Grade R, a critical year to establish the fundamentals of a child’s capacity to become a life-long learner, is essentially a bridging year from pre-school, where children are still considered “little ones”, to formal schooling. It is around this time when a child begins to develop a sense of independence and thus starts taking responsibility for their behavioural outcomes.
According to Fiona Oldacre, HOD for Early Childhood Development and Foundation Phase at Embury Institute for Higher Education, “teachers and parents need to encourage children to think and act independently so that they can cope emotionally and socially with the demands that Grade 1 carries.”
While she says she’s not advocating that parents and teachers expect children to behave like grown-ups, she believes that instilling a certain level of independence and critical thinking can contribute towards a well-rounded child who can take on responsibility later on in life.
Making choices fosters independence
Generally, children in Grade R are around six years old, which Oldacre says is a good stage to introduce them to the concept of choices. “We want to start developing the notion of responsibility from this age which allows them to then make a decision to carry out good behaviours. Ultimately, we want children to choose to do good things themselves,” Oldacre says. This means focusing on “intrinsic motivation” as opposed to “extrinsic motivation”.
Intrinsic motivation is when the child wants to do something – the desire comes from within and is a result of acquiring a level of independence. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is where the child does something because of an external factor pushing him or her to do so, such as the threat of punishment.
Other important pointers for growing healthy independence
Oldacre says this is why positive reinforcement is more effective in growing children’s independence than punishment is. “Rewarding good behaviour encourages the child to want to do it again,” she says.
Praising children for good behaviour is a great form of positive reinforcement – as long as it’s done sincerely. It’s also important to understand children and what behaviour can reasonably be expected from them at different ages. For example, expecting Grade R children to sit still and quietly for long periods of time is unreasonable, no matter how motivated they are to behave well. Setting reasonable goals for good behaviour will result in less frustration all round.
Adults can offer children choices by giving them an opportunity to choose between two rewards. For example, a teacher might offer a displeased child the option of either selecting the story that the class will read together, or choosing a friend to partner with in the next activity.
Oldacre suggests offering rewards that are experiential, rather than material goods such as sweets or money. “If you reward behaviour with material goods, it’s easy to get into a cycle of having to up the ante with each new reward,” she says. “Rather focus on quality time and activities that you know the child will enjoy as a reward.”
Source: Embury Institute for Higher Education – for more information visit their website.