Early Childhood Education Models

Problem-Solving Unit: Overview

As stated by many respected constructivists, autonomy is the goal of constructivist education. 'Autonomy does not mean lack of controls; rather, it refers to the source of control'. When you help youngsters develop moral autonomy, you affect how they behave, even when misbehavior isn't likely to be caught. Autonomous people don't need policing to keep them on the right path (Fields & Boesser, p.7). In a truly constructivist classroom, children are given the responsibility of establishing rules and consequences. Under the guidance of a supportive teacher who values children's right to govern their classroom society in the spirit of a democracy, children learn to become morally autonomous thinkers and to value and abide by rules and consequences. There are many levels to a teacher's tolerance of children's choices. Some teachers are only comfortable allowing children to determine the beginning of the year rules, while they determine the consequences and future rules. Other teachers encourage students to create rules and consequences that the children believe are necessary for a classroom to function harmoniously. This type of teacher only functions as a facilitator to guide students to determine solutions worthy of attempting, not to convince children to regurgitate the ideals of adults. Regardless of the degree to which one allows children to run their classroom, one should never allow children to make decisions that one is not willing to allow.