190 | Quality Early Learning
Table 4.2 summarizes good and risky practices and provides some implementation verification questions for monitoring the process.
Table 4.2 Summary of Good and Risky Practices Principle
Overall Safety Nontoxic habitats and healthy practices make all feel safe.
Pedagogical Organization Various learning centers and interest spots build knowledge and engage children in meaning-making.
Good practices and decisions that strengthen
Risky practices and decisions that weaken
Guiding questions
• Have access to clean water. • Have handwashing systems. • Implement hygienic practices. • Use natural light, air flow, gardening, and organic farming to overcome noise, temperature, and poor air quality. • Raise safety awareness by having, sharing, and practicing safety protocols for emergencies. • Involve community in safety maintenance through observation turns, mapping violence, and building security in settings.
• ECE settings • Are there without clean minimum safety water services and and hygiene sanitation facilities. requirements for ECE programs? • ECE spaces without airflow, • Are there natural light, and mechanisms to noise dampers. ensure compliance with • ECE setting next safety and to industries that minimum manage hazardous hygienic or toxic elements. requirements? • Is there public funding for maintenance?
• Use all spaces and objects as learning drivers to foster a specific learning experience or outcome. • Organize learning centers and zones that all children can understand and access. • Ensure learning centers and areas have clear tasks and experiences for small-group or individual work.
• Decorate walls and • Is the ECE spaces with workforce trained stereotyped to prepare and images and/or organize the branded products. environment pedagogically? • Place materials on the perimeter of • Does the the room walls, government offer leaving the center guidelines, empty. programs, or professional • Overcrowd spaces development to with different help ECE staff resources and implement materials. pedagogically • Store materials out intentional of children’s reach, spaces? just for adults’ access and use. continued next page
