Social and Cultural Factors Affecting Early Years Education Provision in the UK - Case Study Example

Social and cultural factors affecting early year’s education provision in UK Introduction Great Britain Children’s Act asserts that every child in United Kingdom below the age of 18 has a right to education and anticipated to learn in school (Children’s Act, 2004). Various jurisdictions across the world have recognized and created the right to education for all. Education is one of the primary roles of children in the society that trains them to become better and productive members of the society in their adult life. In practice, United Kingdom’s education system has a holistic purpose. United Kingdom’s education curriculum states that education is a conventional process in which the society intentionally channels its amassed dexterity, skills, knowledge, values and customs from one coeval to the other. Education is one of the fundamental units for an individual’s development and immiseration reduction. For the child to learn effectively, there are various factors that need to be weighed and evaluated (Hodgeson & Spours, 2008, p. 12). Children surrounded by a strong learning environment that is supportive and informative improve on their educational improvement. When considering the role of education and the desired goal and the result, it is necessary to observe where the current education system stands and the effects that have impacted upon it (Hodgeson & Spours, 2008, p. 20). Students exposed to underprivileged, and poor educational surrounding are at a high peril of a negative learning effect. United Kingdom has distinct metropolitan boroughs. Each borough has a different social set up. This paper will focus on Barking and Dagenham borough. The fact that children are particularly vulnerable makes early childhood education accomplishment a rough and tough experience. This is because there are social, cultural and economic factors that affect the provision of early childhood education. These factors have both positive and negative effects on the provision of a child’s education. They can either promote or hinder the child’s education. Social factors A learner’s phase of thinking relates with his or her experience of the universe through adaptation process. A child uses skills, strategies and mental activities in interacting with the society. In adapting to the environment, the child assimilates and accommodates the new experiences within her or himself. Social factors are the elements within the society or social environment (Pugh & Duffy, 2006, p. 25). These elements include family, locality, political system, mobility rate and the child’s relations. Barking and Dagenham borough has a high number of educational institutions and a high number of learned and affluent adults. It is one of the most developing metropolitan boroughs in the region. Barking and Dagenham borough consists of affluent families and learned adults. A family is a social unit where related people live together. It can either affect early year’s education of a child positively or negatively (Pugh & Duffy, 2006, p. 30). Relatively, a parent’s education will affect the child’s education. An affluent parent has a high consideration for education and sets academic goals for the child. The educated parent has a higher access to educational resources for the child. A child with either one of the parents as a doctor or an engineer is motivated to attain a higher education level than the parent (Pugh & Duffy, 2006, p. 38). A community with educated and learned parents, such as Barking and Dagenham community will have a higher demand for education. From this fact, we can conclude that the parents level of education in Barking and Dagenham determines a child’s early education provision in a given society or community. The family environment affects a child’s education (Pugh & Duffy, 2006, p. 45). From various studies conducted by the not-for-profit organizations across all the boroughs, most of families are peaceful, and cases of family violence are minimal. A peaceful family surrounding will significantly provide a studying environment for the child. A family’s surrounding affects a child psychologically. Children who observe steady performances of violence in the family have significant behavioural and emotional problems than other kids (Pugh & Duffy, 2006, p. 55). A violent family environment emotionally and psychologically affects the child. Violence profoundly affects a child’s education and learning and leads to school drop outs. High level of dropouts may prove to be a stumbling block to the provision of childhood education in a locality. Peaceful environments created by Barking and Dagenham families create a high demand for education. Parental relations and interactions with the child have a positive and negative effect on the child’s education. Parents who spare time to be with their children, to share ideas with them and help them carry out their academic work have a positive impact on the child’s education. Barking and Dagenham is a developed and still developing borough offering job opportunities to many people. Immigration from other boroughs to Barking and Dagenham is on the increase. This has led to a high children mobility rate. Child mobility rates refer to the rate of transfers of a pupil from one school to the other in the course of a year. More than 40 percent of students in United Kingdom’s schools transfer each year to other schools due to the parents’ change of employment or employment transfer. This has caused instability in the child’s education (Pugh & Duffy, 2006, p. 67). Barking and Dagenham council has formulated the education services policy. This policy provides support and challenge to educational institutions to help children improve and attain high performances and enjoy their time in school. A team set by the council provides support, advice and guidance on matters pertaining buildings and investments. It aids schools address antecedences as indicated in the Asset Management Plan. This team also manages student transfer requests from the different schools. Barking and Dagenham Education Services policy implementation team contribute to ameliorating the degrees of attainment and aspiration by the young people by developing and facilitating a variety of quality vocational and applied learning programmes e.g. trident, flexi-learning service and education business. Barking and Dagenham council has built a new Skills Centre in Barking and Dagenham town centre. This has shown commitment of the council in improving the expertise of students. These skills Centre helps raise the student’s level of achievement and help them in their working life (Sharp et al. 2009, p.20). The prevailing United Kingdom’s political system state affects the provision of early year’s education. A favourable political climate will significantly provide support to education. An authority with a long history of education support provides a viable ground for the provision of early year’s education in that state or region. Governments provide favourable environments by providing cheap and affordable early education for all. The United Kingdom Government focuses on the child’s socializations. Access to some of these provisions is inaccessible to some of the families in United Kingdom (Sharp et al. 2009, p.28). An efficient provision of education should take into account the pupils and teacher’s environment. Both the pupil and the teacher should be free and comfortable to do their work efficiently. The relations of the child with his or her friends determine the desire and demand for education (Sharp et al. 2009, p.34). Barking and Dagenham council provides free school meals. The council takes seriously the obligation of ensuring that each child in the borough enjoys a healthy balanced diet meal. Ethnicity is an aspect of culture that affects the provision of education to children. It may prove to be impossible to provide education in a region composed of a mixture of people with different ethnic backgrounds (Sharp et al. 2009, p.60). United Kingdom has implemented policies in the education system positively affect the communities surrounding schools. In Barking and Dagenham, there are community extended schools that seem to impact on the social justice in the area. This system encourages the students to formulate a sense of obligation to others socially and globally in order to enjoy and value diversity. The system encourages students to have a positive sense of personal identity and confidence in their social and cultural diversity. The council of Barking and Dagenham borough has come up with Equality Act 2010. This act acknowledges needs of the different ethnic groups and is committed to flaking equal opportunities for all and celebrating diversity in the borough. This act provides a cross cutting legislative model that protects the rights of people. It protects people from unjust handling and raises a more equal and fair society. Everyone who lives in UK receives excellent services from the council. Conclusion The social, economic and cultural set up in a region can profoundly affect a child’s learning and provision of education. The relations created within the child’s environment also significantly affect the child’s learning process. An amicable and ample relation around the student provides a favourable learning environment. Media plays a crucial role in dictating the way a child thinks. A child’s familiarity with media models makes them pick up new behaviours not portrayed by their parents. There are various joints in Barking and Dagenham borough that offer imported United States games. Most of the games are violent, and the child may try to emulate this in the real world situation (Sharp et al. 2009, p.67). References Hodgeson, A. & Spours, K. 2008, Education & Training 14-19: Curriculum, Qualifications and Organization. London: Sage Publications. Pugh, G. and Duffy, B. (ed.) 2006, Contemporary Issues in the Early Years: Working Collaboratively for Children (4th edn), London: Paul Chapman Sharp, J., Ward, S. and Hankin, L. (eds.) 2009, Education Studies: An Issue-based Approach, 2nd edn. Exeter: Learning Matters. London: Sage Publications UK Children’s Act 2004 cited at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/31/contents Read More