Category: Uncategorized
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NEN Discuss: Waldorf/Steiner Education
The origins of Steiner Waldorf education? When exploring Steiner’s Waldorf educational philosophy and pedagogy, it is useful to understand the name and its origins. Firstly, Steiner refers to the theorist and founder of this educational approach, Rudolf Steiner. Whereas, Waldorf refers to the location of the first school to embrace Steiner’s approach, which opened in…
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NEN Discuss: Holistic Development
What is holistic development? Holistic development is not just a term but a powerful concept that shapes an individual’s overall growth and progress in all aspects of development, including physical, emotional, social, cognitive, and spiritual development. It is a view that does not isolate these areas but instead emphasises their interconnectedness and interdependence. It is…
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NEN Discuss: Reggio Emilia
Contextualising Reggio Emilia When exploring Reggio Emilia, it is important to note that it is not just the name given to the innovative and child-centred education philosophy but can be split into three interconnected aspects. Firstly, Reggio Emilia is a small city with an ethos that focuses on imagination, energy, and community spirit. The next…
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NEN Discuss: Forest School
An Overview of Forest School In the past, formal links between formal classroom education and the outdoor environment were unnecessary due to the freedom, opportunity and time children had to be outside as part of their daily lives. During this time, they naturally acquired practical skills and knowledge that applied to various aspects of their…
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NEN Discuss: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
About the theory Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ is a theory in psychology that describes the five basic human needs that must be fulfilled for individuals to be motivated to reach their full potential. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, sometimes referred to as a theory of motivation, is a classification system theorised to reflect the survival needs of…
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NEN Discuss: British Values
British Values When ‘British values’ are mentioned in education, it often refers to the political perspective of Fundamental British Values rather than the cultural perspective, attitudes and beliefs. Culturally, the values that makeup what it means to be British are ever-evolving. However, the Fundamental British Values are a set of four broad values that underpin…
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NEN Discuss: Cultural Capital
What is Cultural Capital? What is Cultural Capital, and what does it mean for early years practitioners and the education sector? These are two questions that educational practitioners have been considering and asking since this term regained popularity in its inclusion within the Education Inspection Framework (EIF) in 2019. The term Cultural Capital, as Ofsted…
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NEN Discuss: Differentiation or Adaption?
Differentiation or Adaption? Exploring these terms as distinctive terms might be helpful before discussing whether educators should be using differentiation, adaption or a mixture of both. A more in-depth exploration can be found here: NEN Summary: Differentiation, NEN Summary: Adaptive teaching and NEN Explain: Differentiation. Differentiation is a bottom-up approach to supporting individuals as the…
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NEN Discuss: Learning Styles, VARK
What is VARK? To begin with, defining the term ‘learning styles’ seems appropriate as this will form part of the discussion around VARK. As suggested by Pashler et al. (2020), a learning style is a broad range of concepts, ideas and theories around an individual’s theoretically preferred mode of information devilry and the mode that…
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NEN Discuss: Gesell’s Maturation Theory
What is Maturation Theory? This theory of physical and cognitive development links to the thinking of the Motor-Development school of thought. To fully understand Gesell’s theory, an understanding of the term maturation is needed. Maturation, therefore, is the process of growth and development that an individual experiences and that maturation is not a singular event…
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