ERIC Number: EJ1055602
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0300-4430
EISSN: N/A
Mixed-Age Grouping in Early Childhood--Creating the Outdoor Learning Environment
Rouse, Elizabeth
Early Child Development and Care, v185 n5 p742-751 2015
Children attending centre-based early childhood care and education programmes across Australia are most likely to be grouped according to age and development. While multi- or mixed-age grouping has been seen to have positive benefits on young children's learning and pro-social behaviours, this approach is not usually adopted in the organisation of children's grouping in most long day care settings across the county. This paper reports on a case study which explored one urban children's setting where the outdoor learning space has been specifically designed to enable a mixed-age approach for children. The findings suggest that while the educators see many benefits across the age groups in engaging in this approach, there is still a preference to segregate the very young children arising from concerns for their safety. The study also found that planning for learning especially in regards pro-social learning with the older children has been problematic.
Descriptors: Mixed Age Grouping, Early Childhood Education, Outdoor Education, Foreign Countries, Case Studies, Urban Education, Educational Environment, Educational Benefits, Preferences, Safety, Prosocial Behavior, Qualitative Research, Child Care Centers, School Space, Space Utilization, Semi Structured Interviews
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A