The Characteristics of Effective Learning (CoEL) were initially introduced as an integral part of the revision of the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) in 2012. This followed the recommendations from the Tickell Review, which in addition to the modified approach of creating Prime and Specific Areas of Learning and Development, proposed establishing the CoEL as a distinct feature of the (then) newly revised EYFS.
As now, these were identified as the following ways in which children learn that should inform educators’ planning and provision:
- Playing and Exploring – Finding out and exploring; Using what they know in their play; Being willing to have a go.
- Active learning – Being involved and concentrating; Keeping on trying; Enjoying achieving what they set out to do.
- Creating and Thinking Critically – Having their own ideas; Using what they already know to learn new things; Choosing ways to do things and finding new ways.
The Tickell Review made it clear that the CoEL ‘represent processes rather than outcomes’ and that they ‘underline the “will”’, or motivational factors, which enable the learner to employ the effortful control necessary for effective learning (Evangelou, 2009).
Notably an age- – or even stage- – related model for assessing the CoEL was not developed. However, at the point of introduction, Reception teachers were required to provide a summative overview of each child’s demonstration of the CoEL as part of the statutory assessment (the EYFS Profile, at the end of Reception) in order to further support the transition to Year 1 – and this invited a range of professional development opportunities provided by local authorities, commercial companies and individual consultants for educators working within the EYFS.
DECLINE OF CoEL?
The introduction of the CoEL was universally welcomed and applauded by the profession at all levels and seen as a critically progressive development in embedding the EYFS as an appropriate and innovative framework to enable effective outcomes in the phase. The use of such explicit learning behaviours was in itself unique, especially within a statutory document, and enabled a clear focus on the importance of the learning process.
However, the more recently developing landscape of the EYFS has inadvertently and unintentionally seen the enthusiasm for the CoEL and its high profile within curricular approaches wane significantly. While they remain part of the statutory EYFS, they are untouched by the 2021 Review. This contrasts starkly with the Areas of Learning and Development and associated Early Learning Goals that were comprehensively overhauled and redefined.
The requirement to include a summary of the CoEL as part of the EYFS Profile was downgraded to an optional ‘may’. DfE guidance and advice, for example regarding the curriculum and planning, refers only to the seven Areas of Development and omits any reference to the CoEL within it.
This absence also applied to the recently published Ofsted document Best start in life part 1: setting the scene. While it comprised an evidence-led focus and theoretical overview on how children learn in the EYFS, it did not refer to the (still statutory) CoEL within it. Additionally, anecdotal evidence suggests that educators – especially those new to the EYFS – are less likely to explicitly plan for, support and identify CoEL in their provision, and are often unaware of their statutory status within the EYFS.
There is, and has been, a greater emphasis in the 2021 EYFS review on supporting children’s acquisition of knowledge which has, justifiably, refocused and redrawn approaches to the curriculum and how this is delivered. Sequencing learning and development, in addition to deepening and consolidating what is known and understood, supports the concept of ‘Deep Level Learning’ and the principle of ‘changing long term memory’ in order to apply and utilise knowledge and skills that have been learned. So, the issue is not the absence of learning behaviours, but ensuring that they effectively support and enable learning and development to take place and simultaneously provide the ‘drivers’ to embedding, internalising, rehearsing and owning the explicit knowledge and skills outlined as the expectations in the EYFS.
MOVING THE GOAL POSTS
The initial creation of the CoEL in their original form was heralded as a cutting-edge and innovative development to the role of Curriculum and Pedagogy. However, the intervening years have witnessed a rapid expansion in evidence, theories and approaches to supporting the nature, and therefore the process, of how young children acquire, adapt and utilise their learning.
Greater understanding and application of theories of mind, findings from neuroscience, cognitive science and the role and importance of explicit learning behaviours such as executive functioning, self–regulation and metacognition have further enhanced and extended the arena of the implications for this in early childhood knowledge and understanding. It may be the case that the apparent decline of the CoEL is more the unintended result of the need for a deeper and more comprehensive understanding and use of how these are identified and supported and also how the continuity of terminology is necessary to clarify how the experience in early childhood is enabled, taught and supported to ensure longer term and later success.
Additionally, the approach of having a ‘single statement’ for each aspect of the CoEL perhaps needs careful reconsideration in the light of how our curriculum knowledge has developed and how this becomes represented and utilised. The idea of a single, all-encompassing and generic – rather than age- or stage-related – statement was designed to encourage a holistic and broad view of the CoEL as facets of development and deter a formulaic or clinically sequential use of statements that could be ‘ticked off’ in a superficial way. While having such a broader view and understanding is important, it does not acknowledge the need for a progression within each aspect, nor provide a sense of the movement and sophisticated development and internalisation that it will entail. This too reduces the opportunity to assess – either formatively or summatively – in order to support ongoing development, support and challenge or demonstrate impact respectively.
TWO-FOLD CHALLENGE
While the recognition of the importance of learning behaviours is strong, their use in everyday practice varies considerably and the understanding and professional confidence to support and extend these – in conjunction with, rather than instead of the Areas of Learning and Development – remains an area for development and consideration.
Effective teaching and interaction, especially when supporting children’s interests, is a natural vehicle for being able to identify, support – and assess – how these ‘engines’ of learning are functioning in practice. While children use this as a means to find a context for learning and applying knowledge and skills to follow an idea, or the opportunity to communicate, represent or problem-solve, they also embed and progressively develop their appropriate suite of learning behaviours. A greater awareness of this, and how the elements of a personal professional pedagogical repertoire enable it, remains a key concern.
The other element relates to the content, structure and presentation of the CoEL themselves and whether the need for a deeper use and understanding of the process of learning requires additional support guidance and professional development for EYFS educators.
The current (non-statutory) Development Matters provides more detail on how the CoEL can be supported across age ranges. It can be used to prompt questions and consider provocations of how to approach understanding, identify and supporting the CoEL and the Learning Behaviours it identifies.
In the aspect of ‘Playing and Exploring’ it identifies how the description ‘children investigate and experience things, and have a go’ might be expressed and supported:
- Provide a well-organised environment so that children know where materials and tools are and can access them easily.
- Provide enough materials and arrange spaces so that children can collaborate and learn alongside peers. Give children enough time and space to engage in large-scale projects that may continue over several days.
- Explore the reasons behind children’s choices.
For ‘Active Learning’ and the description ‘children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties and enjoy achievements’, it provides pointers to support the understanding and development of this:
- Help children to think about what will support them most, taking care not to offer help too soon. The following strategies will help children at different times, depending on their confidence, how much previous experience they’ve had with an activity, and how motivated, or distracted, they are: repeating something hard on their own; learning through trial and error; asking a friend or an adult for help; watching an adult or another child, modelling what to do, or listening to their guidance.
- At times, children respond well to open-ended activities which they choose. Other times, they benefit from a supportive structure established by an adult.
- Adults can teach children to use self-calming to help them deal with intense emotions. For example, you could introduce a ‘calming jar’. Or you could introduce ‘zones of regulation’. These can help children to become more aware of their emotions and think about how to calm themselves
The description for ‘Creating and thinking critically’ states that ‘children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things’. In the example of ‘Children will be learning to … Concentrate on achieving something that’s important to them. They are increasingly able to control their attention and ignore distractions’, it provides the following suggestion for supporting this:
- Offer children many different experiences and opportunities to play freely and to explore and investigate. Make time and space for children to become deeply involved in imaginative play, indoors and outside.
While these provide useful pointers for considering the identified characteristics and how to support them in practice, it is clear that the understanding and use of these needs further development and extension. Learning behaviours are instrumental in developing thought and providing essential drivers, meaningful purpose and suitable context for knowledge, and what has been learned. They need to be identified in conjunction with the more ‘knowledge based’ aspects of the Learning and Development requirements so that their potency and importance is fully realised.
While there is an implicit progression through the examples provided for the content descriptions of each characteristic, the development that needs to take place and how this is identified and therefore supported is not explicit. The rationale to avoid this approach was clearly defined in the original proposal. However, developing the nature of how each of the characteristics deepen, extended and are enriched with greater sophistication may enable them to grow in profile and structure within both the concept of curriculum and pedagogy that supports it.
In addition to this, the recognition of these Characteristics is not reflected in how – or even if – they are assessed. While the lack of explicit progression does not lend itself to this, it is still important to acknowledge that observing, identifying and recognising each of these in action is a vital part of provision. Assessment, knowing and understanding the children you work with, is in integral elements of practice and is required in order to support and develop each behaviour – what is described as ‘formative’ assessment in the EYFS. Equally, a summative assessment that recognises progression and impact of each Characteristic would also raise and enhance its profile and broader understanding.
Recognising the importance of supporting and identifying learning behaviours remains a critical area of development for EYFS educators. This development will need to be supported by high-quality, evidence-informed professional development which empowers them to enable their acquisition in the children they work with and be able to articulate their purpose and function within a responsible curriculum and as an appropriate pedagogy. While the current statutory CoEL in the EYFS provide details for how this is implemented, a review of the scope of their content, the language used to describe them and how they are identified and assessed needs to be considered.
FURTHER INFORMATION
- Tickell C. (2011)The Early Years: Foundations for life, health and learning. An Independent Report on the Early Years Foundation Stage to Her Majesty’s Government
- Stewart N. (2011)How Children Learn: The Characteristics of Effective Early Learning
- Woods A.et al. (2014)The Characteristics of Effective Learning: Creating and capturing the possibilities in the early years
- Grimmer T. (2018)School Readiness and the Characteristics of Effective Learning: The Essential Guide for Early Years Practitioners
- DfE (2021) ‘Help for early years providers: Curriculum planning’: https://bit.ly/4alusgy
- Ofsted (2022)Best start in life part 1: setting the scene
- Marton F. and Säljö R. (1976) ‘On qualitative differences in learning: 1. Outcome and process’,British Journal of Educational Psychology, 46, 4–11
- Ofsted (2019) School inspection handbook: draft for consultation
Jan Dubiel is an independent ECE consultant and advisor
