S00091480, Assessment task 2. Why is the teaching of humanities important for students in their early years of formal education?

Without the humanities, children will grow up, not to hold values, but simply to air whatever personal prejudice is instrumental to their desire for self gratification (Ashley, M. 2001, p.13). Humanities are imperative to the early years of formal education. It enables students to develop a deeper understanding of human societies, the environment, cultures, and behaviours both past and present. In this perpetually changing society, humans must have fundamental skills and knowledge to navigate through the rapidly changing world, and how to make sense of their world. According to the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (2013), Humanities (from Foundation to level 10) encompasses the study of human societies and environments, people and their cultures in the past and present. Students learn how and why groups of people have settled where they have, organised their societies, developed codes, wealth, laws and belief systems, related to other groups of people and interacted with their physical environment (VCAA, 2013). The following paper will give the reader a brief insight on the importance on Humanities in the early years of formal education. Research suggest that for effective teaching and learning to take place the teacher must uphold and implement excellent pedagogical approaches, incorporate values education, honour diversity and have a profound understanding the stages of child development. When content is authentic, the learner values the purpose of the learning, it becomes important to them, thus they will want to learn further. Humanities, encompasses key ideas and concepts that enable students to understand the way in which people and societies have organised their world under particular conditions and made meaning of it (VCAA, 2013). With an emphasis on important issues, the questions raised in humanities classes promote active listening and critical thinking. The study of events of the past and present through the development of specific historical and contemporary knowledge, skills and understandings, is an important aspect in education. Humanities links to citizenship education, ICT, expressive arts and can enhance a wide range of thinking and reasoning skills. Humanities must be taught through a rigorous, analytical approach, to make it meaningful for

S00091480, Assessment task 2. the learner. It is important that teachers aim to enlighten students and actively engage them with ideas, values and ethics (Reitano & Bourke, 2009, p.25) The importance of Values Education: A values based education is integral for the positive development of children, preparing them for the future. It should be implemented and evaluated on a regular basis and introduced in the early years of formal education. As Halstead and Taylor (as cited in Reynolds, 2012) defines values as the principles and fundamental convictions which act as general guides to behaviour, the standards by which particular actions are judged as good or desirable. Whereas Hill (as cited in Reynolds, 2012) describes values as the estimation of worth, priority or significance of some object, feeling or idea. Both are powerful notions. Every child upholds the right to a learning environment which nurtures the physical, psychological, social and emotional wellbeing. Similarly, the Melbourne Declaration (MCEETYA 2008) argues that: as well as knowledge and skills, a schools legacy to young people should include national values of democracy, equity and justice, and personal values and attributes such as honesty, resilience and respect for others. Complementary to this, teaching of the curriculum content must be taught explicitly to enable students to obtain knowledge and skills to tackle their world. Teachers should implement strategies which uphold the capacity to bring out the optimal levels of learning for all students. Yet it is just as crucial that qualities such as honesty, respect, equitability and development of positive relationships are seen as equally important. Embedding these aspects into everyday teaching, e.g. notions of respect for peers, valuing diversity, taking ownership of behaviour, can become a way of everyday life for both teacher and students, and can equip students with these qualities from a young age. Relationships are an immense part of human existence. Positive relationships, especially in a learning environment play a colossal element in how students will not merely learn, but what they value as important. Research

S00091480, Assessment task 2. by Diffily, & Morrison, (1996) suggests that positive relationships are essential for learning about the children from an additional and valuable source, promoting childrens emotional health, and helping children deal with difficult problems that may have lifelong consequences (p.17). The following is a thorough list of the nine values which lie beneath the National Framework for Values Education in Australian schools: 1. Care and compassion 2. Doing your best 3. Fair go 4. Freedom 5. Honesty and trustworthiness 6. Integrity 7. Respect 8. Responsibility, 9. Understanding, tolerance and inclusion Value nine is about understanding, tolerance and inclusion. It links closely to Diversity. Diversity in schools is about creating a safe community where the uniqueness of all individuals is accepted varying from race, ethnicity, gender, interests, socio-economic status, age, physical or intellectual abilities and learning needs. Merryfield and Wilson (as cited in Reynolds, 2012), uphold the notion that explicit teaching of key values and understandings would be most appropriate for the improvement of intercultural understanding globally. They are certainly correct. This is why teachers must create value-related learning activities that are culturally universal, students benefit from interacting and collaborating with people different from oneself, this interaction occurs in many

S00091480, Assessment task 2. learning environments. Values can be incorporated into the learning environment through ways such as identifying and researching the values of others, respecting the voice of others and exploring interpersonal conflicting views, having debates, circle time, team collaboration, or even looking at admirable role models and the values that they present. Values enable students to be ethical and socially responsible citizens. Diversity in the classroom positively enhances classroom interactions. It should be effectively catered for and celebrated, particularly so in this infinitely changing multicultural society. Teaching of humanities engender a respect for oneself but for the diverse range of cultures and societies. Importance of Inquiry based learning within humanities. Research suggests that for successful learning to take place, the teacher must use a combination of explicit and inquiry approaches to their teaching. Inquiry learning, links closely to the constructivist approaches to learning. Students take a great deal of control of their learning, they become problem solvers, investigators, and learn to discover new concepts for themselves, and they address concepts from different perspectives. Inquiry learning is particularly important in humanities. Reynolds (2012) describes Inquiry learning as when students construct their own knowledge, incorporating new knowledge into constructs already established into the childs mind (p.g.65). Inquiry learning can be seen as a process. Three are several different approaches for primary education. Hamston and Murdoch (as cited in Reynolds, 2012), suggest the following steps in inquiry learning: 1. Tuning in, 2. Preparing to find out 3. Finding out 4. Sorting out 5. Going further 6. Making connections 7. Taking action (p.g.68)

S00091480, Assessment task 2. In particular, step seven (taking action), can be very useful in humanities, such as through the topics sustainability, the action part is where the research and investigation is extended further e.g. taking action by recycling, sharing with the wider community on how to be sustainable and the action to take in which to do so. Through this, children can learn about studying of the environment, investigating issues, encouraging children to acquire attitudes of care for the environment. Dialogue with others, and sharing knowledge can have significant benefits, it enables students to see a purpose in learning, linking content to societal issues. Reynolds (2012) describes that inquiry learning can allow students to obtain a deeper understanding of the world in which they live (p.g65). The art of questioning: Juxtaposing, effective questioning can prompt students to deepen their thinking, and justify their thoughts verbally. Kerry (as cited in Reynolds, 2012) suggested that questioning can stimulate interest and awaken curiosity, encourage problem solving, monitor the extent and deficiencies of student learning. It is also important for students to ask questions. This should be encouraged. There are several types of questioning for example including creative, factual. Research suggests that teachers must wait 5-10 seconds for an answer. Pedagogical approaches to effectively teach humanities in the primary school: Aforementioned, good Pedagogy in humanities involves inquiry approaches, as well as relating content to authentic, meaningful contexts. Alton-Lee (as cited in Reynolds, 2012), suggests that quality teaching is responsive to student learning process. If a teacher has good pedagogical strategies and tactics, then effective learning will take place. Correspondingly, McInerney and McInerney, (2006) argued that When teachers have a greater understanding of their profession the potential for students to achieve better results is maximised (p.71). Teachers ought to know the content that they are teaching, to accommodate for diverse community of learners, in doing so they can use more abstract concepts when they teach, which makes it easier got students to generalise to new situations (Huston, 2009, p. 50). Teachers must consider the childs wellbeing as well as academic success. Research by Hattie (as cited in Reynolds, 2012), suggests that there are five aspects 5

S00091480, Assessment task 2. to effective teaching. These were, the ability to identify essential representations of their subject, monitor learning and provide feedback, attend to affective attributes and influence student outcomes and guide learning through classroom interaction. Thus, social interaction is the fundamental key to successful learning. Supporting this notion, the renowned works of Lev Vygotsky, Russian theorist, showed that social interactions trigger cognitive and linguistic development. Reynolds, (2012) suggests that research into historical education indicates that primary aged students can develop quite sophisticated understandings of historical events, processes and reasonings with hands on approaches (p.152). The same notion goes for all aspects of humanities, not merely history. Thus learning environments where appropriate resources, such as ICT can help students reach curriculum goals. The use of technology and creativity is imperative in humanities. It encourages students to become more independent in their learning, develop a deeper understanding of the processes of problem solving and learn to apply these skills in new innovative ways. It is an approach teachers can adhere to in cultivating and nurturing creativity, technologies are an integral part of life, within and beyond school. (Wing Jan, 2009, p.4). Linking closely to inquiry learning again, open ended questions and dialogue are useful tactics in allowing students to include additional information, including feelings, values, attitudes and understanding of the subject, as well as encouraging students to be critical thinkers. Personal and intellectual development of children: Child development refers to the physical, biological, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the end of adolescence. It cannot be underestimated the impact that teachers have on the way children develop and learn. Research by Woolfolk and Margetts (2010) suggest that developmental changes are influenced by the learning and the way that individuals interact with the environment and the people around them. It is important that teachers make humanities a priority in the early years of formal education. Critical thinking and critical literacy: Humanities can equip students with the skills to be critical thinkers. Critical thinking consists of identifying other individuals opinions, points of view and 6

S00091480, Assessment task 2. reflecting in a structured way, with the use of evidence. Thus, teachers must let students know that critical thinking is not just about finding errors. Likewise Critical literacy is a significant aspect of humanities, it upholds the notion of challenging authors perspective, consider diverse opinions, develop different conclusions etc. For example, expressing the authors intention and writing about the purpose of the text, after reading a book about sustainability. Being about to think critically is a foundation for a rational response to matters such as threats to our environment, real or imagined, this can be expressed- critical literacy. Thus for students to be able to write about wider issues in society, there must be an underlying foundation which is learnt through humanities, otherwise how can they formulate a literacy task without any background knowledge.

In conclusion, the teaching humanities in Primary school can have a positive effect on a childs development, outlook on the world and if the right values are established in children, humanities can positively affect their future. Because teachers uphold a significant responsibility to the development of all students who they teach, they must implement excellent pedagogical approaches, incorporate values education, honour diversity and have a profound understanding the stages of child development, such as the ones mentioned in this paper. Humanities is relevant and meaningful, as it directly applies to authentic issues relating to society, and ones place in society. Humanities can be confronting, abstract and challenging, but this enables students to become deep critical philosophers, develop awareness of issues, develop a mutual respect for others, follow innate curiosity of why the world is how it is. Humanities assist children in developing an informed appreciation and view on the world in which they live, on a more global perspective. Teaching is a noble, influential and important profession, as it plays a critical, influential role in shaping new generations, and preparing students to navigate through this rapidly changing society. All of these aforementioned factors within this paper make humanities such an important part of early years of formal education.

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S00091480, Assessment task 2. References: Ashley, M. (2001) Improving Teaching and Learning in the Humanities. London. Taylor & Francis group. Diffily, D. & Morrison, K. (1996). Family-friendly communication for early childhood programs. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children. Huston, T. (2009). Teaching what you dont know. United states of America: President and Fellows of Harvard College. McInerney, D., & McInerney, V. (2006). Educational Psychology: Constructing Learning. Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education. Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians, (2008) Ministerial council on Education, Employment, Training and youth affairs. Reitano, P., & Bourke, G. (2009). Promoting, developing and sustaining good history learning and teachin. Teaching History, 43(3), 25-28. Retrieved from: http://search .informit.com.au.ezproxy1.acu.edu.au/fullText:dn=179881:res=AEIPT

Reynolds, R, (2012). Teaching History, Geography & SOSE in the Primary School. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, State Government of Victoria, 2013, http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Pages/index.aspx

Wing Jan, L. (2006). Write Ways: Modelling Writing forms (3rd ed.). South Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press. Woofolk, A., & Margretts, K. (2010). Educational Psychology (2nd ed.). NSW: Pearson Australia. 8

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