opposed to
rote learning.
These benefits are not new concepts to the
modern educator and need no explanation. Suffice
it to say that for the middle school these benefits
may accrue by creating an environment that is
continuous with early growth and development.
Such an environment may be based on concepts
EDUCATIONAL FUTURES I, II, AND III
— a 1978 trilogy of books from Educational Futures Projects —
Book I: Imagining and Inventing
societal and educational issues and projections
Book II: Options and Alternatives
transitional steps toward new learning systems
Book III: Change and Reality
programs, research, and another eight-year study
Compiled by Don Glines, California State Department of Education
Former Director, Wilson School, Mankato, MN
— Over 300 pages in each 63/4 x 8l/4 g loss softback —
— All three volumes for $15.00 • Individual copies $5.75 each —
Order from
The ANVIL PRESS
Box 37 Millville, MN 55957 507-798-2361
MAY 1978
665
that have originated a s part of early childhood
education, but should not be kept solely in the
domain of the young child, ffii
Multicultural
Education:
References
Multicultural Education: Commitments,
Issues, and Applications
Carl A. Grant, editor
$7.00(611-77108)
The quality of life in schools for individuals of
all cultures, the transmission and interaction of
diverse cultures, student rights, the use of language,
are examined as facets of multicultural education.
The volume concludes with practical classroom
activities.
About Learning Materials
M. Frances Klein
$4.50(611-78134)
Klein helps identify learning materials, discusses
problems involved in developing and evaluating
materials, and takes a look at the Curriculum Re
form Movement. Also included in an Appendix is
Richard I. Miller's "Selecting New Aids to Teach
ing."
B. M. Caldwell. "The Effects of Infant Care." In:
M. L. Hoffman and L. W. Hoffman, editors. Review of
Child Development Research. New York: Russell Sage,
1964. pp. 9-88.
F. H. Hooper., e t at. " Stage Sequence and Corre
spondence in Piagetian Theory: A Review of the MiddleChildhood Period." In: R esearch Relating to Children.
Bulletin 28. Urbana, Illinois: ERIC, 1971.
J. McV. Hunt. Intelligence and Experience. New
York: Ronald Press, 1961.
C. K. Kamii. "An Application of Piaget's Theory to
the Conceptualization of a Preschool Curriculum." Paper
presented at Conceptualizations of Preschool Curricula.
New York: City University of New York, May 1970
A. Kraft. The Living Classroom. New York: Harper
and Row, 1975.
J. Piaget. Psychology of Intelligence. Totowa, New
Jersey: Littlefield, Adams, 1973.
E. 5. Schaefer. "The Ecology of Child Development:
Implications for Research and the Professions." New
Orleans: Paper presented at American Psychological As
sociation annual meeting, August 1974. ERIC 101 829.
D. P. Weikart. "Development of Effective Preschool
Programs: A Report on the Results of the High/Scope4 Ypsilanti Preschool Projects." Ann Arbor, Michigan:
Paper presented at High/Scope Educational Research
Foundation Conference, May 1973.
B. L. White. "Reassessing Our Educational Priori
ties." Boston: Paper presented at the Educational Com
mission of the States Early Childhood Education Sym
posium August 1974. ERIC 101 836.
J. Wiles. Planning Guidelines for Middle School Edu
cation. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt, 1976.
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___About Learning Matarlala
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Aaaoclation for Supervision and Curriculum
Development—Box 342
1701 K St., N.W., Suite 1100
Washington, B.C. 20006
666
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Steven Silvern (top) is
Assistant Professor,
Early Childhood Educa-'
tion, Auburn Univer
sity, Auburn, Alabama.
Ion Wiles is Assistant
Dean and Associate
Professor, School of
Education, University
of Montana, Missoula.
Copyright © 1978 by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development. All rights reserved.