Essay
Forest schooling in early education
- Institution
- Anglia Ruskin University (ARU)
Forest schooling in early education
[Show more]
Seller
Follow
Content preview
“Forest Schools in the EYFS benefit children’s education”Within modern education there are many different topics, ideologies or
philosophies in which certain institutions or groups of people may have a
difference in beliefs or opposing views. Punch (2009) states because of
these inevitable differences in opinions, many issues in both education
policy and practice are the focus of extremely politicized debates, and
debating these subjects is a way of trying to accommodate the differences
in opinions for these important matters without declaring or discriminating
completely against one side. In agreement with this, The International
Debate Education Association (2014) says debating is not used to assert
absolute truths onto others, but rather a tool of forming and evaluating
arguments which allows the individual debater or group of people to
better understand others positions on a particular topic. In education,
debates are put into practice in this way and can be use as a means to
educate, understand or just recognise the importance of opposing views
within modern educational issues (Bennett 2014). In this essay I will be
exploring the nature of conflicting evidence and approaches within Forest
Schooling and analysing the importance of opposing theoretical
viewpoints. I will also reflect on the process of debating, individually and
as part of a group, and demonstrate my understanding of how debating is
a key academic skill and may benefit me within future work.
According to Tuckman’s theory of group development (1965), once a
small group has been put together for the first time, they go through a
number of stages relating to task and relationship issues that determine
the success of their overall work. This four stage model of development
consisted of; forming, norming, storming, performing, and was later
expanded and a fifth stage adjourning was added (Tuckman and Jensen
1977) and can be related to any type of group work. After applying this
theory to my own group I realised that I missed the ‘forming’ stage as I
was absent for the first meeting that was held, where the group dynamics
would have been initiated. This could have been detrimental to my role in
the team as referring to Tuckman’s theory (1965) I was not there to
1|Page
, establish the first relationships and interactions with the group, giving me
a disadvantage with initial direction and maybe even with the work load
later on. If I was to do team work again I would make sure I was in
attendance for all of the meetings. However a criticism of this model is
that it is decades old, and does not account for technology that may have
been introduced throughout the years, making group communication and
development very different these days. Because of this I was able to
contact the group members online and catch up with lost time.
Although I missed the initial meeting with the group where our topic was
decided, after I found out we would be researching forest Schooling I was
very excited as I know it is a contested subject that I would like to learn
more about. When curricula are designed they are hugely influenced with
the countries underlying philosophies in mind, and as Forest schools
started in Denmark I knew that it would have been designed with the
social democratic ideologies of Nordic countries in mind. For example the
Swedish Curriculum for Primary Schools (2011) shapes their education on
democratic basis seen in Scandinavian countries and the schools main
objectives are to encourage freedom of choice and allow each child to
discover their own strengths and abilities (Skolverket 2011) whilst also
complying with the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework
(2012). Unlike the UK these countries have a progressive outlook on
education (Dewey 1939) where they encourage equal opportunities and
individuality. In contrast to this, the UK has a neoliberal society that
adopts an instrumental view on education (Bernstein 1975) where the
upper class are benefited by using education to reproduce the work force
(Jarvis 2002). My initial belief was that Forest schools are debated within
the UK because they do not conform to the instrumental view of education
and therefore are not necessary to our schooling systems. Having
successfully researched this specific theme, I now realise that my initial
assumptions were correct.
As soon as our topic was confirmed, I started doing my initial research into
more conflicting themes running through forest school education. I tried to
2|Page
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller xxtaylaxx. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £6.16. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
67474 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 14 years now