Innovative Approaches to Early Learning
How the Ecological Model benefits children at Cuddly Bear Child Care Heathmont.
BY BONNIE LAXTON-BLINKHORN, KINDICARE
There are many schools of thought when it comes to early education, you’ve probably already heard of Montessori, and other approaches such as Anji Play, Magda Gerber’s RIE Approach and Forest Kindy are increasingly well known in early learning circles.
One approach you may not have heard of is Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory.
This approach recognises the many different social and environmental influences that impact child learning and asks education practitioners to consider these when developing educational experiences and environments for children.
To learn more about Ecological Systems Theory and how it works in real life we spoke to Cheyana Murdoch from Cuddly Bear Child Care and Kindergarten Heathmont.
Chey started working in early childhood around eight years ago and is now an assistant director at Cuddly Bear, a role that combines her skills and experience as an educational lead with some managerial responsibilities.
“Although my role now leads towards more of the day-to-day operations, it still allows me the opportunity to be creative and think big. There are never two days that are the same!”
Cuddly Bear is a family owned and operated business in Heathmont Victoria. The service offers 80 places daily, including an integrated government funded kindergarten program for three-and four-year-old children.
Chey says Cuddly Bear feels like home, not just to her, but to the children and families who are part of the community and the educators who work there.
“Our company vision is to be the best in Australia, and we do this by providing a safe, happy, secure, inclusive, and stimulating environment for the children, which encourages a positive attitude towards learning.
“Fostering a joy for learning and supporting each child’s goals are a priority for the team. We understand the importance of providing children the opportunity to reach their full potential through a child-centred, emergent, collaborative, teaching and learning environment inspired by nature and driven by children and families' individual needs, interests and wants,” says Chey.
This is where Bronfenbrenner Ecological Model comes in.
Cuddly Bear’s philosophy is inspired by Bronfenbrenner’s approach which recognises the various layers that impact a child’s learning and development.
Chey explained that the theory asks educators to consider the wider range of factors that influence a child, as opposed to simply looking at an individual’s development.
“These influencing factors and surrounding environments are what Bronfenbrenner proposed as the Ecological Systems Theory or the Ecological Model. The Ecological Model, provides a holistic approach which is inclusive of all the systems children and their family are involved in.”
The five interrelated systems proposed by Bronfenbrenner are:
1. The microsystem
The factors that a child has direct contact with in their immediate environment including family, childcare, health services, friends and peers, religious affiliation and the local playground.
2. The mesosystem:
This system encompasses the interactions between a child’s microsystems, such as the relationship between a child’s parents and educators or their doctor.
3. The exosystem:
This includes the formal and informal structures that can directly influence a child such as the employment status of parents, government agencies, relationships with extended family and neighbours and the mass media.
4. Macrosystem:
This layer considers how cultural variables such as ethnicity and socioeconomic status impact a child’s development along with their beliefs and perceptions.
5. The chronosystem:
This includes environmental changes that can occur over a lifetime, such as starting ‘big’ school, losing a family member, parents divorcing or moving to a new house.
How the Ecological Model benefits Cuddly Bear’s children.
The idea that the environment a child grows up in impacts every aspect of their life fits well with the Cuddly Bear team.
“Social factors determine your way of thinking, the emotions you feel, and your likes and dislikes,” says Chey. “If you change your environment, you’ll change. The same can happen if your social role within one of the five systems changes.”
“Keeping this in mind, we wanted our service philosophy to not just place the child at the centre, but our whole community. Our Cuddly Bear community encompasses our educators, children, families and supporting stakeholders.”
Chey says this focus on a child’s position within their community supports development and learning in variety of ways.
“Each community member placed at the centre of our model is unique, active, and engaged in their own learning and development journey within their local context, which is shaped by their family, culture, and experience.
“Being part of a community, means that children are exposed to a range of personalities, teaching styles, cultures, and languages. At Cuddly Bear, we believe all educators play a role in a child’s learning and development, which means that all educators are involved in the planning, teaching and documentation process. This equips children with the skills to recognise and respond to various teaching styles and to develop an appreciation for their wider surrounding world.
“This is what I believe makes us so special.”
While there are many benefits available to children via the Ecological Model, there are wider benefits too.
“Our teaching team is diverse; filled with a wide range of skill sets, cultures, languages, personalities and teaching styles,” says Chey.
“This has created a culture of mentoring amongst the team where our educators are able to share their strengths and implement change. There are countless days where I think to myself, ‘I have learnt something from my team today’, and I love that our model enables this to occur.”
How the Ecological Model helped build a scarecrow.
Chey says creating an environment that is warm and responsive, creates a positive learning environment for everyone and equipping children with the necessary tools, allows them to develop a sense of agency and independence.
At Cuddly Bear the use of floor books in the classrooms is a catalyst for this. Floor books are scrapbooks that allow children to record their ideas, reflections and learning using writing, drawings and photographs. They are a tool children can use to share and recall ideas.
“Our children are provided with the space and time to share their thoughts and ideas, which in 2022 led to the wonderful collaborative Scarecrow Project, conducted by our four-year-old kinder group.
“Through their bush kinder adventures, this group discovered a need for further recycling bins. This led to them contacting the local council, acting as advocates for change and collecting bags full of rubbish on each visit to clean up the reserve.
“Through the use of the floor book, a child then had the idea of creating a scarecrow from the recycled materials they found. This scarecrow and the floor book were then showcased at the local council exhibition, ‘room to reverse’,” said Chey.
Celebrating culture at Cuddly Bear.
At Cuddly Bear sharing and celebrating the rich cultural diversity of the surrounding community and wider world is embedded into daily learning.
Children participate in an Acknowledgement to Country and the recent playground re-development included the addition of a yarning circle.
“We gather on a Monday morning around the yarning circle to welcome each other to the week and to participate in the Acknowledgement as a whole service. This is also done on a Friday afternoon, where we say goodbye to one another at the end of the week.”
Children also participate in weekly Bush Kinder and community excursions, which Chey says promote a connection with country and enable them to explore the surrounding Wurundjeri lands.
“This allows children to immerse themselves in their surrounding world and make connections from pre-conceived knowledge. This connection to country and use of embedded language supports our culture of respect to others, the land, and all living things.
Cuddly Bear children across all classrooms can also participate in Mandarin and French language programs run by educators who are native language speakers.
Through songs, fingerplay, puppets and visuals children receive regular exposure to these languages and the chance to practice their skills with each other.
“Drawing on our educators’ strengths allows us to incorporate unique learning opportunities for our children, which not only supports children’s learning and development, but also provides our educators with opportunities to lead programmes and share their own cultures.”
Check out Cuddly Bear Child care and Kindergarten Heathmont on KindiCare >>>>
