Researchers say that findings from the latest phase of a seven-year project conducted by the education charity Campaign for Learning, released on Monday, show that very young children are able to express their understanding of how to learn.
Campaign for Learning said that this strongly supports its bid to get the techniques that are used in schools as part of the project more widely recognised, fostering life-long learning skills.
The research is part of the Learning to Learn in Schools project, which lists the 'five Rs for lifelong learning' as resilience, remembering, resourcefulness, reflectiveness and readiness.
In one case study, Laurel Barber, deputy head at Hazelbury Infant School in Edmonton, devised a technique in her school which has been followed through over three years from reception class to Year 2. Ms Barber said, 'Four- and five-year-olds can start to have an understanding about their own learning.
'Children are encouraged to raise their awareness of skills valuable to them as lifelong learners. It's about those skills that any good early years practitioner would use.'
She said that for children in reception this could mean, for example, learning where things are in the classroom to help them organise themselves so that they are ready to learn.
Linda Siegle, joint chief executive of the Campaign for Learning, told Nursery World that another example might be a child watching their father cook and understanding that by stirring the pan they will stop food from burning, and being able to express that understanding.
She said, 'It's groundbreaking, because for the first time we can show categorically that very young children can talk about their thinking.'
For details see www.campaign-for-learning.org.uk.
