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American adventurer (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6)

Similarly, in England the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage sets out six areas of learning:

• personal, social and emotional development

 • communication, language and literacy • problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy

 • knowledge and understanding of the world

 • physical development

 • creative development.

It also includes a set of ‘early learning goals’ for each area. These are the established expectations for most children to reach by the end of the Foundation Stage.

Assessment frameworks

 Some states in the US use standardised multiple-choice tests, produced by private test-setting companies. The most frequent testing is teacher-developed ‘examinations’.

Many states are beginning to align their childhood goals/ assessment with state standards to give kindergarten children the mental tools and knowledge they need for state-wide assessment during compulsory education. In most states, such compulsory assessment begins in the third grade at the age of eight to nine years. In England, reception teachers use the Foundation Stage Profile to celebrate children’s progress.

In both the US and England, the use of ongoing assessment of children by teachers throughout the early years as a formative strategy for curriculum planning goes hand in hand. It is actively encouraged and is a sign of good practice. This continuous formative assessment is generally achieved through the use of a range of informal strategies, including:

• observation

• developmental checklists

• photographs

• portfolios of children’s work

• discussion with parents and children themselves.

Future benefits

Undertaking this study project in the US will be the most exhilarating professional development to date in my teaching career. It is going to be fabulous to visit elementary schools, meet and talk to early years professionals, and observe the first stage of the learning journey for American children. This study project will enable me to reflect on my current practice. Young children’s dispositions and attitudes to learning are acquired early and it is important to ensure that these foundations are positive.

Sharing my new-found knowledge with work colleagues, NUT staff and the wonderful children in my care – in a sense, reliving this American adventure – will be incredibly satisfying. A piece of American pedagogy may find its way into the early years programme at Glebefields Primary in Tipton.

You never know, Paddington Bear might soon be tucking in to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

Table: comparison of English and US education systems

For information about applying for an NUT/Walter Hines Page scholarship, please email Angela Bush: a.bush@nut.org.uk.

Sarah Hovington trained to be a teacher at Worcester College, majoring in music. She is currently Early Years Co-ordinator at Glebefields Primary School in Tipton, West Midlands, teaching 30 nursery children in the morning and another 30 in the afternoon.