Creating an Environment for Social Cohesion in Early Childhood through Humane Education

Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/

Y

7

Early Childhood Education; Social Integration; Educational Environment; Humanistic Education; Educational Practices; Classroom Environment; Prosocial Behavior; Interaction; Child Development

10.1007/s10643-022-01407-1

1082-3301
1573-1707

Early childhood education builds the foundation for students' academic careers, but perhaps more importantly emphasizes developmentally appropriate practices that encourage social and emotional learning and prosocial behaviors. Similarly, humane education addresses students' capacity for empathy, compassion, and perspective-taking through connecting the needs of humans, animals, and the environment. This paper describes the development of an emerging framework for humane education grounded in and evolving from Freire's critical pedagogy and its alignment with Hirschi's social control theory that sets the conditions for a humane classroom. Highlighting prosocial interactions and social cohesion, this article proposes logical outcomes and measures to move students from an anthropomorphic perspective to an ecocentric one where learners understand their role in this world and their ability to act within it. The result is a roadmap for teaching and learning that connects animal, planetary, and human needs within the crucial timeframe of early childhood development.

As Provided

2023

EJ1382288