Childcare Theorists

The best nurseries in Liverpool incorporate recognised childcare theory into their approach to looking after children.

Here at The Childcare Academy, we are aiming to be one of the best nurseries in Liverpool. Even with twenty years of experience in training nursery staff, we see and experience new things all the time.

To be effective, we have to adapt, but we always stay true to guiding principles. Many of these come from highly-recognised childcare experts from across the globe.

Maria Montessori

Unquestionably, one of the best-known pioneers in childcare is Maria Montessori. We adopt her teachings about how children can make their own decisions and learn through hands-on play and learning to co-operate with others. Her research concluded that the most formative years of a child’s life are up to the age of six. She believed that a teacher is most successful when children can function with limited guidance.

“The greatest gift we can give our children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.”

Maria Montessori

Jerome Bruner

Jerome Bruner was an American academic who spent decades studying how children’s brains work. He looked at how perception, learning and memory affected the development of young children. In conclusion, he found creative learning is highly effective in the early education of children.

“We are storytelling creatures, and as children acquire language to tell those stories have inside us.”

Jerome Bruner

B.F. Skinner

Often, parents ask us about our approach to behaviour. Burrhus Frederic Skinner studied how positive reinforcement increases the likelihood of a good outcome. Through a strong focus on positivity, the children develop more happily.

Piaget

We subscribe to Jean Piaget’s view that “Play is the work of childhood.” This Swiss educator’s studies concluded that children learn through experience.

There is broad acknowledgement that the right curriculum and activities delivered correctly at an early age will impact children’s ongoing intellect.

Albert Bandura

Albert Bandura is another leading expert in social learning theory. He adopted the belief that our ability is not always something we are born with. Contrary to this, he says success is linked to the environment. It should be noted his belief includes how the attitudes and actions of others around us influence behaviours.

At The Childcare Academy, staff and children become positive role models for each other. This guiding principle is a reason we are one of the best nurseries in Liverpool.

Rogoff

Barbara Rogoff is a Professor of Psychology. She brings forward the view that culture plays a vital role in child development. In addition to holding many of the beliefs of other leading experts, she promotes the positive impact of rich community and cultural experiences during childhood.

“Individuals develop as members of a community, and their development can only be fully understood by examining the practices and circumstances of their communities.”

Barbara Rogoff

The industry ‘Bible’, the Handbook of Child Psychology, features a chapter written by Rogoff. She discusses her peers Vygotsky and Piaget. Collectively these experts agree that adults are most effective as facilitators in childcare settings. First and foremost, a good environment will promote learning, peer interaction and children learning to work together.

These leading experts also recognise how social factors coupled with cultural influences, will impact a child’s development. Blending their recommendations into our practices makes us one of the best nurseries in Liverpool.