Learning & Development: Thinking - Part 1: With good reason

There are some compelling reasons why children's thinking is so high on our early years agenda and why practitioners are urged to nurture and develop children's thoughts and ideas. The reasons derive from:

- strong support from research evidence

- imperatives in National Frameworks

- increased insights from practitioners in their day-to-day work

- the voice of children.

Research evidence

During the past 25 years, studies have recognised that thinking starts early; very young babies are primed to think in their unceasing efforts to make sense of the world. We do not have to teach babies to think, because they are born with mental abilities that fully function, which allows them to make sense of experiences and anticipate future events (Gopnik, Melzof and Kuhl 1999, p27l).

Studies also show that babies and young children strengthen their thinking through warm social contacts with people who are close to them. Sue Gerhardt, in her book Why Love Matters, suggests that being held lovingly is the greatest spur to development. Her work points up the importance of babies forming close attachments, both with immediate family members and then with a key person in daycare, nursery and in a reception class. These significant people are able to 'read' a young child's behaviour and provide a 'tailor-made' response to individual needs.

Support for children's thinking is showing some long-term benefits. Previous findings from two major research projects, EPPE (Effective Provision of Pre-School Education) and REPEY (Researching Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years), stated that one of the ways in which we could identify high-quality early years practice was where children were helped to improve their thinking skills.

In the most effective settings, staff provided opportunities to sustain and challenge children's thinking and to model this for children to share their thoughts with other children. Since then, the EPPE project has followed the same children from pre-school into year five at primary school.

The study found that these older children had continued to benefit from attending good-quality and effective early years provision and this was reflected in their achievements in mathematics and reading. This was particularly noticeable for the most vulnerable groups of young children who have had a poor start to life.

EPPE also recognises the strong influence of home and stresses that the greatest impact on children's progress is likely to be improving the quality of learning (which includes encouraging children's thinking) in both the home and early years setting.

National frameworks

National Frameworks in England and Wales become mandatory in September 2008. They give clear statements about the need to have regard to and offer support for young children's thinking.

Both Frameworks emphasise the importance of inclusion and the need to provide learning opportunities that are personalised for each child. Inevitably, this means that practitioners must identify a child's interests and thoughts at the heart of all they plan and provide.

In England, the Early Years Foundation Stage includes children's thinking as a major thread for learning and development across the six areas. For example, practitioners are expected to ensure that children will be supported to consider the consequences of their words and actions (PSED), use talk to organise, sequence and clarify thinking, ideas, feelings and events (CLL), ask questions about why things happen and how things work (K/UW), and use their imagination in art and design, music, dance, imaginative play and role play, and stories.

The guidance document usefully shows how to achieve these expectations by paying attention to children's creativity and critical thinking. This commitment makes clear that if children have opportunities to play around with ideas in different situations, they start to make connections. Over time, this allows them to alter and deepen their understandings.

Early educators have a responsibility to provide scope to help babies and children grow ideas, forge links in their learning and so make genuine intellectual progress. This scope for thinking should not be limited, but should be extended to children in their experiences in all areas of the curriculum both inside and outside.

In Wales, the Foundation Phase Framework for Children's Learning includes developing their thinking as part of a non-statutory Skills Framework which applies across all of the areas of learning.

Insights from early educators

These research findings and requirements in national frameworks, which point up the significance of young children thinking, reinforce what so many early educators have intuitively long known to be true.

In recent years, those who work directly with young children have been required to give priority to planning and 'delivering' the curriculum. In their hearts, early educators recognise that in these endeavours to provide for children they may be in danger of missing what children are interested in and where they are investing their energies.

Practitioners also recognise that, unless we have insights into ways in which children express their ideas and thoughts, we may be in danger of underestimating their potential for learning.

Commonly, we look at children's mark-making as an indicator of their achievement. However, a child may have poorly developed fine motor skills; he may have little pencil control and his drawings, paintings and models are immature. In this case the representations may not reflect the child's complex and original ideas, which perhaps are revealed in role play or when he is engaged in constructing outside.

Practitioners also know, from their practice, that where young children are good thinkers this is a pre-cursor to later achievement. To write clearly and imaginatively and solve problems by using and applying mathematics at Key Stage 1, children must first become clear and inventive thinkers.

If young children learn to reflect on their actions and recognise the link between cause and effect, they learn to regulate their behaviour and are less likely to act impulsively - surely a lesson for life. Above all, children who are encouraged and become able to think for themselves are likely to become eager and autonomous learners.

The voice of children

Finally, if given the opportunity, young children will share with us their intimate thoughts - for example, about growing up in today's society.

The interim findings of the Primary Review revealed through interviews with children that some as young as four years think deeply about issues in the world that confront us all. They try to make sense about the worrying turmoil in their family lives, the effects of climate change, crime, violence and the tragedy of wars that they witness daily in the media. They are concerned about the distress caused to their parents who separate, and anxious about their own safety and their futures.

High-quality practitioners recognise how critical it is to encourage children to share and discuss their thoughts and concerns with us, in the interests of their well-being and their learning. Emotional issues take up a great deal of space in our working memories. If young children spend time dwelling on their worries, they are not in a frame of mind to make a good transition in a group setting or to learn effectively.

Given these convincing grounds, practitioners increasingly recognise the need to be alert to children's views and ideas and to consider the conditions that help them to grow and share their thinking. In future articles I will consider some practical ways in which this might be achieved.

Part 2 will be published on 20 March.

REFERENCES

Gopnik, A, Melzoff, A and Kuhl (1999) How Babies Think: The Science of Childhood. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

Gerhardt, S (2004) Why Love Matters, Brunner-Routledge.

Siraj-Blatchford, I, Sylva, K, Muttock, S, Giden, R and Bell, D (2002) DfES Researching Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years (REPEY), DfES Research Report 356.

Sammons, P, Sylva, K Et al (2007) EPPE (3-11) Influences on Children's Attainment and Progress in Key Stage 2: Cognitive Outcomes in Year 5, Research Brief No: RB828 February 2007.

Department for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills (2007) Foundation Phase Framework for Children's Learning, Welsh Assembly Government.

Esme Fairbairn Foundation/Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge (2007) The Primary Review, Community Findings, www.primaryreview.org.uk

LINKS TO EYFS GUIDANCE

- UC 1.1 Child Development

- PR 2.4 Key Person

- L&D 4.2 Creativity and Critical Thinking

- EE 3.3 The Emotional Environment.

Photograph at Bushbury Nursery School by Joan Russell.