The History and Development of the ECCE in Ireland Essay Example for Free

The History and Development of the ECCE in Ireland Essay A, The History and development of the ECCE in Ireland The environments in which our youngest children live, grow and play have changed dramatically over the past century. For the best part of the twentieth century, young children were cared for in the family home and went to school sometime after the age of three. For much of that time, Irish society was largely agrarian based and children worked on the farm; work which had economic value to the family. Families were large, twice as large on average as those in the rest of Europe for most of the century. Children lived in households which frequently comprised members of the extended family. Emigration was a way of life and many children must have grown up in the knowledge that they would leave and not return. The Catholic Church and the State operated a symbiotic relationship in relation to many aspects of Irish life, including education, following Independence. In particular, the Church appears to have had considerable influence in terms of family life, a position consolidated by the 1937 Constitution. Changes began to occur in the 1950s when increasing industrialisation and urbanisation began to have an impact. Around this time, too, family size began to reduce. It was not until the 1970s, though, that substantial numbers of women began to enter – and stay in – the paid workforce. This was partly due to the lifting of the marriage bar in the civil service and the beginnings of movement towards parity of pay and rights for women with their male colleagues following Ireland’s entry into the European Economic Community (EEC). Out-of-home care arrangements for children then became a necessity for some families. Contemporary experience With changes in family patterns, more children are now living in smaller families, one parent families or in disparate families. Young children in contemporary Irish families are experiencing substantially different parenting trends, not least of which is that many now have the more active involvement of their fathers as well as their mothers. Traditionally, parents tended to concentrate more on the physical well-being of their children, whereas now they are increasingly concerned with their children’s holistic development, including their cognitive, emotional and social development. Widespread dissemination of research on child development in popular and accessible media formats, such as television programmes and self-help books on child development and parenting, indicate interest among the population on such issues. Such a media profile for child development also suggests an increased awareness among parents of the importance of this stage of life, and of the importance of supporting children’s optimal development. However, there is also the possibility that such media will exert pressure on parents in suggesting that parenting is a complicated and fraught occupation, with the margins for error being frighteningly wide, and the possibilities for success intimidatingly narrow. In fact, parents get it right even in difficult circumstances. Impact of socio-economic change While there is greater sensitivity to children’s needs in the holistic sense, there are depleted resources, notably time, within families and communities to meet them. Many aspects of the socio-economic context, including the organization of work and work/life balance, are not child friendly. House prices have risen enormously and consequently, the difficulty in finding affordable housing in central parts of cities such as Dublin has meant that many people, particularly young couples, have had to move out into the surrounding counties. The road and rail infrastructure is unable to meet the new demand and many people have had to succumb to lengthy hours of commuting. Stress and tiredness caused by parents’ commuting and work is likely to put pressure on children’s quality of life within their families. There is an element of irony in the fact that while children are experiencing more environments in their day-to-day lives in comparison to children even thirty years ago, we now find it necessary to plan for children’s access to, in particular, the outdoor environment. Parental and adult concern for the child’s safety and security means that the range of places in which children can play has shrunk, particularly in urban areas. Traffic volumes, development of green spaces and fear for children being out and about without adult supervision contributes to a contraction of freedom for children. Additionally, it would appear that children are spending increasing time in front of computers and televisions with consequent health risks, including diminished outdoor play, physical inactivity and obesity. Employment and childcare While unemployment was endemic during most of the 1980s, Ireland has experienced increasingly high levels of employment over the past ten years or so. Employment growth and a greater demand for labour, coupled with the need for dual income households to meet the cost of housing, impacted on female work force participation rates. Mothers’ employment participation rates in Ireland are comparatively high. Because of relatively short leave entitlements after the birth of a child, more mothers of young children are in employment in Ireland than in other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The obvious consequence of these circumstances is that more children are now being cared for outside the home than heretofore, despite continuing shortages of provision. Much of the increase in supply has occurred in the private commercial sector where costs to parents are among the highest in Europe. Substantial percentages of mothers working full-time and part-time use no paid childcare at all, indicating a reliance on informal provision provided by family or friends. There is very limited information on the nature and quality of the many and varied forms of childcare and pre-school provision for children who attend out-of-home settings. Implications for ECCE provision There are several implications emanating from this position, but just one will be considered here; that of the young child’s right to educational provision. To be meaningful, life-long learning must be conceptualised on a continuum which begins at birth. There are good reasons, based on the knowledge we now have on the efficacy of early education and the magnitude of young children’s potential for learning, for making provision for children from birth. However, a more fundamental argument relates to the young child’s right to education in the same way that older children are entitled to educational provision. This position is underpinned by the UNCRC (UN, 1989). Care and Education Provision for young children in Ireland has been fragmented and many of the fault lines can be traced to the historical understanding of care and education as being separate forms of provision. It is not difficult to see how this fracture developed historically here in Ireland. Home and School The national school system was established in 1831 and there were enough infants (3-5 year olds) in the system by 1872 to warrant a specific infant programme. Figures from the mid-1940s indicate that by then, over 48,000 children between the ages of three and five were in the system. These figures represent substantial numbers of young children in school. It is possible that this indicates that parents placed a high value on their children’s education and may explain why the national or primary school system here in Ireland has, since its inception, been regarded as concerned exclusively with ‘education’. Throughout the period referred to above, children were ‘cared for’ at home up until the point at which they began to attend school. These two contexts of ‘care’ and ‘education’ were quite different, and that difference seems to have been translated to mean mutually exclusive. While there is very little documented evidence about the care of young children at home, it appears that care was primarily the responsibility of the mother. Families were large and older siblings were involved in looking after younger children. While there were differences in urban and rural contexts, the extended family, particularly grandmothers, who often lived in the family home, were involved. Home and school were the two contexts in which children spent time so, even before the concepts were considered, it is possible to see the genesis of our traditional conceptualisation of care as what happens up to the age of three or so, and education as what happens after that. Revised Programme, 1900 One of the most remarkable stages in that history was the Revised Programme of 1900 (Commissioners of National Education in Ireland, 1901), though this is a somewhat arbitrary starting point. Even before this time, the philosophies of Rousseau, Froebel, Pestalozzi and Dewey had influenced individuals who put such theories into practice here. In fact, one might locate the provenance of the concept of child-centred practice with these theorists. The Revised Programme is strikingly familiar to the modern reader. It was influenced by Frobelian principles and incorporated heuristic approaches to teaching and learning. It advocated development from within rather than moulding from without, promoted the integration of subject areas and emphasised the environment as a context for the child’s learning. The Revised Programme advocated teaching content in an integrated manner, breaking with the tradition at that time of compartmentalising knowledge. Unfortunately, however, the necessary finances for equipment, training and implementation were never put in place. While the Revised Programme led to improvements in the dire state of infant education, the Dale Report (Dale, 1904) still found that this was one of the weakest elements of the system. Then, as now, no matter how good the curriculum, it is dependent for effectiveness on resourcing, training and investment. 1922 and 1948 curricular change A very different approach was taken in the curriculum introduced in 1922 following the foundation of the Irish Free State (National Programme Conference, 1922). This approach moved the focus off the young child onto curriculum content, specifically the Irish language, which was to be re-established as part of the socio-political transformation of Ireland following independence. The curricular changes introduced meant that the restoration of the Irish language became the primary aim of infant education. Following some years of implementation of this programme, teachers expressed deep reservations about its effect, stating that it inhibited the child intellectually, repressed the natural urge for self-expression and led to some children being mentally and physically damaged. This programme was replaced by the Revised Programme for Infants (Department of Education [DoE], 1948) in 1948, which returned to the values and direction espoused by the 1900 Revised Programme. However, due to continuing requirements regarding the teaching of Irish, it proved difficult to implement the philosophy of this programme. New Curriculum, 1971 Major curricular change occurred in 1971 with the introduction of the New Curriculum (DoE, 1971). Play was an integral part of this curriculum which was designed to cater for the full and harmonious development of each child, with an inherent flexibility to adapt to the needs of children of varying abilities and cultural backgrounds. However, the economic recession of the 1970s meant that the comprehensive network of supports for teachers which was envisaged did not materialise. Class size remained very large during the period following the introduction of the New Curriculum. Spending on education increased over the following decades, and while class size remained an issue at this time, the number of teaching posts in the system increased substantially. This relates to the introduction of schemes such as Home/School/Community Liaison (HSCL) and the expansion of Special Needs provision. Revised Curriculum, 1999 The 1999 Revised Curriculum (DES, 1999b) is designed to nurture children in all dimensions of their lives. In-service training is ongoing for teachers and structures (e.g. the Primary Curriculum Support Programme [PCSP] and the School Development Planning Service [SDPS]) have been put in place to support its roll-out into schools. A close study of these consecutive curricula illustrates the evolving understandings of concepts such as childcentred and holistic education in Ireland. Developments in provision One of the consequences of the relative economic prosperity of the 1960s was to increase interest and focus on education. From around this period, education became a new catalyst for social mobility, possibly on account of the introduction of free secondary education. Parents became increasingly anxious that their children’s future opportunities would be enhanced through education. Ireland’s increased involvement with international organisations such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Office (UNESCO), the OECD and the UN, allied with the aspiration to become a member of the EEC, contributed to a lessening of the insularity which had been a feature of the previous period. There was a shift in focus from social expenditure in relation to education and children to one of investment in the individual, the economy and society.

To View or Not To View :: Media News Television Essays

To View or Not To View Staying in touch with the outside world, via the 10:00 evening news, has become increasingly difficult for me the last couple years. Not only am I usually not awake at 10:00, but if I am, I do not want to spend my time hearing about the many murders, rapes, and robberies that plaque our city. Television news has not only taken on a tabloid-like feel, but the substance of most of the news stories is a total waste of my viewing time. However, in an effort to stay connected, I currently listen to the morning TV news as well as read the Chicago Tribune on a daily basis. The local news broadcast I taped to critique for this paper was the 5:00 News on Channel 5 which was shown on Monday, April 7, co-anchored by Joan Esposito, a 30ish white female, and Warren Saunders, a late 50's black male. I viewed a total of 13 stories which were comprised mainly of murder, weather and informational topics. The "Top Story" was about a 7 year old girl who was murdered by a gang member while she was waiting in line to get ice cream. The story's time went for approximately 4 minutes and included 3 interviews of people, 3 different on-screen captions and a camera span of teddy bears on a fence. The actual meaty parts of this story, that is, the facts, were fully given in this broadcast. However, interviews with crying persons of the gang members' families, and the little girl's school superintendent musing out loud on what this little girl could have become, was a total waste of time. Conversely, scanning the teddy bears was touching, but lent nothing to the telling of the tragic event that took this girl's life. I suppose the "powers that be" at the news station do not feel the public can feel on their own, thus we are constantly being given visual reminders of how sad a story is. I can safely say that the Top Story of the majority of broadcasts that I view are murders. Based on that premise, the senseless murder of this child was an important story in Chicago that day. I do take exception, however, to the many visuals used to evoke emotion as the sadness of the story spoke for itself. Apart from this story, the only remaining "news stories" consisted of a murder of a cab driver and two stories of missing persons.

Comparison of Common Law and Civil Law Essay

COMMON LAW (characteristics)for comparing or contrast purpose Common law systems are mostly found in former british colony and protectorate including US, it is less prescriptive than civil law system,citizens are benefited by enactment and legislation in specific fields.more often are the implied terms usage. 1)represents the law of courts as expressed in judicial decision 2)based on precedents provided by past judicial decisions,no written statues or prescribed texts 3)trial by the jury and the doctrine of the supremacy of the law(originally meant king above law,now means acts of governmentall agencies are subject to scruting in ordinary legal proceedings) 4)everything is permitted which is not prohibited by law 5)binding ,overruling through same court or legislation Judicial precedents derive their force from the doctrine of stare decisions[lat=stand by the decided matter]i.e that the previous decisions of the highest court in the jurisdiction are binding on all other courts in the jurisdiction changing conditions,however soon make most decisions inapplicable except as a basis for analogy, and a court must therefore often look to the judicial experience of the rest of the English speaking world.This gives the system flexibility while general acceptance of cetain authoritative materials provides a degree of stability.Neverthless,in many instances, courts have failed to keep pace with social developments and it has become necessary to enact statues to bring about needed changes.In recent years ,statutes have superseded much of common law,notablyin the fields of commercial administrative and criminal law,typically however in statutory interpretation the courts have recourse to the doctrines of common law. Thus increased legislation is limited but has not ended judicial supremacy. A common law system is generally less prescriptive than a civil law system. A government may therefore wish to enshrine protections of its citizens in specific legislation related to the infrastructure program being contemplated. For example, it may wish to prohibit the service provider from cutting off the water or electricity supply of bad payers. Please go to Legislation and Regulationsections for more information on this. There are few provisions implied into a contract under the common law system – it is therefore important to set out ALL the terms governing the relationship between the parties to a contract in the contract itself. This will often result in a contract being longer than one in a civil law country. CIVIL LAW(CHARACTERISITICS) 1)based on statues and prescribed texts. 2)available in written form, specific codes covering mostly 3)corporate,tax,constitution with basic rights and duties 4)only legislative enactments are binding 5)precedents are to be followed Countries following a civil law system are typically those that were former French, Dutch, German, Spanish or Portuguese colonies or protectorates, including much of Central and South America. Also, most of the Central and Eastern European and East Asian countries follow a civil law structure. The civil law system is a codified system of law. It takes its origins from Roman law. Features of a civil law system include: * There is generally a written constitution based on specific codes (e.g., civil code, codes covering corporate law, administrative law, tax law and constitutional law) enshrining basic rights and duties; administrative law is however usually less codified and administrative court judges tend to behave more like common law judges; * Only legislative enactments are considered binding for all. There is little scope for judge-made law in civil, criminal and commercial courts, although in practice judges tend to follow previous judicial decisions; consitutional and administrative courts can nullify laws and regulations and their decisions in such cases are binding for all. * In some civil law systems, e.g., Germany, writings of legal scholars have significant influence on the courts; * Courts specific to the underlying codes – there are therefore usually separate constitutional court, administrative court and civil court systems that opine on consistency of legislation and administrative acts with and interpret that specific code; * Less freedom of contract – many provisions are implied into the contract by law and parties cannot contract out of certain provisions. A civil law system is generally more prescriptive than a common law system. However, a government will still need to consider whether specific legislation is required to either limit the scope of a certain restriction to allow a successful infrastructure project, or may require specific legislation for a sector. Please go to Legislation and Regulation and â€Å"Organizing Government to think PPP† sections for more information on this. There are a number of provisions implied into a contract under the civil law system – less importance is generally placed on setting out ALL the terms governing the relationship between the parties to a contract in the contract itself as inadequacies or ambiguities can be remedied or resolved by operation of law. This will often result in a contract being shorter than one in a common law country. It is also important to note in the area of infrastructure that certain forms of infrastructure projects are referred to by well-defined legal concepts in civil law jurisdictions. Concessions and Affermage have a definite technical meaning and structure to them that may not be understood or applied in a common law country. Care should be taken, therefore, in applying these terms loosely. This is further considered under Agreements.

Macbeths Cruelity in Shakespeares Macbeth Essay - 595 Words

Macbeths Cruelity in Shakespeares Macbeth William Shakespeares play Macbeth written in 1605-1606, is a brilliant and dramatic piece of art about how the Scots and Macbeth butchered the whole Danish army. People set high goals or purposes with significant meaning in Shakespeares time. People back then set their goals by working very hard to get better or getting done what they set out to achieve. People did anything and everything to get a better job or get wealthier back then. Many people told lies to their employer to advance in their jobs. Also, others purposely did things to their fellow workers to get them in trouble so they could get higher on the latter at work. The characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in the play did†¦show more content†¦When King Duncan arrives, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth start planning a plot to kill him. Macbeth begins to get cold feet about the plot to kill Duncan soon after. Lady Macbeth takes on the role here as being the head of the family by forcing and convincing her husband to go on with the plan. Once again, Macbeth is bothered by self-doubt from his fear of retribution in heaven and on earth by getting his reputation shattered. Lady Macbeth pours scorn upon Macbeth by his lack of courage. She says he is a coward and that her own lack of pity will make her kill her own baby as it suckled at her breast, if necessary. This statement and her powerful words convince Macbeth to carry out their plan to kill Duncan. Finally, Macbeth gets up the courage and bravery to kill Duncan as he and Lady Macbeth intend to do. After Macbeth kills King Duncan, he starts to fear that someone might have seen or heard him. Lady Macbeth, once again, comforts and helps him get through his fears and frustration by her powerful words and actions. After Macbeth kills King Duncan, he brings back the daggers that he meant to plant on the guards. Macbeth is scared about having killed Duncan and cannot go back to plant the daggers because he is ashamed of what he did. Once ag ain, Lady Macbeth calms him down and goes back to plant the daggers herself. Also, Macbeth believes that he has murdered sleep and that he will never again be able to sleep easily and be at rest in his