Kool Beginnings Curriculum – Me, Myself, and I

 

Our Kool Beginnings Curriculum (KBC) block ‘Me, Myself, and I’ explores how children perceive themselves and their identity.

 

This includes:

  • Personal Identity: How children see themselves.
  • Social Identity (Inward): How others see the child.
  • Social Identity (Outward): How the child sees others.

These concepts are further explored through:

  • Self-Concept: How the child describes themselves.
  • Collective Self-Concept: A child’s sense of self as a group member (social identity).
  • Self-Esteem: A form of self-evaluation.
  • Perceived Self-Efficacy: A child’s belief in their capacity to achieve intended results (beliefs, attitudes and habits or dispositions that influence the learning process, and the emerging and constantly developing ways in which children understand themselves as learners).
  • Identity Exploration and Commitment: Process of gathering information about, and experimenting with, identity before making a firm decision on what applies and having defined goals.
  • Social Identity and Group Membership: Self-identifying and behaving as a member of a social group.
  • Narrative Identity: Internal narrative that makes meaning of past, current and aspirational experiences and actions.
  • Situational Identity: Process of activating different identities according to the social situation or context.
  • Place and National Identity: The child’s and group identity aligned with physical locations (place based).

These attitudes and orientations towards learning and self can manifest both positively and negatively, so it is important for educators to foster the development of identities that are positive and self-affirming remembering that children are shaped not just by the people who surround them, but also by the places and spaces in which we play, therefore our environments and resources provided to children should also promote a positive view of their gender, their culture and their view of themselves as learners and members of society.

By being aware of who they are, and seeing value in who they are, children also establish a foundation from which to develop other components of identity. Research indicates that a strong sense of personal identity is essential to many other aspects of children’s learning and development.