Early childhood education becoming a professional

Early Childhood Education: Becoming a Professional Visit to download the full and correct content document: https://ebookmass.com/product/early-childhood-education-becoming-a-professional/

INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENT RESOURCES

SAGE provides comprehensive and free online resources at www.sagepub.com/gordonbiddle designed to support and enhance both instructors’ and students’ experiences.

PASSWORD-PROTECTED INSTRUCTOR SITE This password-protected site provides instructors with everything that they need to prepare and teach their introductory course. Included on the site are:

• Test Bank (Word®): This Word test bank offers a diverse set of test questions and answers for each chapter of the book. Multiple-choice, true/false, short-answer, and essay questions for every chapter help instructors assess students’ progress and understanding.

• Test Bank (Respondus): This electronic test bank using Respondus software is available for use with PCs. The test bank offers a diverse set of test questions and answers for each chapter of the book. Multiplechoice, true/false, short-answer, and essay questions for every chapter help instructors assess students’ progress and understanding.

• PowerPoint: Chapter-specific slide presentations offer assistance with lecture and review preparation by highlighting essential content, features, and artwork from the book.

• Lecture Notes: Summaries and outlines of each chapter are posted online for lectures/ student handouts.

• Sample Syllabi: Sample syllabi for semester and quarter classes provide suggested models for instructors to use when creating the syllabi for their courses.

• Discussion Questions: Chapter-specific questions help launch discussion by prompting students to engage with the material and by reinforcing important content.

• Class Activities: These lively and stimulating ideas for use in class reinforce active learning. The activities apply to individual or group projects.

• Tables and Figures: Tables and figures from the book are available for use in handouts, lectures, or quizzes.

• Web Resources: These links to relevant websites direct both instructors and students to additional resources for further research on important chapter topics.

• SAGE Journal Articles: This feature provides access to recent, relevant, full-length articles from SAGE’s leading research journals.

• Video Links: Carefully selected, web-based videos feature relevant interviews, lectures, personal stories, inquiries, and other content for use in independent or classroom-based explorations of key topics.

• Audio Links: Each chapter includes links to audio resources, which cover important topics and are designed to supplement key points within the text.

OPEN-ACCESS STUDENT STUDY SITE Found at www.sagepub.com/gordonbiddle This open-access Student Study Site is intended to enhance students’ understanding of the concepts in Early Childhood Education. On this site, students have access to:

• Quizzes: Flexible self-quizzes allow you to review the concepts from each chapter.

• eFlashcards: These study tools reinforce your understanding of key terms and concepts outlined in the chapters.

• Video Links: Carefully selected, web-based videos feature relevant interviews, lectures, personal stories, inquiries, and other content for use in independent or classroom-based explorations of key topics.

• Audio Links: Each chapter includes links to audio resources, which cover important topics and are designed to supplement key points within the text.

• Web Resources: These links to relevant websites direct

• SAGE Journal Articles: A “Learning From SAGE Journal Articles” feature provides access to recent, relevant full-text articles from SAGE’s leading research journals. This feature also provides discussion questions to focus and guide student interpretation.

• Workshop Formats: These author-created workshop formats include topic discussions, workshop activities, wrap-up activities, and evaluation questions and activities all of which allow a hands-on approach to exploring topics in the text.

• Lesson Plans: Sample lesson plans give you the tools you need to conduct meaningful lessons in the classroom. Plans are provided for different age ranges.

both instructors and students to additional resources for further research on important chapter topics.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS SAGE and our authors would like to thank the numerous outside reviewers who provided many valuable comments and suggestions.

Erin Barton – University of Colorado, Denver

Dawn S. Munson – Elgin Community College

Heather Batchelder – University of Central Florida

Tara Newman – Stephen F. Austin State University

Mary K. Bendixen-Noe – Ohio State University, Newark

Angela Pack-Hudson County Community College

Mona Bryant-Shanklin – Norfolk State University

Sureshrani Paintal – Chicago State University

Jody Carson – Northern Essex Community College

Barba Aldis Patton – University of Houston, Victoria

Sharon Carter – Davidson County Community College

Deborah J. Ranz-Smith – College of Mount St. Joseph

Marilyn Chu – Western Washington University

Linda Rivers – University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Sabine Gerhardt – The University of Akron

Dr. Patsy J. Robles-Goodwin – Texas Wesleyan University

April M. Grace – Madisonville Community College

Cheryl Sanchez – Southwest Texas Junior College

Carolyn J. Griess – Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg

Hilary Seitz – University of Alaska Anchorage

Michelle Fryer Hanson – University of Sioux Falls

Lois Silvernail – Spring Hill College

Mary Hynes-Berry – Erikson Institute

Ruslan Slutsky – University of Toledo

Celia Billescas Hilber – Jacksonville State University

Ranae Stetson – Texas Christian University

Cheryl J. Hitchcock – Middle Tennessee State University

Ursula Thomas – University of West Georgia

Wendy Jacocks-Southeastern Louisiana University Jennifer A. Kampmann – South Dakota State University

Candra D. Thornton – University of North Carolina, Wilmington

Kejing Liu – Shawnee State University

Leslie Haley Wasserman – Heidelberg University

Wendy McCarty – Illinois College

Su-Jeong Wee – Purdue University Calumet

Nancy Merryman – Mount Mercy University

James C. Young – Clark Atlanta University

Kimberly Sellers – Pikes Peak Community College

Early Childhood Education

Early Childhood Education

Becoming a Professional

Kimberly A. Gordon Biddle California State University, Sacramento

Ana Garcia-Nevarez

California State University, Sacramento

Wanda J. Roundtree Henderson California State University, Sacramento

Alicia Valero-Kerrick

California State University, Sacramento

Copyright © 2014 by SAGE Publications, Inc.

FOR INFORMATION: SAGE Publications, Inc.

E-mail: order@sagepub.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

SAGE Publications Ltd.

Printed in the United States of America

2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320

1 Oliver’s Yard

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

55 City Road London EC1Y 1SP

Gordon, Kimberly A. (Kimberly Ann), 1965-

United Kingdom SAGE Publications India Pvt. Ltd. B 1/I 1 Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area Mathura Road, New Delhi 110 044 India SAGE Publications Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd. 3 Church Street #10-04 Samsung Hub Singapore 049483

Early childhood education: becoming a professional / Kimberly A. Gordon Biddle, California State University, Sacramento, Ana Garcia-Nevarez, California State University, Sacramento, Wanda J. Roundtree Henderson, California State University, Sacramento, Alicia Valero-Kerrick, California State University, Sacramento. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4129-7345-8 (pbk.)

1. Early childhood teachers—Training of. 2. Early childhood education— Study and teaching. I. Title.

LB1732.3.G67 2014 372.21—dc23 2012035565

Acquisitions Editor: Diane McDaniel Associate Editor: Megan Krattli Associate Editor: Theresa Accomazzo Assistant Editor: Rachael Leblond

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Editorial Assistant: Megan Koraly Production Editor: Libby Larson Copy Editor: Melinda Masson Typesetter: C & M Digitals (P) Ltd. Proofreader: Scott Oney Indexer: Michael Ferriera Cover Designer: Gail Buschman Marketing Manager: Terra Schultz Permissions Editor:

Adele Hutchinson

13 14 15 16 17 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Brief Contents Preface Acknowledgments

xxi xxix

Part I: Foundations of Early Childhood Education

1

Chapter 1: The Early Childhood Teacher Chapter 2: H istory: Exploring the Beginnings of Early Childhood Education Chapter 3: Types of Programs and Services

2 28 56

Part II: Development and Early Childhood Education

79

Chapter 4: Learning Theories Chapter 5: Child Development and Milestones

80 112

Part III: The Early Childhood Classroom

139

Chapter 6: Assessment and Evaluation Through Observation Chapter 7: C hildren With Exceptional Needs in Early Childhood Education Chapter 8: Diversity in Early Childhood Education Chapter 9: Guidance in Early Childhood Education

140 168 204 230

Part IV: Implementing the Early Childhood Curriculum

255

Chapter 10: Play and the Learning Environment Chapter 11: Emotional and Social Development Chapter 12: Language and Literacy Development Chapter 13: Mathematics, Science, and Technology Chapter 14: Movement, Health, and the Physical Curriculum

256 286 318 344 368

Part V: Trends and Issues in Early Childhood Education

391

Chapter 15: C onsiderations for Engaging Parents, Families, and the Community Chapter 16: Early Childhood Education Policies

392 422

Appendix Glossary References Photo Credits Author Index Subject Index About the Authors

447 457 475 503 505 517 539

Detailed Contents Preface Acknowledgments

Part I: Foundations of Early Childhood Education Chapter 1: The Early Childhood Teacher 2 Who Is the Early Childhood Teacher? 4 Why Become an Early Childhood Teacher? 4 Characteristics of Good Early Childhood Teachers 4 Personality and Self-Awareness 4 Intrinsic Motivation 5 Ethics 6 Philosophy of Teaching 6

Rewards of Being an Early Childhood Teacher 7 Making a Contribution 7 Teaching as Career Choice 8

A Challenge Faced by Early Childhood Teachers 8 Teacher Shortages 8

Developmental Stages of Early Childhood Teachers 10 Consider This 10 What Are the Roles of the Early Childhood Teacher? 11 Teacher as Nurturer 11 Teacher as Instructor or Facilitator 12 Teacher as Advocate 12 Teachers and Diversity 13 Teachers and Parents 14

Best Practices 15 What Are the Requirements for Becoming an Early Childhood Teacher? 16 NAEYC Teaching Levels 16 CDA Credentialing 16 Academic Degrees 17

Licensing Requirements for Child Care Programs 19 NAEYC Accreditation of Early Childhood Education Programs 21 What Knowledge and Skills Should Early Childhood Teachers Possess? 22

xxi xxix

1

NAEYC Core Competency Standards 22 NBPTS Early Childhood/Generalist Standards 22 Professionalism & Policy 24 Chapter 2: History: Exploring the Beginnings of Early Childhood Education 28 What Major Ideas Influenced Early Childhood Education? 30 Ancient Educational Theorists 30 The Dark and Middle Ages 30

What Contributions Have Individuals Made to the Field of Early Childhood Education? 31 Professionalism & Policy 31 Renaissance and Reformation 32 European Influences 32

Consider This

35

An Improved View of Childhood 35 The Beginning Point for Early Childhood Education 36 European Women Who Influenced Early Childhood Education 38 Early Childhood Education Constructivists 41 The Progressive Education Movement 43 American Influences 43

Promoting Optimal Development 45 Best Practices 46 Who Were the Major Contributors to the Kindergarten Movement? 50 European Influences 50 American Influences 51

Chapter 3: Types of Programs and Services 56 What Are the Different Types of Early Childhood Programs? 58 Montessori Programs 58 Reggio Emilia Programs 59 HighScope Curriculum 61

Best Practices

62

Bank Street Model 63 Waldorf Model 65 Programs Based on a Behaviorist Perspective 66 Strengths of Behaviorism 67 Limitations of Behaviorism 67 Skinner’s Operant Conditioning 68 Child Care Centers and Nursery Schools 68

Consider This

69

Head Start 70

How Are Early Childhood Programs Financed? 71 For-Profit 71 Nonprofit 72 Parent Cooperative 72 University- and College-Affiliated Programs 72

Professionalism & Policy 72 What Are Home-Based and Center-Based Child Care Settings? 73 Home-Based Care 73 Center-Based Care 73

Why Do Child Care Centers Need to Be Licensed? 74 Promoting Optimal Development 75

Part II: Development and Early Childhood Education Chapter 4: Learning Theories 80 How Do We Define Development, Learning, and Theory? 82 Development 82 Learning 84 Theory 84

What Is the Constructivist View of Learning? 86 What Is Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development? 87 Schemes 88 Piaget’s Three Types of Knowledge 89 Cognitive Equilibrium 90 Limitations of Piaget’s Theory 96

The Practice of Research and Theory 97 What Is Information Processing Theory? 97 Consider This 98 What Is Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory of Development? 98 Zone of Proximal Development 99 Collaborative Learning 100

What Is Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Theory of Development? 101 Best Practices 101 What Is Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development? 103 Professionalism & Policy 104 What Is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs? 104 Burrhus Frederic Skinner 106 Chapter 5: Child Development and Milestones 112 What Are the Major Physical and Motor Milestones? 114 The Physical Development of the Brain 114 Arousal States 115

79

Best Practices 115 Reflexes 116 Motor Skills 117 The Development of Coordinated Movement 119 Perceptual Development 120

Consider This 120 What Are the Major Cognitive Milestones? 121 Brain Development 121

The Practice of Research and Theory

122

Perceptual Organization 122 Cognitive Development 122 Beyond Piaget 123 The Weaknesses in Piaget’s Original Theory 124 The Work of the Neo-Piagetians 124 Memory 124

Promoting Optimal Development 125 What Are the Major Language Milestones? 125 Brain Development 125 Relationship Between Cognition and Language 126 The Beginnings of Language 126 Phases or Stages of Language Development 126 The Development of Speech 129 The Development of Literacy 129 The Development of Storytelling 130

What Are the Major Emotional and Social Milestones? 131 Brain Development 131 Beginning Social Relationships 131 Stages of Attachment 131 Psychosocial Development 133 Friendships or Peer Relationships 133

Professionalism & Policy 133 What Are Some Implications of Developmental Milestones? 134 Implications of Developmental Milestones for Education and Learning of All Young Children 135 Developmental Milestones and Atypical Development 135

Part III: The Early Childhood Classroom Chapter 6: Assessment and Evaluation Through Observation 140 Why and How Do Teachers Observe Young Children? 142 One Reason for Observing 142

139

Types of Observations 143 How Observations Influence Teaching 148

How Do Teachers Assess and Evaluate Young Children? 148 Types of Assessments and Evaluations 149

Promoting Optimal Development

150

Some Assessments and Evaluations for Ethnic Minorities 151 Current Research Assessments and Evaluations 153

Professionalism & Policy 154 Best Practices 155 How to Use Effective Assessment to Improve Teaching 156

What Are Some Assessment and Evaluation Concerns? 158 Psychometrics 158 Communicating With Parents and Family 159 Accountability and High-Stakes Testing 160 Test Bias 160

Consider This

161

Age at Assessment 161 The Environment 161

Chapter 7: Children With Exceptional Needs in Early Childhood Education 168 How Has the Field of Special Education Evolved? 170 From Segregation to Inclusion 171

What Is the Spectrum of IDEA Childhood Disability Categories? 174 Disability Categories 174 Disproportionate Representation in Special Education 174

What Is the Role of the Regular Education Teacher in the Special Education Cycle? 175 Professionalism & Policy 176 Child Find 176 Referral 176 Evaluation 177 Eligibility 178 Individual Education Program 179 Individual Family Service Plan 181

What Types of Special Education Services Are Available to Children With Special Needs? 182 Early Intervention Services for Infants and Toddlers 182 Special Education Programs and Services for School-Age Children 182

Consider This

184

How Has Assistive Technology Improved Access and Removed Barriers for Children With Exceptional Needs? 184 Assistive Technology Act 184 Early Literacy Development Through Assistive Technology 185

How Does Inclusion of Children With Special Needs in Early Childhood Education Settings Promote Learning? 187 Inclusive Preschool Programs 187 Challenges to Inclusion and Mainstreaming 187

How Do Schools Respond to the Needs of Children Who Are Gifted and Talented? 188 The Practice of Research and Theory 189 Programs for Students Who Are Gifted and Talented 190

What Are Best Practices for Communicating With Families of Children With Exceptional Needs? 191 Communicating With Parents of Children Who Are Gifted and Talented 191 Communicating With Parents of Children With Special Needs 191

Best Practices

193

Helping Families Access Needed Resources 193

Chapter 8: Diversity in Early Childhood Education 204 What Is Cultural Diversity? 207 What Is Multicultural Education? 207 How Do We Teach From a Multicultural Perspective? 208 Teachers Developing a Cultural Awareness 208 Preparing Teachers for Multicultural Programs 210 Integrating Multicultural Education Into the Curriculum 211

Are Children Aware of Racial Differences? 212 Research About Children’s Racial Awareness 213 Children’s Formation of Ethnic Identity 215 The Process of Socialization 216 Children Learning Culture 217

How Can Multicultural Programs Involve Family Members and the Wider Community? 217 Consider This 217 Best Practices 218 Program Models for Involving Parents and the Community in Multicultural Education 219

What Do We Know About Cultural Differences in the Special Education System? 220 Early Intervention 221 Preschool Special Education 221 Early Primary Special Education 222

Promoting Optimal Development

223

Chapter 9: Guidance in Early Childhood Education 230 What Are the Theoretical Foundations of Guidance? 233 Social Constructivism 233 Learning Theory 234 Social Learning Theory 235 Dreikurs’s Guidance Methods 235 Gordon’s Guidance Methods 237

How Does a Teacher or Parent Guide Behavior? 237 Expectations, Limits, and Choices 238

Promoting Optimal Development

238

Natural and Logical Consequences 239 Evoking Behaviors 239 Environmental Manipulations 239 Fostering Prosocial Behavior 240

Best Practices 240 What Roles Do Schedules and Routines Play in Guidance? 241 What Are Some Specific Techniques for Guiding Behavior? 241 Attention 242 Redirection 242 Ignoring 243 Gordon’s Theoretical Concepts Revisited 243 Discussion 243 Time-Out and Time-In 244

What Individual Needs of Children Should Be Considered? 244 Health 244 Temperament 244

Professionalism & Policy 245 Peers 245 Attachment Disorders 246 Special Needs 246

How to Support Guidance Through the Use of Parents and Families 247 Building Partnerships With Parents 247

Consider This

247

The Family’s Unique Role 248

What Types of Classroom Environments Help Facilitate Guidance and Positive Behavior? 248

Part IV: Implementing the Early Childhood Curriculum Chapter 10: Play and the Learning Environment 256 Why Is the Physical Environment Important for Learning and Play? 258 Definition of the Environment 258

255

What Are Some Learning Environments? 259 Learning Centers 259 Materials and Equipment for Early Childhood Classrooms 259

The Practice of Research and Theory

265

Definition of Play 265

Best Practices

266

The Benefits of Play in the Environment 267

What Are the Developmental Characteristics of Play? 267 Cognitive Development and Play 268 Social Development and Play 269 Emotional Development and Play 271 Language Development and Play 271 Physical Development and Play 271 Creativity and Play 271

Consider This 273 How Do We Distinguish Play From Other Behaviors? 273 Active Engagement 273 Intrinsic Motivation 273 Attention to Means Rather Than Ends 274 Nonliteral Behavior 274 Existence of Implicit Rules 274

What Are the Theories on Play? 274 Classical Theories 274 Contemporary Theories 275

How Can Teachers Use Play to Help Children Learn and Develop? 277 Adapting Play to Individual Learners 277

Professionalism & Policy 279 Chapter 11: Emotional and Social Development 286 What Are the Major Theoretical Perspectives on Emotional and Social Development? 288 What Are Emotions, and What Is Emotional Competence? 289 The Development of Emotions 290 The Expression of Emotions and the Development of Emotional Competence 291 Supporting the Development of Emotional Competence 291

What Is Social Competence? 292 Influences on Social Competence 293 Supporting the Development of Social Competence 296

Promoting Optimal Development

297

What Is Attachment, and Why Is It Important? 299 Best Practices 300 Assessment of Attachment: The “Strange Situation” 301 Attachment and Temperament 302 Other Factors That Influence Attachment 303 Stability of Attachment 303 Supporting Secure Attachment 304

Professionalism & Policy 304 What Are Other Important Issues in Emotional and Social Development? 304 Prosocial Behavior 304 Gender Role Concepts 306 Diversity 307 Children With Special Needs 308 Resilience 309

Consider This

309

Bullying 310

Chapter 12: Language and Literacy Development 318 What Are the Language Rules? 320 Phonology 320 Morphology 320 Semantics 321 Syntax 321 Pragmatics 322

Consider This 323 What Are the Theories of Language Development? 323 The Behaviorist Model 323 The Nativist Model 323 The Interactionist Model 324

How Do Children Acquire a Second Language? 325 Bilingualism 325 Simultaneous Bilingualism 325 Sequential Bilingualism 326 Code Switching 326 Bilingualism and Brain Development 327 Bilingualism and Cognitive Development 327

How Do Children Develop Literacy? 327 Language as the Foundation for Literacy Development 327 Emergent Literacy 328 The Four Components of a Language Arts Curriculum 329 Creating a Rich Literacy Environment 330

Promoting Optimal Development

330

Learning Materials and Activities 332 Children’s Books 334 Parental Involvement 336

What Are the Methods for Teaching Reading? 336 Whole-Language Approach 336

Best Practices

337

Whole-Word Approach 337 Phonics Approach 337

Chapter 13: Mathematics, Science, and Technology 344 How Math, Science, and Technology Understanding Enhances Development 346 What Are Some Appropriate Skills? 348 Language and Concept Formation 350

What Are Some Appropriate Knowledge Areas? 351 Fractions 351

Promoting Optimal Development

352

Data Collection 352 Life Science 352 Physical Science 353 Earth and Space Science 354 Environmental Science 354 Health and Nutrition 354

What Are Common Core Standards? 355 What Are Appropriate Knowledge and Attitudes for Early Childhood Teachers? 356 How to Utilize Computers and Other Technologies Appropriately and Effectively 356 Consider This 356 Best Practices 357 How to Make Connections by Educating and Assisting Parents 358 How to Address Cultural and Socioeconomic Differences in Mathematical and Scientific Knowledge and Skills? 358 Professionalism & Policy 359 How to Plan for Teaching Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education 359 NAEYC Recommendations When Planning for Mathematics in the Early Childhood Curriculum 360 NAEYC and Planning for Science in the Early Childhood Curriculum 360

NAEYC and Planning for Technology in the Early Childhood Curriculum 360

Chapter 14: Movement, Health, and the Physical Curriculum 368 What Are the Theoretical Underpinnings of Physical Development? 370 What Are the Components of Physical Development? 371 Sensoriperceptual Development 371 Physical Growth and Motor Skills 372 Differences in Physical and Motor Development 373

What Are the Various Types of Movement? 374 Best Practices 374 How Do You Integrate Motor and Physical Development? 375 Current Standards and Guidelines for Movement and Physical Activity 375

Consider This

377

Arranging the Environment for Physical Activity 378 Health and Health Education 378

Professionalism & Policy 379 Nutrition 382 Childhood Obesity 383 Communicating With and Involving Parents and Families 385

Part V: Trends and Issues in Early Childhood Education

391

Chapter 15: Considerations for Engaging Parents, Families, and the Community 392 How Has the Traditional American Family Evolved? 394 Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological System of Development 395 Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory 397 Family Systems Theory 397

The Practice of Research and Theory

400

Diverse Family Structures 401 Gay and Lesbian Parenting—Same-Sex Couples 402 Grandparents as Caregivers 404

Consider This 405 What Is the Definition of Family Structure and Family Function? 405 Dual-Earner Families 406 Maternal Employment 406 Divorce and Its Impact on Young Children 407

Reconstructing Fathers 408 Father/Male Involvement 409 Characteristics of Competent Families 410

What Is Effective Parental Involvement and Engagement? 411 Professionalism & Policy 412 Home Visiting 414 Stages of Parenthood 415

What Is Culturally Sensitive Engagement of Families? 416 What Is the Role of the Community in Fostering Children’s Development? 418 Fostering Community Engagement 418

Chapter 16: Early Childhood Education Policies 422 How Are Education Policies Enacted? 423 Education Policy Goals 424 Professionalism & Policy 425 What Are Some Hallmark Early Childhood Education Policies? 425 Elementary and Secondary Education Act 425 Title I 426 Head Start 426 Even Start 426 Education for All Handicapped Children Act 427 Bilingual Education Act 427 Migrant Education 427 Indian Education Act 428 Improving America’s Schools Act 428

How Did the No Child Left Behind Act Transform Early Childhood Education? 428 No Child Left Behind Act 429 Scientifically Based Reading Instruction 430 High-Quality Programs 431 Common Core State Standards Initiative 431 Early Learning Standards 432 Head Start Program 432 English Language Learners 434

Consider This 435 The Practice of Research & Theory 436 What Are Some Model State Policies for Early Childhood Education? 437 State-Funded Preschool Programs 437

Promoting Optimal Development

438

Universal Preschool 439

What Are Some Recent and Pending Federal Policies in Early Childhood Education? 439 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 439 Early Elementary and Secondary Education Act Reauthorization Pending 440

What Are Some Policies That Address the Family? 442 Child Care Policies 442 Health and Well-Being Policies 443 Family Literacy Policies 443 Education for Homeless Children and Youths 444

Appendix

447

Glossary

457

References

475

Photo Credits

503

Author Index

505

Subject Index

517

About the Authors

539

Preface

W

e four authors of Early Childhood Education: Becoming a Professional each took a different path to becoming higher education instructors of early childhood education, but we were united by a singular motivation: We truly believe education changes lives. We each deeply wanted to help all children, including underserved populations, children with special needs, ethnic and language minorities, and children from low socioeconomic backgrounds to have the chance to reach their full potential. Quality early childhood education (ECE) experiences for young children that are the result of a well-informed, knowledgeable, and skilled workforce afford children the best possible start down the path to lifelong learning. Yet, despite playing such a crucial role in society, in the past early childhood educators have too frequently been dismissed as merely caregivers rather than teachers. However, as early childhood professionals, we have witnessed the beginning of a mammoth change in the field. This change is the transition from early childhood professionals relying on intuition to demanding high-quality instruction and engagement of children that utilizes research to support effective learning and development. Accordingly, we wanted to provide our students and students across the country with an introductory textbook that emphasizes professionalism and the impact quality ECE teachers can have when they embrace the professional responsibilities of their role. It is our hope that Early Childhood Education: Becoming a Professional will inspire and inform the next generation of early childhood professionals.

Themes The purpose of our text is to prepare students to become professionals who will positively impact the lives of young children. We have done this by focusing on five thematic areas that highlight the following: 1. The importance of personal and professional responsibility; 2. The potential for developmentally appropriate practice to promote optimal development and maximize learning; 3. The impact of policy and the social landscape on the field of early childhood education; 4. The need to support and advocate for all children and their families; and 5. The positive outcomes derived by applying theory and research to practical, easy-toimplement ideas.

Our aim is to increase the amount of professional and personal responsibility that early childhood educators assume for their own learning as well as the creation of learning experiences for the children they teach. To that end, we have ensured that this textbook maps its content with the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) developmental principles and the professional development standards for programs. Additionally, the Five Core Propositions of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) are correlated with each chapter. All of these professional principles, standards, and propositions emphasize high expectations for children and early childhood educators as professional and highly competent facilitators of their learning.

Preface

xxix

Audience We recognize that for the majority of students, the intro course and its textbook will be their first introduction to the early childhood profession. Therefore, we have written Early Childhood Education: Becoming a Professional in an approachable, personal style using frequent examples, vignettes, and classroom scenarios to help students relate the theory and research therein to their own lives and experiences.

Features The features throughout the book were developed to reinforce the themes described above.

Chapter-opening vignettes. Each chapter begins with a vignette (a story) about a teacher, program, family worker, child, or family that illustrates how the content of the chapter relates to real situations an early childhood educator may encounter. Frequently, the opening vignette is revisited within the chapter, as a way of making connections between theory, concepts, and reality.

Learning objectives. Each chapter also contains learning objectives formatted as important questions to consider while reading. These correspond with the section headings throughout the chapter and serve as a guide to readers to help them understand the chapter’s organization and prepare them for what they will be learning.

Reflection, Application, and Analysis Questions. At the end of each chapter, students are asked to delve a little deeper and reflect on the knowledge they have gained, apply it to real-world situations, and critically analyze the material.

Extension Activities. These activities challenge students to take what they’ve learned a step further by observing ECE environments, interviewing professionals in the field, or journaling about their own experiences, among other engaging exercises.

Additional Readings and On the Web. These end-of-chapter features offer helpful resource lists for students that give readers an expanded perspective on the content of the chapter.

Lesson plans. Each of the curriculum chapters closes with lesson plans developed for three age-groups: infant/toddler, preschool, and early elementary. These concrete activities further demonstrate how the theories, research, and foundational ideas students have just read about can be applied in real early childhood classroom settings.

Additionally, the text features six types of boxes within the chapters that reinforce the book’s themes: Key Elements for Being a Professional. These boxes demonstrate which NAEYC principles and standards are addressed in each chapter.

Consider This. Hypothetical scenarios featuring teachers, children, and parents provide lively illustrations of textbook concepts and challenge students to consider how they would respond.

Professionalism & Policy. These boxes engage students in examining the impact of policies dealing with issues such as universal preschool, teacher-child ratios, and care of mildly ill children.

Best Practices. Professional ECE teachers embrace the responsibility of improving the quality of early childhood education. To invest students with an ethic of professional responsibility, we have

xxx

Early Childhood Education

incorporated Best Practices models in many of the chapters. For students, these boxes create a link between the idea of a best practice and the many examples discussed in the chapter. Some of the best practices highlighted include techniques for guidance of children, motivating professionals to further their education, and advocating for children and families.

Promoting Optimal Development. School readiness is a key result of quality early childhood education. These boxes demonstrate strategies for teaching young children in a developmentally appropriate fashion, which will prepare them to succeed in school as they grow.

The Practice of Research and Theory. These boxes contain a summary of a current article on theory or research and describe a process for incorporating the ideas or study results into early childhood teaching practices. This information helps students understand the process of translating research and theory into practice—a crucial skill for all early childhood professionals.

Ancillaries Instructor Teaching Site A password-protected site, available at www.sagepub.com/gordonbiddle, features resources that have been designed to help instructors plan and teach their courses. These resources include an extensive test bank, chapter-specific PowerPoint presentations, lecture notes, sample syllabi for semester and quarter courses, class activities, discussion questions, SAGE journal articles, video links, and web resources.

Student Study Site An open-access student study site is available at www.sagepub.com/gordonbiddle. This site provides access to several study tools including eFlashcards, web quizzes, links to SAGE journal articles, web resources, video resources, lesson plan templates, and more.

Preface

xxxi

Acknowledgments

W

e wish to thank the entire editorial and marketing staff at SAGE Publications. We are especially grateful to Diane McDaniel and Megan Krattli, whose support and suggestions greatly improved the content of this textbook. We would also like to recognize the invaluable assistance given to us by Jessica McCollum, Rian Carroll, Alicia Alacron, Vanessa Bentley, Crystal Furhman, Chantaal Eliot, Brittany Nelson, Jennifer Gonzalez, Danielle Walker, Sadat Zarek, Celina Clark, and Lisa Heritage.

We also wish to thank the numerous outside reviewers who provided many valuable comments and suggestions: Erin Barton, University of Colorado, Denver

Kejing Liu, Shawnee State University

Heather Batchelder, University of Central Florida

Wendy McCarty, Illinois College

Mary K. Bendixen-Noe, Ohio State University, Newark Mona Bryant-Shanklin, Norfolk State University Jody Carson, Northern Essex Community College

Nancy Merryman, Mount Mercy University Dawn S. Munson, Elgin Community College Tara Newman, Stephen F. Austin State University Sureshrani Paintal, Chicago State University

Sharon Carter, Davidson County Community College

Barba Aldis Patton, University of Houston, Victoria

Marilyn Chu, Western Washington University

Deborah J. Ranz-Smith, College of Mount St. Joseph

Sabine Gerhardt, The University of Akron April M. Grace, Madisonville Community College Carolyn J. Griess, Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg

Linda Rivers, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Cheryl Sanchez, Southwest Texas Junior College Kimberly Sellers, Pikes Peak Community College

Michelle Fryer Hanson, University of Sioux Falls

Lois Silvernail, Spring Hill College

Mary Hynes-Berry, Erikson Institute

Ursula Thomas, University of West Georgia

Celia Billescas Hilber, Jacksonville State University

Candra D. Thornton, University of North Carolina, Wilmington

Cheryl J. Hitchcock, Middle Tennessee State University

Leslie Haley Wasserman, Heidelberg University

Jennifer A. Kampmann, South Dakota State University

James C. Young, Clark Atlanta University

Ranae Stetson, Texas Christian University

Su-Jeong Wee, Purdue University Calumet

Acknowledgments

xxxiii

We also have some individual acknowledgments we would like to share.

Dr. Biddle wants to thank her mother, Mary Ann, and her brother, Randy, for their love and support. She also wishes to thank her husband, Chris Biddle, and her son, Emmanuel Biddle, for loving her and being her motivation to complete this project. Special thanks go to Chris Biddle for caring for the household, the family, and their son, Emmanuel, when Dr. Biddle was too busy writing. She also wants to thank God, with whom all things are possible.

Dr. Garcia-Nevarez would like to thank her husband, Dr. Carlos Nevarez, and her two children, Gabriela and Carlitos, for their support, patience, understanding, and love during these past few years of researching and writing this textbook. Further, this textbook is dedicated to her devoted and loving mother, Alma Garcia, and her beloved son, Samuel Nevarez, whose memory will live on forever.

Dr. Roundtree Henderson wishes to first acknowledge the One in whom she lives and moves and has her being, the Christ in her life. It is because of Him that she continues to rise to greater heights. She is eternally indebted to her husband, her one true love and keeper of her heart, Dr. Darryl O’Neal Henderson, and to her identical twin sister and better half, Dr. Gwendolyn R. Evans—both of whom always help her to realize what is possible. Many thanks to her host of nieces and nephews who always provided her with invaluable insight into the nuances of early development and to her West Coast sister-friend, Dalila Rubin, JD candidate, for always believing in her. And last, she is deeply grateful to her very able administrative assistant, Denise Auzenne, for lending her technical talents and support to this project.

Dr. Valero-Kerrick wishes to express her appreciation to her husband, Ken Kerrick, for his love and encouragement, and for entertaining their sons, Kenny and Daniel, while she wrote incessantly.

She also wishes to thank Ricanne Roberts, a wonderful and resourceful classroom teacher, who willingly shared her expertise on various educational topics. Special thanks to her mother, Virginia Valero, and to her mother-in-law, Genoveva Kerrick, for being a source of strength and wisdom.

xxxiv

Early Childhood Education

Another random document with no related content on Scribd:

DANCE ON STILTS AT THE GIRLS’ UNYAGO, NIUCHI

Newala, too, suffers from the distance of its water-supply—at least the Newala of to-day does; there was once another Newala in a lovely valley at the foot of the plateau. I visited it and found scarcely a trace of houses, only a Christian cemetery, with the graves of several missionaries and their converts, remaining as a monument of its former glories. But the surroundings are wonderfully beautiful. A thick grove of splendid mango-trees closes in the weather-worn crosses and headstones; behind them, combining the useful and the agreeable, is a whole plantation of lemon-trees covered with ripe fruit; not the small African kind, but a much larger and also juicier imported variety, which drops into the hands of the passing traveller, without calling for any exertion on his part. Old Newala is now under the jurisdiction of the native pastor, Daudi, at Chingulungulu, who, as I am on very friendly terms with him, allows me, as a matter of course, the use of this lemon-grove during my stay at Newala.

FEET MUTILATED BY THE RAVAGES OF THE “JIGGER” (Sarcopsylla penetrans)

The water-supply of New Newala is in the bottom of the valley, some 1,600 feet lower down. The way is not only long and fatiguing, but the water, when we get it, is thoroughly bad. We are suffering not only from this, but from the fact that the arrangements at Newala are nothing short of luxurious. We have a separate kitchen—a hut built against the boma palisade on the right of the baraza, the interior of which is not visible from our usual position. Our two cooks were not long in finding this out, and they consequently do—or rather neglect to do—what they please. In any case they do not seem to be very particular about the boiling of our drinking-water—at least I can attribute to no other cause certain attacks of a dysenteric nature, from which both Knudsen and I have suffered for some time. If a man like Omari has to be left unwatched for a moment, he is capable of anything. Besides this complaint, we are inconvenienced by the state of our nails, which have become as hard as glass, and crack on the slightest provocation, and I have the additional infliction of pimples all over me. As if all this were not enough, we have also, for the last week been waging war against the jigger, who has found his Eldorado in the hot sand of the Makonde plateau. Our men are seen all day long—whenever their chronic colds and the dysentery likewise raging among them permit—occupied in removing this scourge of Africa from their feet and trying to prevent the disastrous consequences of its presence. It is quite common to see natives of this place with one or two toes missing; many have lost all their toes,

or even the whole front part of the foot, so that a well-formed leg ends in a shapeless stump. These ravages are caused by the female of Sarcopsylla penetrans, which bores its way under the skin and there develops an egg-sac the size of a pea. In all books on the subject, it is stated that one’s attention is called to the presence of this parasite by an intolerable itching. This agrees very well with my experience, so far as the softer parts of the sole, the spaces between and under the toes, and the side of the foot are concerned, but if the creature penetrates through the harder parts of the heel or ball of the foot, it may escape even the most careful search till it has reached maturity.

Then there is no time to be lost, if the horrible ulceration, of which we see cases by the dozen every day, is to be prevented. It is much easier, by the way, to discover the insect on the white skin of a European than on that of a native, on which the dark speck scarcely shows. The four or five jiggers which, in spite of the fact that I constantly wore high laced boots, chose my feet to settle in, were taken out for me by the all-accomplished Knudsen, after which I thought it advisable to wash out the cavities with corrosive sublimate. The natives have a different sort of disinfectant—they fill the hole with scraped roots. In a tiny Makua village on the slope of the plateau south of Newala, we saw an old woman who had filled all the spaces under her toe-nails with powdered roots by way of prophylactic treatment. What will be the result, if any, who can say?

The rest of the many trifling ills which trouble our existence are really more comic than serious. In the absence of anything else to smoke, Knudsen and I at last opened a box of cigars procured from the Indian store-keeper at Lindi, and tried them, with the most distressing results. Whether they contain opium or some other narcotic, neither of us can say, but after the tenth puff we were both “off,” three-quarters stupefied and unspeakably wretched. Slowly we recovered—and what happened next? Half-an-hour later we were once more smoking these poisonous concoctions—so insatiable is the craving for tobacco in the tropics.

Even my present attacks of fever scarcely deserve to be taken seriously. I have had no less than three here at Newala, all of which have run their course in an incredibly short time. In the early afternoon, I am busy with my old natives, asking questions and making notes. The strong midday coffee has stimulated my spirits to

an extraordinary degree, the brain is active and vigorous, and work progresses rapidly, while a pleasant warmth pervades the whole body. Suddenly this gives place to a violent chill, forcing me to put on my overcoat, though it is only half-past three and the afternoon sun is at its hottest. Now the brain no longer works with such acuteness and logical precision; more especially does it fail me in trying to establish the syntax of the difficult Makua language on which I have ventured, as if I had not enough to do without it. Under the circumstances it seems advisable to take my temperature, and I do so, to save trouble, without leaving my seat, and while going on with my work. On examination, I find it to be 101·48°. My tutors are abruptly dismissed and my bed set up in the baraza; a few minutes later I am in it and treating myself internally with hot water and lemon-juice.

Three hours later, the thermometer marks nearly 104°, and I make them carry me back into the tent, bed and all, as I am now perspiring heavily, and exposure to the cold wind just beginning to blow might mean a fatal chill. I lie still for a little while, and then find, to my great relief, that the temperature is not rising, but rather falling. This is about 7.30 p.m. At 8 p.m. I find, to my unbounded astonishment, that it has fallen below 98·6°, and I feel perfectly well. I read for an hour or two, and could very well enjoy a smoke, if I had the wherewithal—Indian cigars being out of the question.

Having no medical training, I am at a loss to account for this state of things. It is impossible that these transitory attacks of high fever should be malarial; it seems more probable that they are due to a kind of sunstroke. On consulting my note-book, I become more and more inclined to think this is the case, for these attacks regularly follow extreme fatigue and long exposure to strong sunshine. They at least have the advantage of being only short interruptions to my work, as on the following morning I am always quite fresh and fit.

My treasure of a cook is suffering from an enormous hydrocele which makes it difficult for him to get up, and Moritz is obliged to keep in the dark on account of his inflamed eyes. Knudsen’s cook, a raw boy from somewhere in the bush, knows still less of cooking than Omari; consequently Nils Knudsen himself has been promoted to the vacant post. Finding that we had come to the end of our supplies, he began by sending to Chingulungulu for the four sucking-pigs which we had

bought from Matola and temporarily left in his charge; and when they came up, neatly packed in a large crate, he callously slaughtered the biggest of them. The first joint we were thoughtless enough to entrust for roasting to Knudsen’s mshenzi cook, and it was consequently uneatable; but we made the rest of the animal into a jelly which we ate with great relish after weeks of underfeeding, consuming incredible helpings of it at both midday and evening meals. The only drawback is a certain want of variety in the tinned vegetables. Dr. Jäger, to whom the Geographical Commission entrusted the provisioning of the expeditions—mine as well as his own—because he had more time on his hands than the rest of us, seems to have laid in a huge stock of Teltow turnips,[46] an article of food which is all very well for occasional use, but which quickly palls when set before one every day; and we seem to have no other tins left. There is no help for it—we must put up with the turnips; but I am certain that, once I am home again, I shall not touch them for ten years to come.

Amid all these minor evils, which, after all, go to make up the genuine flavour of Africa, there is at least one cheering touch: Knudsen has, with the dexterity of a skilled mechanic, repaired my 9 × 12 cm. camera, at least so far that I can use it with a little care.

How, in the absence of finger-nails, he was able to accomplish such a ticklish piece of work, having no tool but a clumsy screw-driver for taking to pieces and putting together again the complicated mechanism of the instantaneous shutter, is still a mystery to me; but he did it successfully. The loss of his finger-nails shows him in a light contrasting curiously enough with the intelligence evinced by the above operation; though, after all, it is scarcely surprising after his ten years’ residence in the bush. One day, at Lindi, he had occasion to wash a dog, which must have been in need of very thorough cleansing, for the bottle handed to our friend for the purpose had an extremely strong smell. Having performed his task in the most conscientious manner, he perceived with some surprise that the dog did not appear much the better for it, and was further surprised by finding his own nails ulcerating away in the course of the next few days. “How was I to know that carbolic acid has to be diluted?” he mutters indignantly, from time to time, with a troubled gaze at his mutilated finger-tips.

Since we came to Newala we have been making excursions in all directions through the surrounding country, in accordance with old habit, and also because the akida Sefu did not get together the tribal elders from whom I wanted information so speedily as he had promised. There is, however, no harm done, as, even if seen only from the outside, the country and people are interesting enough.

The Makonde plateau is like a large rectangular table rounded off at the corners. Measured from the Indian Ocean to Newala, it is about seventy-five miles long, and between the Rovuma and the Lukuledi it averages fifty miles in breadth, so that its superficial area is about two-thirds of that of the kingdom of Saxony. The surface, however, is not level, but uniformly inclined from its south-western edge to the ocean. From the upper edge, on which Newala lies, the eye ranges for many miles east and north-east, without encountering any obstacle, over the Makonde bush. It is a green sea, from which here and there thick clouds of smoke rise, to show that it, too, is inhabited by men who carry on their tillage like so many other primitive peoples, by cutting down and burning the bush, and manuring with the ashes. Even in the radiant light of a tropical day such a fire is a grand sight.

Much less effective is the impression produced just now by the great western plain as seen from the edge of the plateau. As often as time permits, I stroll along this edge, sometimes in one direction, sometimes in another, in the hope of finding the air clear enough to let me enjoy the view; but I have always been disappointed.

Wherever one looks, clouds of smoke rise from the burning bush, and the air is full of smoke and vapour. It is a pity, for under more favourable circumstances the panorama of the whole country up to the distant Majeje hills must be truly magnificent. It is of little use taking photographs now, and an outline sketch gives a very poor idea of the scenery. In one of these excursions I went out of my way to make a personal attempt on the Makonde bush. The present edge of the plateau is the result of a far-reaching process of destruction through erosion and denudation. The Makonde strata are everywhere cut into by ravines, which, though short, are hundreds of yards in depth. In consequence of the loose stratification of these beds, not only are the walls of these ravines nearly vertical, but their upper end is closed by an equally steep escarpment, so that the

western edge of the Makonde plateau is hemmed in by a series of deep, basin-like valleys. In order to get from one side of such a ravine to the other, I cut my way through the bush with a dozen of my men.

It was a very open part, with more grass than scrub, but even so the short stretch of less than two hundred yards was very hard work; at the end of it the men’s calicoes were in rags and they themselves bleeding from hundreds of scratches, while even our strong khaki suits had not escaped scatheless.

NATIVE PATH THROUGH THE MAKONDE BUSH, NEAR MAHUTA

I see increasing reason to believe that the view formed some time back as to the origin of the Makonde bush is the correct one. I have no doubt that it is not a natural product, but the result of human occupation. Those parts of the high country where man—as a very slight amount of practice enables the eye to perceive at once—has not yet penetrated with axe and hoe, are still occupied by a splendid timber forest quite able to sustain a comparison with our mixed forests in Germany. But wherever man has once built his hut or tilled his field, this horrible bush springs up. Every phase of this process

may be seen in the course of a couple of hours’ walk along the main road. From the bush to right or left, one hears the sound of the axe— not from one spot only, but from several directions at once. A few steps further on, we can see what is taking place. The brush has been cut down and piled up in heaps to the height of a yard or more, between which the trunks of the large trees stand up like the last pillars of a magnificent ruined building. These, too, present a melancholy spectacle: the destructive Makonde have ringed them— cut a broad strip of bark all round to ensure their dying off—and also piled up pyramids of brush round them. Father and son, mother and son-in-law, are chopping away perseveringly in the background—too busy, almost, to look round at the white stranger, who usually excites so much interest. If you pass by the same place a week later, the piles of brushwood have disappeared and a thick layer of ashes has taken the place of the green forest. The large trees stretch their smouldering trunks and branches in dumb accusation to heaven—if they have not already fallen and been more or less reduced to ashes, perhaps only showing as a white stripe on the dark ground.

This work of destruction is carried out by the Makonde alike on the virgin forest and on the bush which has sprung up on sites already cultivated and deserted. In the second case they are saved the trouble of burning the large trees, these being entirely absent in the secondary bush.

After burning this piece of forest ground and loosening it with the hoe, the native sows his corn and plants his vegetables. All over the country, he goes in for bed-culture, which requires, and, in fact, receives, the most careful attention. Weeds are nowhere tolerated in the south of German East Africa. The crops may fail on the plains, where droughts are frequent, but never on the plateau with its abundant rains and heavy dews. Its fortunate inhabitants even have the satisfaction of seeing the proud Wayao and Wamakua working for them as labourers, driven by hunger to serve where they were accustomed to rule.

But the light, sandy soil is soon exhausted, and would yield no harvest the second year if cultivated twice running. This fact has been familiar to the native for ages; consequently he provides in time, and, while his crop is growing, prepares the next plot with axe and firebrand. Next year he plants this with his various crops and

lets the first piece lie fallow. For a short time it remains waste and desolate; then nature steps in to repair the destruction wrought by man; a thousand new growths spring out of the exhausted soil, and even the old stumps put forth fresh shoots. Next year the new growth is up to one’s knees, and in a few years more it is that terrible, impenetrable bush, which maintains its position till the black occupier of the land has made the round of all the available sites and come back to his starting point.

The Makonde are, body and soul, so to speak, one with this bush.

According to my Yao informants, indeed, their name means nothing else but “bush people.” Their own tradition says that they have been settled up here for a very long time, but to my surprise they laid great stress on an original immigration. Their old homes were in the south-east, near Mikindani and the mouth of the Rovuma, whence their peaceful forefathers were driven by the continual raids of the Sakalavas from Madagascar and the warlike Shirazis[47] of the coast, to take refuge on the almost inaccessible plateau. I have studied African ethnology for twenty years, but the fact that changes of population in this apparently quiet and peaceable corner of the earth could have been occasioned by outside enterprises taking place on the high seas, was completely new to me. It is, no doubt, however, correct.

The charming tribal legend of the Makonde—besides informing us of other interesting matters—explains why they have to live in the thickest of the bush and a long way from the edge of the plateau, instead of making their permanent homes beside the purling brooks and springs of the low country.

“The place where the tribe originated is Mahuta, on the southern side of the plateau towards the Rovuma, where of old time there was nothing but thick bush. Out of this bush came a man who never washed himself or shaved his head, and who ate and drank but little.

He went out and made a human figure from the wood of a tree growing in the open country, which he took home to his abode in the bush and there set it upright. In the night this image came to life and was a woman. The man and woman went down together to the Rovuma to wash themselves. Here the woman gave birth to a stillborn child. They left that place and passed over the high land into the valley of the Mbemkuru, where the woman had another child, which

was also born dead. Then they returned to the high bush country of Mahuta, where the third child was born, which lived and grew up. In course of time, the couple had many more children, and called themselves Wamatanda. These were the ancestral stock of the Makonde, also called Wamakonde,[48] i.e., aborigines. Their forefather, the man from the bush, gave his children the command to bury their dead upright, in memory of the mother of their race who was cut out of wood and awoke to life when standing upright. He also warned them against settling in the valleys and near large streams, for sickness and death dwelt there. They were to make it a rule to have their huts at least an hour’s walk from the nearest wateringplace; then their children would thrive and escape illness.”

The explanation of the name Makonde given by my informants is somewhat different from that contained in the above legend, which I extract from a little book (small, but packed with information), by Pater Adams, entitled Lindi und sein Hinterland. Otherwise, my results agree exactly with the statements of the legend. Washing?

Hapana—there is no such thing. Why should they do so? As it is, the supply of water scarcely suffices for cooking and drinking; other people do not wash, so why should the Makonde distinguish himself by such needless eccentricity? As for shaving the head, the short, woolly crop scarcely needs it,[49] so the second ancestral precept is likewise easy enough to follow. Beyond this, however, there is nothing ridiculous in the ancestor’s advice. I have obtained from various local artists a fairly large number of figures carved in wood, ranging from fifteen to twenty-three inches in height, and representing women belonging to the great group of the Mavia, Makonde, and Matambwe tribes. The carving is remarkably well done and renders the female type with great accuracy, especially the keloid ornamentation, to be described later on. As to the object and meaning of their works the sculptors either could or (more probably) would tell me nothing, and I was forced to content myself with the scanty information vouchsafed by one man, who said that the figures were merely intended to represent the nembo—the artificial deformations of pelele, ear-discs, and keloids. The legend recorded

by Pater Adams places these figures in a new light. They must surely be more than mere dolls; and we may even venture to assume that they are—though the majority of present-day Makonde are probably unaware of the fact—representations of the tribal ancestress.

The references in the legend to the descent from Mahuta to the Rovuma, and to a journey across the highlands into the Mbekuru valley, undoubtedly indicate the previous history of the tribe, the travels of the ancestral pair typifying the migrations of their descendants. The descent to the neighbouring Rovuma valley, with its extraordinary fertility and great abundance of game, is intelligible at a glance—but the crossing of the Lukuledi depression, the ascent to the Rondo Plateau and the descent to the Mbemkuru, also lie within the bounds of probability, for all these districts have exactly the same character as the extreme south. Now, however, comes a point of especial interest for our bacteriological age. The primitive Makonde did not enjoy their lives in the marshy river-valleys.

Disease raged among them, and many died. It was only after they had returned to their original home near Mahuta, that the health conditions of these people improved. We are very apt to think of the African as a stupid person whose ignorance of nature is only equalled by his fear of it, and who looks on all mishaps as caused by evil spirits and malignant natural powers. It is much more correct to assume in this case that the people very early learnt to distinguish districts infested with malaria from those where it is absent.

This knowledge is crystallized in the ancestral warning against settling in the valleys and near the great waters, the dwelling-places of disease and death. At the same time, for security against the hostile Mavia south of the Rovuma, it was enacted that every settlement must be not less than a certain distance from the southern edge of the plateau. Such in fact is their mode of life at the present day. It is not such a bad one, and certainly they are both safer and more comfortable than the Makua, the recent intruders from the south, who have made USUAL METHOD OF good their footing on the western edge of the CLOSING HUT-DOOR plateau, extending over a fairly wide belt of country. Neither Makua nor Makonde show in their dwellings anything of the size and comeliness of the Yao houses in the plain, especially at Masasi, Chingulungulu and Zuza’s. Jumbe Chauro, a Makonde hamlet not far from Newala, on the road to Mahuta, is the

most important settlement of the tribe I have yet seen, and has fairly spacious huts. But how slovenly is their construction compared with the palatial residences of the elephant-hunters living in the plain.

The roofs are still more untidy than in the general run of huts during the dry season, the walls show here and there the scanty beginnings or the lamentable remains of the mud plastering, and the interior is a veritable dog-kennel; dirt, dust and disorder everywhere. A few huts only show any attempt at division into rooms, and this consists merely of very roughly-made bamboo partitions. In one point alone have I noticed any indication of progress—in the method of fastening the door. Houses all over the south are secured in a simple but ingenious manner. The door consists of a set of stout pieces of wood or bamboo, tied with bark-string to two cross-pieces, and moving in two grooves round one of the door-posts, so as to open inwards. If the owner wishes to leave home, he takes two logs as thick as a man’s upper arm and about a yard long. One of these is placed obliquely against the middle of the door from the inside, so as to form an angle of from 60° to 75° with the ground. He then places the second piece horizontally across the first, pressing it downward with all his might.

It is kept in place by two strong posts planted in the ground a few inches inside the door. This fastening is absolutely safe, but of course cannot be applied to both doors at once, otherwise how could the owner leave or enter his house? I have not yet succeeded in finding out how the back door is fastened.

MAKONDE LOCK AND KEY AT JUMBE CHAURO

This is the general way of closing a house. The Makonde at Jumbe Chauro, however, have a much more complicated, solid and original one. Here, too, the door is as already described, except that there is only one post on the inside, standing by itself about six inches from one side of the doorway. Opposite this post is a hole in the wall just large enough to admit a man’s arm. The door is closed inside by a large wooden bolt passing through a hole in this post and pressing with its free end against the door. The other end has three holes into which fit three pegs running in vertical grooves inside the post. The door is opened with a wooden key about a foot long, somewhat curved and sloped off at the butt; the other end has three pegs corresponding to the holes, in the bolt, so that, when it is thrust through the hole in the wall and inserted into the rectangular opening in the post, the pegs can be lifted and the bolt drawn out.[50]

MODE OF INSERTING THE KEY

With no small pride first one householder and then a second showed me on the spot the action of this greatest invention of the Makonde Highlands. To both with an admiring exclamation of “Vizuri sana!” (“Very fine!”). I expressed the wish to take back these marvels with me to Ulaya, to show the Wazungu what clever fellows the Makonde are. Scarcely five minutes after my return to camp at Newala, the two men came up sweating under the weight of two heavy logs which they laid down at my feet, handing over at the same time the keys of the fallen fortress. Arguing, logically enough, that if the key was wanted, the lock would be wanted with it, they had taken their axes and chopped down the posts—as it never occurred to them to dig them out of the ground and so bring them intact. Thus I have

two badly damaged specimens, and the owners, instead of praise, come in for a blowing-up.

The Makua huts in the environs of Newala are especially miserable; their more than slovenly construction reminds one of the temporary erections of the Makua at Hatia’s, though the people here have not been concerned in a war. It must therefore be due to congenital idleness, or else to the absence of a powerful chief. Even the baraza at Mlipa’s, a short hour’s walk south-east of Newala, shares in this general neglect. While public buildings in this country are usually looked after more or less carefully, this is in evident danger of being blown over by the first strong easterly gale. The only attractive object in this whole district is the grave of the late chief Mlipa. I visited it in the morning, while the sun was still trying with partial success to break through the rolling mists, and the circular grove of tall euphorbias, which, with a broken pot, is all that marks the old king’s resting-place, impressed one with a touch of pathos.

Even my very materially-minded carriers seemed to feel something of the sort, for instead of their usual ribald songs, they chanted solemnly, as we marched on through the dense green of the Makonde bush:—