Introduction
In the earlier establishments of education in past generations, society and community (human association) were the defining factor of education. Learning about the elements of the society and the community was the definition of appropriate education. In such settings, it is the responsibility of the old to pass on knowledge to the young, thereby educating them. Formal education in learning institutions borrows much from this concept. It can be argued that the establishment of learning institutions was break dependence on particular groups within the society. Informally, education can be acquired through participation of an individual as they develop their immature self in the life of a given society or community. Nonetheless, this basis would render education relative since different societies and communities face different experiences (Dewey, 2008), hence the need for formal education with standard systems and basic levels.
Discussion: Environmental Factors affecting Childhood Development
Education is primarily intended to help a child grow emotionally, socially as well as psychologically, hence achieving self-identity. However, there are various factors in the environment in which a child is brought up that influence their growth and development in the said areas, thereby limiting or enhancing their ability to achieve self-identity. Considering that from childhood to adulthood one goes through a number of experiences, depending on the environment in which they develop, learning is a continuous process. The continuous nature of the learning process and its dependence on various factors including environment and subject of learning makes it difficult to have a single general definition of the process. However, some scholars are of the idea that learning only occurs in a controlled environment where appropriate conditions can be maintained to condition the learner. Besides, as Stanley writes (2007), the objective of this controlled learning is only achievable when the pre-school years are focussed on the setting basis for schooling activities.
The Behaviourist Theory of Learning is a practical
model with which to analyse the dynamics of early childhood education and,
hence, the growth and development of the child. The theory argues that the
observation and scientific study of behaviour is the most convenient way of
investigating psychological and mental processes. In addition to this, the
theory also holds that the results of the learning process are best depicted by
the change in behaviour of the student. Since ascertaining learning is possible
by evaluating the behavioural changes in the child, there is the scientific
belief that it is in fact the only way of investigating such processes. Therefore, behaviour can be explained without
considering internal and mental aspects. The conditional external stimuli are
efficient to trigger conditional response by the learner. The environment of
learning, the behaviour of the learner and their personal expectations interact
influence the process of learning. As postulated by McNeeley (2007), it is
evident that the process is only complete if there is a situation of
experience, there is an appropriate environment relative to the learning
subject and there are conditions supportive of the learning process.
It is possible to study and determine the social,
psychological and even emotional behaviour of a child from the impacts of
external environmental factors without necessarily involving internal and
mental factors in the analysis. These external factors encompass the conditions
of the environment, which are the stimuli that shape the behaviour.
As written by Lynch (2007), the external environmental factors that shape one’s
behavior are closely related and have a classical association. It is,
therefore, important for educators to approach learning and teaching subjects
with the mind that behavior of the learner after the learning process is
subject to a collective effect of these external factors. The association of these factors, as per my ideas and
philosophy learning and teaching, essentially positions the learner as a
passive individual who responds to environmental stimuli. It can thus be said
that learning is considered as a changing or shaping of one’s behaviour. The
experience bit is emphasised by the postulate that understanding is a matter of
seeing existing patterns, which is all a child needs at early education.
External environmental factors are not the only
determinants of effective early childhood learning. There is a mutual agreement
that the learning process influences the student’s behaviour and way of
thinking. The idea in this suggests that training on a subject sticks to
formulated rules, codes or ethics of conduct during and, subsequently, after
the learning process. According to his learning theory, which discusses the conditions
of learning, Gagne (2013) presents two types of learning conditions as internal
and external conditions. Internal conditions relates to the student’s attention
when learning, motivation to learn and ability to recall subject that has been
learnt so far. On the other hand, external conditions are about learning
arrangement, timing and other factors that stimulate the student’s behaviour or
reaction to situations.
Comprehensive child development and achieving the goal
of self-identity is important for the child to thrive in the society and even
the learning environment itself. With such developments, the child is able to
focus on the next levels of growth including personal management skills. Theories
and concepts are developed to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of one’s
skills of management. The effects of these theories and concepts could depend
on the subject of management but then, in most cases, the idea is common.
Choosing a theory to guide in developing management skills depends on the
factors that influence the area in which one desires to improve their skills.
One of these factors is the environmental situation created around learning.
The organization of, and approach given, this environment determines its
complexity and probable uncertainty (Robbins et al., 2009). Therefore, it
becomes important to design a behavioral system that survives in a complex and
uncertainly changing environment. The learning environment could be uncertain
due to issues like language barrier, though this might only apply to
international students in foreign countries in pursuit of education. On the
other hand, complexity is a result of the possible destructing agents that drive
attention away from the coursework.
These
affective aspects, uncertainties and complexities require self-management
strategies that can be put in play to improve academic performance,
productivity and time on-task. Elements such as goal-setting, progress
evaluation and behavior monitoring make self-management a critical tool for
successful development in social and learning environments. Focusing on
behavior monitoring, one can observe their own behavior and record occurrences
so as to evaluate progress. At this point there is intrapersonal communication
to support self-evaluation. In turn, it becomes possible to set own goals.
Basically, the self takes an active role in implementing self-evaluation
strategies. According to Otten and Tuttle (2012), self-management then becomes
an effective strategy for addressing behavioral problems that hinder progress.
To complete self-management, graphing of progress enables one to visually
represent their performance while with reinforcement they give themselves a
positive consequence.
Conclusion
Looking at the influence of the discussed factors,
governments have taken interesting in the education sector with an effort to
better the course. As such various policies have been put in place to foster
quality education in the learning institution and the sector as a whole. For
instance, the Australian government, through Australian Government Department
of Education Employment and Workplace Relations, seeks to offer education that
gives the learners equivalent settings regardless of where they are (DEEWR,
2009), so that there is no unnecessary grouping variation. These efforts seek
to break the mentality of education being purely a social function. To achieve
such objectives, responsible authorities need to set governing policies and
standards of education. The concepts of education at all levels are such that
all students are given access to fair quality, regardless
of their origins. In as much as policies need to be reviewed time and again due
to the changing global society, it is recommendable that the stakeholders
involved in the process respect the standard circular frameworks of education. Today,
empowerment of individuals through formal education is one of the fundamental
forces of attaining a global connection, hence worldwide human association.
Reference List
Australian
Government Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR).
(2009). Belonging, being & becoming:
The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. (Chapter 6)
Dewey,
J. (2008). Democracy and Education. Project GUTENBERG. Retrieved 24 September 2015
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Lynch, R. (2007). Behaviourist
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McNeeley, S. R. (2007). Theories of Learning. Retrieved from http://web.utk.edu/~rmcneele/classroome-mail:rmcneeley@acs.ac
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