Now the discussion moves on to present the research findings arising from the personal plane across the two case study settings. The simultaneous presentation of findings helps in illuminating any similarities present and variations observed across the two diverse cultural contexts. This facilitates the greater understanding of and appreciation for the roles of practitioners as embedded in the wider socio-cultural historical contexts under which the study is conducted.
5.2.1. Peer relations as a pre-condition for children’s happiness; social & emotional wellbeing & social competence
Peer relationships as a basis for children’s happiness and their social and emotional wellbeing and competence had been voiced prominently during the interviews with the practitioners and corroborated from participant observations from across the contexts. Almost all the participants in the study both from Indian and English case settings have voiced this opinion, which was also demonstrated in their everyday practice. Their opinions also resonate with the EYFS curriculum, which recognizes the social and emotional development as one of the core aspect of the curriculum and with an independent curriculum followed by Indian case study setting which is based on Jiddu Krishnamurti’s philosophy which strives to provide an environment where children learn happily without being deprived of the pleasures of the childhood’ (noted from school website).
At the setting in England, when asked about why she thinks peer relations are significant, Ms. LM contends:
‘I think…Generally you just make sure that you have good peer relations so that otherwise the children won’t be happy and unhappy children won’t learn. If children come to school and if people are not being so kind perhaps and not taking other peoples and others feelings into consideration that makes children unhappy ……It’s all about keeping everyone happy and happy children learn better. (Laughs)- Ms. LM (England).
The idea that peer relationships go beyond mere peer-to-peer relationships but should include relationships with adults as well in order to ensure social and emotional wellbeing is voiced by Ms. HB who strives to achieve that by paying attention to the social and emotional aspect of the curriculum before anything else:
‘I think probably social and emotional development is the first area we focus on. Not only relations with children but relations with the adults as well, showing respect to them likewise with their friends as well and also being able to expect respect from the adults that relationships has to be a two- way thing’.
Ms. HB, England.
Ms. HB further contends that social and emotional development should be the area that one should focus on first as nothing else is going to work –meaning other areas of the curriculum viz. literacy, Numeracy etc. and hence she considers it as more important than other subjects even though there is equal weightage to all the subjects in the EYFS. This was later changed following the Tickell Review (DfE, 2011), which has reduced the number of learning targets and has placed the social and emotional development in the prime area.
‘Actually very much almost as more important than other subjects, but I know that each subject is equally weighted in the EYFS. I just think if you don’t have those personal and social bits as a base nothing else is going to work’.
Ms. HB, England.
The perception that practitioners should continually observe children to make sure that they are happy and intervene as the situation demands is voiced by Ms. LM. According to her ‘peer relations is all about continuing to watch and intervene whenever necessary; tackling any problems that arise to make sure that children are happy. This assumption on the part of Ms. LM conveys that the first and foremost importance of peer relationships is to make and keep children happy.
At the same time not at all children are endowed with sufficient levels of social competence to be able to initiate and to maintain effective peer relationships. In that situation the practitioners’ proactive role is more called for. According to Ms. RS, peer relationships is a sure way of making children happy and as a teacher they take a proactive role in finding friends or companions for the children in case the child lacks the necessary social competence to be able to make friendships on their own. She finds it amazing that the little children understand well if any particular child is unhappy and provide them companionship to foster a sense of belongingness in the children. The researcher has noticed how her year 5 partners; who make time to visit her during lunchtime befriended a particular child Lucy (who doesn’t have siblings at home) and also accompanies her on their picnics or other outings.
‘If we see any children sad and lonely and encourage them try and find a little friend for them, matching them with their partner. It is amazing how they look after them; take them under their wings. You probably might have noticed with year 5 partners looking after young ones always look up to them and they just find it amazing I think it helps the older ones as well. You are achieving several of things’. RS, England.
Furthermore, peer relationships are seen to be providing a basis to foster friendships as well not only in the class but across the school.
‘And it also (peer relations) helps them to build lots of friendships amongst each other. And it’s even some children are not friendly who encourage them to play with those children’. Ms. LM, England.
Ms. HB further contends that peer relationships are important from practitioners’ perspective as well, without which it is very difficult to achieve anything else. So she considers fostering peer relationships as a starting point of her job.
‘But personally I had a strong belief that that is the starting of my job. If that is not there that’s makes my life difficult and its makes child’s much more difficult.’
Ms. HB, England.
In all the answers listed above what has come prominently either explicitly or implicitly is the assumption that peer relations enhances children’s sense of happiness and it greatly contributes to their overall social and emotional well-being.
The same view is echoed by their Indian counterparts who prioritize children’s happiness and enjoyment of learning in everything they do. It is also important to understand the traditional view of child-rearing practices in India where period of childhood up to eight years is considered very valuable for inculcating social skills and children are supposed to enjoy the joys of childhood without any pressures in the company of parents and family members. Thus traditional child rearing practices have slowly given way to institutionalized early childhood due to changes in wider social and economic contexts impacting children in diverse ways.
The pressures of downward extension of the primary curriculum into the early years is one of the main concerns with regard to the children in mainstream schools and their happiness and social and emotional wellbeing in particular. In this backdrop and as a response to reclaim childhood as a distinctive phase, the Indian setting is solely dedicated to the holistic development of young children in an atmosphere of happiness and democratic living. It is not surprising that all the teachers who participated in the study expressed this view and prioritized children’s happiness at every stage of learning.
When asked about whether peer relations are important at all and if yes, for what reasons Ms. RE explains what she thinks is the priority:
‘Here we want children to be happy. Their happiness comes first. Some children might be outgoing and make friendships but if some children are only single child
it’s difficult to make friendships or relationships. We give them time and space for them so that they can relate to others. Slowly they will’.
Ms. RE, India.
Ms. RE’s perceptions brought into focus the importance of peer relationships for children’s happiness and also recognizes the inherent challenges and hence the need for proactive role on the part of the practitioners especially when a particular child has a different temperament and also the fact that children come from different backgrounds where they experience limited opportunities for relationships.
Emphasis on peer relations as a basis to foster social and emotional development and social competence is echoed in Ms. VI’s words who expressed that children need to make good relationships not only with other children but with everyone around:
‘Relationships not only with other children but also with everyone is important. You can’t be really happy if are all alone and nobody is talking to you. It’s not only among their classmates but also with children from their senior classes with teachers and with everyone. It helps in their friendships and their self-esteem’. Ms. VI, India.
The idea that peer relationships are important not only for children’s happiness and wellbeing but to have a sense of self-esteem is expressed from practitioners in general.
‘Peer relationships and relationships in general makes everyone feel good about themselves. It is a good feeling to be a part of the team with a sense of belongingness. Nobody likes to be alone or nobody to talk to’. Ms. SU, India.
When asked about how and why she thinks fostering peer relations is beneficial for children Ms. FG from English setting explains:
‘I guess, children benefit from social skills learning about ways to work together, and having friendships, feeling good about themselves, for their own and social personal development’ which encapsulates the multi-faceted significance of peer relations for the social and emotional well-being of the children.
‘And it also (peer relationships) helps them to build lots of friendships amongst each other. And it’s even some children are not friendly who encourage them to play with those children’. Ms. LM.
As an aspect of social and emotional development peer relations also helps to promote social-competence to form friendships and relationships. Practitioners felt that it is important for a child to be able to maintain positive relationships with adults as well as with other children and to be able to form friendships.
Practitioners from both the contexts felt actively that happiness and wellbeing is the first and foremost thing that they give attention to giving secondary importance to everything else. They feel that being happy, emotionally and socially well is the first and foremost thing they wish for and work for which is quite evident from their everyday practice albeit the presence of cultural variations across contexts of India and England.
5.2.2. Peer relationships as crucial for school readiness; for later life
The aspect of peer relationships as crucial in their preparation for school and also in preparation for life is evident in English educators responses. But it is unsurprising as EYFS with its mandatory developmental outcomes to be achieved by the time children enter year one has children’s social and emotional development as one of the prime learning area. It recognizes how important for children to attain social and emotional development and practitioners are required to chart their developmental progression according to what age and stage they are in by ticking the prescriptive outcomes in relation to social and emotional development. Although not explicit in the EYFS curriculum practitioners also felt fostering of peer relations is important for children’s
future as the ability to maintain effective relationships is crucial at inter-personal level and also at work places.
Two practitioners Ms. FG and Ms. HI strongly felt that maintaining positive peer relations is important not just in the setting but beyond that later on in life, in work and family situations as well.
‘How to accept, how to work out, how to resolve problems between yourself and your peers. You will have a great deal of difficulty going out in the adult world, you should be able to understand you have a different role and others have different role and otherwise just be pleasant. At home I am a mom with single parent and is difficult for socialization. And it’s all preparation for the later life’. Ms. HI, England.
‘Yes. Not just in school, outside the school as well. Our own families and work places as well. You work without it and it will be a difficult class to work with as everything depends so much on it not only in school, at home at family work place and it is so important’. Ms. FG, England.
The understanding that the children’s social competence and social and emotional development as a preparation for the primary school is voiced in the opinions of two practitioners. It is not surprising as the reception stage is seen as a preparation for the school as the EYFS curriculum comes with a pre-determined prescriptive list of what to achieve in the seven learning areas of foundation stage (which was later changed to four prime areas) profiles by the time children enter primary school.
‘Especially in early years it is about preparing them for school, they are in school already but in early years it’s quiet unstructured about children and a lot of it is learning through play which is brilliant way for them to learn’. Ms. LM, England.
That the EYFS curriculum is explicitly designed to achieve learning outcomes for each individual child is evident in the words Ms. HB who contends that though they educate each child individually (mostly numeracy and literacy) socially it should be in relation to the other children:
‘It is lovely to educate each child individually which we try to do but socially you couldn’t do and that it wouldn’t be helpful for their future career as well. When they go out to work wherever they go these peer relations are going to be there’. Ms. HB, England.
Indian educators expressed an altogether different standpoint and recognized childhood as a distinct phase and are more pre-occupied with the present. They didn’t (all four of them) consider or unduly worry or concerned about peer relations and early childhood education neither as a preparation for school or a preparation for a later or a future career. This finding is was not surprising given the background context – of prevalent competitive culture and the need for alternate ethos on which the school functions. The founding fathers of the particular setting are clear about letting children enjoying their distinct phase of life with a focus on the ‘here and now’. They considered it is important to inculcate a sense of co-operation and simple living and appreciation of fairness and a concern for the protection of environment.
‘The school philosophy and everyone values here values simple living and in secondary school we have a boarding school where children do all the work themselves right from raising farms to cooking and washing cloths etc. We have a children council here where all children participate and make decisions. It is amazing to watch how children share their ideas freely and make decision concerning their life at school. It doesn’t happen in outside schools. Here we practice what we teach. In early years we don’t have boarding and they leave at 2pm. But again co-operation is the big value’. Ms. SH, India.
They are especially critical of the school preparation given the widespread practice in almost all the mainstream schools in the locality and everywhere else in India.
‘We have some children coming from private schools. Parents move them here saying they can’t cope with the demands from private schools, homework and all. There is too much pressure on poor children to do well for their future. It’s bad. I think we should let them enjoy their childhood joyfully’. SU, India.
There is a real concern about the downward extension of primary curriculum into early years in mainstream early childhood education in India and the negative effects are well documented (NCERT, 2007, Young Lives, 2006). This is an important reason why this school came into existence as a reaction against the two extreme scenarios where in both the public and private schools engage in pre-primary pedagogic practices whose main purpose is to prepare future careerists.
Though they voiced that peer relations are important and are practicing relational pedagogy they didn’t actively feel it’s very important for their careers etc. Again it is related to the cultural context of foundation father’s valuing on cultivating integrative individuals in the contexts of democratic living with the focus on the ‘here and now’.
‘Relationships are important everywhere not only here with friends, teachers and outside in the community and home and at work place. Our aim is to prepare integrated individuals who can relate emphatically with others. That’s what we value here. How helpful one is how good one at relating to others’. Ms. VI, India.
Inculcating empathy is an important consideration in the day-to-day living as well and the founding fathers of school actively endorsed for the pedagogy of sensitivity and relationships as observed from the participant observations as well.
5.2.3. Language and Cognitive development: Belief that peer relationships provide a context for all learning
Peer relations as a context and as an important pre-condition for all other learning is voiced by three practitioners from the setting in England who brought out the dynamic and multi-directional nature of the peer relations and mutuality of language ability and peer relationships.
When asked about in what ways peer relations are important Ms. FG narrated how she believes peer relations are important as children work in small groups:
‘Quite a long time ago, we did some research into collaborative learning. The reason was because at school we work a lot with children in groups. While doing so some children seemed to lack social skills, to interact together and the group work was not effective’. Ms. FG, England.
According to Ms. LM peer relationships are important to ensure the mixed ability groupings in the setting. She thinks children aspire more when mixed with children who are more able.
‘We will still make less abled children and more abled children sit together and that actually helps peer relations children who are not doing well might aspire to do well’. Ms. LM, England.
A similar view is expressed by Ms. RS who thinks due to the natural inherent differences in children in terms of abilities and by bringing the more abled and less abled children together it is beneficial for the children’s learning underscoring the importance of social nature of learning.
‘You got to remember how different the children are; some children are more able than others and can help less able in their work and help and it is just mix it up and