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46 – CHAPTER 5: PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES AND PRACTICES IN FORMAL ECEC SETTINGSJapanECEC in Japan is guided by the “free childcare and education” or the “guiding childcaretheory”, which holds that children learn best when they feel free and supported by the teacher in asympathetic way, while they interact with their environment and gradually build closerelationships with peers (RCCADE, 2011). Interaction with children is often based on the “theoryof three activities in preschool”, which posits three layers of activities, all of which emphasisechildren’s play:• Life that serves as the base: activities comprised of free play and guidance aimed atdeveloping daily life skills.• Central activity: elements are extracted from the child’s play and reconstructed aseducational, for example, in a cultural sense.• Systematised learning activities: which aim at directly teaching linguistic, mathematicalor artistic concepts and skills.These three categories are inspired by several philosophical approaches, including those ofMontessori, Reggio Emilia 2 and the Developmentally Appropriate Practice, 3 and are applied in aflexible manner, so they can be adapted to the needs of individual children (Anders, 2015).New ZealandIn New Zealand, all ECEC settings are guided by the Te Whāriki curriculum. The frameworkfor this curriculum was influenced by Te Ao Māori, (the Māori culture), Vygotsky,Bronfenbrenner and Rogoff. Flexibility in instruction/pedagogical practice is encouraged in orderto develop different patterns in the whāriki (“mat”), which evolve and flow from thesephilosophical theories (New Zealand Ministry of Education, 1996).Table 5.1 gives an overview of the key pedagogical approaches at national level, and theevidence (research or theories) they are based on. It also lists the main features of the pedagogicalapproaches used at national level, although it is not known how far these are implemented atsetting and staff level, since settings and staff are free to choose their own pedagogicalapproaches.Table 5.1 Pedagogical approaches and evidenceKey PedagogicalApproachesMain featuresWhat evidence are pedagogicalapproaches and practices based on?England Child-centred Adults provide a stimulating yet open-endedenvironment for children to play within.Teacher-directedTeacher initiated, programmed learning approach.Constructivist/InteractiveApproachPlay-basedSustained shared thinkingScaffoldingViews learning as an active exchange between thechild and environment that progresses in 'stages',with adults and peers providing important stimulus inlearning.Guided play opportunities are offered to children.Two individuals work together in an intellectual way toperform activities such as solving a problem orclarifying a concept - both parties must contribute tothe thinking and develop and extend it.Process in which the child is seen as a learner, ratherthan passive entity,and the adult acts respectfully,allowing the child to enter 'flow' a period of highconcentrated play.Research Effective Pedagogy in theEarly Years (REPEY - 2002)Early Years Foundation Stage Review(2011) and the Practice guidance forthe early years foundation stage (2011)EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE PEDAGOGY REVIEW: ENGLAND © OECD 2015