John Mcdowell - Virtue and Reason Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

John Mcdowell - Virtue and Reason - Essay Example McDowell’s notion of a virtuous agent depends on the â€Å"sensitivity† of the agent to see what a virtue requires (for instance, what constitutes prudence in a certain situation). This sensitivity arises in a virtuous agent when he or she is faced with the particular details of states of affairs. It is a perceptual awareness of the right reasons for acting in certain ways. Because such sensitivity amounts to getting things right, McDowell claims that this sensitivity is a form of knowledge, and since this sensitivity is a virtue, virtues extend directly from moral knowledge. As McDowell puts it, the reliable sensitivity constitutes knowledge and it is also a necessary condition for virtue. Accordingly, McDowell is claiming that knowledge is a necessary condition for virtues. But one can conceive of a person of who has moral knowledge, or virtues, but is unmotivated to act virtuously, which is a person that McDowell logically dismisses as impossible. However, it is a cl ear and intuitive possibility that simply because a person has moral knowledge, he or she is not necessarily motivated to act upon it. McDowell responds by claiming that a person who fails to act virtuously, even though he knew what amounted to virtue, failed to do so only by clouded judgment or a desire to do otherwise. This is the Aristotelian answer to the objection. However, what this response leads to is the rejection of virtue as anything more than sensitivity. Although McDowell has been claiming that virtue is more than sensitivity (it is also about acting upon the virtue), this reply to the objection of the unfocused, clouded desire implies that the failure to act is not due to the one’s lack of a thing that the virtuous person has. The virtuous person and the non-virtuous person have the same sensitivity to what virtue requires, so as a result, it cannot be the case that knowledge of what virtue requires is what separates the virtuous from the non-virtuous. Socrates overcomes this problem by claiming that the difference between a virtuous person and a non-virtuous person is ignorance. Unlike Aristotle, Socrates does not need to account for this objection with the existence of a desire or a clouded judgment, which is the approach McDowell takes as well. Instead, McDowell dismisses Socrates’ answer as extreme and favors instead the response given by Aristotle. A second premise inherent in McDowell’s â€Å"Virtue and Reason† is t

Production and Exchange Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Production and Exchange - Essay Example Much as this is still debatable, questions abound as to whether these were the only issues that existed and if these issues were the sole drivers for ancient activities (Hirth 203-207). The narrow view of the above archeological developments is the main reason that instigated the modern archaeologies in broadening the perspective and coming up with new approaches to archeological research which are able to put complexities that arose in human society into clear focus. They therefore found out that political economies were just among the mix of different strategies used by the ancient societies to mobilize resources which in essence did cross-cut through the production processes, service, and subsequent distributions to various societal sectors (Hirth 203-207). The interest of archaeologies has therefore been elicited by the fact that they saw the need to try and identify the aforementioned mix of the various strategies so that this could work as a first platform for the reconstructio n of the pre-historical political economy structures. They hence have to prove the fact that indeed, the elites within a given society would strive to gaining control on resources and mobilizing these resources from numerous unrelated sources as much as they can and in doing so, they end up invoking a high sense and set of principles that are put to practice (Kelly and Hurst 182-118). The interest has further been compounded by the fact that these components or principles of society are the shapers of the political economy in that they take up the form of ideological issues, context, accumulation, and matrix control. The archeologists see these as the common mechanisms which are in essence applied in the creation of resources, manipulation of people and information, and the eventual expropriation practices which are normally applied to the societies that might exist in different times and having very unique levels of societal organization (Spencer 209-218). Reconstructing the trade networks of the prehistoric periods could also help the archeologists in the understanding of some of the dynamics which are related to cultural interactions and inter-border changes that are being experienced in the world today (Kelly and Hurst 182-118). The above renewed interest in this reconstruction could be attributed to the fact that the past archeological activities only emphasized on the identification of evolving of political organizations instead of trying to reconstruct the relationships of economics which actually underscored them. They pose an argument that past trade and exchanges during the prehistoric era were more than just mere production and consumption of goods and services. The argument put forward is, the exchange of good was also a cause for cultural and social experiences’ exchange (Spencer 209-218). How archaeologists determine the extent of prehistoric trade/exchange They use the ancient data such as obsidian discoveries which are analyzed to give c ertain evidences and assumptions. Interpretation of this Obsidian Dispersal is used by archeologists as the basic data that can illustrate trade and exchanges between communities during the prehistoric times. As a general approach, the archeologists are able to point out the sources of origin of the archeological

Women in New York Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Women in New York - Essay Example This new woman faced many hardships and difficulties in getting herself accepted as a contributor to the society. She struggled hard to gain acceptance in various roles other than just a domestic housewife. However, these hardships increased to a greater extent with the arrival of the Great Depression as women in New York, who were making up their identity as educated individuals worthy of jobs, were now once again, made to put their plans and ambitions on the backburner.   Since most of the educated women were employed in the service industries i.e. hotels and restaurants which were now considered as luxuries as well as in clerical and educationist roles, they were laid off as the organizations had either shut down their operations or downsized their workforce. Even those organizations that were still operating exhibited a certain degree of bias in hiring women and if women were selected for a position, they were offered lesser remuneration as compared to men.This increased bias g ave rise to a general concept that women are mere burdens on families and economy and in these desperate times, they were incapable of making substantial contribution to earning livelihood for their families. Despite this discrimination, women in New York tried to acquire jobs even at lower remunerations and earn their living. In addition to that, those who decided to take care of the house instead of getting jobs were made to live under stressful living conditions where they were made to make the ends meet without sufficient resources.... This new woman faced many hardships and difficulties in getting herself accepted as a contributor to the society. She struggled hard to gain acceptance in various roles other than just a domestic housewife. However, these hardships increased to a greater extent with the arrival of the Great Depression as women in New York, who were making up their identity as educated individuals worthy of jobs, were now once again, made to put their plans and ambitions on the backburner.4 Since most of the educated women were employed in the service industries i.e. hotels and restaurants which were now considered as luxuries as well as in clerical and educationist roles, they were laid off as the organizations had either shut down their operations or downsized their workforce. Even those organizations that were still operating exhibited a certain degree of bias in hiring women and if women were selected for a position, they were offered lesser remuneration as compared to men. This increased bias gav e rise to a general concept that women are mere burdens on families and economy and in these desperate times, they were incapable of making substantial contribution to earning livelihood for their families. Despite this discrimination, women in New York tried to acquire jobs even at lower remunerations and earn their living. In addition to that, those who decided to take care of the house instead of getting jobs were made to live under stressful living conditions where they were made to make the ends meet without sufficient resources. Lack of emotional support from their men and responsibility of children levied extra burden on women of New York. Since due to scarcity of jobs, many of the families had to migrate; some of the major sufferers were women since they were

Proposition 13 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Proposition 13 - Essay Example Proposition 13 was the result of a taxpayer revolt against escalating and uncertain tax rates. Viewed as one of the first signs of the coming Reagan Revolution, the radical conservative approach rippled across the country as key provisions of the act were enacted in several other states (Menrow). The most immediate and severe impact of Prop 13 was felt by the school districts that lost over half their revenue creating a crisis in many of California's public schools. In response, California passed a number of bills that eased the pressure on school systems. Overall, tax revenues going to schools decreased between 9% and 15%, with the wealthier districts losing the higher amount ("The Special Challenge"). Prop 13 resulted in the school systems in California moving from local community control to control by the state. It further gave property owners the ability to calculate and plan for their tax rate, enabling low income and fixed income households to maintain possession of their prope rty and avoiding losing their homes due to unaffordable taxes. The focus of Prop 13 was to give the taxpayer a known and predictable property tax rate. It set a maximum tax rate at 1% and limited valuation increases to 2% per year. Upon selling a property, it would then be revalued at the market value. The 1% limit imposed by Prop 13 was about 1/3 of the rate prior to its passage. Prop 13 further limited local taxation by requiring a 2/3 majority in the legislature and 2/3 public vote to increases local taxes. These actions put the responsibility for funding the public school system on the state and in doing so, the state took control of the schools and away from local communities. Recent amendments have lowered the threshold for voter approval to 55%, which has allowed local governments to raise additional funding when necessary. Impact of Proposition 13 The impact of the loss of revenue was most clearly felt by local school districts. Schools, faced with fewer dollars, were forced to delay improvements and in some cases resulted in the cutting of programs. However, the long-term result has not led to the bankruptcy of California's schools. Bolstered by "bailout bills" that benefited education, the schools continued to operate under state control at or near the previous level of funding. In 2001-2002 California teachers were ranked at the top of the pay scale compared to other states (Bell). Faced with the loss of revenue, many cities increased fees on everything from traffic violations, to home inspections, and service taxes on hotels and restaurants (Wood). Along with innovative taxation, changes in Prop 13 over the years have made it easier for local communities to raise money for schools by reducing the 2/3 voter approval to 55%. Critics have pointed to the lower test scores in California schools since the inception of Prop 13 an d linked them to the reduced funding. Per pupil spending has been reduced and is currently about $650 below the national per pupil average. The falling test scores are due to several reasons and lower funding may be just one facet of the problem. Immigration, state educational policies, and an activist teachers union may have more impact on test scores than reduced funding. Relations between the state and local governments have been strained as local government officials, in need of funding, have become

China as a single party state Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

China as a single party state - Assignment Example However, just like with any other single party states, the party has been under some sharp criticisms over dictatorship resulting in industrial strife among civil servants and opposition from activists â€Å"AS WITNESSED IN THE STREETS OF HONG KONG WHEN MARAUDING YOUTHS TOOK TO THE STREETS PROTESTING WHAT THEY TERMED OPRESSIVE LEADERSHIP† (Bruce 19). China has had several political lapses that have resulted in weaker policies therefore higher levels of environmental degradation, unemployment and popular dissatisfaction with the local government among others. The party has a pyramid structure of governance with the base of the pyramid having more people but arguably lesser authority. Through such a structure, the party incorporates everyone into a single party affair through â€Å"REPRESENTATION ACHIEVED THROUGH PERIODIC ELECTIO OF PARTY DELEGATES† (Peter 16). At the base are citizens, every Chinese is a member of the political party since it is the sole government in th e country. The citizens elect their representatives also referred to as delegates. These come from all the provinces of the country and are directly involved in the operations of the party thus the operations of the country as the central government From the delegates, a number of commissions arise and from the commissions a secretariat is formed. This way, a self-sustaining pyramid arises since every progressive stage narrows down the number of people in it but increases in authority and command. At the apex of the pyramid sits the secretary general of the party. He serves as the mouth piece of the party and communicates the important decisions made by the secretariat. In multiparty societies such as the United States of America, this figure serves as the presidency with all the executive powers and privileges. As a society changes, so should its leaders. China has stuck to the old class of leaders through its imperial presidency that has always been predetermined even before elect ions. In a way, the ridicule to democracy expressed by the Chinese leaders has contributed to the problems the country faces today. In a single party state, the problems and infightings in the political party automatically become problems of governance. This has been the case in China resulting to indiscriminate treatment of a particular group of people specifically targeted for their express portrayal of their opposition. Just as the name hints, the Chinese Communist Party ascribes to the policies of communism. This political ideology advocates for a collective production and communal sharing of the natural resources. John (36) asserts that â€Å"BUREUCRACY OF THE COUNTRY STRIFLES INNITIATIVES AND PROMOTES MEDIOCRITY†. Communism is viewed as irrelevant in the modern society where private life and private property is a reality. This makes some of the ideologies of the party inapplicable today and has contributed to the high rate of corruption of some of the Chinese elite. Bec ause of the doctrines of communism, China faced a number of sanctions especially from the western countries such as Britain and some of her neighbors such as Japan. Some of these sanctions sill affect the country’s economy. The close relationship between the political party and the government in single party state results in effective decision making, the operations of a country rely heavily on the constitution. A single party society lacks a number of watch dogs to the constitution, which results in the ruling class mutilating the document to suit their personal interest. Minxin (16) explains that â€Å" A CHINESE BORN AFTER 1980 HAVE LOWER LEVELS OF TRUST ON THE GOVERNMNT, A RESULT OF WEAK COMMUNICATION

Original formulation of attachment Essay Example for Free

Original formulation of attachment Essay The attachment theory was produced by John Bowlby and colleagues in the 1950s. Influenced by the work of Freud and Harlow, amongst others, Bowlby drew on ethological concepts to develop his theory. Early on in an infants life they build a close contact with a significant object. From these early relationships with their attachment objects infants create what Bowlby called internal working models (IWM) (Oates et al. 2005). The Robertsons (1989) brought to light the distress infants experience when they are separated from their attachment figure, this lead Bowlbys instigation to incorporate separation anxiety into his theory.   Mary Ainsworths (1954, 1978) work on maternal deprivation enabled Bowlbys ideas to be empirically tested through designing the Strange Situation and attachment classification (Oates et al. 2005). Bowlbys theory envisaged attachment classifications to continue through generations (Oates et al. 2005). Main et al. (1994) devised an equivalent classification for adults that were assessed through the Adult Attachment Interview, (AAI). Having a stable and long term relationship with carers was a feature that Bowlby thought was important in order to develop good IWM; Hamilton (1994) subsequent research explores this idea.  Bowlby integrated the work of Winnicott on good enough mothering that was later explored by researchers such as Vondra et al. (1995).  The predictive value of the Strange Situation on later attachments was challenged by Lamb et al. (1985).  Baumrinds model of parenting style extended Bowlbys work on IWM and the cultural context in which the theory was originally formulated looked into. The quality of having a reciprocal relationship is an important factor in attachment. The attachment theory has enabled research to branch off into investigating some of the reasons linked with attachment that may cause disturbed behaviour.  Ainsworth was the first to contribute and solidify Bowlbys theory of attachment with respects to having a secure base as a means of exploring the world.  Building on the observations of the Robertsons (1989) and on the pioneering work done by Harlow (1958), Ainsworth set out to study maternal deprivation. During her research in Africa in 1954 she developed Bowlbys work on separation anxiety by observing the behaviour of children, not when they were separated with their attachment figure but reunited as the difference in behaviour was more apparent (Oates et al. 2005).  For the duration of her research in Baltimore, Ainsworth used Bowlbys theory on IWM to expand the theory of attachment. Four different types of attachment emerged as a result of maternal sensitivity; secure (Type B), insecure-resistant or ambivalent (Type C), insecure-avoidant (Type A) (Ainsworth 1978) and disoriented and/or disorganised (Type D) (Main and Solomon 1990). She entwined attachment types to IWM to develop the attachment theory and successfully solidified their work through the Strange Situation, a gold standard procedure now commonly used as a method of studying infant attachment (Oates et al. 2005).  Through this procedure Ainsworth was able to relate attachment classification to different IWM.  The Strange Situation gave justice to Bowlbys theory on how a child builds up a working model of how attachment figures are likely to behave toward him in a variety of situations and on those models are based all his expectations (Bowlby, 1973, p.369). A further incentive to develop the study of internal working models was Mains (1994) attempt to translate Ainsworths infant-mother attachment classifications to equivalent adult classification.  Bowlbys original formulation suggests consistency across generations in attachment style (Oates et al. 2005). Main developed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) to asses an adults ability to integrate early memories of their relationships with their parents into overarching working models of relationship (Oates et al. 2005, p.38). From the AAI adults were classified into three categories; Dismissing; autonomous and preoccupied. These three types of adult classification can then be associated with infant attachment types. Dismissing adults would be related to insecure avoidant (Type A) infant attachment, infants securely attached (Type B) would develop into autonomous adults and adults who were classified as preoccupied would have had an insecure attachment type as infants (Focus Collection 3. 2005). Mains work took Bowlbys work up a generation to follow through his work on IWM. Making use of Ainsworth empirical methods that tested Bowlbys ideas, the Strange Situation type classification proved to be a partially good predictor of adult attachment types (Oates et al. 2005). Hamilton (1994) found this to be true in cases where the childs circumstances had remained stable. Cases where life events such as divorce or parental illness had occurred could be held accountable for the change in attachment type (Hamilton, 1994). Bowlby believed in the notion of good enough mothering (Oates et al. 2005). Influenced by the work of Winnicott an aspect of the Bowlbys theory is for the attachment figure should allow just the right amount of delay in meeting the infants needs to encourage both tolerance of waiting and confidence in ultimate satisfaction (Oates et al. 2005, p.25). The parental behaviour towards an infant is thus very much a central cause for the childs attachment type that he or she develops from their IWM. Subsequent research has investigated the influences on attachment. Vondra et al. carried out a study in 1995 that showed consistent parental behaviours could be used as a reasonable predictor of their children classification type. Caregivers that were sensitive tended to have securely attached infants (Type B), infants classified as avoidant (Type A) were probable to have controlling mothers and ambivalent infants (Type C) were likely to have unresponsive mothers (Oates et al. 2005).

Role of Play in the Curriculum

Role of Play in the Curriculum Assignment Three Task 1. Examine the statutory requirements for children to identify the role of play in the curriculum. What is the role of play in the curriculum? Justify your arguments using evidence from the statutory requirements. Task 2. Analyse the potential for play based development across the range of non-statutory contexts. Identify a range of non-statutory contexts eg. playgroups, day nurseries, child-minders etc. and analyse the ways in which children’s development can be advanced through the play opportunities provided. Play includes a diversity of activities, games and interactions which create enjoyment and satisfaction for children. With years of research and observation of the impacts from children embracing play, we can now understand that it is an indispensable part of learning and is also a crucial benefactor within Northern Ireland in regards to the National Curriculum including the Foundation stage. These observations and assessments regarding the usefulness of play in relation to learning within the Early Years sector has allowed us to update our Curriculum accordingly. The Foundation Stage in education located in Northern Ireland includes the first two years of compulsory education, which is primary one and primary two classes ranging from the ages of 4 years to 6 years old. In Northern Ireland, children begin education at the foundation stage at an earlier age than anywhere else in the world. As it is believed, in the earlier years of a person’s life, their brain is at its most active, meaning that the earlier a child begins education, the more they will know. The transition from nursery school is then needed to be taken in gentle steps practicing care and sensitivity, allowing the process to be easier on the child’s understanding as they move into a higher learning level. The Foundation Stage outlined within the Northern Ireland National Curriculum provides educators with the opportunities to teachers to build up children’s dispositions and also allows teachers to build on children’s social skills as they are interacting with other children of their age and learning new skills off their new friends. Children learn a great deal through play. In the Northern Ireland curriculum, play is a vital contributor as children recognise that as they play, they learn and develop. The children identify play with fun, excitement, exploration and enjoyment, which allows them to rapidly learn from what they are doing without taking away from the experience. Play allows for children to gain knowledge in a wide variety of topics, such as the arts, mathematics, the world around us and so on. As play varies from one person to another, this allows for no play experience to be the same, and as play is individual and original to each person, they will be continuous learning and progressing if provided with the appropriate resources that are age and capability appropriate. Throughout many years, practitioners have gained great insight on the value and importance of play within the early years, as it is a significant factor in promoting and influencing physical, social, emotional, cognitive and language development and this can be witnessed through everyday observations of children at play in the early years. Play is a significant part of the early years foundation stage in northern Ireland as it allows younger children to access the curriculum in an age appropriate manner, throughout a variety of play contexts. The significance of play within our curriculum relates back to how we can allow all children, no matter their situation, whether they are poor, rich, disabled, Chinese, Asian and so on, learn in the early years, and play is an accessible resource to all children, leaving no individual without an education at a young age. An important document, provided by the Northern Ireland Curriculum, entitled â€Å"Learning through play† addresses how children learn effectively from a variety of play contexts, where a select range are targeted in depth within the text, these include: Learning through Dramatic Play Learning through Sand Play Learning through Water Play Learning through Dough and Clay Play Learning through Table Top Play Learning through Small World Play Learning through Construction Play Learning through Creative Play There are many benefits of these areas of play, such as with sand play, this can allow children to develop understanding and increase their knowledge through their senses. By exploring the different and changing textures of sand, children learn through their sense of touch, this area of play can also trigger mathematical knowledge as the children can discover capacity, volume, weight and aspects of gravity as the children manipulate different sand toys to gain mathematical knowledge. This is one simple, fun and effective way for children to access the curriculum. Within my current setting, which is a primary one class within a statutory school, there are sand play facilities indoors and outdoors with a range of tools children can use. With relevant topics in the curriculum, we are able to change these tools and equipment around to become more relevant to the current topic. One example was during the month associated around â€Å"People Who Help Us†, we implemented our indoor s and area into a construction side by providing the children with spades, shovels, toy diggers, I even printed off a range of construction site signs to make the experience more holistic and realistic for the children, enabling them to become more easily immersed. Experimental, free-flow and imaginative play are all included within this area, targeting many aspects of the curriculum, providing more information for early learning and targeting children’s development. Water play is extremely similar to sand play, developing logical thinking through the senses and providing knowledge of the world around us, early physics and early mathematics. The NI Curriculum explains that Water play benefits children in many ways, such as tackling and enhancing their personal, social and emotional development, physical development, creative development and knowledge and appreciation of the Environment. Personal, Social and Emotional development is influenced in this area of play by children working independently, co-operating with others, taking turns and sharing toys or equipment, enjoying the sensory nature of water by adding colours or other items such as glitter or various temperatures. Physical development is enhanced through developing fine motor skills by manipulating tools, filling, pouring, emptying, stirring, squeezing, pushing, pulling etc. and developing hand/eye co-ordination by filling and emptying containers of different sizes. Creative development improves through observing colour change through adding paint or food colouring, introduction of marbling techniques, and by creating sounds in the water by blowing or splashing. Finally, knowledge and appreciation of the environment is enhanced by children talking about water in local environment, home, rivers, pond, beach, adding equipment from local environment to stimulate imaginative play e.g. shells, sea weed, pebbles, rocks, fishing nets, hoses, watering cans talk about occupations where water plays a significant role e.g. fishermen, firemen, sailors, farmers, plumbers and talk about animals and creatures that live in water e.g. fish, crocodiles. Water play is an everyday occurrence within my placement setting, attracting a wide range of children who are all eager to play in this area. This is another beneficial and effective way for children to access the curriculum as through my experience, I have seen every child learn subconsciously and have fun at the same time. On the whole, the role of play within our curriculum is to simply enable children to learn effectively, through enjoyment and without realising they are learning as the child is distracted by objects, games, activities and tasks which interest them. Play is used within our curriculum to promote children’s development in a range of contexts, allowing them to grow at a specific pace by providing them with the educational and fun resources they need to do so. Play is an effective way to allow for a child’s exploration, which in turn promotes knowledge and skills they will require in adulthood. Play will allows for the provision of a range of experiences and opportunities for children to create the foundations for their learning and gain for this in the most beneficial and rewarding ways. Wood, E (2013) explains how â€Å"Playing and growing are synonymous with life itself. Playfulness bespeaks creativity and action, change and possibility of transformation. Play activity this reflects the very existence of the self, that part of the organism that exists both independently and interdependently, that can reflect upon itself and be aware of its own existence. In being playful the child attains a degree of autonomy sustained by representations of his inner and outer worlds.† This is a further representation of the importance of play and how it can provide a beneficial impact upon children by ensuring this is an everyday routine in their educational lives. Play is implemented within the Northern Ireland as it is a proven way to improve children’s effective learning amongst provision for many other aspects of their development. In conclusion, I believe throughout my own experiences over the past two years, alongside the permanent implementation of play within our Northern Ireland Curriculum, I believe play is an efficient, effective and inspirational way for children to access the curriculum and therefore, effectively learn. The role of play is to simply enable children to learn through enjoyment and in turn, promote their growth and development, sculpting their future, and is therefore, a crucial aspect of our curriculum. Analyse the potential for play based development across the range of non-statutory contexts. Identify a range of non-statutory contexts eg. Playgroups, day nurseries, child-minders etc. and analyse the ways in which children’s development can be advanced through the play opportunities provided. It has been recognised how play is implemented widely across our Northern Ireland Curriculum affecting the foundation stage of education, in place within statutory requirements (5 to 16 years old), however, there is great potential for play in non-statutory settings, such as playgroups, pre-school groups, afterschool groups, crà ¨ches and day nurseries etc. We have evaluated how successful play is for promoting children’s learning and development within the statutory settings, and it should be recognised that it can have similar effects within non-compulsory areas of child care. All of these non-statutory contexts provide a range of play activities with the aim of improving and increasing children’s opportunities to learn and develop. Whether these contexts a child attends is before compulsory education such as parent and toddler groups, or in sync with their statutory, like after school programmes, there is a significant emphasis on play within each. These settings recognise the needs of the child and promote many way for their development to be enhanced. In my experience, I have witnessed the potential of play within preschool groups. This is particular area in which I gained the most experience, the reason for focus upon this area. With pre-school programs, it can be argued that these settings provide the foundations for learning as the child is attending a setting which provides a minority of educational activities, mainly based upon play which introduce the child to concepts of play during the earlier stages of their life. This may potentially make it easier for them to settle into statutory settings as they have had some experience of a setting which provides set activities to initiate learning and create dispositions. Throughout the attendance to pre-school groups, children may bring with them a variety of personal and social skills, values and attitudes. The children have achieved from relationships and experiences within the home and the immediate environment and it is vital that these should be recognised and adopted within the setting. The needs of a pre-school child are defined within the textbook Curriculum Guidance for Preschool education (1997) which are as follows: â€Å"Young children require: †¢ A safe, secure, healthy and stimulating environment where there is adequate supervision; †¢ Opportunities to investigate, satisfy their curiosity, explore the environment inside and outside the playroom, extend their sense of wonder, experience success and develop a positive attitude towards learning; †¢ Appropriate periods of time for learning through sustained involvement in play; †¢ Interaction with sensitive and understanding adults.† Given these needs it follows that young children require a curriculum which: †¢ meets their physical, social, emotional and cognitive needs at their particular stage of development; †¢ motivates, challenges and stimulates them; †¢ is broad and balanced, allowing children to make choices and providing them with opportunities, through play and other experiences, to develop the learning associated with: These settings are completely non-compulsory but however, are a beneficial way of taking the stress of parents, providing effective care for children, and of course, providing an earlier structure for their education. The pre-school groups can include playgroups, nursery schools, parent and toddler groups and so on. Minett, P (2010) outlines the benefits of preschool groups in the book Child Care and Development explaining how a professionally effective and successful preschool group will contribute to a child’s early education by providing them with: Opportunities to socialise and learn how to mix with other children and adults and to enjoy their company; Facilities which include space to run around, apparatus to climb, toys, paints, paper, modelling dough etc; Activities such as stories, music, dancing, singing and games; Activities which encourage early familiarity with letters and numbers, to help children acquire pre-reading and pre-counting skills† This book helps to outline a variety of successful ways of promoting education and a good start into learning for a child during the earlier years of life. Play is the main contributor within many non-statutory settings I have worked within. For example, a Day Nursery in which I worked, the children were aged between birth and two years of age within the room I worked. Here, the children had a wide variety of play activities available to them, ranging from dolls, cars, musical and sensory instruments, treasure boxes attending to sensory development, and outdoor play with a range of resources available during the dry months. Outdoor play has a significant role within a child’s learning and development as it helps to take on the areas of imaginative, creative and exploration play, which introduce young children to new opportunities to learn and gain understanding of the world around them. The children’s routines from 7:30am to 6:30pm, which are the most common hours of preschool groups, revolve around a strong influence upon play, with the staff changing the available resources throughout the day so that children do have a change, meaning they do not get bored, leading to a lack of appropriate play provision and therefore, not promoting learning. By the rotation of different play activities, arts and crafts, games and creative tasks, this setting provides a successful way of implementing play into a daily routine providing learning for young babies and children. The setting I worked within cares for children of the ages birth to eight years of age, once again another commonly seen restriction within preschool groups. The rooms are usually a â€Å"Babies† room, â€Å"Wobblers† room, â€Å"Toddlers† room and an after school programme, which are implemented within my day nursery setting. Within this setting it was extremely important that chil dren felt secure in their relationships with adults and that felt that the adults are there to support them by ensuring adults who working within the setting understood to treat them as individuals and sensitively participate in their play. Justice, L et al (2008) explain some of the effects upon children’s development in which preschool groups’ target. Research was conducted over time involving two separate groups of children, some of which attended preschool groups, and others who did not. At the end of the term year, these children were assessed on their skills and abilities. These results have provided significant evidence of the effects of attending preschool for a short period of time. The findings suggested that â€Å"children who attended a Perry Preschool Program were more likely to graduate from high school on time and to own a home and less likely to be referred for special education, to receive Welfare as an adult, and to commit crimes†. These results show significant impact on a child’s life, as a child’s cognitive development will be enhanced as suggested by the results as they are more likely to graduate, showing logical potential and thinking being higher than those who do not attend preschool groups. Social and emotional development is also targeted, as suggested, those who commit crimes are more likely to be children who did not attend preschool groups, showing anti-social behaviour which in turn shows how their emotions have been affected more negatively than others, resulting in crime. In conclusion, I believe that these non-statutory settings provide children with broad play opportunities all contributing to their learning, growth and development. A child does not need to attend only compulsory to gain the most from a setting in terms of their experiences towards learning, in fact, I believe to promote a healthy and positive approach to learning, a child should attend some form of non-statutory setting to help them to embrace the younger years of life where learning is at its fastest and gain dispositions. Appropriate opportunities should be provided in throughout pre-school settings and afterschool programmes for children to develop personal and social skills, values and attitudes. References: Broadhead, P et al (2010) Play and Learning in the Early Years. SAGE. Else, P (2009) The Value of Play. Continuum. Fromberg, D (2012) Play from Birth to Twelve: Contexts, Perspectives and Meanings. Routledge. Justice, L et al (2008) Achieving Excellence in Preschool Literacy Instruction. Guilford Press. Lockett, A (2004) Continuous Curriculum: Planning for Spontaneous Play. CHYPS Learning. Minett, P (2010) Child Care and Development. Hodder Education. Northern Ireland Curriculum (2014) Available: http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/ Northern Ireland Curriculum (2014) Learning through Play. Available: http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/docs/foundation_stage/learning_through_play_ey.pdf Reifel, R (1999) Play Contexts Revisited. Greenwood Publishing Group. Sluss, D (2014) Supporting Play in Early Childhood: Environment, Curriculum, Assessment. Cengage Learning. Tassoni, P (2005) Planning Play in the Early Years. Heinemann. Wood, E (2013) Play, Learning and the Early Childhood Curriculum. SAGE. Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum (1997) Curricular Guidance for Preschool Education. Available: http://www.deni.gov.uk/preschool_curricular-2.pdf Courtney Hill HIL10173519