Watch “Marutanbo: Japan’s Forest Kindergartens”, Read the Article by Inoue, Essay, Singapore

Details:

Watch “Marutanbo: Japan’s Forest Kindergartens”, read the article by Inoue, Elliott, Misuhashi&  Kido (2019) (retrieved from https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jsoee/28/4/28_4_21/_pdfand answer the following TWO (2) questions.

You may wish to read additional material to enhance your own understanding of the topic

Question 1

Describe the purpose and practice of such forest kindergartens in Japan (according to those interviewed in the video) and compare them with the early childhood care and education principles laid out in:

a) the 5 key areas in NAEYC’s guidelines for Developmentally Appropriate Practices (Bredekamp & Copple, 2009); and

b) the Early Years Development Framework’s Guiding Principle 2 “the intentional programme” (ECDA, 2013) and the iTEACH principles in the Nurturing Early Learners kindergarten curriculum framework (MOE, 2012) as documents that represent Singapore’s policy perspective and stance towards early childhood education.

Question 2

Discuss the assumptions underlying the practice of Japan’s forest kindergartens and how it is deemed effective for young children’s overall learning and development. Compare these assumptions with those found in the early childhood settings that you have encountered in Singapore.

Use the following questions to organize your discussion in a coherent essay form:

a) Present a 150-word vignette of what you consider to be typical of what you have found in Singapore’s early childhood settings. Use this vignette as an introduction to your essay and as a way to compare what you have seen in the video.

b) What do you think are the main cultural and environmental differences that could have led to the different perspectives in Japan and Singapore? (5 marks)

c) Use TWO (2) theoretical perspectives introduced inBeloglovsky& Daly (2015) to discuss the strengths and limitations of each perspective (i.e., the Japanese forest kindergarten view versus the Singapore view) in relation to children’s learning and holistic development.

You should spend most of your time on part c) in the above. Support your entire discussion with relevant course readings and literature including news reports, national frameworks, government reports etc.